Thundercracker is the other one I've really been thinking on. Just from a color standpoint he has always been my favorite of the original 3 seekers.
My favorite is Skywarp (despite Starscream being my second favorite Transformer character overall), and all the molds have been tightened up since Skywarp was released. That said, I guess if I was only going to get one I'd still get Starscream based on character and baring that Skywarp or Thundercracker. I like Ramjet a lot but I don't think he's quite as good as the originals.
He is one ugly mutherfucker, and I have no problems with that had Takara got their shit together and released him without QC and design issues. Reports of duplicated parts along with a butt, unpeggable kibble that makes Magnus look amateurish, and the stupidly high price tag for this TakaraTomy Mall exclusive/Hasbro Asia release is what makes this release a let down. Good luck trying to get replacement parts for this dude....with limited run and supply, I doubt retailers will just open another one for use as a spare parts junker. And then there's Lazerwave, but he's got his own thread.....
There are no replacement parts and no replacement figures for the TRU Starscream release either. When mine was untransformable out of the box due to a bent diecast frame, Hasbro's response was "send it to us and we'll send you a transformer toy of equal value to replace it." Seriously. THAT is their solution. Holy hell.
Yeah, I fixed it myself after finding out I was screwed. But shouldn't have had to. And there are still all of those sprue marks and damaged tampo. POS figure straight from the "big" makers.
OK, I like this guy but I'm a bit tired of seeker figures with this price. I know this is a remolding of the past mold, but it seems like they could have come down. I mean, I get the price of the Ultra Magnus and Prime comes with a Trailer. Soundwave is Also justifiable at his price point due to size but I just feel like seekers at this point are over priced. I canceled my pre-order but only due to the amount of MP's coming out in the next few months. I'm sure this guy will be released again and I may pull the trigger but I hope this becomes a TRY exclusive and I can get him for a discount. I'm looking more towards the next two cone heads. I'm looking more forward to Dirge and Thrust colors.
Im sure as i type this they are beating the factory workers and docking their pay. Maybe if they paid the workers more of that profit they are making the workers would feel like doing a better job. Better paid workers do better work
If anything these Seeker molds and releases and re-releases and re-paints and re-paints of re-releases should be the cheapest of all the Masterpiece releases. If for no other fact than they have been reused, repurposed and re-released more than any other mold. I mean hell they def got their money's worth out of it. How about having some mercy on us consumers??? Probably why the latest TRU exclusive Star Scream was so reasonably priced. After the mold had been so abused and over used they were able to crank out juuuuust one more pressing of the figure albeit with sub standard QC that they priced reasonably before the mold then turned to dust from abuse.
It's funny hearing people asking for lower prices. If you want one, then stop buying until a certain price has been reached in the market. As long as people keep buying at this level and things keep selling out, then companies will still price them as they are. Companies exist to make as much profit as possible. I am guessing people are thinking, if I don't buy it now, then they'll stop making it. That's never true in most circumstances.
Not asking for anything. Just stating an opinion. And as for purchases I agree. As such I've skipped this release as well as most of the seekers sans the $59 TRU Star Scream (which isn't worth a dime more than $59) and the TRU exclusive SunStorm at $79 (I'm a sucker for Diaclone repaints). Other than that not another dime comes outta my pocket until the inevitable MP-54 or so Seeker remold. And if it's well made and looks nice and reasonably priced I'll consider buying it. It also doesn't help that besides being overpriced I think this thing looks derpy as hell. Truly deserving of the name "Conehead" literally and figuratively.
That's no kind of solution for ONE person, and the Transformers fandom isn't organized enough for some kind of boycott that would be even remotely effective in the way you describe. Secondly, if people stop buying - YES, they very well might abandon the Masterpiece line entirely. We are talking about a very niche, luxury collectible toy line, here, not an essential commodity like oil or food. I used to collect the Sideshow GI Joe line - which also crept up in price from $90 initially to about $160-180 by the time the line was cancelled due to "low sales". I'm sure people would have bought more at $90 or even $120-130 - and we're talking about a line that was far from "complete", still missing key figures like Scarlett, Shipwreck, Roadblock, Gung Ho, Lady Jaye, the Crimson Twins, and a slew of other fan favourites. The Masterpiece line is hardly Takara's bread and butter - if sales go down, they won't necessarily feel compelled to keep making them. That is, of course, assuming we'd stop buying them (we won't).
I don't think it works like that in this case because we are not the target audience we are basically piggybacking. Not knowing how this relationship with Hasbro Asia actually works. I guess alot of these exclusives are pushed by Hasbro Asia, being TT only makes a limited run for its Japanese base. At best if they decided to make these exclusive they would only run enough of what they need for their market. At worse Hasbro Asia doesn't push for these releases TT may have been shy about making in the first place and they don't get made. If you want to blame someone for the price blame Hasbro Asia since they are responsible for release outside of Japan. Which is a much larger run then what is released in Japan. Which isn't helped that Chinese collectors have shown that they are willing to spend the money which i why they can charge so much. I remember the HA reissues being obscenely overpriced compared to the american reissue prices.
Did anyone get one with faint paint on one side of the face? Mine was pretty bad, the black plastic in the face was showing through on one side and the other side was fine. I got a replacement from BBTS but I have to replace half of the figure to replace the head. Not sure if its worth the swap although they sent two screws so maybe its easy. QC seems weak on these jets as of late.
I still haven't even heard anything on my order from TFS haha. I'm gonna laugh if they claim the boat sank on the return trip from "repairs"
