Another objective comparison gallery:
Hasbro SDCC Combaticons (left) vs. Takara Generations Combaticons (right).































Conclusion:
TakaraTomy has again proven that you can polish a turd.
These figures are much better with decent paintjobs.

 

nice pics!

Mine are on the way and should be here in a couple days. Looking forward to getting these guys in hand.  

 

I dunno...I only really like the Takara Onslaught and Blastoff better than the SDCC versions. Sometimes the metallic paint is a little overboard, especially on Vortex and Swindle.

 

I thought Brawl's was the most egregious, actually... but while Takara might have overshot the mark a little, at least they replaced all those ugly lavender joints and combiner ports with proper black ones.
That alone makes Brawl (and Swindle, and Blast Off ) superior to all the previous releases.

 

Takara is way better. Those sharp colors are good at catching your eyes as opposed to SDCC's "real is brown" syndrome. And you can buy the Takara for the same or lower price than the SDCC aftermarket prices.

 

Takara's Onslaught and Blast Off look nicer than their SDCC versions, the other three are TOO shiny.

 

Wow, those Takara versions look so much better!

 

Thanks for the comparison!

Cool bots, but as somebody who already owns the SDCC versions, the only one I might pick up is Onslaught for his accuracy.

The others look cool as well, but they're not different enough compared to the ones I have, plus the shiny paint makes them all look really dark.

It's good that there's an alternative now for the people who couldn't get the SDCC one - although I bet 5 Takara deluxes are a bit pricey, as well!

 

Sure looks much better with metallic paint job. Only thing SDCC wins is the box.

 

These are the best looking versions of these figures, easily.

 

Too be honest...I actually like the "shiny" metallic finish on the paint. It actually gives an even more in game sheen feel to these figures. And I'm rarely one to prefer this type of deco.

The paint apps themselves look great. TakaraTomy did a great job with these. Definitely will get them and keep the SDCC version sealed.

PS: I am incredibly, INCREDIBLY, surprised that TakTom did not put these in a giftset. That's usually their M.O.

 

Yep, those are some awesome, awesome repaints that really make you forget about the mold flaws.

And Bruticus comparison pictures, please?  

 

Ugh, that looks amazing.. I'm so jealous!!

Can't possibly pull the trigger at that price, but I'll never un-see those plain faction-less brown turds I bent over backwards to get not so long ago... C'est la vie...

 

Bruticus pics please? preferably in the configuration of a well-known mistransformation so he doesnt look like poop.

 

Fall of Cybertron Bruticus is an unmitigated disaster, regardless of how it's transformed. It's gonna look like poop no matter what color scheme or paint applications are applied.  

However, if mistransformation is encouraged, I would recommend this configuration:



It manages to conceal the poor (or absent) hands, compensates for the misproportioned limbs, and suggests the squat and bulky build of the game design far more accurately than other fan transformations I've seen.  

 

wow until i saw these pics i actually thought that the sdcc deco looked amazing and couldnt be topped but

this pics really show how bland looking swindle and blastoff are

ive been trying to ignore this release since i have the sdcc version but it may be going up for sale after seeing this

 

Thought you guys might appreciate some hi-res scans of the fabulous packaging artwork, but wasn't sure where to post them:

 

Guys, I'm curious...both are game accurate colours right? Sorry for the question as I'm so out of the loop for main line stuff.

 

Swindle, Vortex, Blast-off and Brawl are reasonably game accurate in either SDCC or Takara, even if the Takara ones are a little too shiny, they still work well.
Onslaught is where the big difference lies. SDCC Onslaught sacrifices individual accuracy for accuracy as Bruticus. His colours are meant to accurately represent Bruticus' chestplate, therefore Bruticus is screen accurate while Onslaught is not. The opposite is true for Takara Onslaught; Bruticus' screen accuracy is sacrificed in order for a more screen accurate Onslaught.

 

Thanks for the pics!
Awesome art. I would like to have all the arts in HQ like these.