The Energon Pub

Ok, I am in no way trying to start a flame war..first of all..


I do however want to know what this community has against Diecast, or support of diecast and which one is the better choice? Remember there is no wrong answer. it's a personal perogative between each person.. some say its for the collector value, some say its for the added weight or support. Some say its for the simple fact that its diecast and feels like real metal on a "fictional metal" robot..

Some hate it because of the paint that chips off, or there are many reasons which some like it and some don't.. but I need to know what your choice is and why.. money, size, stability.. ect you name it..what are some good examples of a good diecast transformer, and what are good examples of wones to buy only in plastic, this will help any newcomers to the hobby who don't know what the real difference is, because I know like so many, there is good diecast Transformers and there are bad ones..

I personally will by all plastic toys, but If I can get them in diecast I will.. I have 2 Alternators and thats about it, because I buy the BTS, I love the diecast, it makes me feel closer to G-1, and I know its a little more expensive, but I have comic shops around me that have them sitting on shelves for like 3 years.

So I haggle and instead of paying 50 to 60 dollars for them i get them at 30.00. Granted thats 10.00 more then the plastic release but the package is better looking and the resealable nature of the boxes is a huge plus.. not twisties and ties to mess around with..and I think 10 extra dollars is worth it for the diecast..

I dislike the titanium series though, because the use of diecast in those are way out of proportion to the plastic.. so it just becomes cumbersome and the paint applications suck..

I'm all for diecast that has good quality paint that won't peal or chip.. and the weight and the stability of diecast if done correctly makes you feel like you have a strong piece in your collection..

its not arrogance, its not showing off more money or the collector value I'm all about, because I open them..

but I like being able to replace them in their Japanese made boxes which could very easily look like it had never been opened if replaced, plus its great for transportation..the non diecast toys though cheaper and more affordable are not bad either..i usually get those when i can and certain ones I like..

so for me, the fact that there are releases that takara does that hasbro doesn't is fine, I hold no contempt for those who buy the Hsbro brand at a cheaper price, but i will go for it in diecast if offered, and as long as its a good 45% diescast ratio to 55% plastic any thing over that ratio and maybe thats even a little high, but anything over that ratio would make the figure clunky and hard to work with on posability, like the titanium series which i loathe and all because of WW Prime..

whats your preference?

Metal is always better. It's a weight thing for me.

I prefer plastic if I want to handle it. My Soul of Chogokin and Bandai figures that are metal are a pain to handle. The paint chipping aspect really turns a figure into a display piece, especially when the figures get close to $300.

ALthough I am just opening up some of THE Chogogin figures right now and these little 3 inch figures feel nice...although they will just stay in the box.

I love diecast. Nothing reminds me of playing with my toys as a child more than diecast. That said, as an adult collector, I perfer plastic. As a kid, I didn't care about scratches or chipped paint any more than I cared about the backyard dirt that still inhabits the cracks of my Gen 1 survivors. But now I'm an adult spending a large amount of money on these toys and I want them to look perfect and nothing saddens me more than the scratches on the legs and chest of my Masterpiece Optimus.

GetterDragun wrote:I prefer plastic if I want to handle it. My Soul of Chogokin and Bandai figures that are metal are a pain to handle. The paint chipping aspect really turns a figure into a display piece, especially when the figures get close to $300.

ALthough I am just opening up some of THE Chogogin figures right now and these little 3 inch figures feel nice...although they will just stay in the box.

I agree with the paint chip thing.. I like MP-01 Optimus, but he scares me that I may accidentially do something and have a huge paint scrape mark on him..I like MP-Megatron, but I felt that there should have been more diecast on certain areas of weakness...

like the ball joints that hold his shoulder pads on, or the ball joints that hold the gun flaps on his back.. and that just the beginning of his low diecast issues..

but I think if diecast is used in the weakness areas and for the basic frame, and plastic is used for the outside then it would work, still be sturdy but not a constant "oooohhh don't get toooo close to my MP-01 Prime, he's diecast and may scratch easily.." as i have warned many of my Friends..

If its balanced right Diecast and plastic can work perfectly together. Done poorly though and they jsut hurt each other. My problem with most of the Titanium TFs is based on the fact that they didn't balance diecast and plastic very well and you ended up with TFs compromised by the fact that they wanted to use to much metal.

Look at Soundwave as a perfect example. They could have easily improved on the originals design with the Titanium version, Takara already proved it could easily be shrunk down with the WST version. But they used so much Diecast on him that many of his parts had to be oversized and out of proportion to allow him to support it all. Rather then being an improved smaller scale Soundwave we got a bot in a diaper.

Rodimus Prime on the other hand did a very good job of balancing it. not perfect, but he's a damn good upgrade of the original.

With MP Megatron I think they should have put a little more Diecast in him, he does feel a little light and fragile compared to the bulk of Prime, but at the same time looking at him I really can't see where the designers could have put more metal in without compromising the overall design.

An interesting thing to think about though is that even in G1 most TFs had only one or two large parts in Diecast. Usually either the chest portion or the feet. And by year three Diecast was almost phased out because of cost and the fact that they just found it unnecessary with the improvements of plastic.

I like the feel and look of painted diecast, especially on vehicle Transformers.

I don't like it when die-cast is overused. Titaniums are an example.

Plastic is fine for basic and deluxe-sized toys. I'd like to see a little die-cast used in the bigger TFs.

G1 used Diecast, but it was used sparingly. The die-cast was relatively thin and not used all over. That worked.

If die-cast is used, it should be painted with a chip resistant paint, especially on Masterpiece priced figures.

Nice thread!

With diecast it depends what it's used for. I agree that diecast is useful for making certain joints or key points of a figure more robust. For example in the Masterpiece range.

I do also like the Binaltech range. Not that there's anything wrong with the Alternator line, it's more that I like the solid feel and the superior finish that the Binaltechs have.

However I don't think that all metal figures are all that great. The titanium range seems very hit and miss and the selling point of all metal construction doesn't interest me in the slightest.

Overall, diecast should be used sparingly rather than a be all and end all of TF design.

I had MP Megatron and MP Prime, one in each hand, the other day thinking about just this issue.

Seeing Silverbolt/Dynasis of YouTube fame destroy his MP Megs so easily, I wondered why diecast was not used in the weak points.

Listen, I love diecast, I really do. But there must be balance. As many have pointed out Titanium Soundwave is how NOT to use diecast. However, Titanium Rodimus Prime, WW Starscream, Scourge are all GREAT examples of using diecast in a toy.

I also hear that Ultra Magnus is also very well balanced. I would know firsthand if they ever got around to sending him here! Grrr...

At any rate, MP Prime has it just about right for the massive firgure that he is. His legs, chest pieces are cold, heavy diecast, just where it was needed for stability and asthetics.

Oh yeah Megs feels just a little lighter than Prime, in spite of the diecast deficiency.

I guess it just feels more valuable, like something of more substance than if it were all plastic.

I think the Mp line should do what Bandai did for the 1/60 scale Strike Gundam. Have a fully-articulated metal skeleton made of heavy, unpainted diecast, with a plastic body built onto the frame itself.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you, the best of both worlds.

If you're referring to Metal Material Strike, it was NOT 1/60 scale. My PG Strike is 1/60 and it's roughly 14 in. high. Metal Material was about 1/100 scale. Sorry to correct you. I do agree that Strike Metal Material was probably the best diecast collectors toy of all time though.

Diecast sucks IMHO in MP Convoy. It chips too darn easily.I love it for its weight and durability but the chipping........... Take a look at his matrix chamber, his back shoulders and the knees.

But the durability factor:???:, if I own a lot of moolah, I'd but 2, one for transforming while the other for robot mode. In the KISS series though, Hot Rodimus has NO chipping problems. Same with my SOC Minerva X, Aphrodai and Venus A, despite the ladies many falls (don't ask )

I also have a Metal Hawk Pretender, he's diecast but the zinc alloy is melded with the gold color so no chipping problems here.

The worst example of diecast done bad is the War Within Optimus Prime, the quality of the paint (not the mold) sucks bigtime.

Paint chipping will always be a factor with transforming figures. I doubt that it can be stopped no matter how much lacquer is applied to protect the paint.

However, it's easy enough to fix paint chips - a small tin of enamel paint will solve most mini chips.

I really don't mind. I used to prefer die cast, but for some reason, since the Cybertron line, I've developed an appreciation for plastic that I didn't have before.

In my opinion, it's not so much the material that makes a figure but how and where the material's used.

A solid and durable plastic, such as ABS, can produce a figure with superior balance and durability to a die-cast metal figure without sacrificing much in the way of appearance.

the only prob i have with metal is the chipping of paint. I love the weight of it more though

Godmodule wrote:If you're referring to Metal Material Strike, it was NOT 1/60 scale. My PG Strike is 1/60 and it's roughly 14 in. high. Metal Material was about 1/100 scale. Sorry to correct you. I do agree that Strike Metal Material was probably the best diecast collectors toy of all time though.

You were right man! Sorry. I don't have the box. He is like only 6-7in tall.

And he is HEAVY.

I also have the PG Wing Zero Custom, which I have yet to build. I am affraid to mess him up, so he sits in his box, unassembled.

Thanks for the correction. I wish they would make a metal material Freedom Gundam. I always prefered FG to SG.

Technically the most expensive modern robot toy sold was plastic. Not counting the gang of 3, which I think were more valuable because they were from like th 50's, the highest priced item I've seen sold was around $28,000 for a plastic robot.

GetterDragun wrote:Technically the most expensive modern robot toy sold was plastic. Not counting the gang of 3, which I think were more valuable because they were from like th 50's, the highest priced item I've seen sold was around $28,000 for a plastic robot.

interesting, what was the robot?? you can't make a statement and not fill us in, i'm dying to know? was it Gigantor, a chjokin bot? Transor Z, voltron, getter, mazinger, who was it??