Thursday, April 17, 2014

It's So Hard To Say Goodbye?

Since I made the decision to both enjoy my collection more, and bring it into focus a bit more, I've been left with some nagging decisions.  All of those decisions were based around a subset of my collection: Alternators/Binaltechs.  When first announced and released, Binaltech was the cream of the crop of the Transformers line.  The detail and articulation combined for a pleasant experience.  Sure, some figures were frustrating and the diecast of the Binaltech tended to weigh down some poseability of certain figures, but the updated versions of some G1 favorites made them great.  That is, until Takara decided to expand and ratchet up the releases of their Masterpiece line.  Suddenly, Binaltech lost it's charm.  I still have the figures, but I haven't touched them in a long, long time.  As such, I came to the conclusion to just sell the Binaltechs and what few Alternators I owned.I've decided to catalog a few of these guys with better pictures and go over what I like and don't like about them. 

The most obvious thing about Binaltechs would be the hyper-detailed vehicle modes.  Looking at the first Binaltech to be released, Smokescreen, the attention to real world detail is amazing.
For those not familiar with this version of Smokescreen, he is Subaru Impreza rally car.  Everything from the rims to the sponsors are as accurate as possible.  The car is just beautiful.
Tracks, even though he's yellow, is still a thing of beauty.  I know that more than a few people were up in arms over this color scheme, but I really like it.  Even the way the hood flips open is a great detail.
Perhaps my favorite vehicle would be Alternators Mirage.
Mirage is a Ford GT and he is awesome.  The deep blue of the paint and the white stripes just combine for a gorgeous, classic look.

The car modes, again, are incredible.  The designers at Takara did an amazing job with each and every car in the line.  The great car modes actually bring out what I feel to be the weak link of the Binaltech line - the robot modes.  A few had eye-catching, such as Tracks and Mirage, but the rest seemed kind of plodding.  Car accuracy was definitely more of a concern on these figures.
Beauty in motion
These two specimens notwithstanding, the rest of the Binaltech figures leave a lot to be desired.  Kibble is pretty much standard with any Transformer, but more so with Binaltech.
Just look at the Smokescreen's feet.  Notice the doors?  I was never fond of this look when he was first released and, over time, it's gotten worse.
Jazz (and Zoom Zoom) suffer from the same malady.  Is the kibble as egregious as what's present on Masterpiece Starscream?  Not really, not if we're talking about the first iteration of Starscream.  For whatever reason, I just really don't like it now.  Could it be that I'm just trying to justify my desire to get rid of them and I'm grasping at straws?

While the engine-as-a-gun gimmick was pretty ingenious upon first release, it has grated on me over time.  I don't have fat, stubby hands, and yet I still have trouble both placing and removing the engine blocks on most Binaltech figures.  I'm not going to go on about the stability issues with some of these guys - I'm looking at you, Grimlock, or the doors that love to constantly pop off. 


So I've made up my mind.  All Binaltech and what few Alternator figures I own are getting sold off to highest bidder.  The pictures I've used for this post are intended for eBay.  However, a funny thing happened while I was cleaning up the first batch of figures.  For the first time since I first opened him, I was finally able to get Alternator Prime into his vehicle mode!  Sad, I know, but since I had buried the instruction booklet in the box and put all of that in a storage tote a few years ago, I couldn't remember that the legs actually retracted!
A dream realized
It's odd how something as simple as playing with a figure for a bit can revitalize the love for an entire line.  I spent the rest of the evening transforming and posing my Binaltechs and found the love for the line again.  The bottom line is that I'm not selling them now.  Life's funny.

10 comments:

  1. Its good to hear your not selling them, they are some of the best examples of modern Transformers to date, and to get rid of them all would be a crying shame. Agree with what you said . I love the feel and the materials used for these toys, nevermind how awesome they look :).

    If you decide to sell, maybe start off with the duplicate moulds and sell one at a time, in case you reach this conclusion to sell them all off in one go comes again :D

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    1. Binaltech is great, but I feel that Masterpiece is really the best example of modern TFs period. Binaltech was an important stepping stone in the process as I feel it taught the designers what to do and what not to do.

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  2. Nice article. I don't own any Blinaltech figures myself since for myself, the original car molds are the only ones I like, even though I can certainly appreciate the attention to detail that Takara gave these guys.

    Your first paragraph really got me thinking when you said Binaltech was the cream of the crop when they came out....until Takara really got their production of Masterpiece figures into gear. It got me thinking if there were any other lines out there that could suffer the same fate.

    any thoughts?

    Cheers,
    Joe

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    1. Toy engineering and design seems to improve with each line. I remember when the RiD line was released and I couldn't help but marvel at the way they we designed, even X-Brawn. Comparing them to CHUGs now, they seem almost antiquated. I'm sure in 10 years, my kids will look at my Masterpieces and compare them to their newer figures and scoff. It's the way of life, I suppose.

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  3. I never got into Binaltech, I stuck with the Alternators exclusively, none of the Binaltech exclusive repaints stuck out to me as much as Jag ravage (actually none of any of them were as good as him for me) Glad you're not selling them, they are a great line, whichever your flavor lol.

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    1. My reasoning for getting mainly Binaltech over Alternators was pretty simple: Binaltech was released first. I was happy when the Alternator line was released domestically, but they just didn't feel right to me. Add in the fact that it was just easier to preorder them, and I pretty much stuck with Binaltech until there were figures that only the Alternator line had.

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  4. Very glad you came to your senses :D Nah seriously, I;ve sold Diaclone, G1, reissues, prototypes..all sorts of "unsellables", but Binaltech remains solidly entrenched in the heart of my collection. I love them so much.

    All the best
    Maz

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    1. Yeah, it's funny how transforming them really got me interested in them again. I think I may have to finish the collection...But I still think that the car modes are the best part of the line.

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  5. I sold off my Alternators some time ago and never really regretted it, but I do still have a few that I kept. I do agree they have lost some of their appeal with Masterpiece, but I'll also mention the first release to steal some of their thunder IMO was Alternity. I'm trying hard to resist branching out as I'm trying to real in the focus as well...but a part of me feels the need to complete the Alternity Convoy color collection!

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    1. Transformers GT is wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. One of my favourite collections of all.

      All the best
      Maz

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