Sci-Fi Guy here, and as you all know I am a huge collector of anything Transformers. Growing up with them since the very beginning, my love for all things Transformers has been a very extreme passion of mine. Today we are going to head of the battle of the giants. When it comes to Transformers there are 2 major companies who make them, Hasbro and Takara. Takara (also known as Takara Tomy) are the original creators of Transformers, also known as Diaclone in Japan. Hasbro went to the Tokyo Toy Show in Japan in 1983 to find something new to import back and ran upon these great toys we call Transformers today. Now to some the Transformers series died out in the late 80’s, then came back for the movies in '07. This isn’t true at all but we will get into that at a later time. Now in addition to Hasbro and Takara, there has been a huge trend of 3rd party companies making these awesome toys. Granted they are not trademarked by either company, but they found loop holes to bring us our favorite toys, but to a whole new level!
Today we will be talking about combiners. When you think of it only 1 major combiner comes to mind immediately, Devastator! Growing up this guy was everyone’s favorite. Aside from the fact he was huge, combined, and evil, kids today and even when I was growing up loved watching these machines at work. So of course there’s plenty of options to choose from when it comes to the toy. Today we will be comparing 3 different versions of Devastator made by 3 different companies, Hasbro’s Titan Class, Takara’s United Warrior, and Make Toys Green Giant. We will talk about the Good, The Bad, And the Ugly, including quality, pricing, availability, size, functionality, and want factor. This is how each score will be based. Please note, this is my personal opinion and going off hundreds of reviews and such from other avid collectors who like me, look for these same things.
Hasbro Combiner Wars Devastator
The Good:
· Pricing is around $150.00 USD
· He is massive standing over 18” tall!
· Very Nice Packaging
· Easier to acquire
· Articulation
· Posable
· Plenty of 3rd party upgrades.
The Bad:
· Coloring is off
· Black hands instead of the traditional purple
· Inward swinging elbows for Long Haul
· No elbows for Scrapper
· The narrow cab on Mixmaster
The Ugly:
· Very hollow, feels like it could break with ease
· Very poor quality for the price
· No weapons for the individual Constructicons
· Paint is very poorly done, very minimal.
Takara United Warrior
The Good:
· Stands over 18” tall
· Individual guns for all the Constructicons
· Elbows for Scrapper
· Forward bending elbows for Long Haul
· Swing visor gimmick
· New face sculpt
· Better paint apps
· Purple hands
The Bad:
· Price is around $200.00 USD
· Harder to acquire
· Longer wait times to receive
The Ugly:
· Poor quality for the price
· Very hollow
Make Toys Green Giant
The Good:
· Exquisite detailing
· Paint is amazing
· Quality is superb
· Amazing craftsmanship
· Very heavy and durable
· Tons of articulation
· Very Posable
· 3rd party upgrades and add ons
The Bad:
· This beast stands around 16 inches tall
· Some issues with articulation
· Coloring is a little off
The Ugly:
· Pricing! When this beast first came out each Constructicon ran about $100.00 USD each. That’s $600.00 dollar’s invested into 1 toy! Now you can pick him up for $300.00 – $400.00
· Very hard to find
All in all, each company has its good’s and its bad’s. If you’re just looking to add this guy to your collection then Hasbro is the way to go and Takara if you’re wanting the few extra goodies. If price isn’t an issue and you’re looking for something amazing, then by all means go with the Green Giant. Either way I am a collector and in the words of Pokemon, GOTTA HAVE THEM ALL! Thanks for reading and if you want to see more come check us out or give us a like on Facebook.