Im noticing an alarming trend of new leader class toys getting progressively smaller with less features. I just got the Combine Wars Ultra Magnus and boy, that thing is small, almost Voyager size (Edit: Ultra actually)! Compared with older movie leaders, for example, movie leader Starscream or Leader Ironhide, newer toys like AOE Leader Grimlock and the new CW Ultra Magnus look puny in comparison. The lack of special effects doesn't bother me so much, as I actually rather not have lights and sound gimmicks, but they are making the toy smaller and keeping the same $45 price point,m witch is BS. What is the best way for us to get this issue noticed? Does anyone has a way to contact Hasbro about it? Maybe calling them during an interview or something? I feel if we don't do something pretty soon they will be passing any Ultra as a leader... :/
I think it's similarly sized as the Energon/Cybertron Leaders And what the hell are you smoking? "almost" voyager indeed
Hasbro doesn't give a shit about us. I'm sure they know we are complaining about it, but essentially the costs of materials and production (and Hasbro's desires for profit) trumps the feelings of the fans.
The Megatron and the Jetfire molds are about as large as the typical leader class figure. What they lack is density, compared to the likes of Cybertron Metroplex or Energon Optimus prime. The modern figures seem to fit somewhere between yesterday's leader and ultra class, IMO, when it comes to density.
The TF guys at Botcon have said they're using new plastic formulas to get the same durability with less actual material. So modern generations toys use 40-50% less plastic than a unicron trilogy toy. Oh look the size class A is now the same size as smaller size class B chicken little-ing is back. It's not as bad as your panic is telling you. Take a deep breath and remember that Ultra Magnus had 10-15% of everything about him (total plastic mass, engineering, parts count) peeled off to make Minimus Ambus.
Working on the presumption this isn't an attempt at humor, first step might be to remember the actual names of the items that appear to offend you so ?
I don't mind if Magnus is a little smaller, since he makes up for it with detail and is a bit more solid than Jetfire, who is taller but quite a bit more hollow in the arms and legs.
To be fair, neither of those things are actually words and if they were writing on a phone it's entirely possible that they were autocorrected.
Magnus is smaller, but that's because he has more engineering than your average leader class toy. You can't compare Magnus to a movie Leader, they had movie money thrown at them
no, they are signifigantly smaller ~ they are just slightly larger then the old Ultra class (but significantly less "dense") ~ that said, the old Leaders usually dwarfed the rest of the line. But where it gets me is that we are paying 15% more ($45 -vs- $40) for figures that are 15% or more smaller and feel far less sturdy. (until I got Takara Superion here recently i had Leader Jetfire and the old Universe 2.0 Ultra Silverbolt on my desk and it was shocking how light and "cheap" Jetfire feels in comparison)
I don't really mind that they are getting smaller, I prefer it actually, but I'm not happy with the price hike. I do wish Magnus was a bit larger though, he should stand a bit taller than Megatron and Thundercracker.
Not to be "that" guy, but I'll point out again, that toys are more expensive while simpler than they were at the height of Revenge of the Fallen. Leader Optimus Prime which is undoubtedly the most complex, yet screen accurate toy from the era, was bigger and more complex than Ultra Magnus yet cheaper. It has nothing to do with anything other than profit numbers for Hasbro. If they release a toy for "x" dollars more and it sells, they will continue the trend until the dollars stop flowing. You want to reverse the trend, then stop buying the toys. Fortunately, Ultra Magnus is one bad "butt" toy, and to me he's worth the 40 something dollars I dropped for him.
I'm happy with CW Megs, Jetfire & UM. Are figures getting smaller and less "dense" but cost the same price? Maybe. Maybe I'm an "apologist" but I think that HasTak has hit the brutal reality of having to change what buyers were used to getting. It's valid to say "vote with your wallets." I remember when Optimal Optimus came out at the end of Beast Wars. Do you remember him? He was a monster (my first leader class figure). But it was a boring figure. I think the CW leader figures beat that figure soundly even if you are getting "less." But that's just my opinion. I would argue that once HasTak hits 3P prices, then we got some "valid" complaining. I like the Warrior class RID figures even if they are more "simplistic" but I wouldn't pay more then $14 for them. Vote with your wallets.
Incidentally, if you're patient, many times you can get the leader class figures on sale in the $35-40 range. I don't think I've paid full price yet for any leader class figures since AoE Prime.
i wouldn't mind as much if they were the same price, but they cost more now across the board! deluxes have gone from $12.99 to $14.99 to $16.99 while getting smaller & simpler (size seems to have returned in CW) Leaders have gone from $40 to 45, whilst downscaling almost to Ultra Size, which used to be $25-30 Voyagers have gone from $20 to $25, although that's the one class i feel like has maintained it's value ratio looking at the last couple years offerings. Scouts ($7) became Cyberverse Commanders ($10) which got downscaled to Legends which came with a bonus Targetmaster/Micromaster ($10) then lost the Micrometers, so you are now paying $10 for something NOTABLY smaller and simpler then what was $7/8 not very long ago... in general, i'm actually not that sussed by where costs are at in CW, it seems better than DotM when everything got TINY, but still, it's on the brink, especially deluxes which i feel like are a total rip off at $17 (i've managed to get all of my CW deluxes for $12-14) and much better than Hasbro's insane idea that it can charge $13 for a 3-3/4" articulated figure with 1-2 accessories, that's just total madness. (i thought $10 was madness for a 3-3/4" and then they raised it 30% all at once!)
i rmember paying $7 @ K-Mart of each G2 constructicon. according to inflation calculator, its the equivalent of $12 today. I paid $16/17 for each aerial bot limb. I dont mind paying the extra $4 for better size/poseability/playability