DSC_5007
In our modern world of one and three step Transformers figure, it`s nice to revisit a time when brainpower and spatial awareness was needed to actually play with these thing.
For the unitiated, Binaltech (or Alternators outside of Japan) was a line of Transformer figures that featured 1:24 scale licensed vehicle modes for a few of the G1 Transformer crew. All vehicles featured opening doors and an actual console area, so if you had 1:24 scale figures you could put them inside. Each figure also featured a component (usually the engine, though no so much in the case of Meister) that transformed into the weapon for the figure.
I never did finsh my collection, but came across these four on kijiji selling for $15 a pop.
The line was definitely ahead of its time, and could probably be considered the basis of Alternity and Masterpiece lines.
While the Hasbro versions featured basic, unpainted plastic, the Takara version, while costing $20 - $30 CAD more per figure, featured the use of die cast metal parts and a kick ass paint job.
The metal did add some issues from a posing perspective, but damn did they ever look nice.
Complexity of transformation definitely rivals current Masterpiece levels. Robot modes were hit and miss, with the good news being that these were homage figures, rather than having to match an actual animation model.
DSC_5007
In our modern world of one and three step Transformers figure, it`s nice to revisit a time when brainpower and spatial awareness was needed to actually play with these thing.
For the unitiated, Binaltech (or Alternators outside of Japan) was a line of Transformer figures that featured 1:24 scale licensed vehicle modes for a few of the G1 Transformer crew. All vehicles featured opening doors and an actual console area, so if you had 1:24 scale figures you could put them inside. Each figure also featured a component (usually the engine, though no so much in the case of Meister) that transformed into the weapon for the figure.
I never did finsh my collection, but came across these four on kijiji selling for $15 a pop.
The line was definitely ahead of its time, and could probably be considered the basis of Alternity and Masterpiece lines.
While the Hasbro versions featured basic, unpainted plastic, the Takara version, while costing $20 - $30 CAD more per figure, featured the use of die cast metal parts and a kick ass paint job.
The metal did add some issues from a posing perspective, but damn did they ever look nice.
Complexity of transformation definitely rivals current Masterpiece levels. Robot modes were hit and miss, with the good news being that these were homage figures, rather than having to match an actual animation model.