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hey guys!

Relatively fresh collector here, and I recently fell in love with the alternators line. Anyway, the line is horrendously overpriced here where i'm from and the difference between it and the binaltech line isn't all that different.

Anyway, what I need to ask you guys is this:

1) Exactly how much of the Binaltechs is metal? Is it just the car frame? Or just a few random parts?

2) I've seen a few posts on "poor QC" issues with the binaltech line (Specifically paint apps). I'm no conneisour, but is the QC on the binaltechs lower than the alternators? better? or the same?

Thanks folks!

Binaltech figures are mostly metal, as you said it is mostly the car frame. Certain other pieces include a figure's torso. Things like the arms and head are plastic. Legs are usually half and half.
Now for the quality of the paint apps: Binaltech is much more sensitive while transforming. You have to be careful while having pieces edge against one another for they may scratch the paint or even the metal itself. I'm quite careful when I transform my BT's but then again I only transform them twice maybe, and do not play with them what so ever.
If play is what you want, i'd stick with Alts but when collecting and displaying and a budget isn't in the picture, then go with the BTs.
Lastly make sure you do not get mixed up with the KISS series, they are fully plastic.
Hope I answered all of your questions, feel free to ask more, I have every single Alternator (other than Camshaft =[) and have BT yellow Tracks, Smokescreen 8, Zoom Zoom, and KISS Rodimus, and Convoy.

One more thing:
BTs are metalic, if you haven't already noticed, and look much better in quality when sitting next to an ALT or KISS.

To break down exactly how much metal is in BT Smokescreen:

CAR
-Hood
-Doors and mirrors
-Trunk
-Spoiler wing
-(not metal but) Tires are rubber--as are the ALTS
-In other words all of the exterior during car more

ROBOT
-Chest
-Upper arm
-Back (car's hood)
-Waste and crotch
-Lower legs (back half of car)
-Ankles and feet

holy crap, thanks!

You stopped me from doing a stupid thing: I was about to purchase a KISS autorooper (thought it was metal hehe).

Last few Q's bud (If ya dont mind)

So which series has better paint applications? Is one sloppier than the other? From what I gather Binaltechs are supposed to have "sloppy" paint jobs or something.

Also, what's the difference between binaltechs and Binaltech Asterisks? I know the asterisks come with figs and all, but how about the overall quality of the TF?

haha Autolooper? EW YOU'RE WELCOME --jk haha

Well BSA is the same as BT but they come with cool little drivers and in the box they are Robots.
The paint quality of BT is magnificent, yes better than Alternators but only because it looks better on metal. Looking at my BT and ALT Smokescreen, BT looks much better, it looks smoother and sharper. On the downside they're easier to scratch since one is painted on metal and the other is on solid plastic.

At the end of it all, Japanese BT/KISS/BTA figures are always great but only BT and BTA figures consist of metal parts.

Technically, the Binaltechs are mostly plastic ... there's just certain car panels that are die cast. The robot figure itself is all plastic, exactly like their Alternators counterpart.

Also, the line isn't/wasn't overpriced ... you're just too late in starting your collection.

Paint jobs aren't sloppy on the BT's either. They are just prone to chipping. The Kiss Player Convoy and Rodimus have GREAT paint jobs, for plastic figs.

Mustang GT die cast parts:

- hood
- fenders
- doors
- entire rear of car (except windows of course)

I guess it would just be easier to say that the roof is the only plastic car panel.

Ford GT - there is no die cast version

Ram SRT-10 - Prime/KP Convoy/ Nemesis Prime are all plastic, but wonderfest black convoy is mostly die cast from what I've heard. Somebody once told me that he is unbelievably heavy, so there must be a lot of metal on that figure.

Viper die cast parts-

- hood
- fenders
- doors

Jeep die cast parts -

- entire front end of jeep
- doors

RX-8 die cast parts -

- entire front end (except trap door for head)
- doors
- rear of car (minus the trunk)

Subaru- (already covered by Frostic_Prime)

Scion xB die cast parts -

- entire front end
- doors
- small section of the rear end

S2000 die cast parts -

- entire front of car (hood/fenders)
- doors
- can't remember if any of the rear is metal. I'm away from home, so I can't check.

Jaguar XK and Honda Civic Si - there is no die cast version

Vette die cast parts -

- entire front end
- doors

Acura die cast parts -

- entire front end
- doors
- entire rear end

I'm pretty sure that covers it. Note that when I say "entire front end" ... I don't include the bumper of the jeep, grille of the RX-8/Acura/Mustang ... etc.

This should be pretty accurate, but feel free to make corrections on any mistakes I've made. I would've pulled each BT out if I could, but I'm not home.

thanks again guys!

much appreciated

Man, I hate myself for "growing out of" TFs... I only resumed collecting after the movie. I guess I missed out on a LOT .

AlienQuicksilver is correct in everything he said but some of the BTs have random metal pieces like Tracks has a metal waste and "skirt", but all figures vary.



My recomendations:
BTA Broadblast (Blaster: looks G1, great articulation)
ALT Prime (gotta have a leader, his KISS version looks like Ginrai from Headmasters)
BT Smokescreen version III with the shoulder rocket (amazing detail and 1/2 of his rockets)
ALT Rumble (fun transformation and cool hammer gimmick)
ALT Ricochet (he looks like a BT b/c he's all shiny)

I never noticed the waist on the Vettes, thanks! Yeah, that Smokescreen with the shoulder rocket is the sweetness.

Since you're a newb to the line sulluman, you should know what I'm about to tell ya.

BT-07 is the one you want.

There are 4 versions of BT Smokescreen.

BT-01 - Smokescreen (car #7 or #8)
BT-07 - Smokescreen GT (car #1 or #2)

Alternators only has the #8 car.

The BT-07 has an upgraded spoiler kit, different rims and the shoulder rocket. Also, has different sponsors written on the car. Corona being one of them.

Unfortunately the BT-07 is the most expensive. You're looking at $120 MISB, shipped.

I happen to have an alts Smokescreen for sale though, complete with box and instructions ... cough*cough.

Here's my observation of the paint difference.

Binaltechs always had the whole car exterior painted glossy. Which is in line with the main goal of Binaltech/Alternator line: realistic looking 1:24 scale model. Besides that, the paint is always thick, so as to hide the ugly mold finish of die cast metal. Die cast metals are always more difficult to mould than plastics. And the finish are always coarse, not as fine as plastics.

Alternators almost always sport bare plastic colors. No paint on major car panels. With a few exceptions. (1) Small details, such as decals, symbols, small parts are painted. (2) If the car color is silver, then the whole exterior is also painted, just like Binaltech. But this silver paint of Alternator skin is much thinner than that found on Binaltech. The reason is, as explained earlier, plastics finish are finer and smoother. So thin layer of paint will be sufficient. The downside of thin paint is, makes it looks lighter and cheaper.

For the interiors, and robot specific parts, both Binaltech and Alternator are the same in avoiding as much paint as possible. Both use bare colored plastics for this. Except for small details that need to be painted. Or if a certain color is not available in bare plastics.

Alts and BTs are the best choice for born again collectors.
The only thing I suggest is watch out for ebay bootlegs of BTs online that look very real. Some popular ones are Prowl, and white Rollbar. And try not to fall for expensive figures, they may not be in stores anymore but they still shouldn't be too expensive especially easy to find ones such as ALT Ravage, Sideswipe, BT Smokescreen, and so on. If you're puzzled on a purchase in store or online be sure to ask the board, myself especially for I am a huge BT/ALT fan, as you can probably tell haha.

There's also a difference in colour scheme between a few of the alts and BT's. I think skids and sunstreaker are the most noticably different. And if I'm not mistaken, the blue/grey plastic on alt prowl is molded in a different colour on the BT version.

They also left alt camshaft bare swirly plastic (like movie jazz) instead of painting him like the previous silver alts. Unless he's actually supposed to be grey?

Retread wrote:There's also a difference in colour scheme between a few of the alts and BT's. I think skids and sunstreaker are the most noticably different. And if I'm not mistaken, the blue/grey plastic on alt prowl is molded in a different colour on the BT version.

They also left alt camshaft bare swirly plastic (like movie jazz) instead of painting him like the previous silver alts. Unless he's actually supposed to be grey?

Yeah, BTs tend to be more G1'esque.
Skids had optional decals that mimicked his G1 ones.

Wow many great info/reviews here on BTs & Alts, I'm so glad to see there's much love for these awesome lines among the fans. Like many others, I am relatively a new collector after launch of the movie, during the process of hunting for the full movie line, I got figures from other lines as well, and soon I fell in love with the Alternators & Binaltech lines.

After 4 months of hunting (mostly online), I finally completed the following sets:

Alternators MISB 27pc set
Alternators Loose/Play 27pc set (few figures still MISB waiting to be opened)
Binaltech MISB 21pc set (BT-01 to BT-16 with 5 variants)
Binaltech BT-18 Rijie Clear Mirage (just came in yesterday)
Binaltech Asterisks 3pc set (BTA-01, BTA-02 & BTA-03)
Binaltech Kiss Player 5pc set (Convoy x Melissa, Hot Rodimus x SyaoSyao, Autorooper x Atari, PVC Atari x WST Autorooper & Kiss Player Position Cassette Set)

*Note* I know there's BT-17 Wonderfest Black Convoy, but I'm just gonna pretend it never existed in my world. (ears plugged, la-la-la-la-la!)

I like both Alt & BT lines equally as they have their own pros & cons, and that's why I'm getting both lines anyway. Many collectors complained about BTs being too expensive when compared to Alternators, but personally I don't look at it that way. Alternators were released in the US market (not limited to) mostly at retail price of $20 & a couple at $25, now most of these figures are going from $20 to $110 in the secondary market. On the other hand, BT/BTA/KP were released in Japanese market only at 4980/5500/6500YEN ($43.36/$49.00/$57.90) respectively, and now most of these figures are going from $35 to $130 (KPs are around $65, $110 & $140). The price increase of BT in proportion is actually smaller than Alternators, not only that but with BTs you get die cast material which enhances the handling "feel" & display realism. Personally I just feel fortunate to be able to buy higher quality, Japanese market only Binaltechs at the current price range (some lower than release retail, some around that, and some at 2-3 times), I can't imagine myself trying to collect these lines 5-10 years from now.

Below are a couple pics of my Alt/BT/BTA/KP collections I took few days ago, please enjoy!

Alternators MISB & Loose/Play sets:


BT/BTA/KP sets:


Cheers,
Coolpop

Wait so you just started? Wow congrats man...I hate you a lot because you have the one Alt I need!!! Camshaft!

Help me out with that please!

Some new collector you are. You've completed it right away in one shot!

Okay, I went out and bought a few alternators, as they were more suited to my budget.

Picked up Rodimus, Rumble and Ravage. MAN, these guys are cool! You know what? I don't think them being metal or not really matters to me at all hehe... After browsing galleries, I want Wheeljack, Jazz and the car brothers pretty damn badly now pity I havent seen them available in my local shops...

oh, and coolpop, DAAAAAAAAMN man!!! I'm starting to feel MUCH envy for your collection. congrats! very beautiful sight indeed

yeah, coolpop's collection is ridiculously awesome. I'm complete in both lines, but with loose figs only.

I have at least 2 of quite a few like Prowl, Meister, Tracks, Sideswipe, Smokescreen, Mirage, Hound, Skids.

My BT/BTA count is at 16. The rest are alts and KP ... and doubles.

Camshaft is getting tough to find, but patience and ebay will turn him up eventually. He's been going for $50 lately, he could've gone up since I stopped looking for him though.

Note that there is a Blue Version of BT Prowl as well.

BTA Sunstreaker doesn't have racing stripes like his alts version, but there are some sweet plastic upgrades on his arms.

Decepticharge is pretty rare as well, he was the last alt that I found.

You want Wheeljack??? You'll have the best luck finding a loose alts version. That Binaltech has been going for stupid money lately. $150/$200 on ebay. Pfft!! A loose complete alts version can be had for under $50. Just watch out for those KO's. (They are everywhere)

When you get the Mustang mold, be careful transforming it. There are 2 screws underneath the roof that will scratch the paint off WJ's leg stripes EVERY time ... if you're not careful.

There is a lot you could learn, that could potentially save you some money ... so just resurrect the thread every once in a while with updates on who you are looking for. We'll be glad to point you in the right direction.

How much did you end up paying for Rodimus, Rumble, and Ravage? And is it the Jaguar Ravage?

Good job by the way.

Frostic_Prime wrote:Wait so you just started? Wow congrats man...I hate you a lot because you have the one Alt I need!!! Camshaft!

Help me out with that please!

Well, I started hunting for the Alts as well after the movie and completed it this week (Battle Ravage finally came in)

Especially "easy" ones like Camshaft are still going for a non-inflated price over at ebay ($50 buy it now, but bidding mostly ends about $35/$40)
http://cgi.ebay.nl/TRANSFORMERS-ALTERNA ... dZViewItem

I hope everyone still gets their lineup complete.. the only one i'm actually missing MISB is Swerve, but for €15 at that time I couldn't let him go.

Thanks to all for your praises, comments, and *cough* envious red eyes. I know there are many other members who also completed these great lines, or even with more impressive collections than the little ones I got. I'm sure with enough research and patience for the right deals to come around, you'll be able to complete your collection goals as well. I'm a fairly new collector, but like many others here, I welcome any comments/suggestions/questions in regards to Alts/BT/BTA/KP/WST1,2,2.5 lines & I will try my best to attend to them.

Cheers all!
Coolpop

Frostic_Prime wrote:How much did you end up paying for Rodimus, Rumble, and Ravage? And is it the Jaguar Ravage?

Good job by the way.

thanks man! yep, jaguar ravage. Paid the equivalent of 40 usd each for rumb and rav, and aroud 50 usd for roddy. I'm really loving rodimus. All the little details like the car interior, the visor, and the paneling! oh man,... Rumble and ravage are pretty great too, but I really wish rumble had hands instead of the piledrivers.

Yeah, a bunch of customizers try to replace Rumble's piledrivers with regular alternator hands.
Nice job with the Rodimus, his detail (in my opinion) is better than the KISS one.

Frostic_Prime wrote:his detail (in my opinion) is better than the KISS one.

You wouldn't have a spare one by any chance now would you?


I've payed the normal price for Rodimus when he was flooding the market right after the CC.
Rumble also went for MSRP and Ravage is obviously cheaper here in europe (€17 to €20 like most alternators that are brushed off of the shelves here)

Anyone with accurate prices/where to purchase Ravage, Rumble, Rodimus, and Nemesis Prime MISB for reasonable prices please let me know. I had Ravage and Rumble in my pile of loot at BBTS but they aren't there anymore.