Pre-rub era
Moderator: Jose
Pre-rub era
I read on one of the websites that Transformerland as for a link,that there were transformers that didn't have the stickers that you rub to see there signa.They said these were the first ones released,I have a Megatron,starscream,shockwave,and sunstreaker(my fav.) that don't have it,buy my Optimus Prime does,and my sideswipe,and trailbreaker,does this mean anything as far as value?
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Jose
- Diaclone General, Enemy of Waruder!
- Posts: 1677
- Joined: Sat Jun 28, 2003 12:11 am
- Location: Santiago de Chile
Hello and welcome to the board.
For what I have seen, the pre-rub figures have, all of them, the copyright marking as "Takara" alone into a circle. However, I have seen others with the later "Takara" and kanji.
Therefore, you have to do further investigation to find out if your robot is a pre rub or not. You have to dissasemble it to look for signs of age. The criteria goes as follows: The older; higher production cost, weaker structure wise and more ways to pop out an eye from a child. It works generally, but it doesn't apply to all figures.
While making a list for all the differences an all the figures issued in 1984 is a lot, I'll focus on those on your query:
Sunstreaker: My only guess has to be the differences on the copyright stamp. Mine doesn't have rub sign and doesn't say Hasbro, just Takara and kanji.
Prime: This one has a lot of variations. The pre-rub Primes have the "bloated" accesories, metal on trailer and gray roller, missiles and stuff, but since it's a figure which often has all accesories missing, the first way to identify it is to check the shade of the purple on the legs. The common issues are clearly purple, the earlier are supposed to be more blue (dark). The second way is to check the front lights. The pre rub Primes are fitted with the larger fists, which had a wider peg. When you come across a used rub sign Prime, it may have a barely noticeable crack on that hole, because the larger fists can't fit properly with no damage. Or, you can try standard fists on any Prime cab - if they fit loosely, it's a pre-rub Prime.
Sideswipe and Trailbreaker - copyright stamp too, I haven't found differences yet.
As for value: Any Primes fetch good bucks lately, but the earlier commands a premium. As for the others, I wouldn't make a big deal of them, as the rub sign is just a sticker and therefore they are variants too easy to make up.
Reissues: Besides the copyright stamp, some are unnoticeable from more than 10 cm. Jazz has a remolded face for example, I have seen differences on the grill on Optimus' cabs - besides the stacks on the Hasbro issue -, but most of the time, they are quite the same. In fact, I cracked to get some reissues too... They offer a good product for less money. I can only recommend you to:
- Buy from trusted people when you are willing to pay a premium,
- Pay as you were buying a fake. Don't be a biddiot.
One project I have is to make a guide with all the differences I have spotted on Transformers, but I don't have the time now....
I hope this has helped.
For what I have seen, the pre-rub figures have, all of them, the copyright marking as "Takara" alone into a circle. However, I have seen others with the later "Takara" and kanji.
Therefore, you have to do further investigation to find out if your robot is a pre rub or not. You have to dissasemble it to look for signs of age. The criteria goes as follows: The older; higher production cost, weaker structure wise and more ways to pop out an eye from a child. It works generally, but it doesn't apply to all figures.
While making a list for all the differences an all the figures issued in 1984 is a lot, I'll focus on those on your query:
Sunstreaker: My only guess has to be the differences on the copyright stamp. Mine doesn't have rub sign and doesn't say Hasbro, just Takara and kanji.
Prime: This one has a lot of variations. The pre-rub Primes have the "bloated" accesories, metal on trailer and gray roller, missiles and stuff, but since it's a figure which often has all accesories missing, the first way to identify it is to check the shade of the purple on the legs. The common issues are clearly purple, the earlier are supposed to be more blue (dark). The second way is to check the front lights. The pre rub Primes are fitted with the larger fists, which had a wider peg. When you come across a used rub sign Prime, it may have a barely noticeable crack on that hole, because the larger fists can't fit properly with no damage. Or, you can try standard fists on any Prime cab - if they fit loosely, it's a pre-rub Prime.
Sideswipe and Trailbreaker - copyright stamp too, I haven't found differences yet.
As for value: Any Primes fetch good bucks lately, but the earlier commands a premium. As for the others, I wouldn't make a big deal of them, as the rub sign is just a sticker and therefore they are variants too easy to make up.
Reissues: Besides the copyright stamp, some are unnoticeable from more than 10 cm. Jazz has a remolded face for example, I have seen differences on the grill on Optimus' cabs - besides the stacks on the Hasbro issue -, but most of the time, they are quite the same. In fact, I cracked to get some reissues too... They offer a good product for less money. I can only recommend you to:
- Buy from trusted people when you are willing to pay a premium,
- Pay as you were buying a fake. Don't be a biddiot.
One project I have is to make a guide with all the differences I have spotted on Transformers, but I don't have the time now....
I hope this has helped.
After hours of reseach,and a massive headache,I believe,I have a G1/G2 optimus prime cab,with a movie version trailer,maybe cab is movie version too. On the website I read there is a photo of the movie version of the trailer it has a 5 stamped in the little hole where the cab connects to,and the copyrights are the same.I just didn't want to have the reissue version that came out in the 90's which I don't,but website site said the movie prime was mail order only,this make it worth more,less or the same?I was really hoping just for G1 version with the metal on the inside of the trailer,oh well,maybe I'll buy another. By the way anyone have the hose for Prime's trailer,I really need one.
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Jose
- Diaclone General, Enemy of Waruder!
- Posts: 1677
- Joined: Sat Jun 28, 2003 12:11 am
- Location: Santiago de Chile
The G2 is the easiest to identify, it has light blue legs and "Autobot" written in the back of one leg.
As for the movie specials, I haven't had any on my hands to inspect closely, but for what I have seen they look much alike their regular counterparts. They have different packaging though.. A plain cardboard box with a certificate and that's it.
As for the movie specials, I haven't had any on my hands to inspect closely, but for what I have seen they look much alike their regular counterparts. They have different packaging though.. A plain cardboard box with a certificate and that's it.