The Energon Pub

[decepticonjon]

i see this pop up all over ebay with "reissues" and what-not..
what is this sonoking? do they make takara toys in korea and ship them over to japan? that doesn't make sense? whats the deal with this? when i see sonoking tf's in pics they look like kos? are they genuinely good ko's, ko's at all, or actual takara based product? and if so, why would takara make them under the name sonoking in korea and ship them to japan where they sell as takara..
damn, i'm confused.

[Seibertron]

With the exception of the Korean Brave Maximus, I believe they're all identical. I think my BW Neo Big Convoy and BWII Autorollers are all the Sonoking / Takara Transformers. The only difference with Brave Max (I think) is that his Autobot symbol is upside down (the sticker is applied wrong). Aside from the packaging, you'd never know the difference between the Takara Transformers and the official Korean Transformers from Sonoking and Takara.

http://seibertron.com/toys/gallery.php? ... =0&start=0



http://seibertron.com/toys/index.php?f_series=9

[Nekoman]

I own some Sonokong BW Neo figures. They have Takara in the copyrights at the bottom of the box and I doubt a KO company would credit the original manufacture.

They’re also seemingly high quality, but frequently mistaken for KOs. Though, they are legit I believe.

[decepticonjon]

interseting, do they do specific lines, or more or less just specific transformers from various lines?

[Nekoman]

interseting, do they do specific lines, or more or less just specific transformers from various lines?

I’ve only seen BW and RID figures made by them, I guess Transformers died in Korea.

[robotrik]

I'm so glad you've brought this up.
I actually wanted to ask this question a long time ago cause i was looking for Big Convoy and couldn't find one that was made by Takara, and i wasn't sure if that was a ko.

[Liege Evilmus]

Sonoking is Takara's distributor for Korea aren't they?

Same product, just a different package, and a cheaper price.

I have alot of BW stuff from them and I'm not complaining, after all, in the end, it's still Takara's product.

[decepticonjon]

i'm really digging the trpyti reissue. for the price, and a complete bonafide fig, i think i'm sold.

[Sid Burn]

I avoid the Sonoking versions, they can sometimes be of lesser quality, a great example is Fire Convoy, I had the original Takara, the Hasbro and the Sonoking version. Sonoking Fire Convoy was an inferior grade product.

There were sections on his forearms that were a different plastic quality and tone of red than the rest of his body, there was fingerprints embedded in the chrome areas and the springs that fired the missiles were a lot weaker. Paint apps seem to suffer as well.

I have bought other sonoking transformers, but as soon as I started noticing the differences I sold them and bought only the original Takara or Hasbro versions.

[Bonger]

I have a number of Sonokong products. They are officially lic. by Takara and Hasbro to make TFs in Korea. These are not KOs, just different packaging.

Theoretically the product should be identical to Takaras. However, their QC is not as good. I wouldn't let that deter you, its not like 50% have issues. It is occasional, just a little more frequent than with Takara....well, I'm talking of Takara at the BW/RID time frame.

The only exceptions to the products being identical is Brave Max as pointed out already and Valdigus which is the RiD Ruination mold but in Car Robots colors

Their packaging is also inferior. If you like cool boxes, pass on these. In my experience, their packaging is less than impressive. However, their older products were in Takara packaging and stamped Takara. So, you probably wouldn't even realize it if you bought one. They later switched to making their own packaging.

If you are after the same toy at a bargain price, MISB, Sonokong is the way to go.

I actually have the "Trypticon" you are refering to, aka Gigastorm. Highly recomended. I think he ran me 40 bucks about 2 months ago MISB. Unbeatable. I also have a Tryticon, and except for the mold/deco changes, they are identical. Ok Trypticon is a little nicer and has more accessories, but for 40 bucks, w/e. Besides, then you can set them racing along your driveway togegther and take bets from the neighbors.

As to your last question, they primarily made Car Robots and BW products, though I have heard of them doing some limited redeco work of their own that was only sold in Japan. I don't know how true this is though.

There are 2 great places to buy Sonokong. One is Toyhell who I got my Giga for so cheap from, though the guy does take his time with shipping. The other is an ebay seller, Liqdeal. All he sells is Sonokong at great prices and I have dealt with him before as well and is a good quick shipper.

Hope this helps.

[Sid Burn]

There are 2 great places to buy Sonokong. One is Toyhell who I got my Giga for so cheap from, though the guy does take his time with shipping. The other is an ebay seller, Liqdeal. All he sells is Sonokong at great prices and I have dealt with him before as well and is a good quick shipper.

Hope this helps.

Liqdeal is good, sometimes a little weak on shipping materials but still good. Toyhell is a real gamble, the guy who owns the place is a little strange and you never now if you are getting something in the condition you want. I have had things arrive pristine C9 boxes, as well as beat up due to a shipping box with absolutely no packing material.

I would say the safer bet is Liqdeal, much more reliable, and prices are very fair.

I still think that the QC issues with Sonoking are enough to keep some collector's away, I certainly do.

[Liege Evilmus]

i'm really digging the trpyti reissue. for the price, and a complete bonafide fig, i think i'm sold.

Don't jump the gun on that, Gigastorm does not come with all the extra parts that made Trypticon's city and battle modes.

It's not that Sonoking's skimping, it's just that in BW2, Gigastorm was a completely different character.

---------------------------------------------------

Oh and Ligdeal(ToyArena) is always a pleasure to deal with as far as I'm concerened.

[Bonger]

Toyhell might be quirky, but with that 50% off BW and RID sale, it doesn't get much cheaper. I've emailed a lot with the guy. He is pretty nice. You just need to be ok with the fact that this is a part ime gig for him, and he prety much just mails out stuff once or twice a month.

If you are patient, he is fine to deal with.

If not, go with Liqdeals, aka Toyarena.

[Nekoman]

There are 2 great places to buy Sonokong. One is Toyhell who I got my Giga for so cheap from, though the guy does take his time with shipping. The other is an ebay seller, Liqdeal. All he sells is Sonokong at great prices and I have dealt with him before as well and is a good quick shipper.

Hope this helps.

Liqdeal is good, sometimes a little weak on shipping materials but still good. Toyhell is a real gamble, the guy who owns the place is a little strange and you never now if you are getting something in the condition you want. I have had things arrive pristine C9 boxes, as well as beat up due to a shipping box with absolutely no packing material.

I would say the safer bet is Liqdeal, much more reliable, and prices are very fair.

I still think that the QC issues with Sonoking are enough to keep some collector's away, I certainly do.

Dang, you guys found my secret weapons supplier!

Just kidding, yeah I bought mine from Liqdeal too. Four scout size Transformers for forty bucks? Considering how much the other versions were going for that’s a pretty good deal.

I need to go see what he has again…

[decepticonjon]

i'm really digging the trpyti reissue. for the price, and a complete bonafide fig, i think i'm sold.

Don't jump the gun on that, Gigastorm does not come with all the extra parts that made Trypticon's city and battle modes.

It's not that Sonoking's skimping, it's just that in BW2, Gigastorm was a completely different character.

no, i understand that.. i guess calling him a trpyti reissue was saying it wrong..
i saw the railracer guys going for pretty cheap, i'm interested in those.. a few here and there.. i also saw g2 meg's redo (megastorm) but he seemed (like trypti) to not be a reissue, just a different character based on the same mold. like he didn't have the cannon attachment or six missle, and he did look like less quality. if and when i do get a g2 megs, i wouldn't get the sonoking version.

[SnapTrap]

I have a number of Sonoking figs. They seem to be made of good quality materials (BW Neo figs). They were a lot less expensive than the Japanese versions.