Fans Toys FT-13 Mercenary (aka Shrapnel)

If there's one company out there that can compete with Takara in terms of build quality and G1 aesthetics, it has to be Fans Toys. I think the company is based in China, and have been releasing very high quality figures for a few years now, including their much-loved Quakewave and Dinobot range.

I jumped onboard with their first Insecticon release with Grenadier (aka Bombshell),which was a fantastic figure. This new Mercenary (aka Shrapnel) follows that trend with another awesome release. In terms of build quality, I'd have to say these perhaps even exceed official Takara figures, with great use of diecast to add strategic weight and a premium feel.

Click through the link below to check out my full review on the Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel!

I love the way Fans Toys package their figures with the nice foam. This package comes with a decent set of accessories, including the more cartoon accurate insect legs that you can swap out.

The chroming on the pincers is very nicely done. The joints at the base of the head, and around the limbs too, are pretty tight at first, so definitely go slow to prevent any breakage.

The initial transformation to alt mode was tricky for me, especially in moving the bot legs into position on the insect back. You'll see in my video that I almost took some skin off pushing them into place lol!! :)

Posed together with Grenadier gives you an idea on how awesome these figures look. With FT-14 Forager (aka Kickback) coming out hopefully in March/April, the complete original Insecticon team will look fantastic! All I need now is to get some Decepticon logos for their chest plates and I'm good to go!

Definitely recommended, especially since Takara seems a little slow in announcing any further Decepticons this year in the official MP line.