Quote Originally Posted by spiderken17 View Post
which one would people recommend between Green Giant 61 and Hercules (quality/size/price etc) and why?
I went with Giant for a few reasons:
  • Gestalt size - Giant is a bit smaller than Hercules, which is good because I have very limited display space. I'm using one of those cubey things Expedit shelves from Ikea and Giant only just squeezes in.
  • Aesthetic - I prefer the look of Giant and his individual bots over the TFC version. Maketoys' bots have more intricate transformations and I think are closer to the original toys than TFC's
  • Price - Giant was about $100 cheaper than Herc, excluding the 'Rage' addon kit. This may have changed now that Giant's out of production, and complete Herc sets including 'Rage' have been getting cheaper.
  • Giant's individual bots have ankle tilt! A minor reason, perhaps, but for bots the size of TFC's not to have ankle tilts is a pretty omission.

Quality-wise, I've heard that Herc's plastic is a little softer, which leads to some mushy detailing. Also I think Herc's shoulder joint ratchets can weaken over time. Giant's plastic is a bit harder, but that makes some of his bits very tough to peg together. My fingers were pretty sore after transforming him the first time. The plastic also tends to deform suddenly if you apply too much pressure, as I found out. Nothing to be overly concerned about, but just be aware that there's very little flex there and be careful not to twist things the wrong way.

Have a hunt on YouTube for some Giant vs. Herc comparisons, being able to see the bots and gestalt side by side really helped me make up my mind. Each camp has merits so you'll almost certainly be happy whichever way you go.