The Energon Pub

Hey everyone. I was gonna start writing a new list about the times Hasbro had superior deco over Takara but only a few came to mind, and even then I wasn't sure. Like Hasbro's MP-10 having the better red and blue eyes, but the Takara version has the painted trailer interior that Hasbro leaves a dull unpainted grey. And now I just want to know for myself, when was Hasbro's toy superior to Takara's, if ever?

Many of the TF RID PRIME series from Hasbro were superior than the Alternative Takara Arms Micron.

Arms Micron were Prime figures, using molds from the 1st Edition and RID PRime. All came with buildable minifigs that transform into targetmasters. Some may argue that some normal weapons that came with the Hasbros were better. Most importantly, Arms Micron came with STICKERS, thus, had NO PAINT APS!

Most notable example of this is for Ratchet. Superior Hasbro is superior:

A lot of it has to do with personal tastes or opinions, honestly. What may be the absolute greatest to some, may be completely unforgivable to others. For example, I preferred Hasbro's Masterpiece Seekers (from the original MP Starscream mold with the hip kibble) to Takara's as Hasbro's looked more like their G1 incarnations while Takara went for realism of jet mode with hints of G1 in robot mode. I also think Hasbro's Generations Wheeljack looked far better than United Wheeljack.

There's been a few instances, that, in my opinion, Hasbro's deco were superior to Takara's.

The recent Hasbro Asia excl. Generations 3 packs probably have the best decos of each of the moulds.

I personally believe Hasbro's CW Silverbolt has the better deco from images shown, same for some of the Stunticons (Dragstrip especially) but will have to wait until we see them in hand.

FOC Air Raid - I prefer Hasbro's red & gold over Takara's black and orange. FOC/Thrilling 30 Skywarp is more G1/traditionally character accurate than the Takara's - though theirs is shinier, and game accurate - so that's a mixed one for me.

I prefer Hasbro's chromed weapons for Gen. Jetfire over Takara's "cheap" looking red.

I agree on the Prime: RID vs Arms Microns - some of the stickers were cool, but couldn't replace all the paint apps on the Hasbro versions, and some of the Microns as weapons were pushing it a bit, and all those extra micron ports ruin the alt mode's a little - Wheeljack especially.

I also prefer the deco of Hasbro's Bombshell over the images of Takara's grey chested TAV version.

Also, the red used by Hasbro's Gen Warpath is better than that of the Takara United version (even if Takara's is more G1 toy accurate). Same goes for Swerve & Tailgate - I prefer the Hasbro comic accurate colourations to the G1 toy colours of the Takara versions.

Generations Blurr has a more dynamic palette than the Takara United version, even if it's not as shiny (and for someone who loves the shiny, this is saying something.) Same for Wheeljack.

That's it for me and my collection I think. Others Takara wins, or is a 50/50 split of Hasbro for me. All the above is just my opinion.

prjkt wrote:The recent Hasbro Asia excl. Generations 3 packs probably have the best decos of each of the moulds.

Generations Blurr has a more dynamic palette than the Takara United version, even if it's not as shiny (and for someone who loves the shiny, this is saying something.) Same for Wheeljack.

I agree on the Hasbro Asia three-packs as well, with the exception of maybe Ratchet, who pretty much looks like his Henkei version with more superfluous (and less G1-accurate) red detailing. Also, I did a little parts swap with Classics 2.0 Hound to give the Asian exclusive version blue optics instead of painted yellow ones.

Generations Blurr is a definite win for Hasbro in my book. The more dynamic paint apps are much more evocative of his G1 coloration, even though his altmode and robot modes are very much different from his G1 look. All the little details, like the square of white on the roof, match up very well with his hovercar deco from the original cartoon. Wheeljack too got the striping right with Hasbro's version. The United version from Takara is just a bit off, though the silver paint on his "ears" looks nice.

For the record, I don't think any release after the first in the respective region should count, as the question implies comparisons between concurrent counterparts. Any release after them would naturally feature changes "for the better", the Asian 3-packs being a prime example.

That said, the Cybertron line may have had the most Hasbro versions that were "superior", on the account they were release a full 6 months later so tweaks could be made, either in deco, or especially in mold. Two examples of the latter come to mind:

- Thunderblast: Galaxy Force Chromia had a molding defect in the face which caused her to have uneven eyes. The Hasbro version fixed that, and the fix was carried over in all later redecos
- Wing Saber: another mold defect, Galaxy Force Sonic Bomber had a misalligned nose guard, again fixed by Hasbro. On the flipside, he lost the chrome on the sliding chest pieces. The Korean Ultra Jet (seriously, that's his name there!) should have both the fix and the chrome.

Most notable ones to me are MP03's Starscream and Skywarp (which I only just now realized Hasbro never released Thundercracker in the 03 mold!) and MP10 Optimus Prime. Seekers being cartoon accurate and Prime having a more pleasing blue (especially in the eyes).

I too thought that Hasbro’s FOC Skywarp, and CW Silverbolt look better.

Also, Hasbro’s Generations FOC Kickback looks better. Gold looks better than yellow.

As insane a this is gonna sound to a lot of people, I vastly preferred the Classics-2006 Megatron the Kenkei version, deco-wise at least. It was flashy, popped better and bright. The Henkei one just looked dull to me. Also, the Classics one being a heck of a lot less money sealed that deal.

I personally like Hasbro's Combiner wars over takara's; I can understand why people would enjoy the more G1 combiners, but I really like the new characters like alpha bravo since they add a bit of variety to the combiners and incorporate new molds.

I would hold off on comparing the combiner wars figures (especially silverbolt) until we actually have experience with them in hand. You never know how something so subtle could make a huge difference (as was the case with Legends Tankor)

william-james88 wrote:I would hold off on comparing the combiner wars figures (especially silverbolt) until we actually have experience with them in hand. You never know how something so subtle could make a huge difference (as was the case with Legends Tankor)

Yeah, sorry, I wasn't judging individual figures but more the team as a whole.

always

SL Landmine had his electronics gutted while the HB had the sounds. Same with Fatimus /Powerranger Optimus from SL. The HB had the vehicle sound effects. The JP versions just flashes the red light. And the others what JZGR mentioned.

fenrir72 wrote:SL Landmine had his electronics gutted while the HB had the sounds. Same with Fatimus /Powerranger Optimus from SL. The HB had the vehicle sound effects. The JP versions just flashes the red light. And the others what JZGR mentioned.

If I'm not mistaken late Superlink into Galaxy Force was when Takara was having financial difficulties and one line flopping after the other. That would explain the cutbacks made with electronics. Not long after Galaxy Force ended it merged with Tomy ,in April 2006.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:

fenrir72 wrote:SL Landmine had his electronics gutted while the HB had the sounds. Same with Fatimus /Powerranger Optimus from SL. The HB had the vehicle sound effects. The JP versions just flashes the red light. And the others what JZGR mentioned.

If I'm not mistaken late Superlink into Galaxy Force was when Takara was having financial difficulties and one line flopping after the other. That would explain the cutbacks made with electronics. Not long after Galaxy Force ended it merged with Tomy ,in April 2006.

At least in Galaxyforce Convoy still retained the electronic effects. So those were the Dark days of Takara? Sure explains why back then. Thanks!

Alternators Tracks > Binaltech Tracks

Yellow Tracks, srsly Takara?

I know Hasbro was also gonna make a yellow one, but they didn't. I also know Tak did eventually make a blue one, but they did yellow first.

Might have worked better if they'd done it in red instead of yellow.

Here's one that some people may scoff at on the grounds that they may think both versions are crap... But personally, while it is not without problems, I never hated the Universe Galvatron mold.



But seriously, Takara? A tank with a chromed turret?



That looks goofy!

Yotsuyasan wrote:Here's one that some people may scoff at on the grounds that they may think both versions are crap... But personally, while it is not without problems, I never hated the Universe Galvatron mold.



But seriously, Takara? A tank with a chromed turret?



That looks goofy!

"You can't polish a turd"

Optimum Supreme wrote:"You can't polish a turd"

*sigh*
Posted this once already today...

Hasbro's MP Soundwave came with all 5 cassettes whilst Takara's only had laserbeak, and the Hasbro one was cheaper when it was first released.

The first release of the Hasbro Masterpiece Grimlock toy. Was the first G1 colored version to come with the kings crown.

Tsutsukakushi wrote:The first release of the Hasbro Masterpiece Grimlock toy. Was the first G1 colored version to come with the kings crown.

That is the version I have. I found it at retail, so I got it at a good price and didn't have to pay crazy import prices or crazy second hand prices. Still... I am bummed at the lack of the bowtie, apron, and serving tray. I really wish those had been included in the U.S. release.

So for me... I can't say better. I'd say that the better price of the U.S. version evens out with the missing accessories. 'Cause frankly, I never use that crown, but if I had the waiter get-up I'd deck Grimlock out in it in a heartbeat!

So for me, that one's a draw.

MightyMagnus78 wrote:Hasbro's MP Soundwave came with all 5 cassettes whilst Takara's only had laserbeak, and the Hasbro one was cheaper when it was first released.

Yeah, but it had the wrong eyes. While Hasbro's may be better value (as it usually is), the question is more about if it is actually better quality/better looking.

william-james88 wrote:

MightyMagnus78 wrote:Hasbro's MP Soundwave came with all 5 cassettes whilst Takara's only had laserbeak, and the Hasbro one was cheaper when it was first released.

Yeah, but it had the wrong eyes. While Hasbro's may be better value (as it usually is), the question is more about if it is actually better quality/better looking.

Uh huh. I know I paid the premium for his red eyes.