Honestly, If this KO was cheaper....way cheaper....I'm talking wwwaaayyyyy cheaper, barring any plastic issues and overall quality (I'd have to see a review first), I'd bite.

 

That isn't going to happen lol. You can't expect walmart prices on stuff that is so limited. Honestly, I think its a decent price if the scale works with seekers/grimlock.

The only 3rd party toy that really made me upset price wise was the gear of war 1 set. 45 bucks for a few weapons?

 

Yeah, they might never sell it for less but what guarantee is there that this release is 'limited'. Have they released numbers made? Did they make 10? 100? 1000? 100,000?

Going by what I paid for my Hasbro Masterpiece Optimus and seeing as this is a smaller copy without electronics...I'd pay around 20-30 bucks, if the quality is on par with HAS/TAK, 40...tops.

 

this should give you guys an idea of the scale
linked from tformers
http://tformers.net/g/albums/12785/nmdwuu.jpg

 

sounds reasonable for me  however if this thing is in scale with the other MP toys (I don't care to own Megatron because of all the problems). I'm going to sell my MP-04 and just hold onto this. MP prime is ridiculously tall and thats not a good thing.

The one thing i've learned from MP transformers is that scale is important to me. Prime Dwarfs everyone

 

The realities of the manufacturing costs involved make that an utter impossibility. An absurdity, even. It'd probably cost them at least twice as much to make the toy as it sold for, if that were the case.

Small scale companies like this don't have the buying power of a major corporation like Hasbro to afford the materials and molds and the like. And then to recoup their costs at such low prices, they'd have to expect to sell in the tens if not hundreds of thousands of items. That's not really feasible in the least.

 

wow this looks awesome, I love my classics prime but I got a feeling that I'll be picking up one of these for my classics line. I think I may also have to get Nemasis.

 

I'd hold on to MP-04 until the reviews come out... 

Scale-wise he'd fit with the rest of the Masterpiece line. As much as I love my MP Prime, he's no fun for messing around with. To keep his joints nice and tight I just have him for display. On top of that, I got him autographed by the main man himself, so I dare not touch him... 

If it was 20-30 bucks since it's smaller and all plastic and depending on how this KO comes out quality wise, he'd be great for just all-around messing around with. Like Classics Prime, he's great to play with.

If it was 20-30 bucks and you break your KO accidentally, you might buy another one. 100 bucks and you break it or it crumbles in your hands because the quality isn't there, you might as well start crying.

The asking price is just so outrageous for what it is.

 

Again, not outrageous. More than you're willing to pay, probably. And certainly not cheap. But entirely justified.

 

Super excited I jumped on the first run of these guys. I was SORELY tempted by the clear version, but in the end, he is a novelty whereas the regularly colored version will be my new classics leader.

 

Then either you just think it applies to only certain companies or you just want to bitch and moan for the sake of bitching and moaning. I'm inclined to believe it's the latter.

Yeah, I got my mine for $30 on clearance. That should have been the original price the entire time!!! 

Prime was originally price $80 at EVERY WM, so the price you got him at is rather moot point, which does nothing to prove that this mini-prime is outrageously priced.

What exactly are taking about here? City Commander, which was battle armor and costed pretty much the same price as this Prime? Defendor, which looks to be smaller and cost $10 less? Overall, we're talking a few difference in prices, which isn't much brag about.

And yet it includes extras such as hands and a head. And come on, it wasn't like MP Prime has a voice box anything. He had a little light in chest.

 

You just made my point for me. Because they were mass produced in such a large quantity by Tak-Tomy, they could afford to clearance them down to $60 or whatever else (same with all of the MP Skywarps on clearance at Walmart right now).

Just look at one of the threads concerning the TFCC Punch/Counterpunch figure. It's a deluxe figure, but selling for $50-$90 (depending on whether you're a member). The reason being that FunPub would have to produce a minimum of 10,000 figures (or thereabouts) to justify a reduction in retail price based on their initial costs of production. They simply can't afford a run of that many, same with iGear.

I remember the initial outcry when "Defender" was first announced, people calling it a downright KO because it's a figure based on Springer, which is the intellectual property of Hasbro/TakTomy. This is a figure that's 2/3 the size of iGear's PP01 and yet it's the same price.

I'm not arguing the semantics of what should or shouldn't be labeled a KO, my argument is that their SRP of $90 for PP01 is totally justifiable, which it absolutely is.

 

Your opinion, IMO he's outrageously priced for a downsized carbon copy.

 

No, again, not outrageous. Expecting them to give you money (essentially) is outrageous.

 

what a slap in the face, how can original molds be considered a KO. Yes, this Prime could be considered a KO but FP stuff is completely new and original, characteristics that KO's do not have.

Off subject but the MP line is really in trouble here. Correct me if i'm wrong but Walmart and Target sold MP Prime right? Afterwards, only walmart carried Starscream/Skywarp and now TRU is the only store willing to sell Grimlock? Yikes..... Grimlock might be the last domestic MP figure we receive.

 

Prime was sold everywhere.

Starscream and Skywarp were Wal-Mart exclusives.

Grimlock will be TRU exclusive.

The domestic Masterpiece line isn't really in trouble. It just doesn't really have a market in the first place. Western audiences just aren't geared to the idea of big, expensive action figures.

 

The MP line to me is MP-01 through MP-08, and those are all imports. Those sell very well and (I assume) will continue to sell well. I don't believe the MP series is in any danger whatsoever.

The MP series is geared primarily towards adult collectors, and most adult collectors already own a particular MP entry by the time a domestic version is announced.

 

The Defender isn't too much cheaper and it's much smaller. Just sayin'.

Amen. I would love to see him next to an Alternator or two, as well.

Except Megatron.   If I get this Prime, I'll be sore if they don't downsize an MP Megatron. They have an amazing opportunity there to make Megatron an even better figure. A fusion cannon that's not so huge, some better construction in areas, in scale to Grimlock and the Seekers, and it'll be better than Takara's.

I didn't think of that. I don't like any of the US versions (Starscream is the exception), so it's no big loss to me. But that'll really suck for those who don't want to pony up for the Japanese versions.

 

If it was an original product I'd be more willing to pay.

How many Prime's did Hasbro make though? Did they flood the market with him or did people not want to pay the $80.00. Either way, he got clearanced, I'm not arguing with you here.

I think my main gripe is originality. City Commander, Defender, the Bruticus/Superion upgrades...etc. are all original molds. Other than scale, this mini-Prime is not.

That's true, I'll give you that.

 

It was a mass-market item, released to every major retailer. Distribution was something of a mess though, so while some stores got smaller amounts of stock and sold out instantly, other stores over-ordered and got stuck with crate-fulls, and eventually clearanced them out.

While there's a semi-valid point to be made, the fact is that it's still an original mold, even if the engineering isn't. That's where the major cost of this endeavor goes, and the things aren't cheap, not by a long shot.

Additionally, FansProject works on an entirely different business model, one not geared towards profit. Their costs are as low as they can go without losing money (in fact, the G3 Trailer almost represented a net loss to them, the materials used for the mirror panels was so expensive). Any profits that can be made through re-releases and recolours are re-invested back into the development costs of their next project. For them, it's all about the learning and the experience, producing something for themselves first and foremost, and then sharing that with the fans.

Other companies aren't quite so charitable. The fact remains that manufacturing costs for niche market items like these are quite high, and to get any sort of profit to make the endeavor worthwhile means that they'll come at a premium.