I will say right off I do not like metal and LOVE ALL PLASTIC. Strange as a robot should be made of some alloy, however I have found in comparison with especially the Alternators/Binaltech that the Alternators are simply better for me. They are lighter, and seem to hold together better with no issues of chipping paint and seeming wear. The binaltech I have is too cumbersome and almost to weighed down to hold as many dynamic poses as the alternators. The titanium line seems to have failed in comparison as well due to the same issues and the figures not being able to fit together all that well. Now with the new Alternity, does anyone know if they will come out with an all plastic version by hasbro? I would get the silver one but it seems to be made out of an alloy and thus I am going to pass. Thoughts?
First thought - I 100% completely disagree with you, sorry! A combination of die-cast and plastic, done well, can't be beat on any TF. Binal Tech make Alternators look like some cheap KO I'd find in the local £ shop. Titaniums had flaws, but I wished they'd stuck with 'em for longer. The only thing that could've made Henkei better would have been Takara adding some die-cast in there. As for Alternity - no word on a Hasbro release yet, but I expect it would happen eventually, and be all plastic.
The Japanese one probably would be part-metal, although I couldn't say for sure. If Hasbro do decide to release the figs, they'll probably do the same as they did with Alts and replace the metal with plastic. But do we even know if they are releasing them? Or has their experience with Alts put them off? I have to agree with you over the plastic/metal preference, though. I have a handful of Alts, and only one BT (Hound), and while the extra weight may feel quite nice in vehicle mode, in robot mode it makes him that much more difficult to balance. Figures with that kind of weight distribution need tighter joints to compensate for the weight.
If a toy is solid and sturdy, I don't care one way or the other. As far as BT's vs. Alts, I think it was more the paint applied to the metal parts of the BT's that make them look a LITTLE BIT better since the plastic used on the same parts for Alts was often slightly translucent.
I don't mind either way. Unless I want to bludgeon someone to death with a TF, in which case it's die cast all the way!
Its got to be plastic, every BT I have has either chipped, broken or is hardly possable cos of the damn diecast where as my alts have none of these problems. Lets face it the titainimum line would be so much better and far more fun toys if it wern't for the metal in them.
Plastic for me too, diecast only rises the price to the estratosphere, also it makes the figures heavier and more difficult to pose and handle. Although recently Hasbro has putting really thin an cheap plastic to the figures, but when they use good quality plastic it's a much better choice than diecast.
Depends on the figure/line for me. You simply can not compare an Alt Smokescreen to the BT! Even in the case of Tracks where they tried to add a metallic flake to the plastic it still does not compare to the BT. As far as chipping goes that's an issue of care. Of the BT's I bought brand new, none of them have any chipping or wear. Posing however can be an issue though. My BTA Red Alert was fairly loose out that package which made supporting the extra weight a pain. Plastic has its place too! I couldn't imagine die cast on a Animated TF. The only Universe/Classic that would even feel remotely right with die cast is Onslaught. I'm betting the Alternity line wont have much die cast due to the 1:24 scale and the transformation style. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
The only transformers I have are the Takara re-issues and Binaltech, so, I like the die-cast figures. I guess they feel less like toys and more like fine display pieces. Of the two Alternators I have the Mirage has somewhat swirly paint and the Optimus Prime is just dreadful, almost translucent it is. Don't collect too many transformers anymore, just the Encore and the Masterpiece lines which although they don't always contain metal parts, they are still modern classics.
But could they really have been called "Titanium" w/o the metal parts? I like both plastic and metal on my Transformers. Both can have their benefits when used properly. The G1 toys are a good representation of how both can be combined to make really fun and displayable toys.
I probably should give you that but it also sure as hell wasn't titanium in them toys either, that or space shuttles are a lot shiter and easyer to smash than we've been lead to believe lol.
I think metal parts are overrated. In my own experience, they add something in terms of visual quality and feel/heft for a primarily display item (though much of the visual element could be recreated by painting over the plastic like Kiss-Players and some movie Premium toys did), but in terms of ease of handling/fiddling/posing/playing, I prefer plastic, and don't worry near as much about parts rubbing against each other or getting bumped against something.
I can't think of a single reason to like diecast other than nostalgia. Also: Shortpacked! webcomic by David Willis -- Toys Are Serious Business
Diecast is definitely overrated. It adds unnecessary weight and cost to the figures. If they had made the Titanium line out of all plastic it would have probably been a lot better (though even in all plastic some figures would still need some redesigning to be better). I have four figures with diecast in them. Two of which are G1 reissues, the other two are Titanium figures, and all of them bought mainly because of who the character was. To put it simply, and a little bluntly: Plastic>Diecast
Plastic all the way for me. The Die Cast Binaltechs look great, but I like to transform my toys without worrying about paint scratches or them falling off a shelf and shattering. Titnainiums were, for the most part horrible IMO. I'd love to see some of them redone in all plastic at some point.
