The Energon Pub

I currently own the crappy DVD edition that came from my local Wal-Mart's clearance rack last year. I would like to upgrade to a higher quality version. I've heard that MP-04 has QC issues not to mention the price, but you do get the the official transforming trailer. MP-01 would seem to be the best in terms of quality, but again the price and no trailer. 20th anniversary Prime looks good with the battle damage and chrome, but short stacks, no trailer. I'm leaning toward 20th anniversary Prime and replacing the stacks and getting the JT trailer. How is the 20th anniversary in terms of quality compared to the Takara version? Any other ideas or opinions welcome.

I'm not sure how it compares, but my 20th Prime is very nice quality.

However, the Justitoys Trailer is non-transforming. There is another company that makes an MP trailer but I can't remember what it's called or where to get it.

Lol, better quality?

DVD Prime is b far superior in terms of quality.

My MP 01 Prime was floppy, loose, and had a bad paint job.

And just a few months ago BROKE.

Eradicator wrote:
DVD Prime is b far superior in terms of quality.

quoted for the truth. hasbro's mps ar better with QC then takara......
my dvd prime is in awesome condition except one of his wrists is floppy...... i might buy a new one and trade it out then return the old one.....

I see once every few months someone is gonna ask the cliche'd "Which Prime is better?" question.

I happen to love my DVD Prime, especially since he was 100 bucks cheaper and I didnt have to mail order him.

I have DVD,MP01 and MP04 but DVD is the one I actually transform and keep out of the display cabinet.

The official MPs are diplayed only, but they seem just as sturdy as my DVD Prime.

I have the 2 US releases.

I display & transform the first US version most, and I prefer his look to any of the others (compared in the seibertron galleries). I prefer the slightly dirtied/battle damaged look to the "cleaner" look of the imports. And I dislike the orange of the DVD prime.

I've had no issues with loose joints or anything.

I did get the longer stacks (totally worth it) and the upsized G1 trailer (worth it, but expensive) from Sky_lynx1978 on ebay (though he didn't have any at the time I posted this):
http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZsky_lynx1978

First Gen wrote:I see once every few months someone is gonna ask the cliche'd "Which Prime is better?" question.

I happen to love my DVD Prime, especially since he was 100 bucks cheaper and I didnt have to mail order him.

Amen to that.

My DVD Prime is the centerpiece of my collection and I don't understand the general distaste for it. It's very sturdy, yet impressively poseable for such a big figure with the amount of die cast that it has. It's a bit more orange that I would like Prime, but it doesn't bother me in the least. Even the talking stand I enjoy.....

I'm in complete agreement that I would rather pick out which Prime I want at a store than pay 2 or 3x times more for one that may be damaged while in transit with a box and instructions in a language I cannot read.

i wish i had a dvd prime. books a million has a bunch but for 100 @%$&*#! dollars! isnt its retail price 60 bucks or so

jazz reborn wrote:i wish i had a dvd prime. books a million has a bunch but for 100 @%$&*#! dollars! isnt its retail price 60 bucks or so

i keep seeing him at walmart for 68, so im going to go with that as his retail. I liked his clearance price better

Gutter Bunny wrote:i keep seeing him at walmart for 68, so im going to go with that as his retail. I liked his clearance price better

Ditto and ditto.

whats his clearance price?

I would like to add that I have the DVD 20th anniversary Prime and I love it. I won't say that I don't like the earlier incarnations of MP Prime better, because that would be a bold faced lie. DVD Prime's availability and price made it the obvious choice for me, and I'm extremely satisfied with his quality and durability (with the exception of the stupid flaps behind his front wheels that keep flying off when I drunkenly transform him lol).

jazz reborn wrote:whats his clearance price?

lowest i saw him at was 25, others reported even lower.

toadthenewsense wrote: would like to add that I have the DVD 20th anniversary Prime and I love it. I won't say that I don't like the earlier incarnations of MP Prime better, because that would be a bold faced lie. DVD Prime's availability and price made it the obvious choice for me, and I'm extremely satisfied with his quality and durability (with the exception of the stupid flaps behind his front wheels that keep flying off when I drunkenly transform him lol).

I would agree with that...well except for the flaps, but i've never tried to transform him while drunk...

The orangeish paint doesnt bother me at all...but i keep wanting to take a can of bumper chrome to all the grey parts that should have been chromed

Gutter Bunny wrote:
I would agree with that...well except for the flaps, but i've never tried to transform him while drunk...

As for transforming him drunk, he's the only one of the MP series that I would even consider touching when I'm drunk. I knocked over my Skywarp and now he's got some stress marks on his tailwing (the little pointy thingies at the top). MP OP has been dropped and stepped on with zero damage (yes, I'm an abusive collector lol).

i wish books a million would have op on clearance

Thanks for all the input guys. I guess my prime isn't as "crappy" as I thought. The main reason I was wanting a different one was because of the lack of chrome on DVD Pime and the short stacks, of course the stacks are easily remedied. The only other issue I have is when in truck mode his right shoulder doesn't quite want to stay pushed in all the way resulting in a small gap. I do however still need a trailer. I was aware the the JT trailer was non-transforming, and I would of course prefer one that is. I believe Kooltoyz makes a G1 acurate model that can be upgraded, but I have yet to find one. I may pick up another dvd Prime, as they are plentiful in my neck of the woods and it sure a lot of them are destined to go back to the clearance rack. Any info on the trailer would also be appreciated.

OptimusPrimeRib wrote:Thanks for all the input guys. I guess my prime isn't as "crappy" as I thought. The main reason I was wanting a different one was because of the lack of chrome on DVD Pime and the short stacks, of course the stacks are easily remedied. The only other issue I have is when in truck mode his right shoulder doesn't quite want to stay pushed in all the way resulting in a small gap. I do however still need a trailer. I was aware the the JT trailer was non-transforming, and I would of course prefer one that is. I believe Kooltoyz makes a G1 acurate model that can be upgraded, but I have yet to find one. I may pick up another dvd Prime, as they are plentiful in my neck of the woods and it sure a lot of them are destined to go back to the clearance rack. Any info on the trailer would also be appreciated.

Chrome: can be solved. Several Arts and Crafts have marker like things for chrome, and gold leafing. bout 5 bucks.

Flashwave wrote:

OptimusPrimeRib wrote:Thanks for all the input guys. I guess my prime isn't as "crappy" as I thought. The main reason I was wanting a different one was because of the lack of chrome on DVD Pime and the short stacks, of course the stacks are easily remedied. The only other issue I have is when in truck mode his right shoulder doesn't quite want to stay pushed in all the way resulting in a small gap. I do however still need a trailer. I was aware the the JT trailer was non-transforming, and I would of course prefer one that is. I believe Kooltoyz makes a G1 acurate model that can be upgraded, but I have yet to find one. I may pick up another dvd Prime, as they are plentiful in my neck of the woods and it sure a lot of them are destined to go back to the clearance rack. Any info on the trailer would also be appreciated.

Chrome: can be solved. Several Arts and Crafts have marker like things for chrome, and gold leafing. bout 5 bucks.

Really, I was wondering if there was anyway to easily do this. Have you ever actually used these products?

OptimusPrimeRib wrote:

Flashwave wrote:

OptimusPrimeRib wrote:Thanks for all the input guys. I guess my prime isn't as "crappy" as I thought. The main reason I was wanting a different one was because of the lack of chrome on DVD Pime and the short stacks, of course the stacks are easily remedied. The only other issue I have is when in truck mode his right shoulder doesn't quite want to stay pushed in all the way resulting in a small gap. I do however still need a trailer. I was aware the the JT trailer was non-transforming, and I would of course prefer one that is. I believe Kooltoyz makes a G1 acurate model that can be upgraded, but I have yet to find one. I may pick up another dvd Prime, as they are plentiful in my neck of the woods and it sure a lot of them are destined to go back to the clearance rack. Any info on the trailer would also be appreciated.

Chrome: can be solved. Several Arts and Crafts have marker like things for chrome, and gold leafing. bout 5 bucks.

Really, I was wondering if there was anyway to easily do this. Have you ever actually used these products?

I took the gold leaf to an HO Caboose. works reasonably well.

OptimusPrimeRib wrote:I currently own the crappy DVD edition that came from my local Wal-Mart's clearance rack last year. I would like to upgrade to a higher quality version. I've heard that MP-04 has QC issues not to mention the price, but you do get the the official transforming trailer. MP-01 would seem to be the best in terms of quality, but again the price and no trailer. 20th anniversary Prime looks good with the battle damage and chrome, but short stacks, no trailer. I'm leaning toward 20th anniversary Prime and replacing the stacks and getting the JT trailer. How is the 20th anniversary in terms of quality compared to the Takara version? Any other ideas or opinions welcome.

I like your plan of getting the non-DVD 20th with the battle damage, and a separate trailer. You'll save money that way as compared to the MP-01 or MP-04, and you'll be getting a better quality Prime to boot. So long as you're cool with the battle damage, it's almost a no-brainer.

Don't they sell the Takara tranforming trailer separately as well? What's it go for, about $50 bucks? $100? Even if it goes for $100, and even if you spend $150 on 20th battle damaged Prime, for a combined total of $250, that's still much cheaper than getting the crappy QC-ed MP-04 for $400, or whatever ridiculous price it's going for these days. An MP-01 will cost you at least $200, bare minimum, and unless it's a 2003 run (which virtually no one has anymore), it'll be Russian roulette as far as the quality goes.

I should add that seibertron.com's gallery of the non-DVD 20th simply doesn't do the figure justice. The paint job is much nicer than it appears from the gallery pictures.

Here's my trailer for MP Prime:

DVD Prime...*sighs*

He's...a gamble.

First one (oh yes, multiples): Joints excessively tight, chest lined up perfect, but paint was gloppy, chips all over.

Second one: Chest didn't line up and it drove me nuts, paint chips in spots, but his joints were nice and fluid, no problems physically.

Third one: Chest is nice and even, though the right panel needs some paint touchups right out of the box, not sure how the joints are yet. (Haven't opened it yet.)

I'm hoping that other than the paint (which can be corrected, because I've got a Sharpie Paint Pen in the exact red tone they used.) this will be the best of the best. They do say..."Third time's the charm."

*crosses fingers*

But...I will say, if you can find one that in great condition, DVD Prime definitely wins over the original 20th. Anniversary/Masterpiece figure. It fits better with Masterpiece Starscream (US, Anime version) and Masterpiece Megatron. It feels like they stepped out of the screen. (Albeit slightly changed.)

I wouldn't be so quick to say it's the worst of the Masterpiece molds, but it is clear to see that the QC went out the window.

I have a MISB DVD Prime sitting on my shelf. I picked him up from TRU for $22.50 during the summer. Aside from the non-chrome and yellow cheeks, I don't really have a problem with him. Honestly, the orangey paint scheme doesn't bother me at all.

I also have MP-04 as well. I have that displayed inside my cabinet. I was fortunate enough to get it when it went on clearance at BigBadToyStore and have debated whether or not I should sell it. He goes for a nice premium on ebay, around $350-400 now.

Say what u may about him but DVD Prime is very good quality.