Howdy, just deciding between the two at the moment would appreciate your opinions. :)
Also, what's your favourite binaltech/alternator and why?
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Howdy, just deciding between the two at the moment would appreciate your opinions. :)
Also, what's your favourite binaltech/alternator and why?
Wheeljack for me.
and Mirage close behind.. sweet alt modes
Silverstreak. Because I used to own him. :cool:Quote:
Originally Posted by Raptormesh
BT Jazz I guess... Otherwise the Japanese release of HA has the better detailing (imho).
Favorite BT would be Laserwave due to RX-8 and its articulation and coloring, favorite Alternator would be Silver Streak (the BT version is too heavy causing the joints to lose friction) due to its articulation and you see 2004 WRXs every day, also one of the few Alts that are painted. Overall favorite is possibly Hot Rodimus from Kiss Players tho, great mold with good articulation, and he comes with Syao Syao... and a fishing rod!!! (Also stupidly expensive now).
Binaltech if you can find one cheap enough. Personally not a fan of HA.
Meister is a pret-ty sweet Binaltech. The pearl white just looks gorgeous on the Binaltech (unlike the dull flat white on Alternators Meister ... little wonder that thing shelf warmed even after TRU reduced it down to $25 each). It embodies all the great things about the Binaltech line - beautiful scale-replica alt mode, and I like how all four doors, the bonnet and boot can open to reveal the detailed interior. Transformation is fairly intuitive and the robot parts look fantastic, particularly how it has separate "eyes" sculpted beneath the blue visor. That's a nice touch. :) I've never thought about it before, but Meister is probably my favourite Binaltech. And Zoom-Zoom is pretty cool too. I also really like Overdrive. :)
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22...s/zoomzoom.jpg
Comparison between BT Meister/Zoom-Zoom w/ a real Mazda RX-8; the colours work wonderfully on the die-cast metal and look very realistic as scale replicas
I'm personally not a huge fan of Wheeljack; I don't hate it, but it's probably my least favourite of the BTs. I find the transformation to be counter-intuitive and I don't like how certain parts pop off too easily. Also, the robot design was clearly intended to be Grimlock (which came first), and despite some of the flaws of the mould, visually it works well as Grimlock. You can see how they've tried to "bulk up" the robot mode for Grimmie... but on Wheeljack he becomes all "buff" and he has a sword... he's more like Driftjack! (which only makes sense in hindsight - at the time none of us had ever even heard of Drift. :p).
I used to have Alternators Wheeljack (I was gonna repaint it as Alt. Slicer, but ceebs so I ended up selling it :p). Aside from being totally plastic, the colours are poor -- stripped of chrome and also the eyes aren't even blue, they're just black. And the silver paints were replaced with Hasbro Grey(TM). Very dull looking indeed.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22...jack_altbt.jpg
Left: Alternators Wheeljack, Right: Binaltech Wheeljack
But as I said before, price is also a factor... I don't know how much BTs sell for now, but I've heard that the aftermarket prices can be expensive. While I really love BTs, I don't know if I'd recommend paying above RRP for them -- you may be more likely to find HA Jazz at (or closer to) RRP. Go for whichever one you can get at a better price (re: value for money). No point getting a BT Meister if it's gonna cost you a small fortune. :rolleyes:
Wow thank you for all the quick and really good responses. A cursory check with ebay shows that they are roughly the same price...weird eh? Wished I picked up HA Jazz when it first came out. However they are no less than $70, so I'm still hesitant...
Also, is meister same as Jazz? There's also argent meister, pretty confusing.
Argent Meister is a bit of a mish-mash - he's silver as homage to the movie jazz, and the car is the same as Laser/Shockwave in that it has the extra kit, but robot obviously doesn't have the gun arm. I have one for sale if you're interested, it was on hold but that seems to have fallen through.
Meister is the Japanese name for G1 Jazz, so naturally the Binaltech toy was called Meister.Quote:
Originally Posted by Raptormesh
Hasbro has long had legal issues with the name "Jazz," that's why recent Jazz toys (e.g. movie, Animated etc.) are called "Autobot Jazz", and last year's Reveal The Shield Jazz was called "Special Ops Jazz." Hasbro no longer holds the trademark to call the toy just "Jazz" anymore. With Alternators the legal issues became tighter, I suspect because Alternators may also be seen as miniature/replica car toys and not just action figures (and thus fall under different trademark jurisdiction); Hasbro weren't able to use the Jazz name at all, so they kept the Japanese name and called the Alternator version "Meister."
Aside from the name, Alternators Meister is fully plastic, and the plastic is a dull flat white. Whereas Binaltech Meister is die-cast metal painted a brilliant pearl white and looks much nicer. I wouldn't recommend paying $70 for an Alternators Meister (esp. considering that it shelfwarmed here and TRU slashed prices down to $25, and it still shelf warmed). If you can find a BT Meister for the same price as HA Jazz, then definitely get Meister. Or you could take up kurdt on his Argent Meister offer. :)
I'm going to go against the grain and say HA Jazz, which IMO is one of the best of all the movie toys. BT Jazz is good, and one of the less frustrating of the line to transform, but I find myself picking up and transforming my HA Jazz far more often. It's just more fun and that is my no.1 criterium.
Ah...well you got PM :)Quote:
Originally Posted by kurdt_the_goat
Thanks Goktimus, that's a wealth of info!Quote:
Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime
Yeah Tober mentioned that Takara HA Jazz has better detailing as well? I'll have to watch a few more review vids!Quote:
Originally Posted by Pipesqueak
At the time, Hasbro had a difficult time trademarking the name 'Jazz'. The solution was to use Meister, which was the character's Japanese name. 'Argent' means silver or a whitish metal. And yes, Zoom-Zoom is the name of the red variant, from Mazda's marketing campaign.Quote:
Originally Posted by Raptormesh
I can't quite remember why he is silver in the Binaltech fiction... Something to do with the Electrum pool from the G1 cartoon... :rolleyes: