The Energon Pub

Hey all, first-time poster here. As you might guess from the title, I'm a pretty big Beast Wars fan thinking of starting a BW collection (I loved G1 too but I was a '90s kid, BW was what I grew up with). I'd like to at least collect 1 of each of the Season 1 show characters, from when they still looked like realistic animals. I see that there seem to be two different types of more show-accurate characters: 10 Year Anniversary ones from Hasbro, and Takara Tomy/Telemocha figures.

I'm going to go with the Generations versions of Rhinox and Waspinator coming out next year, but for the rest I'm wondering which is the better choice: Hasbro 10 Year Anniversary, or Takara Tomy/Telemocha? Is there any difference in build quality or similar issues? While I don't think I'm going to be transforming them as often as when I was a kid, that IS part of the fun and the point of Transformers, so I do plan on actually using them sometime. I'd hate to go through the trouble of tracking down these 14 characters and having them break on me. Which would you all recommend?

Money is an issue for me, but so is build quality. A better-made figure would, to me, be worth the extra waiting and saving. I'm especially looking to get figures that are NOT susceptible to gold plastic syndrome. I've heard that it varies per version. I was disappointed to hear that Hasbro's 10 Year Anniversary Dinobot seems to be a GPS casualty. Which versions of the Season 1 show characters DON'T have this issue?

All of them should be fine except for Dinobot which you already mentioned. For him, I'd actually recommend the Henkei version. It's a much more show accurate mold and Takara nailed the colors much better than the Universe Hasbro version.

For the rest, I'd recommend Telemocha Optimus Primal (the smaller one, not the Ultra sized toy). It's based on the Robotmasters mold and the coloration is perfect as are the features of the mold, which accurately represent his weapons complement as well as his Prime-jets which he had on the show.

For Megatron, assuming you want one which is comparable in size to Optimus, I'd also recommend the Telemocha. It even has a removable tail weapon revealing an actual hand like he had on the show, unlike the larger Ultra sized molds, where the tail is a part of the arm and cannot be removed.

For some characters, you'll have no choice. Tarantulas for example is only available in his Hasbro 10th Anniversary form, and likewise Blackarachnia is only available via Telemocha. For Cheetor, it's sort of a toss up. Both the Hasbro and Telemocha versions look really good, but I lean towards the Telemocha version simply because the tone of color looks more like the show in bot mode to me.

For Tigatron, Telemocha is the only one available as Hasbro didn't do one for the 10th anniversary.

If you're looking for a Terrorsaur, your best bet is to track down the Takara release. I believe it was the 2nd release of him that they did. It has show-accurate coloring for the bot and beast modes. It's quite difficult to find, but reference images of the toy can be found on this page near the bottom where it says "Variations". The same is true of Rattrap who is pictured on this page.

Of course, an alternative to some of these would be to get whatever version of the molds you can and paint them yourself. That's what I did for Waspinator for example. I have all versions of him, but found that some of the details weren't show accurate so I took some paint to him and mixed some parts from the 2 versions (10th Anniversary and Telemocha) and made one which is a perfect representation of him on the show (at least as far as the paint goes).

Thanks for your advice, I've looked up pictures of each and I agree with most of the choices.

However, the more I look at pics the more I like Telemocha Dinobot a lot. Have you heard about anyone having gold plastic syndrome issues with him though?

Or Fox Kids Dinobot, for that matter? I have him from my youth. I left him as a raptor for almost 10 years, and when I transformed him recently for the first time since, he felt really stiff. I hope it's not GPS there too.

Got any sources for the claim of 10th Anniversary Dinobot having GPS? Just wanting to rule out the possibility of regular breaks in gold-colored plastic, which is not GPS.

This list will help you - http://www.seibertron.com/energonpub/the-most-show-accurate-beast-wars-toys-t58456s20.php

Though, the new Generations Waspinator and Rhinox are more accurate than the ones on this list.

Personally I can't recommend the Telemocha Ultra Class Optimus Primal enough.

He's just an overall impressive figure with an equally as impressive paint scheme.

And his size is just perfect for a Gorilla in relation to Cheetor. not so much with a deluxe Rhinox. But I gather the Voyager Generations Rhinox will be a much better fit.

As for Gold Plastic Syndrome, I wasn't aware the 10th Anniversary figure suffered from it. Still if you can't find one, The Universe 2 version is still a good alternative. The Takara Henkei version might be a little too expensive though.


The only figure you may have issues finding is Ratrap, as he wasn't released in the 10th anniversary line which saw the release of Transmetal Ratrap instead.

The Original Ratrap mold has not been seen since its usage as Botcon Packrat.

I'm still hoping Generations will give us a Rattrap at some point.


Personally I'd go for Telemocha if you can.

Overcracker wrote:The Original Ratrap mold has not been seen since its usage as Botcon Packrat.

Don't count on any reissues of them, the molds for the spring-loaded basics are reported to be either lost of broken.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:Got any sources for the claim of 10th Anniversary Dinobot having GPS? Just wanting to rule out the possibility of regular breaks in gold-colored plastic, which is not GPS.

I've just seen it in various places around the net. Type in Google Beast Wars 10th Anniversary Dinobot gold plastic syndrome, and something comes up.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:

Overcracker wrote:The Original Ratrap mold has not been seen since its usage as Botcon Packrat.

Don't count on any reissues of them, the molds for the spring-loaded basics are reported to be either lost of broken.

Yeah I wasn't. I hope Generations brings us an entirely new mold of Ratrap like Rhinox though. Heck he could even work as a Commander Class if needed. Seeing as he is a rat.

CyberQuill wrote:

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:Got any sources for the claim of 10th Anniversary Dinobot having GPS? Just wanting to rule out the possibility of regular breaks in gold-colored plastic, which is not GPS.

I've just seen it in various places around the net. Type in Google Beast Wars 10th Anniversary Dinobot gold plastic syndrome, and something comes up.

I did, and yikes! And it's a fairly recent discovery too, it hit this year I've read about the toes snapping off, down to the whole arm! Guys, keep your eyes on him if you have him.

Telemocha Dinobot should be safe as the gold on him is merely paint.

I have heard reports that Rattrap is in the lineup for the Thrilling 30 line, so I do hope that's true. As for the GPS issue, I haven't had it happen to mine yet, but do keep in mind that he just sits on my shelf in Beast Mode. I've never transformed him as I have the Henkei version of Dinobot on my shelf in bot mode.

Worse comes to worse, if you can paint, you can always grab one of the alternate deco versions of Dinobot and paint it up. Just don't go for Grimlock as he is both expensive AND suffers from GPS big time. I have him too (I have every variant of every Beast Wars mold, at least besides the Lucky Draws) but he doesn't get touched. I transformed him once and thankfully nothing broke, but I won't press my luck and do so again.

I've even got the infamous Randy from Beast Wars neo, and he doesn't get touched, he just sits there in beast mode. I try not to even LOOK at him too hard .

xyl360 wrote:I have heard reports that Rattrap is in the lineup for the Thrilling 30 line, so I do hope that's true. As for the GPS issue, I haven't had it happen to mine yet, but do keep in mind that he just sits on my shelf in Beast Mode. I've never transformed him as I have the Henkei version of Dinobot on my shelf in bot mode.

Worse comes to worse, if you can paint, you can always grab one of the alternate deco versions of Dinobot and paint it up. Just don't go for Grimlock as he is both expensive AND suffers from GPS big time. I have him too (I have every variant of every Beast Wars mold, at least besides the Lucky Draws) but he doesn't get touched. I transformed him once and thankfully nothing broke, but I won't press my luck and do so again.

I've even got the infamous Randy from Beast Wars neo, and he doesn't get touched, he just sits there in beast mode. I try not to even LOOK at him too hard .

That's awesome news about Rattrap, I hope it's true since I've heard that the original 1996 Hasbro Rattrap is both not that show accurate, and also rare/expensive.

I know the Henkei Dinobot pretty much nails the show colors, but I can't get over how they got his weapons wrong though. The original Dinobot and all of its variations seem to have done a better job there. Looking at pics of all of them, I think I've decided to go for Telemocha Dinobot once I have money again. I just hope that his gold dino arms and the gold joints on his shoulders will be okay though.

CyberQuill wrote:

xyl360 wrote:I have heard reports that Rattrap is in the lineup for the Thrilling 30 line, so I do hope that's true. As for the GPS issue, I haven't had it happen to mine yet, but do keep in mind that he just sits on my shelf in Beast Mode. I've never transformed him as I have the Henkei version of Dinobot on my shelf in bot mode.

Worse comes to worse, if you can paint, you can always grab one of the alternate deco versions of Dinobot and paint it up. Just don't go for Grimlock as he is both expensive AND suffers from GPS big time. I have him too (I have every variant of every Beast Wars mold, at least besides the Lucky Draws) but he doesn't get touched. I transformed him once and thankfully nothing broke, but I won't press my luck and do so again.

I've even got the infamous Randy from Beast Wars neo, and he doesn't get touched, he just sits there in beast mode. I try not to even LOOK at him too hard .

That's awesome news about Rattrap, I hope it's true since I've heard that the original 1996 Hasbro Rattrap is both not that show accurate, and also rare/expensive.

I know the Henkei Dinobot pretty much nails the show colors, but I can't get over how they got his weapons wrong though. The original Dinobot and all of its variations seem to have done a better job there. Looking at pics of all of them, I think I've decided to go for Telemocha Dinobot once I have money again. I just hope that his gold dino arms and the gold joints on his shoulders will be okay though.

You should be able to snag a Rattrap on ebay for cheap enough. With a bit of paint he can look pretty show accurate. It doesn't take much. That's what I did with mine.

As for Dinobot, you're right about the weapons. That's why I grabbed the weapons from one of the regular mold Dinobot figures and gave them to my Henkei Dinobot . I even painted the sword a nice shiny silver to make it look more accurate.

You can see some of my handiwork in this thread although I've done more to most of those figures since then as I've gotten more paints and more experience. I'm sort of a perfectionist, so I kept messing with them until I got them as show accurate as I possibly could. It's been sort of an obsession of mine .

CyberQuill wrote:I know the Henkei Dinobot pretty much nails the show colors, but I can't get over how they got his weapons wrong though. The original Dinobot and all of its variations seem to have done a better job there. Looking at pics of all of them, I think I've decided to go for Telemocha Dinobot once I have money again. I just hope that his gold dino arms and the gold joints on his shoulders will be okay though.

I own both the Henkei! Henkei! and Telemocha Dinobot toys, and I can say, without a doubt, that the Henkei! Henkei! Dinobot is the superior toy. In deco, sculpting, show-accuracy, playability, and more. The only thing the original mold has over the Henkei! mold is the spinning weapon actually spinning.

Telemocha Dinobot tried, but failed, to be show-accurate.

Sabrblade wrote:

CyberQuill wrote:I know the Henkei Dinobot pretty much nails the show colors, but I can't get over how they got his weapons wrong though. The original Dinobot and all of its variations seem to have done a better job there. Looking at pics of all of them, I think I've decided to go for Telemocha Dinobot once I have money again. I just hope that his gold dino arms and the gold joints on his shoulders will be okay though.

I own both the Henkei! Henkei! and Telemocha Dinobot toys, and I can say, without a doubt, that the Henkei! Henkei! Dinobot is the superior toy. In deco, sculpting, show-accuracy, playability, and more. The only thing the original mold has over the Henkei! mold is the spinning weapon actually spinning.

Telemocha Dinobot tried, but failed, to be show-accurate.

That blunted sword of Henkei Dinobot's bites the big one too though, but at least it is chrome.

xyl360 wrote:As for Dinobot, you're right about the weapons. That's why I grabbed the weapons from one of the regular mold Dinobot figures and gave them to my Henkei Dinobot . I even painted the sword a nice shiny silver to make it look more accurate.

Hey, I saw your pics. They look pretty cool. How did you get Henkei Dinobot to hold 10 Year Dinobot's sword though? I mean, how does Henkei Dinobot grip things? It looks like his hands are different from the original Dinobot's, which had holes in the hands to fit the weapons' pegs.

CyberQuill wrote:

xyl360 wrote:As for Dinobot, you're right about the weapons. That's why I grabbed the weapons from one of the regular mold Dinobot figures and gave them to my Henkei Dinobot . I even painted the sword a nice shiny silver to make it look more accurate.

Hey, I saw your pics. They look pretty cool. How did you get Henkei Dinobot to hold 10 Year Dinobot's sword though? I mean, how does Henkei Dinobot grip things? It looks like his hands are different from the original Dinobot's, which had holes in the hands to fit the weapons' pegs.

He holds it like an actual sword instead of sticking out of his hand like the original Dinobot did (so it even looks more like it did in the show ). His hands are sort of rubbery and are on hinges. He doesn't grip the sword tightly, but he's been standing there holding it for well over a year now and it's never fallen out, so I take that to mean that his grip on it is sufficient.