Henkei VS Hasbro

[lcz128]

The Henkei line has brought out a lot of awesome releases. Not all of them were released after the Classics/Universe equivalents either, nor are they all 'better' than the other -

As someone mentioned, the QC is about as shocking as Hasbro's - what can you do?

But an example of something that was released before a hasbro equivalent is:
Red Alert
He's AWESOME, and I can't see any way a Hasbro release could be better than that

but then there's Sideswipe - where the Hasbro release doesn't have chrome, and is actually more accurate than the Henkei one! Funny how things turn out!

So - like many have said - Pick and Choose! The choice is yours! 8D

[kup]

When it comes to the original 'Classics' releases such as Optimus Prime, Grimlock, Bumblebee, etc. I do happen to mostly prefer the Classics version than Henkei.

The Classics toys don't seem to predate the lower manufacturing quality that can be seen in Universe (classics 2.0).

[christalcase]

I guess tend towards henkei a little bit, since imo a lot of them look reli awesome and better but they tend to be more expensive too... (u'll prob hav to import them, so u'll hav to pay shipping costs)

for ease, hasbro I think is gud enough, and tend to be cheaper, as least I dont hav to wait aaaggges to wait for it to come (i can just grab it off the shelf wen I see it) and as ppl hav mentioned, which part of the toys has chrome reli makes diff

and yes, I think red alert is awesome too! well... except for da stupid loose elbow joints on mine

[blackie]

henkei come with techspecs
nuff said

[langzixinxin]

I was wondering is there a legal agreement between Takara and Hasbro that "the more G1 accurate paint always belongs to Takara"?

The only complain about henkei from me is the chrome. I don't want them on toys as they are easily worn.

I prefer G1 accurate paint, but no chrome.

[kup]

I was wondering is there a legal agreement between Takara and Hasbro that "the more G1 accurate paint always belongs to Takara"?

Both Henkei and Universe toys are made in the same factory with two production lines. Hasbro prefers to spend less on manufacturing costs for maximum profit while the Japanese have more of an emphasis on product quality and costumer satisfaction.

[Jhiaxus]

The Henkei toys usually look like balls compared to the Hasbro ones.

They're slathered with random chrome, adhere stupidly to the cartoon, and generally don't have the nice touches of extra colour that bring the toy to life -- like Prime's yellow high-lights, or Megatron's greens and purples.

--Jhiaxus.
(There's a reason I only own four Henkei toys -- and part of that reason is that 3 of them came in one pack. Legends! woo!)

[Jhiaxus]

Both Henkei and Universe toys are made in the same factory with two production lines. Hasbro prefers to spend less on manufacturing costs for maximum profit while the Japanese have more of an emphasis on product quality and costumer satisfaction.

That's such an enormous lie. I can't believe you'd claim that.

That's not even remotely the truth. The difference here is not a matter of philosophy towards the consumers. The idea that Tomy is somehow this wonderful benefactor and not a money-making company is ridiculous.

Hasbro and Tomy's releases have a big difference between them. Hasbro's releases are way, way, way, cheaper. They spend less money on paint aps, but as a result, their toys are *half the cost* of Tomy's releases when you compare the Yen prices to the USD prices.

So yeah, Tomy's releases have more paint, but it's not because they CARE about the consumer more. They're not graciously granting you a more G1 accurate paint job out of some desire to give you better customer satisfaction. It's not because they don't care as much about the bottom line.

It's because they make you pay for it.

Yes, they're generally more G1 accurate, but whether that's a good thing or not is entirely subjective. Objectively what it does demonstrate is that Tomy is far more conservative than Hasbro. They have a much smaller consumer base than Hasbro -- whose consumer base for Transformers is just insanely huge, so they are far more conservative in their presentation of product than Hasbro.

We have a skewed view here in Australia, because we already pay insane prices for our Transformers -- we get American release Transformers at more than twice American retail. But those toys were DESIGNED for American retail release.

Both Tomy and Hasbro are in the business of making money. They treat their products differently, but this is not a sign of how much they care.


--Jhiaxus.
(Seriously dude... I've seen this "Tomy cares more about the customers" claim made a million times and it's UTTER BULLTRIPE.)

[kup]

That's such an enormous lie. I can't believe you'd claim that.

--Jhiaxus.
(Seriously dude... I've seen this "Tomy cares more about the customers" claim made a million times and it's UTTER BULLTRIPE.)

Fine. No need to be so hostile about it. You can believe what is a lie and truth all you want, geez.

BTW: No one is debating that both companies are in it for the money you read that in my post all by yourself. What's different is their approach on gaining that money.

The cost of Transformers for Americans means sweet FA to me. I'm sorry, but for me the cost of a Hasbro Transformer is comparable to a TakaraTOMY Transformer -- and for approximately the same price I'd rather get the Takara version if I happen to prefer it over the Hasbro version.

If the Hasbro versions were substantially cheaper for me like they are for Americans, then I may reconsider getting Takara versions. But they're not.

So as long as I'm earning my wage in AUD I'm always going to be looking at it from an Australian perspective... unless the price of Transformers here becomes cheaper and more comparable to what Americans pay. And that's not taking into account other factors like differences in average wages, cost of living etc.

Exactly! Well said.

[jaydisc]

Both Henkei and Universe toys are made in the same factory with two production lines. Hasbro prefers to spend less on manufacturing costs for maximum profit while the Japanese have more of an emphasis on product quality and costumer satisfaction.

Is this fact or theory? If it's fact, I'd like to know more. If it's theory, that's cool too, just want to make sure