Thanks for the info, much appreciated  
In your opinion, do think it's ok to swap these gray plastic parts between the two versions?



They look almost identical based on the pictures but I've heard some collectors say that it's a sort of blasphemy to replace original parts with ones that came from another version.

 

Anyone have pictures of recently bought KO G1 Devastator and Optimus Prime? I got those two from Alexmeng78 on eBay and his seller feedback is great, but not a single review goes into detail about the products overall quality. Tracking shows my packages have just departed from Hong Kong.

 

KO 大力神 - KO资料库 - AC模玩网

- Here's something for Devastator. You're gonna need google translator but hopefully, it can offer some help

 

Thanks. Everything seems good, from the Hook comparisons I can see that the cab body lines are a bit more pronounced on the genuine version. Only thing worrying me are the arms on (my favorite constructicon) Long Haul as they seem to droop downwards.

 

I recently did a complete teardown and cleaning of a G2 Snarl, and the tail hinges also had an open gap like your G1 version (forgive the blurry pic- it's extremely zoomed in).


If you are able to use that donor, I say go for it even if it's a KO. It's your figure to enjoy, who cares what anyone else thinks? As long as you don't try and re-sell it as a complete G1 bot, you shouldn't get any flack. That being said, I'd still try and wait for a junker with open hinges to come up on e-bay simply because a mold variation on a hinge could have fit issues. Also now that I look again, your prospective donor seems to have a much darker and yellow chrome than your G1 bot which might look weird.

 

I've purchased a KO devy and two different Optimus Primes from KO sellers, and although I've also bought items from Alexmeng78 it wasn't these specific bots so I can't vouch for the quality of his current stock. I can tell you from personal experience that buying a KO transformer is a complete coin toss on whether or not you get a dud or a good version. For example, both of the KO Primes were of decent build and the plastic quality was okay (not fantastic, but not horrible). The red plastic was noticeably darker than the painted cab however, and funny enough each KO I received was a different mold variant (different front bumpers, etc).

The Devastator KO was a serious fixer upper out of the box. It was noticeably lighter than a real G1, and there were multiple tab and fit issues that required modifications before it could combine. I'm guessing that the molds they used for each bot were from different variants and weren't meant to fit perfectly with each other. The fists don't fire correctly and tend to fall out easily, but the chromed parts all look fantastic. It looks the part on a shelf, and it's sturdy enough to mess with but it took a lot of work to get it there. Of course, you may have a totally different experience. Such is the gamble with G1 KO's.

 

Much better to get an authentic Devastator set, he has been reissued 3 times and is readily available. While the KO reissue is workable as stated, it is not one of the cases like Mirage where you can't really tell the difference between the KO and authentic piece. There are a lot of little issues that require attention and definitely check to make sure you got all parts and all stickers, including the factory stickers.

Optimus I can't speak for, other than to say again he has been reissued so much I think you should go that route unless you are looking for MISB niceness.

 

Thank you very much for your feedback, I really appreciate it. You have a very nice Snarl figure, by the way. My figure's gold chrome hinges are ok, it is the gray plastic (with an X-mark) which I plan to interchange. They look almost identical except for those 2 sprue removal marks (encircled in red).




This will be my first time to open-up a G1 toy so I am a bit scared, given the age, and price of the figure hehe. In your experience opening up your Snarl, was it difficult to separate the two diecast chest pieces? I can see a screw, which I think is the only thing holding the chest pieces together, so hopefully, if I remove it, I could have access to the gray plastic. In your opinion as a G1 collector, if this was your figure, would you go ahead with the exchange? If yes, are there any surprises that I should be warry of when I take apart the chest? Thanks again.

 

If it were mine, I would only exchange the part if I planned on replacing the stickers since you'll need to disturb some stickers to open up the body. If the original stickers were in good shape, I would leave it and display as-is. You have to make the call as to which is more important to you - functionality or original completeness.
If you do open it up, there is a second screw that holds the body together behind one of the rear legs (robot arms)on the same side as the first screw. Once you remove the leg assembly you'll see a black toothed disk that is held in by two very tiny and fragile pegs. You'll need to SLOWLY and carefully pry that up with a flat edged tool before you can access the second screw for the main body. That's really the only tricky part to Snarl. As with most of these old toys, it's a lot easier to take it apart than to sandwich it all back together.

 

Thanks for the detailed explanation, the procedure sounds pretty complicated, thank goodness I asked here first... my intended repair would have probably caused the bot more harm than good if I dove headfirst without first consulting LOL. I think I'll gain some experience dissecting a couple of junkers/KOs first before opening up the actual figure... at least breaking those wouldn't cause as much grief as breaking a vintage G1 toy LOL. I'll also wait for a junker of an exactly the same model as mine to avoid any incompatibilities. Thanks very much again for the advice  

 

So I've been looking at picking up a few ko G1 figures. I already bought Mirage and Prime. Was wondering which car bots from the original line up are good or which ones I should avoid? Any help is appreciated.

 

Hi Guys, I have yet another G1 dinobot question. I've been surfing the secondhand market place when I incidentally came upon a vintage G1 Sludge in relatively OK condition.
I checked coolyooyu's site for details, but since their copy, as they mentioned, was the American release with the "Hasbro" in its copyright stamp, I had a look at fred's workshop, which showed the Japan version's copyright stamp:

KO 淤泥 - KO资料库 - AC模玩网

FredsWorkshop.com

Based on the above references, the figure for sale seems legit, but I also want to get your opinions to be sure. Here are pictures of the figure, I asked for several other views but the seller didn't oblige so these are the only ones I could send. Does it look authentic to you guys? Thanks in advance for sharing your thoughts.

 

Concerning opening up g1 toys, I have done it quite often to tighten joints (astrotrain legs anyone?) In fact I just completely disassembled my G1 sludge to fix his droopy joints, ie legs, die cast chest, arms hands etc

And stickers can easily be removed using the lighter fluid (zippo type) and tweezers. There is a post on one of the boards here with a video.. Works great and use a glue stick to reapply.


Point 2, I have 2 G1 sludge, an original release and a 1991 gold box version.
The copyright stamp on your photo is the same as what I have on the original release.
You can see Fred's workshop stamps here.
FredsWorkshop.com
My g1 original run stamp.


Vs my gold box stamp.

 

Thanks for the tips regarding G1 care and maintenance. I finally bit the bullet and decided to open up my G1 Snarl. The only replacement parts available at the time were either from a G2 version or a KO so I decided to just repair the broken tabs with superglue. I think the CA held the pieces pretty well.

It seems that, as with other hobbies, CA is our best friend.. plus knowing that the authentic pieces are in there helps me sleep better at night LOL.

Thanks also for sharing the pics of your G1 Sludge, it reinforces my hunch that the figure being sold is legit. I think I'll go ahead and get it. Thanks again for the help

 

Sorry I'm late, but that Sludge does not appear legit. He has the rear legs that won't properly extend fully out to be 90 degrees perpendicular to the body and perfectly flush flat on the ground in Bronto mode. The KO for some reason has some assembly issue that causes this and they have never fixed it. While it looks alright from the sides, it looks naff from the front and back as his legs are splayed out. It doesn't hamper transformation but if you've had a real Sludge it's super annoying.

 

Thanks for the reply, unfortunately (or should I say fortunately), when I contacted the seller, said Sludge was already sold so KO or not, it belongs to someone else now.. I
hope I find another one for sale. I'll be sure to consult here again regarding authenticity if I ever do find another.

 

I'm just getting back into transformers collecting, trying to find a reputable link besides Amazon.

 

does anyone here has a guide on how to tell apart KO ironhide vs original from Takara Tomy? Planning to get one and tried to google/youtube but doesn't seem to have a really good comparison or maybe the KO is really way too good and hard to tell apart... thanks!

 

I have mp-17+ Prowl i bought on ebay. Took a look, bought mp-17. It seems mp-17+ can go for a premiun. What can I do to verify it is NOT a ko, and actually Takara?

 

i'm also still waiting for some help from experienced forumer but at the same time, i'm just trying to google and watch youtube videos...some like MP36 Megatron, there are ways to confirm if it's KO (box printing and some of the accesories) and quite easy to spot. But for Prowl, not sure, haven't bought and not yet start looking into Prowl...