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Weltall Zero · Oct 8, 2017

MattKeil said:
That's not what a knockoff is. A knockoff is a duplication of an existing mold by a company that didn't make said mold, usually using cheaper materials so they can sell it for a much lower price than the original product. Third party original designs are not knockoffs. There are, however, knockoffs made of those third party original designs pretty regularly now, because pirates gonna pirate.

That's correct. Calling third party Transformers "knockoffs" is pretty insulting to the companies that make them.

As an aside, I think it's pretty cool that HasTak are cool with third party transformers and allow (and sometimes even support) them. It's very smart of them especially as these often complement rather than compete with the official lineups.

Mike M · Oct 8, 2017

Weltall Zero said:
That's correct. Calling third party Transformers "knockoffs" is pretty insulting to the companies that make them.

As an aside, I think it's pretty cool that HasTak are cool with third party transformers and allow (and sometimes even support) them. It's very smart of them especially as these often complement rather than compete with the official lineups.

Are they supportive? Last I recall they were threatening to pull out of conventions that allowed dealers to carry 3rd party stuff, but that was admittedly years ago.

Barrow Roll · Oct 8, 2017

Weltall Zero said:
That's correct. Calling third party Transformers "knockoffs" is pretty insulting to the companies that make them.

I think that was the point.

And yeah, no idea where this idea of Hasbro being supportive of third party came from.

MattKeil · Oct 8, 2017

Barrow Roll said:
I think that was the point.

And yeah, no idea where this idea of Hasbro being supportive of third party came from.

Hasbro isn't exactly supportive, but they don't mind third party stuff nearly as much as KO stuff. They do panels and announcements at conventions that also have third party panels and displays all the time now, and one of the Hasbro people who works with TFs told me they do indeed study the third party stuff for ideas on how to improve their own designs, so it's kind of an unofficial symbiosis at this point. As an example, MP Sunstreaker looks to have taken more than a few cues from Badcube's Sunstorm in places.

Hasbro did recently issue a C&D on an accessory for FansToys Grinder, a replacement dino head, which was just a bit too close to MP Grimlock's original dino head design, but that's the only instance I know of with a major third party group. As long as the third party companies are designing their own figures and engineering their own transformation schemes, they're not knockoffs. The most important factor has been that fans who buy third party products don't stop buying Hasbro products. If the third party stuff was replacing Hasbro merch, that would be a bigger issue, but the third party products tend to avoid things that have had official MPs made. It will be interesting to see if FansToys goes through with releasing Hoodlum (Hot Rod) in the wake of the C&D.

Weltall Zero · Oct 8, 2017

Barrow Roll said:
I think that was the point.

May be, may be not. Uncalled for in any event.

Barrow Roll said:
And yeah, no idea where this idea of Hasbro being supportive of third party came from.

See MattKeil's post. Being aware and yet not C&D'ing the shit out of every single third party Transformer is being downright friendly compared to 95% of all other companies.

HammerOfThor · Oct 8, 2017

Lol Hasbro/Takara sure as hell dont support 3P, its just not economically viable to go after them.

MattKeil · Oct 8, 2017

HammerOfThor said:
Lol Hasbro/Takara sure as hell dont support 3P, its just not economically viable to go after them.

Officially, no, but plenty of the people who work directly on the TF brand enjoy the third party stuff, and it is entirely economically viable to go after them. They don't go after them for the same reason Marvel and DC don't shut down Artist Alley at Comic Con because artists are drawing copyrighted characters for pay. There's no upside to it, all it would do is alienate the fans.

Fact remains, third party stuff isn't the same as knockoffs, and it's ridiculous to say they are.

NEO0MJ · Oct 11, 2017

For those interested in God Convoy (RID Optmus and Magnus combiner) there's a reissue. Price seems a little extreme, though.

http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/Product/VariationDetails/62383

Weltall Zero · Oct 11, 2017

What in the flying fuck. People, don't pay that much for it. It's a great TF and combiner but certainly not 280$ great.

Mike M · Oct 11, 2017

The fuuuuuuuuuuck? That price is bananas.

To think the US version ran a total of $60 back in the day...

MattKeil · Oct 12, 2017

On top of that, they changed the paint deco to be much flatter and eliminated the chrome. I was thinking about replacing my creaky old Carrobots versions with the Encore but not if it's going to look like that for that kind of money. Shame.

HammerOfThor · Oct 12, 2017

Yeah weird they took away the chrome but I guess for that price they had to change something .

MattKeil · Oct 12, 2017

I think they're going for a more anime-accurate look but I thought the show was basically unwatchable. I was just hoping for a straight reissue of the Japanese toy.

NEO0MJ · Oct 12, 2017

MattKeil said:
I think they're going for a more anime-accurate look but I thought the show was basically unwatchable. I was just hoping for a straight reissue of the Japanese toy.

Probably. Encore are supposed to be more anime accurate, after all.

What's funny is that I thought BBTS had a mark-up like they often do with imported toys but nope, it's the same everywhere.

Scavenger · Oct 12, 2017

MattKeil said:
On top of that, they changed the paint deco to be much flatter and eliminated the chrome. I was thinking about replacing my creaky old Carrobots versions with the Encore but not if it's going to look like that for that kind of money. Shame.

Takara Tomy made the right choice. Chrome is too gaudy and sensitive to chipping.

I instantly pre-ordered it at Amazon.co.jp.

MattKeil · Oct 12, 2017

Chrome can be gaudy, but it's great on those two figures, and it's a shame they got rid of it. I've only had one TF with chrome have any chipping or wear, and that's Transmetal Rattrap. All of his chrome flaked off about 10 years ago, apparently due to a manufacturing error that affects most if not all of the first run of the figure.

Tizoc · Oct 18, 2017

Finally Lost Light #11 is out!

Red Alert has a mouth huh. Mouth Plates really are a decoration kind of thing heh.
Also FUCK YOU GETAWAY
FUCK YOU

Weiss · Oct 18, 2017

It really wasn't a good issue.

Getaway being reduced to two dimensional villainy is awful.

Also I found a complete Transmetal Optimus Primal today.

Dongs Macabre · Oct 20, 2017

LL#10 Spoilers

Being trapped in a time loop is delightfully disturbing.

NEO0MJ · Oct 20, 2017

One thing I don't get is

who is rewriting their memories? I thought Chromedome was the only one who could do that on the LL and it's not something easy to learn.

Tizoc · Oct 20, 2017

NEO0MJ said:
One thing I don't get is

who is rewriting their memories? I thought Chromedome was the only one who could do that on the LL and it's not something easy to learn.

I have a theory

getaway might be working for tyrest
He was his prisoner for some months
That or his drive to finding the knights is because he thinks tyrest is where they are and he still wants to arrest him.
Also iirc sunder is still in captivity no?

OrangeAtlas · Oct 20, 2017

Finally got my hands on one of these bad boys:

I'm sure people hate the colour but I've always wanted a good Soundwave figure and I got it pretty cheap.

Speaking of, I'm looking to go for a complete Soundwave collection. Is there a list of all the different versions? I'm also looking for a list of all his different minis (cassettes, data discs, etc.).

NEO0MJ · Oct 20, 2017

Tizoc said:
I have a theory

getaway might be working for tyrest
He was his prisoner for some months
That or his drive to finding the knights is because he thinks tyrest is where they are and he still wants to arrest him.
Also iirc sunder is still in captivity no?

Good ideas. But Sunder is way too crazy. There's also the matter of the chewed life cords.

OrangeAtlas said:
Finally got my hands on one of these bad boys:

I'm sure people hate the colour but I've always wanted a good Soundwave figure and I got it pretty cheap.

Speaking of, I'm looking to go for a complete Soundwave collection. Is there a list of all the different versions? I'm also looking for a list of all his different minis (cassettes, data discs, etc.).

This should help, at least when it comes to G1.

Dongs Macabre · Oct 21, 2017

MMC's doing a retool of their IDW Rodimus as Nitro Convoy/Override.
Seems like Cybertron is the hot new trend in 3P, which I'm all for.

Defintiely more Nitro Convoy than Override, though, which is disappointing to me.

Mike M · Oct 21, 2017

I don't know if 3P renditions of Cybertron figures has any real appeal to me. The original run was pretty damn good to start with (easily my favorite line), giving it the MP treatment is some pretty significant diminishing returns compared to G1.

NEO0MJ · Oct 21, 2017

Dongs Macabre said:
Defintiely more Nitro Convoy than Override, though, which is disappointing to me.

That was one of the more interesting things they did, switching genders. Other than Airazor (was made male in the Japanese dub) were there any other examples of this in TF media?

Tizoc · Oct 21, 2017

Weltall noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Dongs Macabre · Oct 21, 2017

Mike M said:
I don't know if 3P renditions of Cybertron figures has any real appeal to me. The original run was pretty damn good to start with (easily my favorite line), giving it the MP treatment is some pretty significant diminishing returns compared to G1.

Override is definitely a character that I think needs a good update, since her original toy isn't without problems. But yeah, it would be hard to top a lot of the line, especially Optimus Prime.

Also Cyber Keys are rad.

NEO0MJ said:
That was one of the more interesting things they did, switching genders. Other than Airazor (was made male in the Japanese dub) were there any other examples of this in TF media?

The only other examples I can think of are obscure characters that never really showed up in fiction, like Slide.

Mike M · Oct 21, 2017

Dongs Macabre said:
Override is definitely a character that I think needs a good update, since her original toy isn't without problems. But yeah, it would be hard to top a lot of the line, especially Optimus Prime.

Also Cyber Keys are rad.

Yeah, she's definitely near the top of the list of figures who fell short of their full potential.

All this talk of Cybertron makes me want to bust out the Cybertron Defense trio. Red Alert and Scattorshot in particular were ridiculously good toys, bursting with fun gimmicks with no trade-offs at all. Hot Shot was great too, but those guys were on a different level altogether.

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