Apologies if a thread like this has popped up recently, but I've been seriously looking at these knockoff/bootlegs of G1 Dinobots Grimlock, Swoop, Slag and Sludge that are available on ebay and in some online stores. We all know that, based upon Mr. Archer's representations, the Dinobots are not in line for any kind of official reissues. So I was wondering what the quality is like on these guys. I've heard that their die cast is intact. What about the plastic quality? And joints? Is their quality comparable to the genuine article? Any comments or critiques would be most helpful. Right now, I'm currently leaning toward picking them up, despite the cost of roughly twice what an authentic reissue would be.

Also, does anyone know if they're going to finish off with Snarl?

Thanks in advance.

 

I'm happy with mine. Your mileage may vary.

Swoop is missing a screw on his hand, but it still holds together. I could probably go down to Lowe's and buy a replacement one, but I've been too lazy. His wings are a little loose too, but I will try nail polish on it this weekend to tighten it up. Other than that he's nice.

Sludge is the highest quality one I would say. No issues with him, other than the fact that I needed to pry his tail piece open. It was very tight. I keep him in robot mode mostly so that's no big deal.

Slag's legs were difficult to slide outwards. I fixed this by shaving off the red paint on the leg post and they slide much easier now. I had to super glue one of his feet in place since it would pop out. One of his shoulder gold plugins doesn't fit well and pops out pretty easily. Was thinking of super gluing, but I may need to sand it down a little bit so it won't force itself out again.

I repainted both Slag and Sludge's die-cast red body. The paint was chipping and not done very well. I disassembled them and repainted it. Now they look great.

I just purchased Grimlock, so he's in the mail now. From what I hear people say, he seems to be pretty good quality compared to the others.

 

Ok, thanks for the reply. Looks like I'll be making that buy.

 

I just applied nail polish to one of Swoop's wing hinges and let it dry overnight. Now it's nice and tight  

I put some more on the other wing so hopefully he'll be good and tight shortly. I'm not sure how long it will take to dry, but I'll find out today I suppose.

 

are these examples of what you are talking about? Im kind of new to collecting so sorry if this is a stupid question.

http://cgi.ebay.com/TRANSFORMERS-KO-G1-REISSUE-DINOBOTS-SWOOP-USA_W0QQitemZ120219432654QQihZ002QQcategoryZ4696QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/TRANSFORMERS-KO-G1-REISSUE-DINOBOTS-SLUDGE_W0QQitemZ120219432099QQihZ002QQcategoryZ4696QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

Yes, those are the ones.

 

I wonder if they'll ever do Snarl.

 

Snarl is being done. There were a few copies on eBay a month ago or so, but none have surfaced since. I think those were just the first batch of testing samples possibly. They'll be out sometime in the future.

 

Cool, thanks. Confirmation of that from agesthreeandup.com just popped up on the front page in connection with the Gnaw KO.

 

Apply his stickers; they'll hold the lower arms together perfectly.

 

Paladine: Since you have the Dino KO's, do you also have any of the KO cassettes that have been coming out? Like the Ratbat/Frenzy 2 pack? And if so, how are they. Thanks again.

 

I have that one. The Frenzy is awesome. The Ratbat is not as good. The whole tape has a slight curve to it, making it awkward when inserting into Soundwave.

 

Curious. Where is a good place (or any place) to get these KO's.

I have only seen them on ebay and toy sites. (the toy sites prices are crazy...higher than ebay for the most)

As im interested in a loose Dino display, im trying to decide between these and G1.

 

For the Dinobots, I'd definitely want higher-quality G1s... they've all got some parts that seem like they'd be scary delicate in KO plastic... all I'm missing is Snarl, and I totally love my Dinobots.

 

I've used eBay. That seems to be the best place. I haven't had any bad luck with unscrupulous sellers.

 

I have the KO Grimlock and Swoop. Swoop has legs that are a little loose at the knee but Grimlock is perfect. In fact, the QC on Grimlock is better than that on the Ratchet Encore release!

I'm now looking to track down Sludge and I'm almost tempted to replace my original-but-slightly-warn versions of Slag and Snarl with shiny new KO versions.

Roll on Sunstreaker and Wheeljack... Oh, and Shockwave, and my pre-movie G1 collection will be complete.