Mastermind Creations Reformatted R01 Terminus Hexatron

Mastermind Creations has been known for their Knight Morpher series, based on the Hearts of Steel mini-comic series and Guido Guidi's concept art for it. However, the general response has been, "Those look cool, but I've no place for them in my collection..." So MMC decided to kick off a new line that addresses this. Figures collectors will more happily find a place for. Enter REFORMATTED. And for R01, they went big. And popular. Terminus Hexatron.

Before I begin with the figure himself, I'd like to quickly mention the packaging. The back has the typical obligatory product shots, but the front features a CG render of the figure in a pose he can actually do. This is also a flap that opens up to show the figure himself from behind the typical plastic window, but the cool part is that the flap is held closed by magnets! This seems to be the style for all Reformatted packaging.

Now, normally I start a review in a figure's alternate mode. But for this one I'm starting in robot mode. Why, you ask?



...That's why. Teal green body, off-white arms and thighs, purple lower legs, and grey wings sticking up behind his back along with gunmetal grey parts scattered here and there, there's little mistaking who this is supposed to represent. He's also got some silver, black, off-white, and metallic red paint to bring out more of his details. Oh yes, and some hot pink on his legs for the glow of energon-y goodness. The included comic and credit card thick tech spec. card shows a LOT more of this being used, and there are grooves all over the figure specifically for this, but fans apparently took a royal dislike to it when shown so they kept it to just his lower legs.

Terminus Hexatron features amazing articulation. About 36 points total, same as Armada Unicron. 5 are ball joints: the head, the wrists, and the thumbs. Each finger moves independently at the base knuckle. Ankle tilts as well as forward/back movement. Swivels above AND below the elbow. He even has a waist swivel. And whereas G1 Sixshot couldn't move his arms up and down at the shoulders with the chest wings unfolded, Terminus Hexatron still has some movement available in the same situation. I appreciate the panels on the back of his lower legs doing their best to cover the required hollowness there, and the wolf hind paws trying to cover the necessary gap above the ankle, but the panels to the inside of his knees are...distracting, and prevent his legs from coming any closer together in this mode. Good thing his ankles can tilt far enough to cover for this.

How about weapon accessories? He's got 12 of 'em. A pair of katana called "Essentiality" given to him in the comic by Seraphicus Prominon, (Nova Prime) sheaths for them, and his hypersonic concussion blasters. So what are the remaining 6 weapons? Shuriken. One in each wheel hub on Terminus Hexatron. They unfold exactly like Animated Prowl's do: the blades are geared together, so swinging one out swings them all out and vice-verse. The sheaths peg onto rings around his waist that move independently of each other and the waist. This trick started with the KM Airborne Squad based on HoS Starscream, and so far seems to be carrying on into the Feralcons that form Feral Rex. With a bit of fiddling, you can get the figure to lightly hold the shuriken between his fingers. But how does he hold his katana and guns when he has opening hands? That's where the mad genius comes in: the same way any other figure would. The fingers themselves have nothing to do with holding them. That's clever. The guns can store on his wings in a couple of different places, though where I store them prevents the wings from being as close together as they can be in robot mode.

For a size comparison, with Soundwave:



Should also mention now that this figure is quite hefty, and will likely crush lesser display stands. For perspective, Soundwave has die-cast in his feet. KM Cyclops is bigger in both modes, and has a big metal chain for his anchor/hose. Terminus Hexatron has no die-cast and still outweighs them both. Still lighter than Fans Toys FT-03 Quakewave, however, but Quakewave also has metal feet and strapped to the sides of his legs.

Transformation is interesting for Terminus Hexatron. First, you want to remove his guns from wherever they are as well as the swords. The instructions also recommend that you remove the sheaths from him while you're at it for the first time or so. That's a good idea, and while he can be transformed between each of his modes with them on...it's less of a hassle to just take them off and plug them back on after. Once that's done, you transform him into an "intermediary" mode. From here, the figure can proceed to and from any of his other modes. I'd highly recommend also swinging his thumbs up onto the top of his fists, to make it easier to get them back out when returning to robot mode.



The second mode I'll cover is the weakest one...yet also one of the most popular: wolf mode. This mode can easily leave the sheaths alone as they don't need to be repositioned from robot mode. The guns haven't any specific spot where they're supposed to go in this mode, but I like plugging them into the wings. The wolf mode is pretty fearsome looking, especially the head...provided that the mouth is opened. It looks pretty stupid closed. More metallic red is exposed for the eyes, and it's on a ball joint that lets it look left and right just a bit. Those panels on the inside of the robot knees that were distracting now serve to cover the opening left behind by having the knee bent for this mode. The arms have about the same articulation they did in robot mode, minus the hands of course, but the back isn't going to do much. However, for as fearsome looking as I've claimed this mode to be... it still looks like he's on all fours with a wolf head flipped out and called a mode. It wasn't really any different with the original source material, was it?



Moving on, we come to mode #3: APC mode. This mode is probably one of my favorites that Terminus Hexatron can do, but I've still gotta be fair here. I love how everything locks and tabs together. Nothing is left just sitting there, it's all got a place where it goes and stays. And that's true with the remaining three modes as well. This is the only mode that rolls, and it does that very well. For this and the remaining three modes, the sheaths act as additional cannons. The guns plug into the wings. The panels from before now make up the grille of the APC. Overall, this armored personnel carrier looks like it wants to kill something. There is, however, one considerable flaw with this mode: the wheels end up sitting too far back. The original toy's shoulders could swing further down the body to bring the wheels into a better position beneath the APC mode, but that doesn't exist here. Still, I'm happier with the shoulders being able to swing outwards in robot mode, and that makes it a bit easier to get between modes.



Speaking of which, it's time for mode 4 of 6: laser pistol mode. For this, I need to point out a critical flaw in the instructions. The instructions say to turn the waist around after collapsing the legs together. There's nowhere near enough clearance to actually do this. Instead, turn the waist around first, then collapse the legs together. I also recommend reattaching the sheaths on the opposite sides of what the instructions say to. That said, the laser pistol mode is incredibly solid. The parts on the front of his legs combine together to form the barrel, and the energon pink paint on these pieces combines to make it look like he's ready to fire and utterly destroy a target. There's no trigger to pull, but not only are the wings on ratchets, there's little knobs and divets to ensure that they combine into a rock solid grip. It's not going anywhere. Naturally, this mode is the worst at displaying without support...like the Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon for the 3DS case I've propped him up on.



Mode cinq: tank mode. For this mode, you have to remove the swords from the sheaths, as there's no room for them to stay there in this mode. Luckily, MMC thought of this and allowed the swords to instead slide into the wings for this mode. The guns plug into the legs to complete the turret, and it was thoughtful for MMC to have cut out gaps at the bottom of the leg to allow the guns to get in there more easily. There's some sky blue paint picking out the window of the tank's cab. Once again, those panels by the robot knees are closed to fill in the back. As the turret is the robot legs pegged together, you can reposition it a bit. But turning side to side? Forget it. I love how the panels on the front and back of the arms swing up, turn around, and then swing back down to bring the tracks beneath this mode without affecting the arm articulation. However, the tank mode turret wasn't very convincing on the original toy, and still isn't here...



Finally, the sixth mode this guy can do: star fighter mode. Because every multichanger needs a flight mode of some sort. This time, the guns plug into the wingtips. Also, the cab from APC mode plugs into the second set of holes where it would normally rest in the modes that don't use it to free up the nose landing skids. There's a landing skid under each wing as well that flips out, but getting them started can be a hassle at times. This thing looks aggressive. Need some extra speed? Extra thrusters are exposed by flipping open the middle claw on each wolf front paw. And since the nose of the star fighter and the barrel of the laser pistol is one and the same... I imagine Terminus Hexatron could still fire from there in this mode as well if you needed extra firepower.

So that should wrap up the review, shouldn't it? But, there was one piece of fiction Sixshot is (in)famous for. From the Headmasters Japanese G1 series. The means which he destroyed Ultra Magnus. Terminus Hexatron's comic displays him utilizing a technique he calls Supernova, which unleashes the power of all six of his modes at once in a single all-out attack which leaves him temporarily defenseless and unable to transform afterward. But that? Child's play! I reveal to you, the super-duper-ultra-expialidocious-terrifyingly (poorly kept) secret of mode 7: Wingwolf mode. Behold!



...It's achieved exactly the same way as the original toy: just fiddling around until it kinda looks like something. BUT! MMC intentionally allowed for this to be possible. How, you ask? The wheels on the forearms. They can swing onto the front of his forearm. None of his official modes utilize this, and it allows the arm to sit closer to the side of the body. Get this guy and put him in this mode, and give the upcoming MP-22 one more thing he can't deal with now!

So NOW the review wraps up. I don't recommend this figure at all. No, I almost DEMAND that you drop the $135 USD on this guy. He's that good. MMC has come a long, long way from KM Cyclops, and there's virtually no places on this figure that I fear may break. He is incredibly robust, and worth all the delays he went through during production. Some may balk at the choice of all the ridges and lines and such, but without them he wouldn't exactly be very exciting to look at now would he?

Yes indeed, Terminus Hexatron has solidified my trust in Mastermind Creations. So much so, that I'm currently following the ongoing and out-of-order story of five teammates that took part in the Battle for Moritorus! The hunt...is on. Like a vast, Predatory bird that preys on a king's lands...

I'm sure you people can figure it out.

Sixshot has been convencing me to get this figure as well. Once I get enough $$$ saved up... I think he will be my next figure.

I opened mine up just the other day (after owning him for several months). The temptation was becoming too much and like DB said, it's a real solid figure with no downside. I've got the Dazzling Glory add-on kit to give him chrome guns (and helmet) in my POL and when that comes in, I'll be making room on the display shelf for him.

I just got mine today and spent 2 hours transforming him into his 5 alt modes and back to bot.
My chrome kit should be in the mail any time.
This figure is SOLID!! They thought of everything when they made this guy.
 

The artwork on the box is perfect!!

Kinda doing a "Hasbro folding window"

The back of the box shows all alt modes.

He comes with 2 swords and sheths
A bio & tech card
Instructions / comic
and 6 shuriken (pictured below)

The swords have some kind of Cybertronian language printed on them. Tanslation anybody?

Here are the 6 shurikens as mentioned above. Each of Sixshot's hubcaps pop off and make these. And yes those are rather sharp


What really caught my attention with the wolf mode is that is head is mobile and his teeth and nose are painted silver +++++

Another +++++ is the fact that the white cockpit actually snaps into place!
Everything on this guy fits tightly and snaps into place.

No trigger, but who needs one. Say goodbye Aerialbots!!!

I like how they made a place for all of his weapons in most modes

Except in the Jet mode, the instructions don't mention on anyplace to connect the swords. So I put mine in the back of the wings.

A better look at the back end of the Jet

The belly of the jet showing the landing gear. This prevents Sixshot from just sitting flat on a shelf in this mode. Pretty damn good idea!! ++++++

While playing with his swords,  The instructions don't mention anything about where to place his guns

But they fit perfectly on his back connected to the wings

WTF!?  Right?

The helmet stays on!!

All five fingers are seperatly poseable

He has excellent balance and poseablitly


He he is joined together with my Decepticon Masterpieces

Thanks to some spare reprolables, Sixshot is now an official Decepticon.
I also places some logos on the other side of the same wings to display in jet mode.
I was trying to figure out some good places to put more for each mode. The problem I came up with is that if you put one in a spot that looks perfect for one alt mode, it would end up upside down or just not look right for another alt mode. So I stopped at those 2 wings.

Dude that figure is epic! Why does it seem like, all of the Masterminds Creations, Fansproject, and iGear toys have better details, more poseable, and far more bad ass than what Hasbro is putting out? Why would you allow others to put out far better versions of your product (Aside from the Masterpiece line)? Don't you think they would step up their game? Or am I wrong and these figures are not superior to Hasbro's?

that 3rd party Sixshot is WAY FAR SUPERIOR to anything Hasbro has done!
This guy is made for adult collectors only. Hasbro goes after the younger collectors so they tend to lack a lot of detail for safety purposes.

Welcome to the Dark Side of Transformers collecting!   Your wallet will forever cry from starvation from this point forward. Terminus Hexatron is pretty sweet! I just sold off and shipped my G1 Whirl today, so that spot on the shelf is empty, but I think I'm going to open Warden and put him there. As for Terminus....my MP shelves are perfectly balanced right now but when Scoria comes out I'll have to unbox my Hexatron and counter with him.   

And Dai, even the Masterpieces are being made better by 3rd party. Fans Toys Quakewave (MP Shockwave) beats anything I own on the Decepticon side, official or not.

Sixshot wrote:And Dai, even the Masterpieces are being made better by 3rd party. Fans Toys Quakewave (MP Shockwave) beats anything I own on the Decepticon side, official or not.

Wow I had no idea! Hasbro should be ashamed.

I should be getting my 3rd party MP Shockwave anyday

Dai Atlas wrote:

Sixshot wrote:And Dai, even the Masterpieces are being made better by 3rd party. Fans Toys Quakewave (MP Shockwave) beats anything I own on the Decepticon side, official or not.

Wow I had no idea! Hasbro should be ashamed.

I think Takara's trying to compete in the Masterpiece market and that's why we're getting so many (Autobot cars) from them over such a short time period. As for Hasbro, I think they threw in the towel trying to appease adult collectors a long time ago, and mainly just market to kids now. Though they do throw us a bone every now and then, by releasing a MP stateside through TRU.

Hasbro is limited in what they can do because it needs to fit their strict price point budgets and safety standards. Parents of today think their children are special little snowflakes and would rather sue the asses off toymakers over anything bad that happens to their little snowflakes from playing with said toymaker's products than actually owning up and taking the time and responsibility of watching their children, making sure they don't do something stupid. They also have better things to spend the extra money it would cost on than something their little snowflake will break in a week or so. (not to mention that collectors would go ape   over the price increase, even if it meant an improved product no matter what they say otherwise) Among other things. They try to throw a bone or so every now and again, but it still has to meet the same constraints that the more kid-oriented stuff does. (and in the case of Masterpiece, easy to secure the needed license/can be sold across all their markets)

Galvatron, the tank mode is the only mode where the swords can't stay in their sheaths.

I got the 2.0 verison of Hexatron in today, I'm impressed by him for the most part but he lacks a little in accessiories, he only comes with 2 guns (shiny, shiny guns) thou I got him cheeper than regluar price from Kapow toys, (£80) brand new, since then he gone up in price but he is lovely, I say one of the best redenerings of a TF I've seen, he looks and feels like Sixshot and clearly a lot of effort and heart has gone into him, of his modes, I say, my favs are Wolf and Jet, thou the car form isn't to bad!

he's awesome!!!! I got him posed in bot mode flipping the birdie. It's the first thing you see when you open the door to my office

At the mo, I haven't got a place picked out as to where I'm going to put him, but it likely to be high up and out of reach of kids (niece & nephew), since they got a bit of a interst in my TF collection thou I haven't gone into detail with them on my many figures, all my niece knows is there are good and bad guys which also include lego people a little, while my nephew likes Generations Scoop and TFPRID Wheeljack, thou he doesn't know how to transform them (only 2 yrs old), thou resently I let him have a old Mc D Happy Meal TF from my childhood to play with and he can transform that easily once I showed him how (changes in about three steps from creature to a milkshake carton), I'm thinking for his birthday maybe get him one of the simple transforming TFs that goes robot to vehicle, thou that is away off at the mo! Anyway, entering my room, it depends what direction you are looking but the most likely TF to catch one's eye is Generations Omega surpeme with upgrade, then you'll notice the other TFs around the room entrance area including Unicron! Anyway, the reason I got him is because I wanted a TF who is bad and could be a leader of sorts with no true defined loyalty and be a serious threat, plus that vid you posted the other day Galvy with the MPs having it out made me think he looked like worth getting, plus being down in price, it was kind of, what the heck, I also got Generations Brainstorm at the same time, Brainstorm is a ok figure I guess!

Edit:
He found a place next to NOT Devestator in the room where my PC is kept, in front of an old speaker (not currently in use) and stood on top of a old game called: Chatter Box, which Sixshot isn't!

Galvatron wrote:he's awesome!!!! I got him posed in bot mode flipping the birdie.

How else would you have me posed. And I already know I'm awesome. :P

SuperOmegaPrime wrote:Chatter Box, which Sixshot isn't!

Depends on the mood I'm in.

Sixshot wrote:How else would you have me posed. And I already know I'm awesome. :P

Robot mode, guns pointing forwards ready to kill anyone who dares challange him/you or makes a face that screams "MUST KILL!"!