Has anyone been picking up the Japanese release of these Siege and ER figures, along with the Hasbro domestic ones?

Any better QC reports on the Takara ones?

(Yes I know they are "unified" now, but still, QC could still vary)

When Titans Return was at its height, I was a Takara junkie and imported every figure from Japan. The QC was SUPERIOR.

Was wondering if anyone can comment on the recent Siege and ER in that regard.

 

pretty sure the QC was only superior because Takara's releases were usually significantly later, and thus they had time to fix small issues

Takara's and Hasbro's figures were always made in the same factories

 

Ah interesting; never knew that to be the reason why.

Thanks

 

Man, he looks good, but those mushroom peg wheels sure don\'t. 

 

At least they're making all 4 pegs the same color now!

 

I think Earthrise Prowl(aside from the head sculpt) is the only figure of a returning SIEGE character that surpasses their SIEGE predecessor. Whatever strength the SIEGE figure had(great articulation, sleek car mode) was brought over with no compromise and proportions are improved with the earth car mode. This wasn’t a case of “want G1 alt mode? Okay fine, less articulation for robot mode!”. Or “hey uh we took that big backpack off that you didn’t like but we also hindered some joints along the way but YEAAAAA you get G1 alt and robot mode so SHUT UP AND LIKE IT”.

So for Prowl, that’s 1 figure of a returning character done right(forgot, Smokescreen too).. I look forward to Bluestreak and hope the renders aren’t indicative of the final product just like some previous ones.

 

Optimus Prime

I think I've found solace in the Bluestreak situation when I think about Rotorstorm's new head.

 

uh what about earthrise optimus prime????

 

Don't forget, Siege Red Alert as well.

 

Earthrise Prime is literal perfection.

Although I think that Cliffy, Grapple, Wheeljack and Screamer are also god tier, with Doubledealer being very good too. It’s an excellent line

 

Decent but no

 

Man, gotta disagree. Aside from a handful of coloring issues, Earthrise Optimus is my all-time favorite Optimus figure. It's just about everything I could want in a CHUG Optimus at this pricepoint.

 

Prime looks stubby in the torso. He isn't long enough.

His truck trailer is obviously shortened to make the toy cheaper to produce. The trailer should be waaaay longer.

Sometimes the Optimus obsession can be blinding, but believe me, there are flaws. Go ahead and look up the Walmart exclusive Optimus thread: apparently even the colors & head are wrong!  

So you're selling ur 12 other Optimi?

Look, no offense, but Collectors r so obsessed with Optimus that its hard to take assessments as objective critiques. They're not: every new Optimus is "the best one yet!"  

 

I want Earthrise Prowl repainted into Nightbeat.

And GI Joe collectors are even worse with Snake Eyes. That shit was driving me crazy back during the 25th & ROC lines.

 

Netflix ER OP will likely be the definitive version of the mold.

AU OP shows that more paint is possible at the same price point. AU OP doesn't have a reduced color palette either.

MP-10 is still king in my book...sadly due to the QC debacles of MP-44.

 

As amazing as this guy is, those clip-on wheels are letting the whole thing down.

 

That’s cool, to each their own. I mentioned it a while back in this thread. I liked how Earthrise Prime got rid of the back and forearm kibble and provided a removable matrix. I like the upper body transformation and most of the deco choices save for the lower body/upper legs. I liked how the waistplate didn’t hinder the hips this time around so the hips could raise higher than SIEGE Prime. Wasn’t a fan of how unlike Springer, the hips cannot rotate beyond 90 degrees and the knees can’t bend as far back as SIEGE Prime. That kind of poseability would’ve enabled good crouching poses as seen with SIEGE Springer and SIEGE Starscream. Also didn’t like how only the back half of the head was painted blue. Leg wheels could’ve been hidden in robot mode as well. For Earthrise Prime you get the G1 alt mode a lot of fans have been wanting but some compromises elsewhere. SIEGE Prime had raised the bar for what I came to expect and I expected all the strengths of SIEGE Prime with G1 earth mode styling for Earthrise Prime.

For Earthrise Prowl and Smokescreen you get the G1 alt modes and all the strengths of the SIEGE figures but no compromise. They even have translucent headlights this time around.

 

I want to see ER Netflix Prime.

 

The leg wheels are great, and authentic to the G1 design, not a compromise. It makes him look much bulkier and more powerful. I hate it when they try to match the cheapened look of some of the cartoon models that got rid of vehicle kibble from the original designs. The latest MP prime is terrible for this. MP01 still has the best Bot mode out of all MP primes.

 

No, I'm not selling my other Optimuses, because I can still appreciate and enjoy the ones I already have. Also, you're right, not every new Optimus is "the best one yet." Before I got Siege Optimus, I thought "it looks good, but I bet something better can still be done," and I still felt that after I got it.

Also, I like the torso-to-leg proportions. The torso is a tad stubby, but I like Prime being leggy, and definitely felt Siege Optimus' torso was a little too long. And yes, the trailer isn't perfect, but I think it's about the best they could do without going all out with it and bringing it up to a Commander class.

The degree to which ER Prime's leg bends less honestly seems pretty minimal to me, maybe like 5 or 10 degrees tops, which isn't a huge difference to me. Also, hiding the leg wheels in robot mode isn't a huge priority for me. That's why I said I disagree: in my opinion, this is the best CHUG Optimus we've gotten.