TFYuki’s Twitter page has some Twitpic (pictures) of the soon to be released TG-23 Japanese Generations Metroplex vs the U.S. edition that is on the shelves now. The images have comparisons of all the different modes next to Hasbro’s Metroplex. Check out the additional images after the break then chat about it on the discuss link below.
shiin
Any idea whether TG-23 will get Japanese sound clips or whether they'll keep the English ones?
LegendAntihero
I like the panel lines they put on the Takara version, the darker paint job and the red around the neck area.
Armada_MK
I'm gonna try to lay some of fears to rest, a day after i got my metroplex he took a fall off my couch , i was making dinner, and i heard a load crash, and i went to living room and saw metroplex on the floor, i pick him and checked him out not a scratch on him, no stress marks, nothing bent , nothing , i wasn't worried cause if One of the guys from BBTS has the balls to drop a metroplex at botcon on the hard carpet and pick it up and display it, then i think that should lay your fears to rest, this guy is rock solid, and hes not light, But he is little lighter then fort max, but so what! hes not light, and hes got ratchets all over!!! and he can take a pounding,
Yes its already been confirmed TG-23 will have the size box as fort max
Yes only hes face is chrome and his thighs are painted silver
The red on him is to make him more G1 accurate
Price varies depending on what site you purchase through
So anyways any fears you guys might have you need to put them to rest, anyways hopeful this helps now all we need is metrotitan repaint
Deonasis
Another minor consideration for me is the possibilty of a Metrotitan repaint. I concluded Takara was more likely to create one and despite the fairly minor differences between the two mainline Metroplex's I imagine a Takara paint scheme would look better fighting! another Takara paint scheme.
Dark Magnus
I just need detailed pictures of the final released product so I can add the paint apps to my Hasbro Metroplex. Most of the stickers on the Hasbro product do the job, but some (like the windows with the characters) just strike me as tacky.
Pharoid
Should be in a thermoform tray. Packaging matters to me. You get what you pay for. If you are happy with yours that is what really matters.
shadowfall1976
This doesn't bother me one bit, it's not like he's loose and rattling around, mine was well tied in place. Nothing is broken, nothing's bowed or has stress marks, so it's all good. Not the first toy I've ever bought that was not so neatly tucked in a solid non window box, won't be the last.
It's not a window box, so what does it matter how he's packaged inside?
And the plastic on mine is perfectly solid, I don't see an issue….nothing worth an extra $100 to me.
Pharoid
Valkysas
There is no reason to chrome the inside of the tail, an area that will be covered and invisible to the consumer, and so there's no reason to complain about it.
MP Rodimus' arm breakage issue is not exclusive to the Hasbro version. I too thought it was just the Hasbro version, but it's not.
Also, MP Rodimus is really the last figure you want to bring up while trying to make a "Takara versions are so much better quality" argument. The first release of that from Takara was a disaster, and hands down the worst quality transformer product I have ever had my hands on. It's feet were destroying themselves courtesy of the springs, things didn't line up right unless they were filed down first, he can't hold his own weapons, and the spoiler can't go in the trailer without scraping paint off it. I had to work on the damn thing for almost a week to get it to function properly. Completely unacceptable considering what I paid for it, and the "Masterpiece" label attached to it.
Hasbro has yet to fuck up on that grand of a scale.
SPLIT LIP
Which has nothing to do with the quality of the PLASTIC, which is what he was talking about.
Hasbro and Takara use the exact same factories and materials to produce their figures. The same machines are used to produce both versions. There is no difference in plastic quality. The difference is pretty much JUST the paint, and as Valkysas pointed out, Takara can get away with jacking the price up because toys are more expensive in Japan.
metalwar2010
Not at all. Takara overprices a lot of products in japan, because the market over there will support the higher prices. Every company over there does it. Hasbro does not cut back on the quality of the plastic for any MPs.[/QUOTE]
They do. As I said, I've taken apart both comparable MP's. For instance, Takara opted to fully coat Grimlocks tall in and out (chrome). Hasbro used a cheaper process and stopped at the edges. It looked like it was falling apart already in the inside.
I can say with facts from viewing two products side by side inside and out that Hasbro makes cost cutting in quality to bring MP prices to where the "US" can bare the prices in retail stores.
Plus, MP Rodimus I took out of the box, put the matrix in both his hands, raised it up like in the movie over his head, and no more than 3 days later, one arm is hanging off! NO transforming involved at all.
Still want to believe costs were not cut there? You research quality of metals? Plastics isn't any different. Even visited a plastic mold place for my work and went in the properties that drive strength of plastic molds.
Valkysas
No, its not a fact. It is very much your opinion.
I collect a hell of a lot of toys from the US and Japan. Hundreds. Of all sorts of different lines. Have been doing so for a very, very long time. The QC for Takara is the exact same as Hasbro's. My Hasbro MP-10 does not have "hip wobble", and the ankles are fine. My Hasbro Springer's shoulders cannot be called "loose" by any means.
Not at all. Takara overprices a lot of products in japan, because the market over there will support the higher prices. Every company over there does it. Hasbro does not cut back on the quality of the plastic for any MPs.
metalwar2010
Unfortunately, my TG-22 Blitzwing would like to have a word with you. The shoulder connections in the left is the same issue as the Hasbro AND my right one doesn't connect at all. My Hasbro one there is better.
On Springer, the chest side locking part are better and stay so I'll give you that. Can't speak further about the other issue at the moment but willing to bet wasn't fixed either.
Henkei/United Inferno & Grapple both came out of the packages with very loose legs. Henkei Wreck-gar was corrected with the handle bar issue though. I will say that main line figures are a 50/50 shot. MP, you have 90-95% shot going Takara vs Hasbro on better overall quality. MP Rodimus was the worst for Hasbro.
Lastly, I 100% agree on your arguments on the MP's. I FULLY disassembled a MP Grimlock by Hasbro and Takara and you'll be amazed at some differences I found, one particular change that made zero sense to me.
Just to quick add, you do have to ask yourself that even after you take out exporting fees of the Takara to compare apples to apples, how is Hasbro able to get MP prices so low while adding extra's and able to make a profit??? Somewhere costs have to be cut and we all know it's not paint apps. Its the quality of plastic.
Pharoid
Found it, just watch through and you can see the packaging and they discuss….
Pharoid
It's in the same box obviously different art. It's in one of the toy shows videos from a few months ago Takara has him standing on his box and the host mentions that he is being pack in the same Encore package as Fort Max.
Pharoid
Sorry but that is demonstrably incorrect. The plastic and quality are not the same. Hasbro's MP-10 has loose ankles and hip wobble, Takara's does not. The MP-10 and 10b do not. Hasbro Springer has looser shoulders than Takara's, just because things are made in the same factory is no indication of similar quality. Everyone who collects Japanese toys knows that quality control is different for Japan market, Hong Kong market and US market. I have to respectfully disagree this is not my opinion it's a fact.
Valkysas
No? Why would it be in the Encore Fortress Maximus box?
Pharoid
Possibly but it will be in the Encore Fort Max box so unlikely….but if it makes you feel better…
Valkysas
Hasbro's and Takara's material and build quality are actually identical in almost all cases. They're the same molds, at the same factories, being built by the same people. The only times they really differ are colors of the plastic, paint detail, and occasionally stiffer plastic being used on soft, flexible parts.
As for the packaging… who cares? That's the same way Takara has packaged tons of figures without window boxes, like Brave Maximus.
LegendAntihero
The paint on the Takara version looks a little better than the Hasbro version.