Truthfully no matter how much the Takara BT's differ from the altentators they just arn't worth the 50-70 bucks, the cheaper alternative in this case is an actual alternative. Alenators and BT's look identical and each have their own strengths and weaknesses. The Hasbro versions use a strong plastic and tight joints and are certainly not "cheap quality" by any standards. The Takara versions are prone to paint chipping, loose joints, and can't be easily fixed. The Hasbro versions are just plastic and no metal, they just appear less glossy. Now granted you can break the plastic, you can also break metal as well, it's just that the metal has a higher breaking point than plastic...

 

You can also return Altenators more easily than Binaltechs...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

whoa whoa whoa......

 

Alts and BTs do *not* look identical at all. There's just no way you can say that, unless you're legally blind. Painted metal does not look the same as molded plastic. It just doesn't. I can tell the difference between my Alts and BTs a mile away. And all this stuff about loose joints..... that might have been your experience, but it hasn't been mine. All of my BTs have been of the highest quality.

 

And as an adult collector, I don't consider "breakability" as a factor when making purchases. I don't take my BTs out into the back yard and play "Indy 500" or anything.

 

The fact of the matter is that BTs are higher quality, period. You may not want to spend the money on them, and that's totally fine. But the Alts are still cheaper versions.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

They are pretty much both the same quality

 

It's just that one is plastic and one is metal...

 

having metal doesn't nessiceraly mean a higher quality product...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

actually, it does. Quality costs money, and there's a reason why the Alternators cost $20.

 

But beyond that, there's the fact that these are 1:24 scale model cars (at least in one mode). Don't you think that it might be a good idea for these things to be of the same quality as other, non-transforming model cars? Plastic model cars are just cheesy. Heck, even Hot Wheels cars are die-cast.

Truthfully no matter how much the Takara BT's differ from the altentators they just arn't worth the 50-70 bucks, the cheaper alternative in this case is an actual alternative. Alenators and BT's look identical and each have their own strengths and weaknesses. The Hasbro versions use a strong plastic and tight joints and are certainly not "cheap quality" by any standards. The Takara versions are prone to paint chipping, loose joints, and can't be easily fixed. The Hasbro versions are just plastic and no metal, they just appear less glossy. Now granted you can break the plastic, you can also break metal as well, it's just that the metal has a higher breaking point than plastic...

 

You can also return Altenators more easily than Binaltechs...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

whoa whoa whoa......

 

Alts and BTs do *not* look identical at all. There's just no way you can say that, unless you're legally blind. Painted metal does not look the same as molded plastic. It just doesn't. I can tell the difference between my Alts and BTs a mile away. And all this stuff about loose joints..... that might have been your experience, but it hasn't been mine. All of my BTs have been of the highest quality.

 

And as an adult collector, I don't consider "breakability" as a factor when making purchases. I don't take my BTs out into the back yard and play "Indy 500" or anything.

 

The fact of the matter is that BTs are higher quality, period. You may not want to spend the money on them, and that's totally fine. But the Alts are still cheaper versions.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

They are pretty much both the same quality

 

It's just that one is plastic and one is metal...

 

having metal doesn't nessiceraly mean a higher quality product...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

actually, it does. Quality costs money, and there's a reason why the Alternators cost $20.

 

But beyond that, there's the fact that these are 1:24 scale model cars (at least in one mode). Don't you think that it might be a good idea for these things to be of the same quality as other, non-transforming model cars? Plastic model cars are just cheesy. Heck, even Hot Wheels cars are die-cast.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hotwheels are not all die-cast, they do use plastic for parts of the undercarrage and interior

 

Still the really cheap plastic is that of the Gundam Models....that stuff is fragile...I mean Zoid plastic is way more hardier...

 

a 20 buck Altenator can take more of a beating than a $200 Gundam kit...also the Gundam kits you need to assemble...breakage can occur frequently while assembling...

Its not just metal vs. plastic.  On all the BTs there are mirror stickers and additional paint apps.  That may be small but I don't like it when my Alts don't come with a mirror sticker on the side mirrors.

 

Don't talk about BTs until you actually have some.  I have both.

Its not just metal vs. plastic.  On all the BTs there are mirror stickers and additional paint apps.  That may be small but I don't like it when my Alts don't come with a mirror sticker on the side mirrors.

 

Don't talk about BTs until you actually have some.  I have both.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Well I mean 50 bucks for a 1:24 scale bot is asking a bit much

 

the MP valks are like 100-150 and those are larger than the alts and cost as much as two or three...

 

Yeah the Valks are almost all plastic, but none of the BT's can compare to them.

 

If all the BT's were like MP prime then that would be worth the 50 or so bucks for it...

 

 

*Edit*

 

However those who say "you would buy the BT's if money was no object", I'd really have to say I wouldn't...

 

 

If money was no object I would buy the actual car itself and convert it so that it would be able to transform into the robot itself

 

Now granted all it would be is a show car with really no practical use, but hey it would get more people's attention than any Altenator or Binaltech because it would be an actual car and not a 1:24 scale toy.

 

Also it is to be noted that the real cars of the Altenators/Binal tech have a plastic/fiberglass body over the frame....I mean that's not metal at all...

it's kind of scary to read though all this and see you guys get so up in arms over bt or alts being better. i prefer alts myself. for one, i can't afford the fifty and up pop to the wallet. especially when in my eyes they look damn near the same.  it's all a matter of opinion. i know some folks go gaga over bt meister and i have seen him up close myself. i am very pleased that i didn't buy the bt for him. the white is kind of a gross color on him. as for the other lines, i look at what both companies have to offer for a specific mold and go with what looks best to me. as far as cybertron goes, i'm really liking the extra touch of faction symbols. it adds flavor to some of the more bland figures. i really liked a good amount of the universe stuff too. sure, i'm fairly happy with hasbro in general. i think they drop the ball every now and then but then again i think takara does too.  some people will always Starscream about the grass being greener on the other side and some will lord over you with the things they have. the things they percieve to be better than yours and judge you accordingly. that's not being part of something, that's being a Me Grimlock no bozo, me king!. who's better? hasbro or takara? who cares? we all win by being able to choose what we will or will not buy. i love both but that's my two cents.

I agree that there are things about both Hasbro and Takara that are good and bad. It's just that the conversation switched to Alts / BTs and I feel pretty strongly about the superiority of the BTs. That's not to say that I think Takara is perfect by any means. As I said earlier, I really don't like their fascination with girlie colors, and there are lots of TFs that I would rather have the US versions of (yes, including Japanese BW and BWR figures).

 

IMO Takara is primarily good for BTs and G1 fanservice, with all their quirky little G1 items that they come out with.

They supposed to be "Robots In Disguise".  How can you be in Disquise if you have a gigantic Autobot logo on your hood?

 

I remember the G1s had faction logos that you had to rub to see.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

And that giant Autobot insignia running down the side of Prime's trailer wasn't a dead give away? Most G1 toys I remember had several faction symbols, and only one rub. And it was always in someout of the way place, with a visible one in a more prominent position. Anyone remember where the rub symbols where on Hotrod, Tracks, Prowl,  Hound were? or do you remember the giant autobot insignia instead?

 

HAsbro has made some improvements on some toys, and detracted from others. If you're a collector, then get the version you think looks best. If you aren't a collector, and you just want a cool transforming robot toy to play with, get the one that's cheapest. Just shut up about it already. :stfu

I think that what makes Hasbro better than Takara is they have more toys in their mainstream line. They are not shackled by the cartoon and release all new molds of characters that will never appear in the show, and what's better, most of them don't suck and are pretty good.

 

Repaints are also good because it allows the customers more choices on what they want to buy. I don't understand why so many people Starscream about repaints, unless it's because of the color scheme. No one's forcing you to buy the repaints if you don't want too, so STFU. Energon is both a good and bad example of repaint usage. The repainted versions of some toys were actually better than the originals (E-Ironhide, Dreadwing, Beachcomber, Quickstrike), but it also backfired a little with certain toys ending up in poor distribution like Mirage and Beachcomber.

 

I also liked Universe because it gave me the opportunity to get older molds at cheap prices. I'm not a big fan of Beastformers, but Blackarachnia, Optimus Primal and Nemesis Prime made me feel some love for them.

 

I also like Hasbro's names better than Takara. But I don't blame Takara for that since most Japanese are not fluent in English. The only real letdown so far is "Decepticharge". Ugh.

 

Now if only Hasbro has better distribution than Takara here in Asia, I would really love them.

 

Off topic, I prefer BTs over Alts. The die-cast makes the car look more realistic and have the same feel as other model cars, they are not shackled by American political correctness, have better paint apps and have more impressive (yet harder to understand) instruction manuals.

Quality costs money, and there's a reason why the Alternators cost $20.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

INCORRECT, good sir!

 

I sold Cutco brand knives for a summer, and I must say, they are top quality knives.  they are guarenteed with free replacements for as long as someone knows there's a guarentee.  Blades are sharp, have 3 directional cutting surfaces, and made of surgical stainless steel.  They are simply the best knives that are on the market.  they sell for about $24 a knife.

 

However, 55% of the sale price stays in the district office as commission for the salesman and the manager.  only 45% of the price makes it back to the company to pay the workers, exectutives, and the cost of the knife.  Cutco is high quality, and it sells for a lot of money, but it doesn't cost alot. 

Quality costs money, and there's a reason why the Alternators cost $20.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

INCORRECT, good sir!

 

I sold Cutco brand knives for a summer, and I must say, they are top quality knives.  they are guarenteed with free replacements for as long as someone knows there's a guarentee.  Blades are sharp, have 3 directional cutting surfaces, and made of surgical stainless steel.  They are simply the best knives that are on the market.  they sell for about $24 a knife. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Sounds like you're still selling them until now. :tflaugh