21 February 2012

Transformers G1 variant "Canadian Slag" vs G1 regular release (USA) Slag

Since this is a topic of great interest to me now, I shall attempt a comparison between the following Slag variants.

(1) G1 USA release Slag, which was also released in most parts of the world including Japan ("Regular Slag").

(2) G1 Canadian variant Slag, aka "red faced Slag" ("Canadian Slag").

The main differences are of course colour. Regular Slag has black fists, upper legs and a black face; Canadian Slag has red fists, white upper legs and a red face.

Here are some comparison shots - Canadian Slag on left; Regular Slag on right.

Side by side in robot mode.


A close up of their upper body. Regular Slag's black face is so dark almost no detail can be seen. Also, the share of red for the die-cast body appears lighter for Canadian Slag.

A shot showing the different coloured upper legs.

Let's take a peek at their backs... there are differences too! The connector that connects the body to the tail is red for Canadian Slag and black for Regular Slag.

Close up of the differently coloured tail connector.

Wait a minute, there's more. The inner cap that holds the dinosaur hind legs to the hindquarters are also different coloured - red for Canadian Slag and black for Regular Slag.

So far, Canadian Slag seems to feature a more 'red theme' and the Regular Slag a 'black theme'. Are there more variations?

Yes!

I took a look at the chrome parts and found something quite interesting. For the chrome parts, the base plastic for Canadian Slag is cream white while the base plastic for Regular Slag is black. Here are examples.

Canadian Slag - you can see that the base plastic is creamy white.

Regular Slag - the base plastic is black as can be seen from the edges that have chrome wear.

It can be extrapolated that the chrome missiles of a Canadian Slag should also have a cream white base plastic while the Regular Slag's chrome missiles have a black base plastic. I can confirm that the latter is true, but have not seen a Slag missile with cream white plastic (if it exists at all). This remains a mystery to me.

The eagle-eyed enthusiast would also notice that the ridge connecting the 2 back plates are different colours - again red for Canadian Slag and black for Regular Slag. This is a sure fire way to tell the difference between a Canadian Slag and a Regular Slag if a seller only shows them in dino-mode.

The date stamps ironically are the same. No Hasbro marks, just Takara Japan.

Canadian Slag date stamp.

Regular Slag date stamp.

Finally, a close up of their faces.

First up Regular Slag with a very dark black face (very challenging to capture details when photographing).

Now, Canadian Slag with its red head and silver painted face. Very pleasant to look at.

And just to drive home again how cartoon accurate Canadian Slag is, here is an animated screen capture of Slag in the G1 cartoon.

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16 comments:

  1. great write up! :P wonder the chrome differences also apply to the triceratops jaws.

    pity there isn't a variant whereby the hands were black if not it'd be a 100% accurate Slag, but i've to say that Canadian Slag looks a lot more pleasing as compared to his regular counterpart

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Eric. I'm not sure if the chrome differences apply to the Triceratops jaws, that's a very good point actually. I will need to further investigate.

      I think 'black hands' are not really an issue since one can just switch a Regular Slag's black hands with the Canadian Slag and can still call the figure 100% genuine (rather than custom). =)

      I actually have 3 US released Slags; 1 Canadian Slag and also the diaclone (blue body) Slag. For maximum cartoon accuracy, its possible to switch the hands and then also the chromed horns of the diaclone all onto the Canadian Slag!

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  2. now i want a Canadian Slag!

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  3. That is an extremely thorough comparison HD; I wasn't aware as to the extent of which Red plastic was used throughout the figure nor the base colour differences which seem to affect the grey/silver plastic also as they are different hues too! :O

    Are there any other variants such of this from the Dinobot ranks or is Slag the only one?

    Many congrats either way dude! :D

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Hursti! Yes, there is another Dinobot variant that is 'worthwhile' getting - Diaclone Swoop, who looks exactly like his cartoon incarnation (where regular US released Swoops were not cartoon accurate). This is going to be a hard (and expensive) one and definitely next on my list.

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  4. Nice comparison there HD.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks mate! Hope it helps the people out there trying to get a Canadian Slag.

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  5. All of a sudden, "I NEED A CANADIAN SLAG!"

    Crap, this wasn't even on my radar three days ago, thanks a lot!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hahaha, cheers dude, always glad to "help", heh =)

      Delete
  6. I recently acquired the red-faced Canadian Slag w/ accessories MIB from a reliable collector and am in love.
    For those asking- all the missiles and the gun (which is usually black and not chromed at all)have white plastic inside as well as the jaw.
    The launcher is red with white trigger mechanism and chrome barreled rim. The sword is red as per usual, although I also got a diaclone chrome one that looks nice along with the chrome handgun.

    Heroic Decepticon you were a great help to me buying and spotting the differences/ authenticity of my RFC Slag and I love your site and great content and photos, to say thank you doesn't feel like enough.
    Ba weep granna weep nini-bun! From one TF fanatic to another.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hi Sixliner! No need to thank me at all. My site is here as a resource (as much as it can be considered as such) to all who need it, for free. I am delighted that it's of help to you in finding your RFS. It is a beautiful piece eh? =)

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    2. One of my favorites, as I am in Canada and love the dinobots, especially Slag, he takes care of business!!

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  7. Sorry, I stated the usual Slag release to not having a chromed gun but it does with black plastic inside, sorry my mistake. ;)

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  8. there are cream coloured missiles, i recently found a set of weapons in a lot of figures i bought from a canadian slag, all missiles were white/cream

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks icy, good to know. Good also that there is consistency - ie: all chrome parts have white underlying plastic when it comes to Canadian Slag.

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