I recently bought a g1 shrapnel from eBay. He came with nearly no chrome wear, tight joints, his gun, unapplied stickers and instruction sheet. I was wondering how to tell the difference between g1 and the reissue. His instruction sheet uses the name shrapnel and he was renamed to sharpshot in the reissue. His chest compartment says:
HASBRO '80 83
(Japanese text)
Takara Co Ltd
1980 1983 Japan
He's got some heft and feels like he has die-cast. I think the reissues didn't have die-cast. Any info will be appreciated.

 

wrong.

reissues had diecast exactly like the original G1's did.

 

big thing i remember about the (Hasbro) reissue is the stickers didn't hold for crap, especially if you tried to put them over a bend or corner.

 

i think the reissue will have china on it somewhere

the reissue kickback on the other hand has pointy wing tips
where the original has rounded edges

 

I think the reissue had orange chests while the original ones had yellow.

Square One: Ceji G1 "Orange Chested" Insecticons

 

Thanks for the info everyone. Although I still don't have a definitive answer, the evidence points to a actual g1. I'm pretty stoked and will continue researching it. Thanks again

 

Reissue:

- Orange chest
- Made in China

Vintage Hasbro:

- More Yellow than orange chest
- Made in Japan

Vintage Ceji:

- Orange chest
- Block moulded over country of manufacture

I hope that will allow your answer to be definitive  

EDIT: Read the first post properly, definitely vintage.

All the best
Maz

 

Thanks maz. Couldn't be happier with that result.

 

There are also high-quality KOs of the Insecticons out there. I'm not sure if they kept the stampings of the legit versions or not, but I know they came with sticker sheets, instructions, etc..

http://www.ioffer.com/i/transformers-g1-insecticon-bombshell-kickback-shrapnel-141628883

MIKE
engledogg

 

you aint kidding. I have fixed my stickers multiple times. finally started putting a dab of superglue on the backs of the ones that wont stay on.

 

There is also a difference in the gun. If I remember correctly, the vintage has extra fins on the back if the gun, and the reissue is....plainer.