Ha, thanks, but I was talking about actual G1 toys... You know, from 1984 and 1985  

 

from these pictures, he feels too big...but too good to pass up

 

i agree he feels too big,,, but for anyone with a NewAge collection. I think he'll be just right for my magic square figures though. He was too good to pass up at $84, I luckily got my order in before the price jump. if I had to pay the new $110 price I may have waited to see what other options were on the table..

 

He’s back to $90 so that’s better at least.

 

I don't know what kind of height difference there will be between them, and the perspectives aren't perfectly the same, but this gives us a pretty good idea of how they compare proportionately.

MS's is, uhh, quite the beefcake. Like too much so, *IMO*. But since I prioritize alt modes, that's really the one I need to see before making my choice.

If I had to pick based on this this image, this is the first time I'd ever pick NA. What is that boxy shape you can see on MS's back near his midsection?

I'm hoping MS's chunkier bot translates to a chunkier alt. NA's jet mode nose seems kinda long *IMO*.

 

I’m kinda surprised that this is the first time you prefer NA since you prioritize alts.

NA Mirage, Jazz, and Prowl all have much better alts, especially the EX versions (the toon version alts are still better than MS too.) And the alts are the same size as MS. NA Bee and Cliff also have much better alts, there are others I’m sure. MS has always been about the clean bot modes and some (many) times sacrificing the alt in favor of that. At least in my experience

 

"Based on this image"  

That image being bot modes. There isn't one NA bot mode I prefer over MS...aside from Skyfire...for now. It may change when better, colored photos of MSkyfire finally materialize.

Alt modes? Yeah, NA does win a few times. I prefer their Ironhide/Ratchet. Their Datsun bros are superior. Their Jazz just barely nudges out MS's due to the wider read wheels. Both of their Bees/Cliffs are ridiculous and look nothing like VWs or Porsches. Mirage? Well, while I do like that it's smaller and more accurately scaled, *I* think MS's looks much better and cleaner.

 

I think that MS version is distorted quite a bit. It should be like below. Anyway, there's one factor I often take NA over MS: the innovative/creative transformation.

 

That part makes me confused as well. Golden Zhen seems to be the 1st person said that it's painted.

 

Funny, I think that the MS transformations can be just as creative as the NA ones. The new MS Ironhide is an engineering marvel, as is their 2.0 Prime (and many others).

I just think it’s great that we have the choice of two such amazing companies, both putting out some excellent figures. Which company is ‘best’ is so subjective (personally, I think both companies outshine each other on different characters: I prefer MS for Megatron, the Datsuns and Mirage, but I prefer NA for Magnus, the seekers and Bumblebee).

 

Wait and see if I am wrong.

Very obviously, only the white on his backpack is painted.
It is not uncommon that Golden Zhen tells bullcrap about figures. If H45 is fully painted, expect a $20 increase at least in the price , which means the only difference between H45 and H45F is whether having diecast parts or not.

 

Price went up again, and he's in stock at Show Z, glad I got him before the price increase.

 

With innovative/creative I meant to say about original solutions, not about complexity nor engineering.
Although it's just a personal opinion, I think when both companies do the same character, NA often have more original ideas.
Anyway, like you said, it's great to have choices, and even better if someone can collect both.

It looks like being increased, but actually ShowZ give a $30 discount code for it when you open the product page.

 

Bee and cliffy smoke MS in both modes imo. Literally the only other exception.  


If anyone gets a chance to match the white paint, let me know. I’d like to paint all the screws white so they don’t stick out.

 

Just saw today from their FB account. Coupon code: Jetfire30

 

I don’t see this on FB, can you pls tell me which group exactly so I can join it too?

 

It's Bombusbee's facebook page:
Войдите на Facebook

The text in brackets at the start of their twitter and facebook posts are coupon codes:

 

the coupon code is also posted on the H45 product page in the description section.

 

see what i found on bombusbee website for toon Skyfire... yeah, you can smell who is behind it now, right?

"Newage has a price control on this item."

 

Thanks guys, with your guidance, i was able to find this coupon for both Bombusbee and Show Z for NA Skyfire. Hopefully i didnt miss any other secret coupons when i passed all my orders for misc NA / IF / etc items this past Monday / Tuesday with both companies. Havent seen any coupons from Terry for a while. When ordering several items, savings on Bombusbee becomes very noticeable, but i shop from all 3.