*scratches head* Can't get clear-windows BB, MPs, BTs or ML Soundwave without Takara, as far as my needs. Add to that, a properly colored Vector Prime, among others.   If you need Takara at all, you need both worlds, just not equally...

 

I am ashamed to admit it but, I agree with you on this one! Now excuse me while I dig my eyeballs out with a rusty spoon.

 

Other than "Takara good. Hasbro bad.", I really can't understand what the OP was trying to say. Is there something specific he's upset about or is he just po'ed in general?

 

Hasbro actually bothers to finish their lines. look at Takara's treatment of Energon and Cybertron.

Ask the japanese fans which company they like better. They almost always say hasbro. hasbro has more exclusive molds, more interesting repaints, and they won't bail on a mainline like takara will.

seriously, a lot of the japanese fans hate takara. Takara turning Binaltech into Kissplay, not releasing as many molds/characters in the BT line as hasbro did with Alts, not releasing all the show characters in the Galaxy Force toyline, not releasing the new mold BW 10th anniversary primal and megatron deluxes despite showing off silhouetted teaser images on the golden disc DVD hinting at a release, and completely ignoring classics are a huge part of that. Takara doesnt know what the hell they're doing with transformers. They abuse and mistreat their customers at damn near every turn.

To sum it up, which would you rather have, the classics line, or shoeformers?

Hasbro (US) treats us damn good.

 

Thanks for all the posts... and POV's... I didnt know Takara didnt release Classics... And I dont hate either company since THEY are the ones who give us these great products...

I understand why Hasbro does alot of repaints (I still feel they could save/recover money in better ways like cutting down on the amount of material used to make the packaging, focused advertising, better times for show airing, etc.)

I know that if they could sell Blackout for $20 then a few weeks later sell a bundled Blackout w/ deluxe scorpinox for $15 theres money wasted!

I also know that the older I get, the more expecting/hoping I am... Ex: If I were 10 yrs old when Cybertron Trilogy came out I probably would have been a huge fan, but since I was already in my 20's, the toys seemed simple, lacking complexity or detail, and overly-gimmicky)

On the other hand, the Alts/BT and MP's are probably too complicated (and expensive) for little kids... So it all pans out...

PS -
The Horse has made a miraclous recovery after a severe beating by a local TF fan!!!

(That lil animation was hilarious!)

 

the bundle is actually 25.

How could anyone think the cybertron toys were lacking in detail? up until the movie figures came out, they were the most detailed TFs ever, even rivaling alternators and masterpiece figures with sculpted detail.

 

Well Hasbro to me is just a little bit better. I do however like my Takara Rampage which is why better than the Hasbro one. Hasbro to me is better but Takara is also good.

 

They both have their strong points:

Hasbro Pros:

• Made the Classics which would go their expectations and would go from a line for filler and get continued next year with a new name.
• Created Beast Wars which would give the franchise a reboot that go on to this day.
• Made the Unicron & Primus figures.
• Got MP Starscream and is gonna release it in G1 colors this fall.
• Brought the Diaclone & Microman toys that would be the first G1 toys.

Hasbro Cons:

• The release of MP Optimus Prime, first time they put battle damage for some reason. Second time they put yellow on the head, made the rifle blue, yellow, & grey, and gave a platform that spurts lines from the animated movie with a voice that sounds nothing like Peter Cullen. Both times had the smokestacks shortened.
• Put too many gimmicks in the last few lines.
• Cancelled the Titaniums line right when they were making G1 Arcee.
• Constantly paints Optimus Prime white with some blue and call it Ultra Magnus.
• Unable to reissue G1 Megatron due to American toy laws.
• Made the cheap Animorphs tie-in line in the late 90s.
• Has yet to make Classics Cosmos.
• Made Action Masters, which killed G1.

Takara Pros:

• Made MP Optimus Prime & Megatron.
• Made Binaltech have die cast parts.
• Released reissues of several G1 characters. Bringing several coo add-ons like energy weapons, show accurate color schemes, and other assorted things.
• Released Hasbro toys in better/show accurate paint schemes.
• Released repaints of G1 toys in pre-TF era colors and repaints of the 10th Anniversary BW toys and made them look show accurate.
• Made Diaclone & Microman which would eventually became G1.

Takara Cons:

• Made Kiss Players.
• Cancelled Binaltech for Kiss Players.
• Made the Kiss Players toys have no die cast parts.
• Made their products cost over $50 when the products are at online stores.
• Made MP Starscream green.
• Constantly paints Optimus Prime white with some blue and call it Ultra Magnus.
• Didn't make Super Megatron a toy.
• Merged with TOMY and ending the G1 reissues & G1 repaints.

All in all they are both good. Especially when they go into joint ventures(Binaltech/Alternators).

 

Ultimate Hasbro Pro:
Created transformers from a bunch of unrelated japanese toylines.

Ultimate Takara Con:
CONVOY EVERYTHING.

 

I like 'em both just fine, I'm just not willing to pay extra for importing stuff all the time. And since I'm not overly picky about paint apps, it's not even an issue for me anyway. Besides, Classics FTW.

 

As far as I know, the Takara version also has sculpted battle damage. Hasbro just decided to paint it.

Which was not Hasbro's choice. It's called "TOY SAFETY LAWS".

Takara's Magnus Jr. and Stamp-Bot Magnus from 1986, Masterpiece Ultra Magnus, G2 Laser Ultra Magnus and Kaiyodo's Revoltech Ultra Magnus would like to have a word with you.

Which, as you pointed out, is not Hasbro's fault.

Made Thundercracker, Skywarp, Hoist, Dirge and Grapple limited convention exclusives, whereas Hasbro would reissue them through TRU, in larger quantities.

How about blaming the show for deterring from Hasbro's proposed color schemes and forcing Takara to change the decos to comply with the show instead?

Which Hasbro also did. Only Takara had to try and top them again.

Ah, okay. I take the above back, then.

 

and takara gave dinobot SPOTS. wtf.

 

It's actually been a while since we had a good "Takara makes good stuff and Hasbro hates us" thread (and I'm still waiting for a good one   )

The frequency of these things seems to have gone down significantly since Tomy stepped in and Kiss Players became the closest thing to a TF Mainline we've seen from them.

That said, can't wait for my MP3-Soundwave order. Woo!  

 

Naw, my whole point was AVAILABILITY! And an opinion on "crappy toys"... I should have clarified that "crappy toys" meant, I should have said "toy designs im not interested in"... I could care less if they have die-cast, I prefer the plastic as I am a broke-ass collector.

Personally, the whole Beast Wars era I wasnt into (Though this line did bring ball-joints to the forefront, improved TF articulation)... Then came RID which IMO had amazing design, yet this series apparently didnt do that great = No toy availability in my area. Then The cybertron trilogy which I was also not into... But definitly has its highlights.

Regarding Takara, I just see it like they have been more accommodating for adult fans or collectors. With things like the nike shoes TFs, the mp3 specifically.

Also, the reason I dont like Beast Wars, Beast Machines, Transmetals, or the Cybertron Trilogy is because I LIKE AUTOBOTS! Robots that turn into vehicles that you see on the road... (and the design of the transformation, especially asymetrical ones) Im just not that interested in animal or space/future designs, IMO they arent pulled off that good. Of course, there are ALWAY execptions to EVERYTHING so this is all in general.

My fav TFs are the ones that I can lay on a table and fool people by the TF's "disguise" . I enjoy the suprises expression when they realize tat "model car" or "cell phone" is actually an ass-kicking robot! Hence, my "rant" about AVAILABILITY of the SL, ML, and MP's...  

 

Takara has the mp's and the mp3 soundwave going for them in my opinion...
BUT
Hasbro has been pretty good to us with everything else... ( i believe someone already mentioned the great classics line that came out last year... exclusive to us...)
and the packaging... oh man, dont get me started... hasbro has packaging down to the point, that takara cant even compare.
so... BOTH companies have an edge here and there.. but call me patriotic or somethin... hasbro has my vote of confidence...
( they have to...they are the only company that can save my wallet, lol...takara import prices are absurd...u.s. retail rules !!!)

 

Y'know, as much as Hasbro's TF team has catered to the fans over the years (particularly when the target audience for TFs is kids) I feel really bad about the possibility that somebody like one of the designers might read threads like this. Kind of a big old slap in the face and a "thanks for nothing".

 

lets also not forget that the reason we dont get a lot of collector stuff released here is because collectors suck at supporting them. Look at how many people waited for 20th anniversary prime to hit clearance before picking him up, and plan to do the same with MP starscream. collectors are killing the collector market.

even if so many didnt take that stance, there arent enough of us to justify long collectors lines (alternators being the exception, it lasted four years).

and I dont think the shoeformers would sell well at all in the US. I sure as hell don't want them. the license made them really expensive, and they're extremely tiny for the price.

 

Actually, G1 was all but dead UNTIL Action Masters came along. They actually extended G1's life.

 

I love having two companies take slightly different approaches to the franchise. Increases my chances of any given figure being one I really like. And yeah, import costs can be rough, but that's the price I pay for getting something I think is better. Other times, I stick with the domestic release.

Hell, I figure we're fortunate as a fandom to have the whole Hasbro + Takara thing.