3P advice: TFC Hercules v Maketoys Green Giant

[SharkyMcShark]

So basically I've decided to plump for one of these for Christmas for myself as a 'well done for slogging through to the end of your seven year degree' reward/present.

Either the TFC Hercules + Rage set, or the Maketoys Green Giant set.

Can't really decide on which, I've watched a couple of video reviews for each and never handled either in person. From what I can gather Green Giant is generally reviewed better though to be honest I'm leaning towards Hercules on looks, size and cost.

Basically I'm after opinions.


Things that DO matter to me.

- Minimal partsforming - I know both have this to an extent, and I know that the Rage kit adds elements of this to the Hercules set (forearms etc)
- Articulation - in individual and combined modes. I suppose durability in terms of holding up its own weight comes into play regarding the gestalt mode.
- Playability in vehicle mode - I know that some of the Maketoys figures don't have the same level of vehicle mode interactivity as the larger TFC figures.
- Durability - in all modes.


Things that DO NOT matter to me.

- Specific accuracy to any particular iteration of Devastator -G1 cartoon, IDW, etc. Doesn't really matter to me - my baseline is satisfied by the big/green and purple/made of six Constructicons factor.
- The precise shade of green
- Whether the aesthetic of the set gels with any particular existing group - CHUG, other 3P stuff etc, again doesn't matter. I'm not really big on display so it will probably end up standing on its own.


Things that MIGHT OR MIGHT NOT matter to me.

- Price - Green Giant is generally more expensive
- Size - I am aware Hercules is larger.

[Gofigure]

I did a little research and viewed many a review a month or two back
generally speaking maketoys came out on top. In addition for me maketoys has the better aesthetic and appears to be more solid so I would choose that one

However I don't have either so what do I know?

[AJ_Prime]

I can only comment on Hercules, because that is the one I opted for. Like you, I also checked out video reviews on both and went with Hercules for a few reasons:

1. He scales well with generations figures.
2. Well the size, he's freakin' huge!!
3. Minimal partsforming - I especially liked how the treads became his forearms without having to be removed. Also his head in combined mode is part of the crane.
4. The transformations weren't too difficult, but were still ingenious enough to pique my interest.
5. The individual vehicles included playability, for eg the extension on the crane arm and the movement of the shovels on both the excavator and the bulldozer.

Durability wise, he's made from very good quality plastic.

In terms of articulation, he's not too bad, you can get him in some pretty good poses but they are reasonably limited by the sheer weight of him in combined mode. The individual figures have pretty decent articulation. Again, in combined mode, the only downfall is that there is limited articulation with regards to the shoulders, that is they can't move right up to 90 degrees. However I believe that the Hercules Rage extension corrects this issue so you should be ok.

I'm extremely satisfied with him, and while Maketoys Giant looks good also, the things that attracted me to Hercules were the things that turned me off Giant.

That's just my opinion though, it would be interesting to hear from someone who owns Giant, or better still, both.

[Lord_Zed]

I have only Giant, though I do have TFC's Uranos.

I prefer Giant based on aesthetics, both in design, and colour and plastic used, TFC's Constrcuticons seem to suffer more from strange proportions. I think Maketoys also have more articulation in robot mode, though only by a tiny margin.

TFC's win on vehicle mode playability though.

Both are durable I imagine. The TFC plastic is not what I'd call the prettiest but it gets the job done, while Maketoyts uses a collectors plastic which is also as strong as it needs to be.

The only partsforming on Giant are the arms, chest piece and gun, which is less than the G1 toy, not sure about Hercules.

Since purchasing, I have had no second thoughts about Giant, and he is still my favourite 3rd party combiner. Though partly because six same size robot combiners are more interesting than 5 bot teams to me.

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

From your listed criteria, from what I've read Hercules wins out on either 2 or 3 out of 4 of your "Do matter" counts. The 1 definite + for Giant is that apparently it's better in terms of durability, especially for combined mode, as well as combined mode stability, and I'm not sure about partsforming (hence the maybe 2 bit). I don't have either of them myself (3P combiners are too expensive for me, though I've made an exception for Feral Rex) so I'm just going on reviews.

Personally, if I was going to get a not-Devastator I'd go for Green Giant, but I have a different focus/different priorities to you collecting-wise. From what you've said it sounds like either will do OK - just get the one you like the look of the best is my advice. It vaguely sounds like he'll be a once-off special for you in the same way that Feral Rex is for me, so the way I see it you might as well go for the one you like the best and make it count.

[CoRDS]

if price is an issue get it from chimungmung. giant is $389 and herc is $489 including rage kit both plus shipping.


i have giant and i love it. and it purely came down to price for me.
also they really nailed the green on giant.

[kaiden]

I have Hercules.

+big.
+looks good
+vehicle modes are pretty good.
+rounded plastic feels nice to hold and play with

-individual robot modes suck.
-shitty limb connections ports, much prefer the lock and release on MMCs Predaking.
-quality control is poor as typical with TFC but haven't bought anything from them since.

[Oberon Sexton]

Heard rumblings of an official devastator release in the combiner wars line made up entirely of voyager figures. Rumours for now, but personally I'm hold off for a bit till I hear more (been wanting a 3P devastator myself for a while now)

[UltraMarginal]

Heard rumblings of an official devastator release in the combiner wars line made up entirely of voyager figures. Rumours for now, but personally I'm hold off for a bit till I hear more (been wanting a 3P devastator myself for a while now)

me too.

I do really like the Hercules design incorporating the treads as forearms.

[SuspectimusPrime]

Can't comment on your points that do matter (as I have not played with Herc for a fair comparison), but considering your points that do not matter - accuracy/green/aesthetic, all which Giant seems to have more weigh, I would suggest Herc for you. If size sways you, then Herc easily. However according to CoRDS, Giant seems to still win on price.

Personally, Green Giant for me. If I had the cash to toss around for a second 3P Dev, I'd go for Yellow Giant.