jay5 wrote:Have to ask though, what are people's thoughts on the TFC Hercules in comparison to this Hasbro/Takara release of legit Devastator? Aside from the official nature of this one (obviously), and the exorbitant price on the Hercules ($500? ouch), is the Hercules a superior product? The vehicles seem much more detailed and overall it seems rather appealing as a Devastator replica. From what I've seen of the legit Devastator, the Constructacons in vehicle form will be much less detailed. (I'm not even sure that Hook's crane extends, for example?) And overall, they look much less refined so far.
Firstly, welcome Jay! To Seibertron and back to the fandom

I feel the main thing to look at when comparing CW Devastator to TFC Hercules and Maketoys Giant, is the size (we'll ignore the obvious $$$ difference). Personally, I have a very specific scale I'm trying to acheive with my combiners, and Herc fits that, and happens to visually please me as well.
IMO Herc fits really well in the Classics/Generations aesthetic, while Giant takes a few too many liberties and is a little heavy on the details. But the Giant fanclub is much bigger than the Herc one, which is fine, everyone has their own tastes.
Where does that leave CW Devy? I have issues with him, but overall I think its a really great looking figure. And from what I've experienced with CW so far, I can almost garantee that it will be fun as hell (something most finnicky 3P combiners lack) which for that reason alone makes him worth the gamble. As for where he fits, I plan to put him behind my Masterpieces. The scale works, he's very G1 faithful, and with a few 3P upgrades I bet aesthetically he can pull it off.