The Energon Pub

by **breakthru** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 6:43 pm

Hi guys, Having only collected Encore, Henkei/Universe and Masterpiece figures, I've been taken with some of the Alternators/Binaltech's I've seen and I wondered if anyone could give me any information on the differences between the two lines?

Is it similar to the Henkei/Universe differences?
I've had a look through the Seibertron galleries and some of them look fantastic, particularly Jazz and Tracks to name a few. I think I prefer the ones that look most like their G1 counterparts.
As I said before I know absolutely nothing about the lines and I wondered which ones are the best versions to look for.
I do see that some of them have been updated with Reprolabels stickers.

Thanks in advance guys, sorry if this has been asked before.

by **Valandar** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 6:49 pm

First of all, all the Alternators are roughly the same size, because their vehicle modes are 1/24 scale models of the real cars, officially liscensed. This puts them in roughly the Voyager scale.

The differences between Alternators and Binaltech is primarily whether or not there is any die cast. Binaltech has die cast, Alternators have plastic. Beyond that they're virtually identical (other than a couple characters, like Blaster, being only Binaltech).

In my opinion, the absolute best Alt/Bins are Jazz/Laserwave(Shockblast), Hound/Swindle/whatever the orange one was, and the Smokescreen/Silverstreak/whatever the dark colored one was. Those molds are pretty much the best, period. Somewhat behind them is the Scion mold (though I don't like the vehicle mode's aesthetic, it's an easy repaint into Ironhide), and at the very bottom is either the Viper molds or the Dodge Ram mold (Optimus Prime), depending on who you ask.

News Credits: 150 · by **GetterDragun** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 6:51 pm

I like the Alternators better because their paint doesn't chip like the Binaltechs.

News Credits: 1 · by **Agent 007** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 7:02 pm

both are good but I like alts better they're cheaper and no chipping like Getter said.

News Credits: 4 · by **typh0id** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 7:14 pm

Agent 007 wrote:both are good but I like alts better they're cheaper and no chipping like Getter said.

Yeah I agree with that as well...I'd choose Alternators over Binaltech unless the figure I wanted only came as Binaltech...They are genereally a bit cheaper too...

My favourite Alternators are Shockwave, Rodimus, Hound, and the Wal-Mart exlcusive Ravage that turns from a Jaguar (car) into a Jaguar (cat)...

News Credits: 335 · by **Down_Shift** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 8:01 pm

BT all the way.

News Credits: 7 · by **Chaoslock** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 9:27 pm

The insides of BT/Alts are also reversed according to the steering wheels position in the countries (in Japan, the wheel is on the right side)

I recommend Wheeljack, Shockwave and the jaguar Ravage. Swindle is good, too, but both him and Hound could use a gun on their shoulders.

News Credits: 3 · by **Kibble** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 10:53 pm

You probably got your answer already, but in short, most Binaltechs are made with die-cast parts and Alternators are all plastic. Binaltechs are the more expensive as they were import only to the US and they're a bit harder to keep in good shape if you handle your figures much as the paint is more prone to chipping. So BTs are more collectible and cool because of the die-cast, but Alts are more wallet and user friendly.

Both are fantastic, though, so do collect one, the other, or both!

by 009* » Sun Feb 08, 2009 11:05 pm

I'm fine with either one, but I do prefer the heft of a BT compared to an Alt.

News Credits: 4 · by **typh0id** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 11:42 pm

Chaoslock wrote:I recommend Wheeljack

Forgot about Wheeljack, he's definately one of the awesome ones

And another thing I like about Alternators over Binaltech...When ther are deco differences between the two lines on a particular figure, I tend to like the Alternators variation better...Just my opinion though...

News Credits: 5 · by **Oilspill** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 12:26 am

For me it was down to a figure by figure basis. Sometimes the paint apps on the BT were superior, but sometimes the Alts were just as good. I think it was Smokescreen that looked much better as a BT than an Alt, but Silverstreak was pretty much the same either way.

There are occasionally other differences, for example with Overdrive/Windcharger the Alternator one had a neutered gun for American toy safety regulations, the BT gun was much better).

I've got quite a few of them and a lot of them are MISB, I was thinking of selling some. PM me if you're interested.

by **SJ21** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 8:11 am

I prefer Binaltech over Alternators. I love the die-cast. They stay on the shelf, so the paint chipping is not really an issue for me.

News Credits: 4 · by **typh0id** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 9:56 am

I'm probably in the minority here but I'm actually not a HUGE fan of die-cast...I like it in small doses, as with most of the G1 toys...But I think the figures that are primarily metal are usually rubbish...I dislike most of the Titanium line for that reason....It's not that they look terrible but because of them being made up so much of die-cast metal, their transformations end up being a lot less interesting and usually one of the two modes is significantly less impressive than the other...And the weight of the metal is so heavy on the plastic joints, they wear out pretty quick and you're left with floppy unposable figures...

Now obviously, the Binaltech line is WAY better in these respects and are actually evey bit as cool as their plastic counterparts...But generally speaking, I'd just rather have a figure that doesn't weigh 10 tons and I don't feel like I have to put it on the shelf and never touch it again...Just my preference...Binaltech is a fantastic line...

by **breakthru** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 8:03 pm

Thanks for all the posts so far guys.
Very helpful indeed. All advice and thoughts are welcome!

I'll have another good look at the Galleries tomorrow. I may end up picking and choosing different characters from each line.

I live in the UK so I'll most likely be paying a fair amount of postage anyway so that may not be an issue in which version I pick.

News Credits: 5 · by **Sledge** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 8:12 pm

If you've got a Matalan near you, check that out. They've got Alternators Swindle, Dead End, Silverstreak and Shockblast for a tenner each. All of those are recommended.

by **breakthru** » Tue Feb 10, 2009 1:34 pm

Sledge wrote:If you've got a Matalan near you, check that out. They've got Alternators Swindle, Dead End, Silverstreak and Shockblast for a tenner each. All of those are recommended.

Thanks a lot for the advice Sledge, much appreciated. I think we have one here in Edinburgh. I'll check it out asap :grin:

News Credits: 1 · by **JetfireUK** » Tue Feb 10, 2009 2:57 pm

Binaltechs all the way!

Like a fair few collectors, my figures sit on the shelf and don't get transformed a great number of times. The construction of most Binaltech figures is so that the weight is distributed enough so that they don't slump over or fall - although the Mustang mold can slip on occassion.

The main worry for the Binaltechs is scratching the paint of the metal - as long as you take your time going through the transformations that won't happen. One other benefit of the Binaltechs is that the metal parts are painted which means that the alt mode parts match up better in alternative form.

One other idea is to choose some of the Binaltech Kiss Play figures which are plastic but the alt parts are painted too.

Price wise you can get some of the BT line from about £20 second hand with say BT Police Prowl and maybe White Meister going for £50-£60 MISB.

Hope that helps fella.

News Credits: 5 · by **Sledge** » Tue Feb 10, 2009 5:28 pm

JetfireUK wrote:The main worry for the Binaltechs is scratching the paint of the metal - as long as you take your time going through the transformations that won't happen. One other benefit of the Binaltechs is that the metal parts are painted which means that the alt mode parts match up better in alternative form.

I've got... let's see: Smokescreen, Silverstreak, Wheeljack (x2), Sideswipe, Dead End, Shockblast (x2)and Swindle. All Alternators, and I don't recall any of them having problems with the alt mode parts not colour matching.

News Credits: 4 · by **typh0id** » Tue Feb 10, 2009 10:59 pm

JetfireUK wrote:
One other idea is to choose some of the Binaltech Kiss Play figures which are plastic but the alt parts are painted too.

Despite not having all the accessories, Alternators Rodimus had a MUCH more suitable deco than the KISS Player version...

by **videriant** » Thu Feb 12, 2009 12:02 pm

Summary. This does not cover paint job differences. I'm not familiar with Binaltechs but for the Alternators I think the only repaints were Ricochet, Rollbar, Sunstreaker, and maybe Nemesis Prime. All the others usually remolded the head/spoiler/wheels.

Alternators - US/European, all plastic
Pros:
...More affordable then Binaltechs
...Lighter, so cheaper to ship
Cons:
...Painted plastic isn't as shiny as die-cast
...Windcharger/Decepticharge doesn't have a gun-barrel.

Binaltech - Japanese, some die-cast metal
Pros:
...Painted metal looks nice
...Windcharger(Overdrive)/Decepticharge mold has gun barrel
Cons:
...Prone to paint chipping
...Weight of die-cast may cause joints to loosen and figure to slump
...More expensive as Japanese import
...More expensive to ship due to weight
...Arcee didn't get a new head so it's a guy
Notes:
I don't think the clear mirage / electro-disrupter ligier has die-cast

BTA - Japanese, some die-cast metal, comes with a tiny doll
Pros and Cons same as Binaltech

Kiss Players - Japanese, all plastic, comes with a lollidoll
Notes:
I know Hot Rodimus has a fishing pole weapon, not sure about Convoy and Autorooper

News Credits: 9 · by **Mykltron** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 12:38 pm

Sledge wrote:
JetfireUK wrote:The main worry for the Binaltechs is scratching the paint of the metal - as long as you take your time going through the transformations that won't happen. One other benefit of the Binaltechs is that the metal parts are painted which means that the alt mode parts match up better in alternative form.

I've got... let's see: Smokescreen, Silverstreak, Wheeljack (x2), Sideswipe, Dead End, Shockblast (x2)and Swindle. All Alternators, and I don't recall any of them having problems with the alt mode parts not colour matching.

I have BT Overdrive. Some of the car parts are plastic (eg the bit under the door) - it's not all metal. So not all the parts are the exact same colour.

News Credits: 5 · by **Sledge** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 7:29 pm

You raise a point I hadn't considered before with that: if you're really bothered about colour matching, the Alternators will offer the better option. Yeah, in your freaking face, die cast!

News Credits: 409 · by **Stormrider** » Sun Feb 15, 2009 5:00 am

Expensive = cool.

News Credits: 9 · by **Mykltron** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 1:11 pm

Sledge wrote:You raise a point I hadn't considered before with that: if you're really bothered about colour matching, the Alternators will offer the better option. Yeah, in your freaking face, die cast!

Trouble is, not all the Binaltechs are mismatched. My Prowl and Skids are perfect. It's just Overdrive who isn't quite right.