by Evil Eye » Mon Apr 07, 2014 3:44 pm
- Motto: "Don't be a goddamn coward."
- Weapon: Acid Spray Gun
As we all know, an old debate in the general toy fandom is whether die-cast metal should be used more like it was in the old days, or if it's a relic of the past and should be replaced with plastic entirely. Some love die-cast (like most of the good folks over at CollectionDX) whilst others think it's an overrated gimmick (like TJOmega, who sadly was traumatized by the godawful Titanium Megatron).
So, where are you on the die-cast debate?
Myself, I haven't owned a lot of toys with die-cast (apart from some really old die-cast vehicle toys that were originally my dad's) so I can't really comment. However, I do have 2 Alternators toys (Silver/Bluestreak and Windcharger, the latter of whom suffered from a broken bonnet/windscreen assembly) and I can say I think they would definitely benefit from the die-cast that the Japanese versions had, to stabilize them and increase durability. That said, I don't think die-cast should be used for just anything- toys made almost entirely out of die-cast tend to be unstable and get loose joints quickly (if I remember rightly, the SOC Mazinger ladies suffer from this due to being almost entirely diecast). Also, die-cast does jack up prices quite a bit, and needs painting.
In my opinion, die-cast should mainly be used for:
>Joints, especially long and thin ones or joints that would be put under a lot of stress.
>Internal skeletons and gubbins for transformations, especially on big toys where the entire waist splits and 2 huge chunks of toy are connected by a flimsy plastic connector (third party companies seem to be oddly fond of these- Hearts of Steel Shockwave, I'm looking at you).
>Feet, legs, and low-sitting pieces that would help with stability.
>Panelling on appropriate parts of the toy (legs, chest etc...)
>Stands and bases.
It should NOT be used for:
>Extremities, bits mounted on weak joints, parts on the top of the toy that aren't being supported by much (arms in particular, in my opinion, should only ever be die-cast on toys that can take the weight, like big SOCs).
>Big accessories, especially on 6" figures or anything using ball joints. As cool as a die-cast sword would be, it just isn't practical on anything that doesn't have monstrously strong ratchet joints.
>Components held together by small/weak connectors (like the aforementioned flimsy waist connectors). Die-cast should hold together plastic, not the other way around.
>Wings, capes etc. Kinda comes under "Extremities and high-up unsupported parts", but these I feel are particularly poorly suited to die-cast. Can you imagine if RID Megatron had die-cast wings? He'd never be able to stand up!
I would like to see more die-cast in figures, but I don't think that every single figure needs die-cast. It's a nice thing to have, and it can be useful, but it shouldn't be included just for the sake of it. If it can be done just as well or better with plastic, use plastic. If die-cast actually adds something to the toy that justifies the increased cost, then go for it.
Your thoughts?
Ha ha Transformers go brrrrr