Another Henkei figure arrives and this time its none other than fan favourite G1 Hound. Not only does Hound look more fantastic and more G1 looking than ever before but he is also bringing Decepticon Cassette Ravage with him.

What this figure shows is just how good Takara are and just how they get it right in so many ways. It may sound as if this reviewer is nit-picking but the better color scheme Takara has given this figure over the Hasbro version really stand out a mile away. The first massive difference is the GREEN coloring - On Hasbro's version the green color scheme looks almost neon and doesn't match the figure in the slightest while the Takara version is a much more dark military green color which is what Hound is meant to look like. The other slight differences in color also appear on the chest/bonnet of the figure - Takara version has the G1 style of stars and yellow strips while the Hasbro release just as one star and that's pretty much it.

Robot mode looks fantastic and looks exactly how Hound looks in his G1 form but there are a few small things which could have been improved upon for the robot mode. The main problem in robot mode is Hounds missile launcher, while Hasbro/Takara have tried to make the missile launcher look how it does in the G1 cartoon the missile doesn't seem to attach very well on the back section of Hound and looks slightly as if its pointing in one direction. However if your rich enough to purchase the G3 Trailer by Fans Projects you get a chrome Missile Launcher especially for Hound which works well and I guess gives you a choice of the original launcher or the G3 one.

The robot mode is very flexible and can move in almost any direction with the shoulders/elbows/knees and thighs all having fluidity of movement and the head also rotates 360 to which is also an added extra bonus. The only thing missing for the robot mode however appears to be an actual gun for Hound to use, in this review I used Classics Optimus Prime (G1 version) rifle as it appears to work much better on Hound than that actual figure.

Hound also comes with Decepticon Cassette Ravage which looks amazing and transforms brilliantly and can turn into a cassette that can go into G1 Soundwave's chest! however Ravage is missing his missiles but never fear because you have 2 choices on this - A) You use G1 Ravages missiles which fit perfectly into the new classics release or B) you can get two spare Classics Sideswipe guns and attach them as they also work perfectly well and look great to. I think the reason Ravage was given to us with Hound was because of the original cartoon were Hound had Ravage trapped in a cage...however it still seems odd because really shouldn't Ravage have come with Music Label Soundwave since ML Soundwave is actually in the Henkei Universe (he appears in the comics and also the WHITE ML Soundwave appears in the Shattered Glass Universe) but it is also strange that Ravage can connect to Hound in vehicle mode? Ravage is a nice extra bonus but it seems odd he would come with Hound rather than Hasbro/Takara releasing a Decepticon Cassette box set with new updated G1 Classics Cassette bots.  

Vehicle mode looks great and just as close to the G1 version as you can get but also with the added extra feature of being able to connect with Ravage...for some strange reason. The wheels are plastic sadly as it would have been fantastic if Takara gave us this vehicle mode with rubber tiers but sadly not. Either way the vehicle mode looks great with clear blue transparent window on the windscreen of Hounds vehicle mode also also the extra paint work added by Takara really makes the vehicle mode stand out much more. The missile launcher can also attach on the top of the vehicle mode just like how the G1 toys did by connecting via the seat of the vehicle mode.

Both Classics and Henkei Hound come packaged in card with them shown in vehicle modes in a clear plastic bubble. The back of the cards show the figures Transformed in both modes but the Takara version had images of Hound with Beast Wars Cheetor and also at the bottom it had images of other Henkei released figures and the Henkei version also came with a Comic that the Classics version didn't come with sadly which is a shame because the comics are nicely drawn.

A good figure and a great edition to your collection but if you can spare the extra cash then go for the Henkei version as its superior paint application and better color choice of green for the figure as a whole work out and look much better the Hasbro release version.