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Yamato Escaflowne or Hasbro MPC Optimus Prime?


shiyao

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Because of the price oscillations in the MPC Prime (Hasbro version), I've decided to go ahead and purchase the Escaflowne first.

This will mark the first time I actually "sit back and wait for the price to drop", at least for a toy. It's quite fun to watch the prices trend on eBay, and on other online stores.

I figure, if Amazon still has it, it can't be selling that well. So, prices *should* drop in time. We'll see if I live to eat my words.

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i don't think you have looked hard enough on ebay

prime

yeah, thats the US version($50 or less), we're talking about the japanese version($100 or so). yeah, they're almost the same but to my knowledge, the japanese version has taller smoke stacks and it doesn't have any battle damage on it.

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eh wyaxyz? i don't understand. the question is not of whether i've looked, but whether the price is right. anyway, $55 shipped isn't even a good deal, at least to me (i don't want it *that* bad). let alone from a zero FB seller.

haterist: c'mon man! you're going to pay $50 for longer smokestacks and no battle damage?? the battle damage is barely visible IMHO! you ought to save up that money to get a foundryDX jetfire ;)

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sorry shiyau....i thought it was an ok price for the prime.....here in Canada it sells for $100 Can at only a few stores...if you can find it anyway.....

....and as for the takara version....i would love to own that myself, but at the current price, i think i'll pass...besides, i'm happy with the hasbro version i currently own...not too mention getting lucky with the sale at walmart just before christmas...i picked mine up for $50 at walmart during a half price sale :D

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I bought the JP version almost purely because of the stacks. I know trucks (not nearly as well as planes, but enough to know stacks) and the US version's stacks are just plain "stupid" IMHO. It'd be like an F-15 with v.stabs only half as tall, or an F-14 with 5,000lb thrust engines, for the aviation guys here. It just looks wrong due to small size.

Of course, my main gripe with Prime is that truck mode was heavily sacrificed for both robot mode sculpt, and gimmicks. G1 Prime is a much more accurate truck, though of course robot mode is only 1/100 as good as MP Prime's.

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  • 4 weeks later...

OK, this thread should be dead by now, by I have one last question:

Is there any way to stand the Escaflowne Dragon WITHOUT the display stand? Perhaps the person who wrote the English language instructions to the toy can answer? :D

I have to say, Prime might kick ass in robot mode, the Escaflowne dragon is truly something to behold. It's much sturdier than the Guymelef mode to boot. We might well have a tie then.

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OK, this thread should be dead by now, by I have one last question:

Is there any way to stand the Escaflowne Dragon WITHOUT the display stand? Perhaps the person who wrote the English language instructions to the toy can answer? :D

I have to say, Prime might kick ass in robot mode, the Escaflowne dragon is truly something to behold. It's much sturdier than the Guymelef mode to boot. We might well have a tie then.

I've gotten it to stand a couple of times without the display stand. It's a little bit of a trick, as the balance point is pretty small, and the ball joints in the little dragon legs are prone to swing at the worst time. Just get a large clear table, and experiment.

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Lucky you! I haven't managed to get it to stand independently even once.

I have to say, though, that the more I look at the Escaflowne dragon, the more I like it. The paintjob is simply superb - Yamato should have packaged the dragon wings with the BACK facing outwards, so people could have seen the excellent (airbrushed?) shadowing.

I'm definitely going to keep the Escaflowne now. It's the only toy I can display on my table and not feel worried about knocking over! Not to mention that a transforming dragon has to be like the coolest concept ever.

Oh a last question - Does anyone else have the problem of the dragon head (the diecast bit) falling off all the time? I'm using kneaded eraser to keep it up for the time being.

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Oh a last question - Does anyone else have the problem of the dragon head (the diecast bit) falling off all the time? I'm using kneaded eraser to keep it up for the time being.

Yes, I had that problem with mine before I got rid of it.

The die cast is nice, but IMHO gimmicky, and too heavy for the weak square peg retention it has.

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