The Energon Pub

Yotsuyasan wrote:

Rodimus Prime wrote:Bumblebee.

Ah, that'd have been my guess. It was just hard to be sure from behind with the somewhat simplistic art style.

Yeah, sorry. I found a bigger shot of the cover, haven't found any decent scans of the inside panels of the fight scenes yet. But looking at the cover, you get the point. If you've never read the issue, basically Devastator combines for the 1st time ever, shocking all the Autobots who are trying to take out Soundwave (whom Devastator is protecting) and manages to bitch slap Ironhide, Huffer, Blue Streak, Hound, and Bumblebee. The fight ends when a human truck driver rams his tractor-trailer into the satellite dish Soundwave is using to send a message to Cybertron, causing it to overload Soundwave and take him out. Then Devastator disassembles and Soundwave jumps on Long Haul and they leave.

If I had the money I'd get Green Giant, hands down. Mainly because of the price Hercules is going for now which is just ridiculous IMO, especially when you consider his potential QC issues as well.

Just out of interest, If you wanted G1 accurate, you could always get the Takara Encore 20A Reissue Anime Colour Version and then the Crazy Devy parts to bulk him up?

Rodimus Prime wrote:

I am considering buying the other combiners from 3rd party companies, but Devastator is the 1st I want to get, and I would like the others to kinda scale with him, but it doesn't have to be perfect. I am not too picky with scale, if I can manage figures in scale, I'll get them, but I won't sacrifice individual presentation or quality for scale of a group. I am not sure which combiners I would like to get, as long as there is a representation of each character. Thus my dilemma here. Which is a better representation of G1 Devastator?

Let me see if I can pull out my classics versions of these characters and my Herc to give you some size comparisons there. I'm at work right now, but will be home before too long...

Here are some old scale pics I took to help you see them together and next to other combiners. Keep in mind that both Devastators have complete Reprolabel treatment. (just realized these were taken before I put the labels on Giant except the 2nd pic) And My Hercules has the Rage of Hercules add on set, plus Crazydevy G1 LED head and purple barrel. Cant help you with shots of the individual bots, I may never transform them again for a very long time. I would have to watch youtube videos to remember how to transform them and I’m too lazy to do that, lol. Maybe the other guys can help with the individual bot comparisons.

How's this look? I didn't include Bluestreak, as I didn't feel like taking the time to figure out how to make him float in the air, or whoever that is in the far background near the satellite dish thingy... but I hoped that this might get across how what you are looking for might look with Giant and Classics style figures.

Also, just for fun, a cross-franchise confrontation:



Man, now I want to photograph a sword fight between Voltron and Menasor. Maybe another time!

I heard good things about Maketoy's version.

Rated X wrote:

I always thought that Devastator, being comprised of 6 members, was bigger than the others. So according to these, I'd be going with Hercules. But man, he'd make that Superion look like a midget, lol.

And it doesn't matter about shots of individual Constructicons, I would most likely keep the figure combined on the shelf. The only time he would come apart is for storage in the event I move.

Yotsuyasan wrote:

That's great, thanks! It also makes me realize I might not have enough room for the actual battle scene. Nonetheless, I still want to get a Devastator representative, and looks like I might be going with Hercules, based on X's above shots. I just need to get all the extra stuff like the Rage set together on a list. I want to get everything at once.

Rodimus Prime wrote:I always thought that Devastator, being comprised of 6 members, was bigger than the others. So according to these, I'd be going with Hercules. But man, he'd make that Superion look like a midget, lol.

I always figured Devastator is six members of roughly the same size, while "Scramble City" style gestalts were four members of the same size plus a leader who was larger. Thus, I always kind of saw their combined forms as comparable.

Rodimus Prime wrote:And it doesn't matter about shots of individual Constructicons, I would most likely keep the figure combined on the shelf. The only time he would come apart is for storage in the event I move.

Personally, I feel that half the fun of owning Transformers (or Transformers inspired third party figures) is that they, well, transform. But if you're happy with them as static display pieces... Well, what you do with your personal collection is your business!

Rodimus Prime wrote: That's great, thanks! It also makes me realize I might not have enough room for the actual battle scene. Nonetheless, I still want to get a Devastator representative, and looks like I might be going with Hercules, based on X's above shots. I just need to get all the extra stuff like the Rage set together on a list. I want to get everything at once.

Awe, man. I was trying to sound not too biased when offering opinions, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hoping you might end up with Giant! Ah, well. I'm sure you'll end up with a great piece in your collection. I just shudder to think what it'll cost for the base figures, plus the Rage kit, and then potentially plus a few other add-ons and Reprolabels.

(If you're a purple barrel fan, and if you don't mind a sticker option rather then paying for a whole new shell for the barrel as Rated X did, Reprolabels' sticker set does have stickers for that. The new shell probably is a bit nicer in the end, but the sticker option is likely cheaper, especially if you're planning on Reprolabels for your Devastator, anyway.)

It's kind of funny, looking at Rated X's photos... You'd think I'd like the Rage kit, since in theory it adds many of the details that I like better on Giant when comparing Giant to the base Herc combined mode. But somehow, I feel that adding the parts to Herc throws off his proportions. He sees too wide at the shoulders, or too thin at the waist, or something! I suppose if I had to rate my preferences, it would go like this:

Giant > Herc > Herc + Rage

But in the end, that is my preference. If, indeed, you've decided to go for Herc + Rage, I sincerely hope you enjoy owning him! Be sure to tell us what you think once you have him in hand!

I like the gun that comes with Rage, and the shoulders just add posability. I prefer using the treads as forearms though, rather than going for the more traditional Devastator shoulder look, but it is nice to be able to attach the crane to his forearm with the Rage set.

It definitely gives you lots of options to make the flavour of Herc that appeals to you the most.

Ohk, as for battle scenes, watch these:

Hercules:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7FZbMkn5Jg

Giant:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LHWPvwD8Xk

Arucard wrote:I like the gun that comes with Rage...

Well, I won't disagree on the gun. For Herc guns, I can't speak from in-person experience, but from photos I've seen, the original gun looked kind of crap. It seemed somewhat obviously pieced together from six smaller guns. So the Rage kit's gun couldn't help to be an improvement.

Just to tout my boy Giant's gun for a moment, though... Now that was six separate guns that combined into a cohesive whole to form one large gun! Admittedly, a few of the individual guns may have suffered slightly for it, but a heck of a lot less then I feel Herc's large gun suffered on the opposite end of the spectrum.




It also stays really well in Giant's hand! (That part isn't a slam against Herc at all, I'm sure he can hold his gun just fine, too.)

On prices - http://chimungmung.com/product_info.php ... cts_id=512
full set for, basically, $400. Divvied up that's $67 per bot. Each bot used to retail for about $99 (which they still are at BBTS). However, this set doesn't include te Rage kit (although it's at that store).

Moral of the story? Wait a long while for your TFC gestalts.

Checking TFsource reveals Giant to be cheaper, however. If that counts for anything.

Gauntlet101010 wrote:Checking TFsource reveals Giant to be cheaper, however. If that counts for anything.

And, of course, TFSource offers free shipping on orders over $150! So Giant could be yours for about $380!

Of course, Rodimus Prime seems to have decided on Hercules, and TFSource is asking about $520 for that set (and another $50 for the Rage kit) so not as nice as the place Gauntlet101010 is recommending. I love free shipping, and if god forbid anything goes wrong, TFSource does also have excellent customer service, but unless the place Gauntlet101010 suggested charges over $100 for shipping, you'd obviously be spending a lot less there.

Actually, looking at the place Gauntlet101010 recommended, I see they also have an offer of all six figures plus the Rage kit for only $20 more then without the Rage kit. With that, plus $50 shipping... For what these figures plus the rage kit normally go for, $470 shipped doesn't seem a bad deal.

Rodimus Prime, I still like Giant better, but even I'd be a fool not to say that if you've decided on Herc, you should buy it now before this price goes away!

Mayhaps this is a little late, but here's some spammed photos for you as well. I won't try to recreate the scene also, but I thought I'd give you some straight up comparisons.

I have Herc battling my G1 Encore Omega in my display case. (Legends Megatron is in his hand as well as the assembled purple blaster.)




Here he is with YotS Omega:



Deluxes standing right in front of Herc:




And then, we have three "recent" Grimlocks:



Whoops, that was for another thread.

It sounds like you already have your decision, Rodimus Prime. Hopefully this helps solidify that decision. Personally, I like this without the Rage set, but I can see how some like it as well.

Just to push Chimungmung a bit more, because I feel like it needs to be said, but he does have good customer service. However, right now his site's e-mail form is busted, so be sure to e-mail him directly if that doesn't work for you.

Right now I have a problem with the Sharp Claw where the legs popped off. Showed him a picture of the problem and, after getting in touch with him via e-mail, he's just sent me the replacement parts (with a photo showing them).

I ordered my Herc from Chimungmung, in fact I've ordered most of my 3P stuff from him, with a few exceptions from Robotkingdom. He's good to deal with over email, quick to respond with combined shipping quotes for me (which were surprisingly cheap), and the one time an item was forgotten from my shipment, sent it to me in a separate shipment with no questions.

Don't forget to look at the stickers from Reprolabels. It's cheaper to get Giant's than Hercules. I looked at the Hercules ones, and decided to try my own paint apps instead.

Arucard wrote:I ordered my Herc from Chimungmung, in fact I've ordered most of my 3P stuff from him, with a few exceptions from Robotkingdom. He's good to deal with over email, quick to respond with combined shipping quotes for me (which were surprisingly cheap), and the one time an item was forgotten from my shipment, sent it to me in a separate shipment with no questions.

I'm always happy to tout TFSources customer service, since the very few times there has been a problem with an order (in the form of a broken piece) they were quick to see to it that things were fixed to my satisfaction. But from what Arucard says, sounds like Chimungmung is comparable!

So to anyone reading this, and wanting to buy a third party Devastator, all else being equal if what you want is Herc, you should go to Chimungmung and if you want Giant, you should go to TFSource.

Yotsuyasan wrote:If you want Giant, you should go to TFSource.

ActionRobo also has him for cheaper than TFSource, but I've never used them, so have no clue what they're like. I'll be forced to when MakeToy's Quantron comes out though, because none of my preferred retailers are on their distributor list.

No, no, I haven't made up my mind totally. That was just 1 post in the Hercules column. I am very much interested in Giant, and yes, pricing does count. As for displaying versus playing with figures, I do transform and mess around with smaller figures such as the Generations stuff, but something like this, which is bigger and costs more, is usually for display purposes for me. Same with the MP figures and most of the Leader Class figures I own. The next thing I'm going to do is go through the online stores and add up prices for both sets, including all the extra stuff they come with. It's not THE most important part of the decision, but I do like to spend my money wisely. Thanks for all the info and opinions you guys provided, it did help a lot.

Honestly, if my motivations were the same as yours, just wanting the whole gestalt to display in a few static poses, I'd go Giant. I'm very happy with my Herc, but I had to weigh up the playability and look of the individual 6 in both robot and vehicle modes too. I think Giant is a more impressive static display piece, and for $100 less than Herc. His reprolabels are also half the price overall, and fit him better, I think.

So it seems that by the criteria I am using, the only thing Herc has going for him is his scale when compared to other combiners. Otherwise, Giant is the way to go in every other way. So I guess that's my tentative decision. I have to wait until the middle of next month for the funds, so hopefully prices and availability don't change much. In the meantime, I'll be looking at more reviews of both, at the very least to reaffirm my decision. As of now, Giant is my next purchase. Thanks guys for helping out. I don't buy 3rd party often so I have very little experience with these companies. But I am tired of waiting for a decent bigger scale Devastator from official sources.

Arucard wrote:

Yotsuyasan wrote:If you want Giant, you should go to TFSource.

ActionRobo also has him for cheaper than TFSource, but I've never used them, so have no clue what they're like. I'll be forced to when MakeToy's Quantron comes out though, because none of my preferred retailers are on their distributor list.

But ActionRobo doesn't offer free shipping. Looks like when you add shipping to the U.S., it'll total $388.90, making it $8.95 more then TFSource. (ActionRobo's website asks you to specify a state when calculating shipping. I checked both my home state of Massachusetts and Kentucky for Rodimus Prime, and it was the same to either.)

Also, I'd vouch for TFSource's customer service any day, where as while maybe ActionRobo also has excellent service, unless someone who has used them comes and says so, we cannot know for sure.

So TFSource still wins! Woo hoo!

As for your upcoming purchase of Quantron, ActionRobo has him for, once you include shipping, $443.90. TFSource? You can pre-order him right now for $429.99! (And, as I may have mentioned, you can get that with free shipping!) Is TFSource for some reason not one of your preferred retailers?

(This all assumes you live in the U.S., Arucard. Your profile doesn't list a location, after all. So that's fine when discussing Rodimus Prime's purchase. But the above touting if TFSource's pricing as superior after figuring in shipping may not apply if you live in another country.)

Think Giant has a gestalt head sculpt that looks close enough to 1985 Devastators. Don't see a need for a replacement head.

TFC's First Hercules head looked nothing like 1985 Devastators head. Thats why a replacement head was desperately needed.

The original 1985 Constructicons toys were commander scaled. So I was okay going up one toy scale for the MT Green Giant individual combiners team members.

Wasn't okay going going Three toy scales up for the TFC Hercules team members. Going from commander to deluxe to mega to Voyager. Was just too much and thus deemed oversized.

Don't need my TF combiners the HasTak PlanetFormers 16+ Supreme scale or bigger. Desire my HasTak or 3rd party combiner to be 12 inches and under in Gestalt mode.

Yotsuyasan wrote:(This all assumes you live in the U.S., Arucard. Your profile doesn't list a location, after all. So that's fine when discussing Rodimus Prime's purchase. But the above touting if TFSource's pricing as superior after figuring in shipping may not apply if you live in another country.)

I'm way down south, so for me US prices before shipping are close to Hong Kong or Singapore prices after shipping.

seems im late to this discussion, but id like to weigh in.

i own and preffer TFC's hercules. for me, it came down to a few things:

-size: what i want is predaking to be the biggest (im invested in TFC's ares), devastator to be second largest, and scramble city combiners to be just under that and to all be roughly the same height.

-soft sculpting: while this might sound like a negative, when compared to giants hard and more realistic sculpting i call it a positive. to me giant doesnt look like it jumped out of the cartoon like herc does.

-deco: i like the richer greens and purples of hercules. im not sure what to call it, but the hazard tape/striping or whatever, thats all over the giant just drives home the more realistic tone they appeared to be going for. thats a negative for me since i was looking for a more cartoon friendly look.

-design: the general layout. my favorite part of hercules design is the treads that become forearms (which is why i skipped the forearm upgrade kit). the other esthetics i like are pretty much covered above.

all that said, i have gripes as well. i dont like his original head. mixmasters barrel should have been purple. i dont like the combined gun. it was annoying to have to fix his knee. hooks giant crane hanging off hercs shoulder. and hes heavy... makes it hard to pose him sometimes. however, its still leagues above giant in my humble opinion. and just for fun, heres a shot of my 3rd party combiners.

shajaki wrote:it was annoying to have to fix his knee

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