The Energon Pub

hi, i'm looking for a alternator/binaltech grimlock, but i don't know which one is the better choice to pick up. price doens't really bother me, but is either one better put together than the other, like does one have tighter joints the the other? thanks for any help i get. i know this is old stuff but still, i just got into alternators.

for play and less worry, get the alternators version.
if you want heft and sexy look for display, binaltech.

yea, i'm more of a display guy, thats why i love my masterpieces lol the difference to me from the original MP01 to the toysrus one is just incredible, the MP01 looks so much better with the diecast upper body, i was wondering if grimlock had that same effect, i've been looking at comparision photos of the two grimlocks and the binaltech one seems to have much more flash lol thanks for the input.

The thing is, I find that a die-cast figure has both good play wear & display quality. However, when a die-cast figure falls (which they often tend to do in my house) they make a loud & annoying thud that may or may not dent the wood floor or even the stone. But a die-cast figure also has more resistance when battling, so their limbs & heads don't fall off so easily. (Although 20th Prime has had head issues despite being almost all die-cast). I say go w/BT Grimlock for both aspects.

the only thing to worry about with the BT version is paint chipping during transformation and *koff koff* hypothetical play. i actually don't know if the sheem is particularly noticable with grimlock since i don't have him. maybe someone else can provide come comparison pics.

and falling BTs? yikes.

Well, I don't actually onw any BT's, but wouldn't you say that the original release of 20th Prime is close enough to a BT? Tons of die-cast? Sounds like BT to me. And yes, Prime has fallen off many times, & now his legs are flimsy. Not as bad as G1 Metroplex, who snaps at the waist when he jumps off the 6'5 bookshelf......... luckily I can fix him every time

Binaltechs. Everytime. Except for Mirage, who is (thus far) an Alternator exclusive. They are dearer, so you shop around for the best deal. Binaltechs have superior packaging and instruction booklets, because they are a mix of die-cast and plastic they feel heavy and substantial, and the paint applications are better. Many people on these forums have expressed problems with paint chipping, but I have 13 of the possible 20 available Binaltechs, and not a single one has damaged paintwork (and yes they have fallen flat on their faces several times!)

EDIT: I didn't check my spelling

there is a difference between prime and BTs, mainly the complexity of the transformation. i mean those guys are really intricate. i know the first one i got, i didn't bother looking at the instruction booklet, but i soon realized that these aren't the old transformers that i grew up with.

also since you're going to be primarily displaying them, the BTs have one small problem in that their heft makes some poses difficult to balance. i think the alternators can go into more poses, but the BTs look better in general.

out of curiousity, where are you going to buy them? ebay?

Personally I prefer BT and try to get that version wherever possible. However as Noob mentioned some of them can be a bit top heavy. When I got my first BT (Swindle) I soon learnt that he can't lean too far forward of the weight of his enourmous chest topples him.

Well, if you don't mind the extra price, get whichever version you want. I personally have all Alternators and honestly think that the metal or absence of metal doesn't add or detract anything from the figure. Let's put it this way, if you're going to be getting these to sit on a shelf and nothing else is it really going to matter if they're metal or not?

The main thing is that Takara paints the body of the figures and Hasbro uses molded plastic where they can get away with it. However, I think Alt. Grimlock might just be an exception to this rule. If not, it's a really good illusion.

yea so i picked up the binaltech grimlock and blue prowl today, almost got streak as well but i didn't feel like shelling out the extra 40 or so for him. i picked them up from a local import shop that i just found a couple of days ago. i must say that i do love the blue prowl, he has a glittery shine to him that my mirage does not have due to the die cast, i love it. the grimlock is also awesome. he poses ok, but its not because hes top heavy, its because his leg is so heavy that it kind of tends to swing and is a little loose under the weight but its not a big deal, i'm going to see if i can tighten up the balljoint by applying something to the ball to make it bigger. now i'm thinking about getting binaltech wheeljack instead of the alt version cuz i've seen that the binaltech actually has quite a few things different with it, mainly the neck and engine gun, which looks so much better in chrome.

o, and the prowl came with 2 right shoulders, but i knew that before buying him cuz the shop owner told me and he was marked down. but even with two right shoulders, prowl kicks all kinds of ass lol