I'm going to wait to see what ShowZ's final price is, but I'm definitely going to finish this set.

 

I don't think the other members came with anything.

Between missing out on Lady Eris and XTB's Zeusaurus, I'm a bit burnt out on the "bonus" and "exclusive" game.

And two versions of Sergeant is a sufficient gimmick.

 

TFSource where you at? Open up that PO!!

Anways, hopefully Hotspot comes with a brand new BAF. Maybe Rodimus Prime or Galvatron!

Also hoping that GT continues producing new figures. Liokaiser with DeathCobra next please! Or maybe IDW Omega Supreme!

And while we are at it hoping that they reissue J4ZZ cause I missed out on it previously lol.

 

Sergeant has two versions?

 

English

Japanese

 

Thank you sir!

 

Save yourself money and go to any American retailer other than tfsource.

 

Also reads the same in Chinese.

 

Is it? Robotoybase and most other retailers say it's Japanese.

Or do they use similar characters?

 

Same for Police. Both languages share similar written words.

Japan has 3 styles of writing, one of which is Kanji, which is Chinese characters.

Japanese people's names are all in Kanji, so they can be read in Chinese as well, but it will sound different.

As for GT Streetwise, I always thought it's Chinese and meant for their local market.

 

GT made three versions. This is the Japanese one...

 

Oh, three versions! Interesting

I want the Japanese one as I developed a bit if head canon with young Streetwise being assigned to Japan when first coming to Earth, and truly earning his name while being partnered with Taiho and the "You're Under Arrest!" girls.


Years laters, he upgrades to how he looks as designed by Generation Toy from his G1 look and adds the characters on his doors as a tribute

 

Looks similar to how MMC designed their Onslaught thigh area to become the crotch are of the combined mode. Only problem I have with this was that MMC didn't have strong ratchets so Bruticus was a bit unstable at times. He can still pull off any pose he wants no problem.

If they are using stronger ratchets for Hotspot and reinforce the plastic holding it in place to not shear off and break over time, I'll be one happy guy. I'm getting Hotspot to complete this set for the bot modes so my gripe about the stability of the combined mode is moot. Still, I'd like for Defensor to be rock solid for when I decide to combine and pose it on occasion

 

For some reason I haven't been able to get this video to load until today. Those ratchet joints sound pretty damn tough and he is one big bot. He's even a little taller than MP10! I'm starting to think the wait may be worth it in the end

 

the only small gripe that I have is the combined mode hip skirts just hanging out at the back of the legs. it almost looks like an afterthought that they had no idea what to do with. but, as I said, not a huge deal it just something that catches the eye and not in a good way.
edit, nevermind, all the other pics don't show it that way so crisis averted, lol.

 

It looks like the hip skirts are on a slider and they are supposed to rest higher up

 

Hotspot's bot transformation is a lot simpler than I expected (maybe the video made it simpler too). I almost feel he is easier to transform than Maketoys or YM Hotspot.

I'm also wondering whether the 2 partsforming pieces have any proper storage in bot mode (i.e. the detachable piece covering the combined hands, and the bar on the roof of the cab).

 

This made me look up japanese police cars on google images lmao. 警察 is usually the word used on chinese police cars in cities like beijing. 警视厅 (simplified chinese) is used in Japan. The difference between these is the use of the word 厅 which means "department". These differences in linguistics have always caught my interest. GT knows their audience!

 

This is not quite right. Simplified Chinese is used in both Mainland China and Singapore while Traditional Chinese is used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and some South East Asian countries. The Japanese Kanji (Shinjitai) is kinda an amalgamation of Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese and some original "simplified" characters that can't be found in Mandarin.

 

I think different places in Japan uses slightly different wording on their police vehicles, including the Chinese way of writing it.

But in general, the word for "police" itself is the same in both China and Japan.