Quick question: How does the yellow plastic on re-issue (keychain) Bumblebee compared to '80s Takara (JAPAN) Bee? Do they look/feel about the same? I'm thinking the earlier one was brighter and better, but lost my '80s one a long time ago.
The keychain version is a lighter, brighter yellow, and quality wise, its garbage in comparison to the original.
Yeah, the keychain versions are a lot lower in quality, from the plastic used, the stickers the rubber tires, etc. If you want a re-issue, Encore 10 or TFC #12 would be better choices.
Re: type of plastics on keychain versions, I suspected they were different. Thanks a lot. I like my little keychain guys, but I want to get my hands on some originals now. Hasbro's plastic for Joes changed a ton in the early '00s... cost savings measure? Led to lousy, glossy looking faces and paint. Not like what we grew up with. I am not sure about the Encores vs. Keychains now. Both made in China, by different companies. Keychains were probably made by a small fry, but hey... Keychains In the early 2000s, four of the original mini-cars were released first by Fun4All and then by Basic Fun with little rings molded on to make them into keychains. These were released blindpacked by Takara in Japan with all-black variants. Bumblebee Cliffjumper Windcharger Brawn Mini Vehicle - Transformers Wiki Even if the Encores were made in China, what isn't nowadays? I'm guessing the original Japan Takaras are almost indistinguishable from the Encores with the exception of the stamps. (I have an Encore Prowl and I'm wondering the same thing. Especially about weight in hand and some of the plastics and color used on his legs.) No disses intended for any of the 'bots. Encore and TFC12... good stuff.
Encore minis are leaps and bounds better than the keychain minis, but honestly, still not quite the quality of the originals. Same holds true through the entire encore line. By themselves the look great, held side by side next to an original bot, the mold quality becomes more apparent.
i got my encore set today. my first g1 minibots. I like em a lot. - bumblebee is probably my favorite of the group. he came in mint shape. - the swerve has a problem where his legs wont open and hold completely so I have to put little slivers of eraser behind him to get him to stand up. is that a common problem? - tailgate is great and minty. love him and serve because of mtmte - pipes doesn't hold together too well. is his back pack piece supposed to be securely locked in bot mode? - outback is all good. I want to add the other minibots too. but, so far all my g1 are reissues. they haven't done all the minibots in reissue yet have they? im not going for the keychains. do you think they will make more reissues? or will I have to go find some good g1 bots to fill in my collection? how hard is it to find MINT g1 minibots? who are all the bots that didn't get reissued yet? cliffjumper? windcharger?
Minibots are actually pretty easy to find vintage mint, might pay a little more than a reissue in some cases, but I've seen some mint figures only fetch $10-$15. The hard to find minis are the foreign ones. They get expensive too. Besides the KOs, 1990s Chinese reissues, and keychain versions, Hubcap, Brawn, Beachcomber, Cliffjumper (red or yellow), red Bumblebee, Bumblejumper, and Windcharger have never been reissued. Snoop Dog would approve.
Blue Sedan (Bumblejumper / Mazda Familia) from Brazil manufactured by Estrela for the Robocar line: Blue and yellow Huffer from Peru manufactured by Lynsa: And together: All the best Maz
Me too bny. I especially like that blue one. I posted this in my Huffer thread but I'll post here too.
