The Energon Pub

Hey all, newbie to the boards. (Be gentle, I bruise easily!)

I picked up a Metroplex on ebay and I'm trying to figure out if this is a legit variation or if something is just fishy...

The box looks completely authentic, complete with some wear and tear you'd expect out of something that was almost 25 years old. The artwork on the back is from the series 2 line (Dinobots, Insecticons, etc), and it only came with one label sheet. Now I looked through the instruction manual to be sure, and it only references one label sheet (the helipad stickers and the blue stickes on the back of his arms seem to be already in place). He's also got rubber tires. Everytime I google the different Metroplex variants, they all seem to have 2 sticker sheets, and the only real differences seem to be the tires and chrome. Have I just stumbled upon an earlier variant, or is this thing bogus?

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!!

Hi, welcome aboard.
Some pics of your finding definitely can help us see what kind of Metroplex you have. To my understanding, there only are 3 variations of Metroplex which are official product.

Version 1 - Regular Box/ 1986 Early Release. Back of box: Season 2 art w/ Dinobots. Rubber wheel, chrome thigh. I think it come with 2 sticker sheets.

Version 2 - Box w/ Glow in the dark poster/ 1986 Latter Release. Back of the box art: Season 3 art work. Plastic wheel, white painted thigh (no chrome) with sticker on the top of the thigh. Come with 2 sticker sheets.

Version 3 - Encore Metroplex 2008 Reissue, same as version 1 except Slammer has an extra peg at the back. Box has TAKARA TOMY logo. Back of the box art: Japanese Season 3. Come with 2 sticker sheets.

Metroplex Knock-Off - Just in case you got a KO, here's how to tell:
http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transform ... -fake.html

According to Cobra Island's scans of the instructions (1, 2) Metroplex only came with one label sheet. Fred's Transformers Variations page doesn't really say one way or the other.

Here is a scan of the major differences in my instruction manual that I saw (see arrows):

http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/1/14/ ... ctions.jpg

The image on Cobra's site actually looks like it has two sheets (one behind the other), whereas mine clearly only shows one. Also, if you go to the part of the instructions for application of the stickers, there are no lines or numbers on my copy that refer to the helipad stickers or the ones on the backs of Metroplex's arms. Those are stickers numbered 40 through 45 on the Cobra scan.

In response to Skyfire77, the 2nd stickers is behind the 1st one from the diagram. Both the Hasbro and Japanese Instruction Sheet show Metroplex with 2 sticker sheets.

Here's an Unused Metroplex MIB auction from Ebay where you can see both stickers in their sealed baggy:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Transformers-G1-Met ... 3cb047054e

As for ampbains, yeah, I see what you mean. It only show 1 sticker in the diagram. Now I'm interest in the figure. Let see some more pics of the box and toys itself. Hopefully there are some more clue. What about the copyright?

Copyright is 1985. It says both Hasbro and Takara Co.Ltd. My camera isn't good enough to give a very high zoom, but from the link you posted above, it doesn't seem fake. Here are some more photos:

http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/1/14/ ... CF0040.JPG
http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/1/14/ ... CF0041.JPG
http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/1/14/ ... CF0042.JPG
http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/1/14/ ... CF0043.JPG
http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/1/14/ ... CF0044.JPG

You can sort of make out the copyright on that last photo

From the pictures, it look like everything is pretty much legit and authentic. You got me. Maybe yours is one of those rares one or early stage production. I honestly don't know. Well, just keep on asking or post on different TF Boards, hopefully someone would have an answer. The instruction manual is the key, it only shows one sticker sheet in the diagram.

Your Metroplex leg chrome looks so shiny and new. Now, I want a vintage MISB Metroplex, heehe.

Heheh, thanks. My thing is vintage G1 releases with unapplied sticker sheets. I've been looking for Metroplex FOREVER, and just recently there have been like 3 or 4 that popped up on ebay. My only knock on this one is the discoloration of those blue arm stickers. Grr.

Next project is Trypticon...

REMINATOR wrote:Version 1 - Regular Box/ 1986 Early Release. Back of box: Season 2 art w/ Dinobots

When I made that posting, I was using Ebay Auction as a reference. Your Metroplex back box picture corresponded to my earlier posting. But the problem is, I can't seem to find that Ebay Auction listing.

Majority of Metroplex back box had the Season 3 art work, not season 2. Hm, where did I see that Season 2 back box Metroplex...I hope I didn't see thing.