The Energon Pub

shajaki wrote:

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.

Speaking of which, how was the quality of the HB MP Soundwave?

shajaki wrote:

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

*sigh*
Posted this once already today...

Not only is the Decepticon Specialists versions of Galvatron the best paint job the mold has ever had, my sample is also the most well constructed version I've had. All the joints are sturdy, the arms don't pop off, and everything clips together tightly. It's amazing, and I love it standing alongside Scourge and Cyclonus (and the sweeps and the "armada")!

william-james88 wrote:...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.

Whether or not it had the "wrong eyes" is subjective, though. Are you going for 'toon or toy accuracy? (Thus far, only Grimlock's been able to give us both in the same toy.)

And, if you aren't opposed to the use of stickers, Reprolabels would have you all set with whichever eye color you prefer and you could have still gotten the otherwise just fine Hasbro version with all of the cassettes (sans Ratbat) in one go. And it would have still cost less then the cost to import Takara's version and his separately available cassettes.

fenrir72 wrote:Speaking of which, how was the quality of the HB MP Soundwave?

I have had no issues with mine thus far, except that if I try to store Frenzy's or Rumble's weapons in his foot compartments, they can be a royal pain to get back out. But as I don't have both, I don't know if I can blame that on it being Hasbro's version or if it is indicative of the mold in general.

Universe 2.0 Powerglide comes to mind. Not Hasbro's first verion, but their second. The paintjob was spot-on.

-Generations Springer.

-RTS Wreck-Gar.

-RTS Cyclonus.

-Generations Blurr.

-Generations Kup.

-Generations Warpath.

-Generations Wheeljack.

That's all I cant think of at present.

leakin' lubricant wrote:-RTS Cyclonus.
-Generations Blurr.
-Generations Kup.
-Generations Wheeljack.

I disagree with those. But of those, I strongly disagree with:

Blurr
Premium paint apps kill Hasbro's.




Wheeljack
That green on Hasbro's makes him look like an after dinner mint. And the red on his chest is more broken up.




Kup
E-Hobby Kup has the best cartoon accurate paint job, hands down.

william-james88 wrote: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?

That's a bad comparison.

The Takara MP-10 colors were actually more screen accurate.

Anyway...

The United Line is filled with examples of Takara making essentially worse versions of figures.

United Scourge, Wheeljack, and Kup are all unnecessary re-dos of Hasbro product.

Some people greatly disliked many of the Heknei releases due to their chrome. Cyclonus was a good example.

Many of the recent Generations figures have been geared towards what is happening in IDW, so when Takara G1-ifies them, they could be considered to be "worse."

Still...the real answer is that by and large, Takara makes, and has always made superior products. The number of times I have put a Hasbro and Takara toy in someone's hands and watched them realize this is substantial.

Sometimes people don't even have any idea. Drift is a great example. The Hasbro version is really nice until you side by side compare it with the Takara version. Then you're on your phone, hoping not to pay $40+ for the Takara United Drift.

shajaki wrote:

leakin' lubricant wrote:-RTS Cyclonus.
-Generations Blurr.
-Generations Kup.
-Generations Wheeljack.

I disagree with those. But of those, I strongly disagree with:

Blurr
Premium paint apps kill Hasbro's.




Wheeljack
That green on Hasbro's makes him look like an after dinner mint. And the red on his chest is more broken up.




Kup
E-Hobby Kup has the best cartoon accurate paint job, hands down.

Fair enough, It's all subjective, BTW I was refering to the United Kup variant not the e Hobby one.

Generations Chromia. I know it's arguably more cartoon accurate, but all that lilac just completely turns me off.



I would argue that Generations Arcee is a better looking figure than her Takara counterpart, but I know some may disagree.

MrBlack wrote:Generations Chromia. I know it's arguably more cartoon accurate, but all that lilac just completely turns me off.



I would argue that Generations Arcee is a better looking figure than her Takara counterpart, but I know some may disagree.

Oh yeah forgot about Arcee, good call.

MrBlack wrote:I would argue that Generations Arcee is a better looking figure than her Takara counterpart, but I know some may disagree.

I know I would. That is one of the few times where I specifically shelled out the extra dough for the Takara version due to a preference in deco. (Usually, even if I like Takara's better, it isn't enough of a difference to justify the extra cost.) I don't follow the comics, so maybe all of that extra black is accurate to how she is there? But for me, it just looked terribly out of place. If it had been the only option, I'd have lived with it. But when I saw Takara's?




Sorry, but that's just some lovely G1 goodness, there. I don't know what this is:




Although I will admit I like the paint job Hasbro did on the larger gun! If I could have that gun with the Takara figure, that'd be the best! But if I have to choose between a gun's deco and a figure's deco, then Takara won that round (for me, at least). No contest.

(Hasbro Arcee photos by David Willis.)

Yotsuyasan wrote:

MrBlack wrote:I would argue that Generations Arcee is a better looking figure than her Takara counterpart, but I know some may disagree.

I know I would. That is one of the few times where I specifically shelled out the extra dough for the Takara version due to a preference in deco. (Usually, even if I like Takara's better, it isn't enough of a difference to justify the extra cost.) I don't follow the comics, so maybe all of that extra black is accurate to how she is there? But for me, it just looked terribly out of place. If it had been the only option, I'd have lived with it. But when I saw Takara's?




Sorry, but that's just some lovely G1 goodness, there. I don't know what this is:




Although I will admit I like the paint job Hasbro did on the larger gun! If I could have that gun with the Takara figure, that'd be the best! But if I have to choose between a gun's deco and a figure's deco, then Takara won that round (for me, at least). No contest.

(Hasbro Arcee photos by David Willis.)

The two-tone look of the Takara release just doesn't do it for me. I like to have the pink and white broken up a bit, and I agree that the larger gun looks better.

But, to each his own.

Sir Lube wrote:Fair enough, It's all subjective, BTW I was refering to the United Kup variant not the e Hobby one.

Oh absolutely. And I've even heard good arguments about Blurr, with his bot mode being more toon accurate and such. Beauty is in the eye of the boholder

shajaki wrote:

Sir Lube wrote:Fair enough, It's all subjective, BTW I was refering to the United Kup variant not the e Hobby one.

Oh absolutely. And I've even heard good arguments about Blurr, with his bot mode being more toon accurate and such. Beauty is in the eye of the boholder

Also I never really saw the Classics line as a Slavish G1 line, for me it was about reinterpreted versions of the original toys, so I was happy to see Hasbros interpretations of the decos, for example I prefer Classics Starscream to the Henkei version. The irony is that now I've switched to Masterpiece I dont go anywhere near Hasbro.

As for Generations Arcee, I don't feel the need to have the Takara version. Especially when I paid 120$ for Delicate Warrior way back. For me, she's the true G1 Arcee.



That's why I much prefer the HAsbro version of Arcee. The black really make her pop out and it's almost like she's wearing some skintight wetsuit under her armor.

shajaki wrote:

Sir Lube wrote:Fair enough, It's all subjective, BTW I was refering to the United Kup variant not the e Hobby one.

Oh absolutely. And I've even heard good arguments about Blurr, with his bot mode being more toon accurate and such. Beauty is in the eye of the boholder

I've just noticed you quoting me as Sir Lube, nice touch

-Kanrabat- wrote:As for Generations Arcee, I don't feel the need to have the Takara version. Especially when I paid 120$ for Delicate Warrior way back. For me, she's the true G1 Arcee.



That's why I much prefer the HAsbro version of Arcee. The black really make her pop out and it's almost like she's wearing some skintight wetsuit under her armor.

Love Delicate Warrior. Especially the die-cast joints. On that part, I'm spliting my preference between the two versions. Visually, Tomy Arcee is waaaaaay better (my opinion that is) but that neck design of her is kind of irritating. DW's neck is perfect. But when transformed, Tomy Arcee in car mode is more aligned than DW.

So kind of a tie for me.

As for the color of the guns, Tomy Arcee is cartoon accurate.

Let me add Animated Voyager Bulkhead. He's a perfect toy and 100% cartoon accurate, even if the scale is wrong. Hasbro is the right cartoon color, but Takara went for a very BRIGHT and SHINY metallic green that is out of place. Bulky look like an overgrown dung beetle. I had both so I kept the Hasbro and gave away the shiny one to WJ88 as thanks for all the amazinh deals he found me.

shajaki wrote:

leakin' lubricant wrote:-RTS Cyclonus.
-Generations Blurr.
-Generations Kup.
-Generations Wheeljack.

I disagree with those. But of those, I strongly disagree with:

Blurr
Premium paint apps kill Hasbro's.



Wheeljack
That green on Hasbro's makes him look like an after dinner mint. And the red on his chest is more broken up.



Kup
E-Hobby Kup has the best cartoon accurate paint job, hands down.

I'm going to counter these rebuttals myself Again, this is all personal opinion.
Blurr
You win hands down for the alt mode, but bot mode (how I display mine) is just bland in comparison.

Wheeljack
Metallic paint is nice, but that colour just looks like a Christmas decoration, Wheeljack (in my mind) has always been a more nature green than the teal of the Takara release. Plus I don't really like the silver "ears" on the United version - I like to imagine WJ's ears flashing as he speaks.

Kup
Ok E-Hobby beats the original Generations Kup, but I find the colour a little off imo, and then the paint job of the recent 3 pack Kup beats both, as it matches the original colour, with more shiny, and quite a G1 paintjob. Although, with four releases of this one character in the one mould it's kind of hard to say who wins definitely.

Cyclonus
Backing up on the opinion that RTS Cyclonus beats Universe/Henkei releases. The colour is a little deeper, more cartoon accurate (in my mind) and less contrast between components. Deep metallic purple and pale purple plastic doesn't really mix in my mind.


onto another character I think Hasbro's won with is the 3 Pack Perceptor - got rid of the yellow translucent plastic of the RTS version, kept the chromed parts and added the shiny metallic paint of the united version. A best of both worlds type thing I think.

prjkt wrote:Blurr
You win hands down for the alt mode, but bot mode (how I display mine) is just bland in comparison.

Can't disagree. Strangely enough the United Blurr lacks a lot of paint apps in bot mode.

prjkt wrote:Wheeljack
Metallic paint is nice, but that colour just looks like a Christmas decoration...

HA! That's funny... but now I hate you because I'll never be able to un-see that when I look at my United Wheeljack

prjkt wrote:Kup
Ok E-Hobby beats the original Generations Kup, but I find the colour a little off imo, and then the paint job of the recent 3 pack Kup beats both, as it matches the original colour, with more shiny, and quite a G1 paintjob. Although, with four releases of this one character in the one mould it's kind of hard to say who wins definitely.

Well damn. You got me again. United Kup is too bright to be considered the quintessential cartoon accurate Kup, but it IS still fitting in a way since the toy was bright like that. And the placement of his apps are still spot on. I still stick my my E-Hobby though, I guess I just like them bright

prjkt wrote:Cyclonus
Backing up on the opinion that RTS Cyclonus beats Universe/Henkei releases. The colour is a little deeper, more cartoon accurate (in my mind) and less contrast between components. Deep metallic purple and pale purple plastic doesn't really mix in my mind.

I see it three ways:
Universe Cyclonus - Original G1 toy accurate.
RTS Cyclonus - Terrifically toon accurate
Henkei Cyclonus - Lord only knows

prjkt wrote:onto another character I think Hasbro's won with is the 3 Pack Perceptor - got rid of the yellow translucent plastic of the RTS version, kept the chromed parts and added the shiny metallic paint of the united version. A best of both worlds type thing I think.

Funny you should mention that. I frankenstined my own Perceptor. Chrome bits from RTS, and the everything else from United

leakin' lubricant wrote:

shajaki wrote:

Sir Lube wrote:Fair enough, It's all subjective, BTW I was refering to the United Kup variant not the e Hobby one.

Oh absolutely. And I've even heard good arguments about Blurr, with his bot mode being more toon accurate and such. Beauty is in the eye of the boholder

I've just noticed you quoting me as Sir Lube, nice touch

Very nice touch!

Cobotron wrote:

leakin' lubricant wrote:

shajaki wrote:

Sir Lube wrote:Fair enough, It's all subjective, BTW I was refering to the United Kup variant not the e Hobby one.

Oh absolutely. And I've even heard good arguments about Blurr, with his bot mode being more toon accurate and such. Beauty is in the eye of the boholder

I've just noticed you quoting me as Sir Lube, nice touch

Very nice touch!

"Nice touch."

"Sir Lube".

Cobotron wrote:

leakin' lubricant wrote:

shajaki wrote:

Sir Lube wrote:Fair enough, It's all subjective, BTW I was refering to the United Kup variant not the e Hobby one.

Oh absolutely. And I've even heard good arguments about Blurr, with his bot mode being more toon accurate and such. Beauty is in the eye of the boholder

I've just noticed you quoting me as Sir Lube, nice touch

Very nice touch!

Oh that
I was just doing my quote stuff differently than normal. When I'm on my iphone at work it's easier copy a paragraph and write out the quote tags than to trim a a giant quote. So instead of trying to remember exactly how he spells "leakin' lubricant" I just made it Sir Lube.

-Kanrabat- wrote:

Cobotron wrote:

leakin' lubricant wrote:

shajaki wrote:

Sir Lube wrote:Fair enough, It's all subjective, BTW I was refering to the United Kup variant not the e Hobby one.

Oh absolutely. And I've even heard good arguments about Blurr, with his bot mode being more toon accurate and such. Beauty is in the eye of the boholder

I've just noticed you quoting me as Sir Lube, nice touch

Very nice touch!

"Nice touch."

"Sir Lube".

Bad touch! BAD TOUCH!

Think the Hasbro all silver toy version of Sir Lube looks better. Than the mix matched silver and gold toy version of Sir Lube that Takara released.