The Energon Pub

[El Duque]

Thanks Alfes 2010's twitter feed and the Planet Iacon facebook page we have some in-hand images of Takara Tomy's Transformers Generations TG-01 Optimus Prime and TG-02 Jazz. Compared to their Hasbro counterparts, Optimus Prime features a bright and shiny coat of red and a darker shade of blue, while Jazz doesn't seem that much different with the exception of the blight blue visor and a few additional painted details in alt mode. Images mirrored below.

[STngAR]

Some shiny paint and a few paint apps doen't seem to justify me paying extra to import.

[Mkall]

Some shiny paint and a few paint apps doen't seem to justify me paying extra to import.

Adding paint to poor molds does not make the underlying molds any better either.

[horus]

When ever they decide to make War Within/MTMTE molds I'll buy, these are just crap in my opinion

[xyl360]

I can't wait to get these ! Hopefully they'll show up in my PoL soon.

[Jelze Bunnycat]

When ever they decide to make War Within/MTMTE molds I'll buy, these are just crap in my opinion

You should check out the Titanium Series then, quite a few molds are based on War Within. In fact, the main artist was in charge of the overall design. They do suffer from loose joints here and there, thank to the die cast used.

And I'll be skipping those two. Already have Jazz, WFC Optimus Prime does just fine and I plan on getting Ultra Magnus instead. Now the Combaticons on the other hand...

[Flux Convoy]

Look pretty decent to me. I'll pick em up later.

[noctorro]

Wow, Optimus looks alot more from the screen then the Hasbro version I have.

I won't get him, but I would get a voyager scaled up Optimus. With the head sitting solid in robot mode, the deluxe one looks down when you move the arms.

[Sabrblade]

Already own the Hasbro ones, but these do look really nice.

[Mindmaster]

Optimus reminds me of a newly-printed dollar: nice and crisp. I'm liking Jazz's visor.

[SKYWARPED_128]

Not getting either. OP looks nice all pimped out in metallic red and additional paint apps, but is way too small to scale in with anyone in the FOC cast except voyager Grimlock. Plus, I'm seriously not a fan of his new FOC design--prefer the WFC one much better.

As for Jazz, there aren't enough new paint apps on him to justify the price. I've already got Hasbro Jazz, and am starting work on repainting him.

I'd actually consider buying Takara Jazz if they painted the headlights and grill greeblies metallic gray like they did the side engine parts, and put some fluorescent red on his haedlights.

[Bounti76]

Why are Takara Jazz and Hasbro Jazz's heads switched in the first picture? The colors of the heads don't match the blues on the bodies they're on until the second picture on.

[Sodan-1]

I have to confess I don't mind the designs of these figures. I've even grown to really like Podgimus Prime, and these new, shiny, game accurate paint schemes are splendid. But if Takara's figures are going to share a similar plastic quality to Hasbro's, then that coupled with the size and cost, I simply can't justify them.

[Jelze Bunnycat]

Why are Takara Jazz and Hasbro Jazz's heads switched in the first picture? The colors of the heads don't match the blues on the bodies they're on until the second picture on.

Alfes likes to experiment with the figures he gets, like switching parts. Last time he switched RiD Optimus' and Nemesis' underarms.

[Kibble]

Adding paint to poor molds does not make the underlying molds any better either.

Agreed. These decos look MUCH nicer, but they're still pretty craptastic figures. It's difficult enough to swallow paying $40 a pop for nicer paint apps on good figures, but for crappy ones...aww hell no.

I really hope the new Star Wars figures are just the greatest things ever because it seems pretty retarded that they're ruining Transformers with the JV squad designing these garbage figures. I'm sure Star Wars is more popular, but the engineering demands are far less complex for that line, so it would seem to make the most sense to keep your best CAD engineers on TFs and put your best deco/artistry guys on Star Wars.

[El Duque]

For those of you considering importing Takara Tomy's Transformers Generations TG-01 Optimus Prime and TG-02 Jazz we have some images comparing them side by side with their Hasbro counterparts. As you can see in the images mirrored below from Alfes 2010's toy blog there are quite a few differences in deco between these guys.

[phase]

...MUST...RESIST...THE SHIIIINY!

And I think these molds are fine.

[KNM2012]

What I like about these is the fact that Hasbro's version looks like they are made for kids... While TOMY's version look like they are made for collectors. However, I agree with those who say that the collection-based value of these pieces are low.

Here's to the thought that wave 2 and beyond will be a whole lot better.

[-Kanrabat-]

As expected, the Takara ones have superior paint. They are, however, not perfect.

Like his WFC counterpart, the FOC Optimus Prime could have been shiny on the legs too. Also, his hubcaps should have been gray like the rest.
I do love his shiny chest and the more vibrant neon-lines.

As for jazz, just being gray make him look less cheap than the original. The addition of a "side window" paint aps add a LOT for him. The only thing I dont really like is that they should have kept Hasbro's original brighter blue.

All in all, I'd like to have them. However, I dont want to pay 40$+ each for the Takara release. I may if there's ever a sale, but having already got the Hasbro ones for 10$ each will not justify spending 30-40$ MORE for EACH figures just to have fancier paint. Well, this apply for any Takare products.

[The Variable]

Metallic paint on Prime aside, what I like most is that it helps make the Autobrand on his shoulders look more vibrant, as if they were glowing like the in-game model.

The loss of overall whiteness on Jazz seems to drop the resemblance to the essential look of the character. Had I the money to get the Takara version, I would repurpose him as FoC Bluestreak.

[Flakmaster]

They still don't look to be the best figures, but the Takara paint jobs do wonders.

I particularly like the silver plastic on Jazz.
It's better than the pasty white the Hasbro used on their version of the figure.

[Jazz813]

Jazz looks much better in the japanese version but the TakaraTomy FOC Optimus Prime version sure looks much detailed and so but I'm not so much the metalic friend.

[jaws]

Odd how the Takara versions look way better than the Hasbro, imagine that!

[T-Macksimus]

I'm hoping that it's just an effect of the lighting on the shiny paint but Prime almost appears to have a slightly orange tint. Not a fan of that but like I said, probably just the lighting in the pic. I'm loving the extra detail though and the metallic appearance. Love the detail on Jazz too but I'm not a fan of the grey. So I guess, if I had to choose just based on the pics I'd have to go with the Takara Prime and the Hasbro Jazz. I already have the Hasbro FOC Prime and he looks positively bland now after seeing these pictures.

[Optimum Supreme]

Looks like you can polish a turd.



But now it's just a shiny turd.