The Energon Pub

Order Number
201284067
Order Date
2013/3/9

Scheduled Release Unit Price Quantity Price Point Status
[TOY-RBT-3128] Transformers: Generations TG-21 Autobot Springer
late Aug-2013 4,080 JPY 1 4,080 JPY 41 In-stock
[TOY-RBT-3129] Transformers: Generations TG-22 Blitzwing
late Aug-2013 4,080 JPY 1 4,080 JPY 41 In-stock

Total Quantity
2
Subtotal
8,160 JPY
Shipping
1,120 JPY
Grand Total
9,280 JPY

Just picked up the duo from amiami and would like to give an honest opinion.

I good buddy of mine who owns a toystore once opined that no matter how high the definition you do on PC monitors, the pictures won't/can't compare to photographs from mags like Hobby etc. You'd think that was a sales pitch for me to buy the figure mags?

Heck scans have more or less killed the printed magazine business. Thus when scans of the Tomy version of Springer and Blitzwing surfaced at seibertron, I was one among the many who sort of felt disappointed with the Japan version. What were they thinking? Thus I was leaning more to the Hasbro version. (Blitzwing? 'nuff said.

Anyway, now that I personally have and handled him, I'd like to say the actual paint apps are not really that bad. It's just that his gray paint apps on his face looks muddy/smudged when in fact it is crisp and clean. It's like those scanned doujins at ex-he.....oops, wrong analogy, but, well a correct analogy in that the actual doujin looked waaaaaaaaaaaay crisp, clean and hyper real/real in reality than the scanned uploads. Just like the photographs in figure magazines, they look waaaaaaaaay better than the scanned uploads.

At times, the smudged low resolution appearance may mean the difference between buying a fig or not (depends on how shallow you are if you use appearances as the primary reason for buying something). Or better yet, photo shop pics on initial Hasbro press releases.

So to get to the point, Springer looks just as good as the Hasbro version. Hasbro is the IDW comic analog while the Tomy ver is that of an updated 1986 movie version. Light piped optics greatly enhance the foreboding look + the squared jaw of his.....so Nick Roche.

Any complaints on Tomy Springer? Well the left side panel that makes his left chest keeps on dislodging from its peg.

The plastics are a mix of glossy gray, dull gray, glossy green and dull green. his yellow chest best recreates his 1986 toy incarnation.

And, too bad I don't live in Japan, he comes with a scan readable coupon that offers some surpise goodies. he also comes with TG 2 robo points located at the top flap on the right side of the package.

He is still made in China and not Vietnam and his box photos make his gray too dark when in reality, it ain't. Same with the package photo of Blitzwing.

As the issues with ol' Blitzy, same here same there. The shoulders won't lock 'cause the peg is just too short that it just looks more cosmetic than practical.

But the paint job on him.............soooooG1 metallic yum yum. i also just noticed after looking closely at his default face, he kind of looks like he's gnashing his teeth as opposed to Starcreams's trademarked smirk.

I sure can't wait for the Tomy "Sandstorm" release.

I've frequently found it to be true that online pics don't do the figures justice in hand. A notable exception being the hi-res pics found in galleries like the ones here on Seibertron that Ryan does himself.

The pics from Hasbro, I discovered (after viewing a video from one of the guys that works for Hasbro doing it) that the package and press release images (and usually the figures we see at shows like NYCC, SDCC and Botcon) are hand painted, meaning they end up looking far less colorful, rich and glossy in-hand compared to what you get from Takara, which I've found to be quite the opposite. Takara's figures usually look better in-hand than they do in press releases and even, as you note above, on the packaging itself. The paint Takara's been using on these figures since at least the United line appears to be the equivalent of high gloss automotive paint. They look THAT good.

That doesn't mean that they're necessarily worth the price, and many collectors just want SOME form of a particular character on their shelves as long as the colors are within reason and they can't justify the cost of importing Takara figures. I can't blame them, but I also can't justify paying less to get a figure that I know isn't (in my opinion) the "best" version of it available. Of course, there have been times that Hasbro had the superior deco, and in fact, because of the brighter colors, I ordered both Hasbro Springer and Sandstorm, although I'm also getting the Takara versions. I liked both so I bought both.

That said, there are figures that I just can't settle for when it comes to the Hasbro versions, like Reveal the Shield Tracks and Classics Megatron. The United versions of these figures are so much better that I feel I would really be missing out if I settled for the Hasbro versions. I've found the majority of FoC and WfC figures to be just as jarring as far as the differences go.

Got it right "X". As in your case, you can get doubles. Tomy really does a good sales pitch with the paint apps. only time Hasbro up the ante was with their MP-10 version.

Overall, it is up to the collector if they prefer the Tomy iteration......a bit on the pricey side I admit.

fenrir72 wrote:Got it right "X". As in your case, you can get doubles. Tomy really does a good sales pitch with the paint apps. only time Hasbro up the ante was with their MP-10 version.

Overall, it is up to the collector if they prefer the Tomy iteration......a bit on the pricey side I admit.

Yeah, I'm one of those in the Takara MP-10 camp, but only because I actually like the darker deco. Hasbro did do nice work with the paint on the lights though.

That and Optimus' optics. The dark blue plastic pipe in effect of MP-10 sort of lessened his "warmth" when compared to the Hasbro version. I'm quoting a line in Masterforce when one of the kids commented that Ginrai(the transtector) has warm "eyes".MP-01 had the same light blue paint apps which really stood out.

fenrir72 wrote:That and Optimus' optics. The dark blue plastic pipe in effect of MP-10 sort of lessened his "warmth" when compared to the Hasbro version. I'm quoting a line in Masterforce when one of the kids commented that Ginrai(the transtector) has warm "eyes".MP-01 had the same light blue paint apps which really stood out.

Ah, yeah, that's true too. I think the Takara version's eyes look fine, but the Hasbro version's sky blue are definitely more show accurate, especially from episodes where they were made to "glow".