The Energon Pub

Fri Aug 19, 2011 7:43 am

My wife and I are pregnant with our third child and she will be due in October. I have a large collection of CHUG stuff, a complete set of PCC Combiners, an almost complete collection of Kreons (only missing Sentinel Prime), and some other various stuff I am thinking about unloading. I do, however, want to keep my full collection of WST and Legends Transformers, because they are small and take up a small amount of space.

With that said, I think I might sell off all my stuff and start modestly collecting the Alternators line. I will not have the room to display them in my house anymore, but I might build some shelves in my garage and display them there. My main question is, How cool are the Alternators? Are they diecast or plastic? What is the average price for one? What is the rarest one in the line? What is Alternity? Your comments and/or answers would be highly appreciated. I have been a fan quite some time and have been meaning to join this community of fellow fans for quite some time. Thanks for the opportunity to become a member and I humbly await your feedback. Thanks for looking!!

News Credits: 22 · Fri Aug 19, 2011 7:48 am

Wow, Alternators vary in design and individual likenesses, depending on which character/car model we're talking about. If you want diecast, go straight to Binaltech, which is Japan's version of Alternators. They're made of diecast, Alternators are not. I own only 3, so I can't speak much for all the individual toys. For price gauging, just go on eBay and type in Alternators or Binaltech.

And Alternity is somewhat similar but different. They are diecast, but on a smaller scale, and better looking, IMO. Though I only own Diamond Black Megatron.

Fri Aug 19, 2011 9:09 am

Are the Alternators, Binaltech, and Alternity vehicles all the same scale? And just to clarify, The Binaltech and Alternity vehicles are die-cast, while the Alternators are plastic?

News Credits: 129 · Fri Aug 19, 2011 9:47 am

Binaltech and Alternators are 1/24th scale cars. Alternity is much smaller.

Binaltech has true diecast. Alternators do not have any. Alternity does not have significant diecast. They have some parts, but not much.

The Binaltechs range from $40 to upwards of $150. Alternators go as low as $15 and as high as $120. Only the most obscure Alternators hit high prices.

The plastic on Alternators is a subject of debate. Some will argue that the diecast and paint is superior, others will argue that the diecast and paint is a place for the figures to develop flaws (the transformations are tight, friction is guaranteed).

I have a mix of both. Over all, for what they cost, I prefer the Alts.

News Credits: 7 · Fri Aug 19, 2011 9:50 am

shockblast2 wrote:Are the Alternators, Binaltech, and Alternity vehicles all the same scale? And just to clarify, The Binaltech and Alternity vehicles are die-cast, while the Alternators are plastic?

Alternators are the same figures (mostly) as Binaltech (Alternators was made by Hasbro, while BT were the Takara version) - so they are the same scale.

Alternity is smaller than BT/Alt, and is less linked to the normal TF-universe (I think the only noteworthy Alternity is Bumblebee, but still, the Classic version of him is superior)

News Credits: 3 · Fri Aug 19, 2011 9:54 am

Binaltech and Alternators are in most cases nearly identical figures, just one uses varying amounts of die-cast and the other is just plastic. Average price these days for Alternators is probably about $30 shipped. Binaltech go for a lot more...I don't even know the average price. Alternity are smaller figures, about the size of a deluxe, where as Alts/BTs are more like Voyager/Ultra sized. 1/32 scale and 1/24 scale respectively. And while Alternity have die-cast as well, it seems to be more used as part of the structure of the figure whereas Binaltech the diecast is more used with the shell. Personally, I'd go with more Alternators if I were going to collect them, and then maybe mix in some BTs. The BT of Convoy/Prime looks a lot better and there are a small handful of characters only avaiable in the BT line (as well as a few only available as Alternators.)

For a long time Alternators were my favorite line, but in the last year or two I've found myself preferring the Classic-verse lines. They are really nice figures, though. Very complex transformations and highly detailed. In most cases they can pass for model cars...people have no idea they're TFs.

As far as the rarest ones, Swerve is probably the most rare and most expensive. Camshaft is pretty elusive as well. Otherwise Nemesis Prime, Rodimus, and Mirage, tend to go for higher prices...in the $40 to $60 range MISB, but cheaper if loose. And maybe Ravage (Jaguar version) and Rumble might be going for higher prices these days as well. I'm not entirely sure what the market is for these figs nowadays as I completed the line a couple years ago, but from what I've gathered, they seem a little more reasonable. They were pretty hot on the secondary market for a couple years, but even then I think being patient I got all but the ones listed as 'rare' above shipped for $30 a piece or less...most being MISB.

*Sorry for the duplicate info...a few others weighed in while I was typng up my novella.

News Credits: 6 · Fri Aug 19, 2011 9:58 am

In my opinion, Alternators are awesome, and I own quite a few. Smokescreen is a must, Wheeljack is tight, and windcharger and dead end and jazz all compete for my favorites spot. They dont have many QC Issues aside the usual TF Problems, and they are all nicely sized figures. The rarest, IMO, is HotRod, am I right or wrong, correct me if so. Iv'e seen him go for $150.00 for the chromed version, and the made another bot from that mold, the far superior MIRAGE, wich is also rare. My only gripe is how complex these guys are at times, but I love them.

News Credits: 129 · Fri Aug 19, 2011 9:59 am

I'm going to be selling three of the rarest domestic Alternators for anyone interested.

Nemesis Prime
Swerve
Camshaft

are all getting putt up soon. I haven't figured a price yet, but if you're interested, make me an offer.

Fri Aug 19, 2011 10:08 am

Thanks guys, I appreciate it. I don't want to sell my collection, but ultimately I need the space. But, I still want to collect and I figure the alternators line would be great as I really like them and the line has ended, thus putting a limit on the figures I can buy.

The WST are for me perfect too, for the same reason as Alternators and their small size. KO co's in China are still making them, but very cheaply and they are only released once every few months. With the Alternators, I figure I can display them in the car modes in my garage. I really like Shockblast's figure and I actually wondered why I didn't buy him years ago as he would fit in with the classics line, since they don't have a rep of him yet. If any of you are holding any Alternators or Binaltech and are interested in any figure in the CHUG line, I have almost everything. the only ones I don't have that I can think of right off hand are Ultra Magnus and Inferno. I will be posting an offical sales thread sometime in the next week. I wil tart here and whatever I don't sell I'm putting on ebay. But, i want to start here because there might be members that would trade me for what I want.

Thanks again guys, I appreciate you taking your time to answer my questions!!

Fri Aug 19, 2011 3:28 pm

Umm, Alternators AREN'T small.

Alts and Binaltechs tend to be about the size of a Voyager.

Alternity is Deluxe sized, however.

News Credits: 6 · Fri Aug 19, 2011 3:38 pm

shockblast2 wrote:Thanks guys, I appreciate it. I don't want to sell my collection, but ultimately I need the space. But, I still want to collect and I figure the alternators line would be great as I really like them and the line has ended, thus putting a limit on the figures I can buy.

The WST are for me perfect too, for the same reason as Alternators and their small size. KO co's in China are still making them, but very cheaply and they are only released once every few months. With the Alternators, I figure I can display them in the car modes in my garage. I really like Shockblast's figure and I actually wondered why I didn't buy him years ago as he would fit in with the classics line, since they don't have a rep of him yet. If any of you are holding any Alternators or Binaltech and are interested in any figure in the CHUG line, I have almost everything. the only ones I don't have that I can think of right off hand are Ultra Magnus and Inferno. I will be posting an offical sales thread sometime in the next week. I wil tart here and whatever I don't sell I'm putting on ebay. But, i want to start here because there might be members that would trade me for what I want.

Thanks again guys, I appreciate you taking your time to answer my questions!!

Well, if you wanna start collecting these guys, best of luck! Also, You may want to take up counterpunch on his offer, swerve is a rare and mighty fine figure! He's also pricey.....
like, $80.00 Minimum Pricey.....
Well, If you can, Be sure to check out smokescreen or his re-paint, he's still my fave, and he actually incorperates magnets in his transformation!

News Credits: 7 · Fri Aug 19, 2011 3:44 pm

If you are interested in buying something similar stuff to alternators and legends toys,you could buy the bigs human alliance ones and Cyberverse,that is the same size as legends.

News Credits: 11 · Mon Aug 22, 2011 5:50 pm

In my opinion I would keep your Classics/Universe figures instead of collecting Alternators. I own a lot from both lines and while Alternators look cool, I find they're just not as fun and full of personality as the Classics. And also since the Alt line came out a good long while ago, the engineering isn't as advanced as what they can do today, so they're not all that poseable either, at least compared to modern figures.

Basically, it's fun vs. cost. Alternators are really expensive to get into nowadays, but Generations is still ongoing and some of the recent ones are still available. But I guess if you have the money to start on Alternators, go for it. They do look cool, especially displayed with Masterpieces.

As for Alternity, they're kinda cool but smaller and more expensive. They won't fit in with Alternators because of the different scale.

News Credits: 7 · Mon Aug 22, 2011 6:30 pm

BTW, fun alternators to get:
Wheeljack - he shares a mold with Grimlock, but personally I like his version better
jaguar-mode Ravage: nice beast mode (and the only EU exclusive alternator)
Shockblast: perhaps the coolest-looking Alternator, and the best homage so far for G1 Shockwave
Swindle: Shares a mold with Hound, but since Hound doesn't have the bigger gun, this version wins