I have the original and the blue recolor. Neither have wobbly knees nor issues standing up straight. Both are great figures and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend either.

 

If you can get a Gabriel and are willing to add a bit of lubricant to his elbow joints he is IMO a much better offering than FT. More stable, doesn’t lean, and the backpack doesn’t constantly detach. This is coming from someone who has both and has long since packed FT away until I can unload it.

 

I got the first release TG and to be honest, he had a fair wobble in the knees but I just tightened the 4 external screws on his thighs and it helped a lot. I tend to turn the legs outwards on all my figures and haven't had a problem with a very small outward turn on his legs to enhance his stability (which looks better than straight on anyhow). He stands fine but sure, if you give him a good push, he'll go over. He is top heavy but honestly I suspect all the Omegas are.

I don't have DX9 or the others but I really don't get the whole "The transformation is hard or a pain in the ass" comments. No offense and maybe he's not the most ingenious way of doing it but hard or difficult isn't a word I'd use for him. BC Wardog is what I'd label hard or a pain in the ass.

 

I'll second this ^

I'll also throw BC wardog with a mold error and miss-assembly on the shoulder with out of order instructions, that was a good time!

 

Gabriel is perfection itself! Not only does it look better, it preforms better, plus it’s less Expensive!

Be wise and get the best.

You deserve it!

 

You are in the TG thread... So, the correct answer here is TG. Now there are other options available: DX9Toys Gabriel or WJ Ultima Guard.

 

I was all on board for DX9's in the beginning but then TG came out first and DX9 was dead silent about why theirs was delayed. TG (Maybe just the first ones) had some wobble but then again, the first DX9's had wet packaging and mold and locked up joints and other problems. I *think* both versions are beyond that but it's probably another one of those "Great to get it first but you take a gamble with some up front issues". IMO

 

Just got Terminus Giganticus 2 weeks ago. Do the knees wobble? Yes and no. Out of the box, the knee joints were not quite aligned and, yes, did wobble. The knee joints are split into left and right halves due to transformation and it is not the knee joint that wobbles, but the hardware that connects the knees to the lower leg and thigh. I messed around with them a little and got them lined up and they are pretty stable. That said, there is a little "play" in the hardware over all and the figure is back heavy (unless you remove the wings). If the figure is completely straight legged, it can stand just fine but a slight bump and it will wobble just enough for the hardware to give and it will tip over. Like I mentioned, back heavy. If the hips are straight but the legs are one click in "A" stance, there is no hope of standing. Period. BUT, if the hips are swiveled back and the legs are one click in "A" stance, it is rock solid and looks more natural anyway. There is very little ankle articulation so an "A" stance is about as dynamic as you're going to get anyway and was all "I" wanted out of it so it works out for me  

Gabriel just doesn't have the "scale model" level of detail that has been MP for the last 14 years and looks WAY too toyish/simple. Though, I will concede that Gabriel's over all proportions/silhouette are better, TG looks more like a scaled down real world giant robot and Gabriel looks like a tonka toy for toddlers. Also, Gabriel just seems to be too much trouble to have to do a complete tear down of all the joints, add lube, clip springs and file down ratchet teeth right out of the box just to get something that doesn't tear itself apart when you try to pose it. Gabriel owners make a lot of excuses for this but I don't find this acceptable and didn't want to deal with that. If you like the MP reboot (hyper toon/simple) that Takara is doing lately with MP, then Gabriel fits better aesthetically. But if you have been in MP since the beginning and have a large collection of original/pre-reboot MP like I do, Then TG is the only option for an aesthetic match.

It is defiantly a tough decision, I can empathize. It took me over a year to decide on which one to go with. TG is on average about $100 more than Gabriel and they are both HUGE and require a good deal of display space to commit. Even Hasbro Siege Omega Supreme is pretty massive, though about half the price. I considered Hasbro for a bit but when they finally revealed the full figure, it just didn't quite fit the bill. I can understand being on the fence with TG but if you do decide to get it, I doubt you would regret it. It's a pretty great figure.

 

Bottom line is this. It's your money so spend it ow you like. I personally own both and both have their plusses and minuses. I will say that if you are ambitious you can doing some minor improvements to the springs. I disassembled mine and worked on them and now he has a bit better stability and he can actually lean forward little better while bending his knees whereas before he would stumble forward. I like tinkering with my bots to make them better no matter if I have to do minor alterations. I would post pics of results , but I currently have both TG guardians and my TG under some construction for one more improvement. I thought I had posted some results earlier in this thread so might want to score back a bit.
I purchased some springs from an online store and I am going to redesign the ratchet mechanism in his elbows using the ratchets in his hips and some molding materials to make duplicates. If I am correct I should be able to improve the strength of his elbows a bit. That remains to be seen. Once my project is complete I am going to post what I did and how and what materials will be needed to make this possible and of course if it worked. Wish me luck.

And back to your original question. Both are pretty cool and so either way you cannot go wrong. If you can swing both then get them because they are pretty damm dope and you only live once!!! Peace out my fellow collector!!

Some shots of what I am doing.

the springs which I purchased online. They fit nice and snug in the elbow area and I will cut them to size to fit. One piece is more than enough and I bought two because they have different compressions.





The mold box I made and now I need to start pouring the Platinum silicone mixture. FYI. If anyone on here ever does mold making, do yourself a HUGE favor and spend the extra cash for Platinum Silicone from TAPPLASTICS.COM . I used urethane RTV from Tapplastics and it is also a 2 part mixture and that stuff IS PLAIN NASTY TO WORTK WITH. Never will I use that again.
I am duplicating several things right now. Some seeker heads from the original seekers from back in the day, some gun tips for my GP dinobots (experimenting), the inner arm parts for FT Scoria for improved tightness, a better swivel base for GP Gutter's head and yes the inner gears and ratchets for TG elbows. I hope it works...

 

Thanks all for the advice! Much appreciated.

 

Is it my imagination or is tg about the same size as the haslab unicorn and much nicer for less money?

I guess the unicorn has more engineering

 

HasLab's Unicron is about 3-4 inches taller and will have more mass than TG, about twice as heavy would be my guess also. Alot more moving parts as well.

 

18lbs. That’s a heavy boy

 

I want to do my gym by running around with this guy on my back, like an evil plastic Yoda.

 

I want video of that, especially when your doing the flip over the log.  

 

Wow, I thought TG was heavier than 10 lbs. I couldn’t imagine trying to transform something that weighs almost twice as much as TG and doesn’t split apart.

 

Ah you mean when I jump in the air, realize part way through I'm middle aged and unfit and fall flat on my face?