Review – MGS Upgrade Kit (Transformers Hound)

The Transformers Universe Hound* is a much better Transformers toy than I was expecting (review here), but as cool as it is it needed just a little something extra to make the toy really excellent. Enter the MGS Upgrade Kit, a third party Transformers accessory pack that gives Hound a few new parts and outfits Ravage with weapons.

Packaging

Not at all exciting and I was a bit surprised to see all of the printing in black and white. The back of the box shows what’s inside and everything comes neatly packed in an insert tray, but this box won’t sell anything on its own. I suppose that’s not much of an issue since most of the unofficial Transformers toys and accessories are sold online, but I would have liked an illustration or something to make the box a little more interesting.

Hound

Above you can see Transformers Universe Hound* in vehicle mode with the accessories added. The gas cans for the fenders are a really nice touch and neatly cover the holes on the sides of the vehicle mode.

On the back of the vehicle is a mounting bracket that snaps into the two pegs that are intended to “capture” Ravage. The bracket works much better for holding Hound’s missile launcher and has enough space to hold the official weapon and the new weapon(s) that come in this pack.

The bracket also snaps into Hound’s back when he’s in robot mode — the wheels help hold the bracket in place — and just as in vehicle mode this new piece holds Hound’s weapons much better than the official design does. And in the above shot you can see Hound holding the two new weapons that are included in the set; both look great and the plastic’s quite durable.

The bracket can be used to hold with the official weapon or the weapons included in this upgrade kit. I personally prefer posing Hound with the official weapon as a shoulder piece and the two new weapons in their combined form — see below — but it’s nice that the design was created in a way that gives us so many options. $30 sounds kinda pricey for this set, but it’s actually not bad when you consider the low number produced and the excellent quality of the pieces.

Ravage

The last two pieces in the kit are new missiles for Ravage to make the toy look just a little more like its classic design. Frequent site commenter Aptkane (check his site for Transformers fun) has pointed out that I’ve transformed Ravage wrong; I’ll have to work on that because it sounds like the official instructions are wrong and there’s a better way to align the rear legs to make the toy look better. But even with my odd legs I think we can all agree that those new weapons go a long way toward making Ravage look a lot cooler than he does without the missiles.

Closing Thoughts

As neat as Transformers Universe Hound* was on his own, this accessory kit makes the toy even better. And that’s exactly what third party Transformers accessories are meant to do: take an already-fun toy and make it far cooler than it was without the new pieces. The great sculpt and durable plastics go a long way toward taking a good idea and creating a great product. The $30 price tag is high, yes, but I’d have rather spent the $30 than have spent $20 and gotten a much cheaper plastic.

An excellent accessory and one worth tracking down if you’ve already got a Hound. He’ll thank you for the extra firepower.

Philip Reed wishes one of the third party manufacturers would go the vinyl route and create a new Pretender shell for some of his other official Transformers toys. A Bludgeon shell would be fantastic!