I'm gonna say no.

I still lost my shit when I saw Takara Hound even though I've owned bother Gundog and Willis but that's because I'm always striving to get the closest to screen accurate as I can.

We don't all play this game the same way but I'd wager there's a fair number of us, in the MP game at least, that don't collect multiples and more often than not Takara hit the right notes on their releases and often are more accurately coloured, better articulated and have moments of genius in their engineering. This shows when we see a swathe of third party versions of characters for sale immediately after a Takara announcement. It's not always a home run though, I've personally done it the other way too in Sideswipe > Steamroll and Seekers > Maketoys (looking like Hoodlum will replace MP28) but what's interesting to me is the pic you put up of my Ark collection on the first post is different today:



You may have noticed Prowl is missing but I've already sold my original Prowl and waiting for +. The same is true for my Nemesis crew (pictured) over the years although I think I'm pretty much settled there now. So not only are Takara replacing third party but third party are replacing third party and third party are replacing Takara and Takara are replacing Takara. It's a funny old game.

But short answer? No. The magic isn't lost for me. I'm like a kid at Christmas at every new announcement that fits my wants. Even if I already own a version of the character and I think it's better. I used to think I'd have to force myself to stop and call it a day instead of re-buying the same characters over and over but I think I'm coming to a natural end anyways....but that's a whole other discussion and something I don't think Takara will ever complete in Masterpiece form anyways. Next up....Mindwipe:

 

No, it's Takara going full toon that killed the magic for me. You never go full toon. How can I be surprised with a reveal when it's 99.999% certain that it'll be a cardboard cutout of an old, error-ridden and cheaply made cartoon from the 80s, bland as all hell?

I'm glad some 3P keep it fresh. What I'm excited with official mp are bw mp now, seeing as mp Megs seems to have brought back real sculpting for surface detailing. I like the earlier bw MPs, but I'm not a big fan of the flat 90s cg look in physical form.

Cya
Raziel-chan

 

Nope hasn't affected it at all to me.

3rd party is 3rd party and MP is MP

Takara's stuff will usually always beat out the 3p MP styled stuff IMO

 

I think this (the thread title) is actually a very valid question, and my answer to it is:

Yes. Absolutely.

This correlates to a reply I gave in another thread a week or two ago where someone again asked what S1 Masterpiece we'd like to see next - well before the MP Hound reveal. My answer was something along the lines of being tired of still waiting all these years for guys like Hound, Jazz & Trailbreaker, and how I wouldn't even be that blown away at any new reveals anyway since I'd already know what they look like. Thinking about it, that obviously stems from all the 3P figures that have attempted to do it first.

A few years ago, by contrast, I would have been BLOWN AWAY by the reveals of MP Sunstreaker & Hound since they were both two of my first ever Transformers a a kid. But when they finally happened, I was more or less like "Cool... yeah, they look good". That's it. So that lack of excited reaction will undoubtedly carry over to the imminent reveals of Tralbreaker, Mirage, Jazz, etc. as well, unfortunately.

 

Okay, now this... is epic

 

You can have him.

Takara's Hound is so bland, so unexciting and undynamic. A $40 ko? That might be all it's worth, but I'd be more inclined to go Gundog.

 

And aren't you lucky to have that choice. Even if he looks like he's been over inflated.

 

I don't think 3Ps have taken the momentum out of official MPs. I think the skyrocketing prices of official MPs has quickly taken the thunder out.

It used to be that you acknowledged that a 3P MP was a suitable replacement for the premium price you paid. Except now Takara/Hasbro are just charging 3P prices (and beyond) for official MPs which means the 3P figures start to look like more affordable options.

 

I don't complain about 3P offerings; never have.

 

For me, it depends on whether official reveals are significant improvements over 3rd party figures or not. The Takara Sunstreaker was so much better than any other, unlicensed attempt, that it did strongly impress me. Something like Hound. . .not so much, since Willis is so great. If Takara ever made a Cliffjumper, I suspect I would be really excited to see it. There are lots of characters who, in my mind, still need to be done justice. So, Takara may impress me quite a bit still. The recent Prime 2.0 (3.0?) is a good example.

 

No, I think MP reveals are still significant events. They spark contentious debates on scale, accuracy, engineering, and price. And from what I've witnessed over the years, they also cause the prices/demand of many popular 3rd party equivalents and official MP predecessors to fall almost precipitously as people scramble to jump to the next new thing. I get that it doesn't happen all of the time, but it's happened enough times in recent years to become quite a noticeable trend.

 

I always like how " the toon look killed the line" take , when you realize magazine features have gone from a half page, to all out spreads. Even more likable when you realize the "toon" stuff gets more favorable reviews than the older stuff.

 

Not really considering all mps since tracks with the exception of bw mps look like shit

 

I would have been filled with magic if Takara had released a JAZZ at the show, because I don't think there's a perfect Jazz yet. But the new Hound looks on par or even a step down from FansToys. Ironically despite having three company's offerings for Trailbreaker and Hoist, I still haven't picked any of them up because I was certain Takara would have taken advantage of their retool-ability by now.

 

When I was in ROTC, I remember a senior guardsmen telling us this about Army food (the food in MREs is...edible...but the drink mixes are another story). Anyway, after a week in the field, cold and damp and miserable, they finally came back to base and were served coffee. Even though it was the worst coffee in the world by any other standard, it was the best coffee he'd ever had.

The point is, with nothing interesting going on in Takara's main lines anymore, even the paint scratching panel forming jigsaw puzzles with steep price increases look great. With little else to market, of course they're going to push them harder. You're free to like them better but you don't know any more about hard sales figures than the detractors.

 

To us or to the Japanese , because they have plenty going on over there outside og Transformers. Transformers isn' t even the giant of the adult robot market overy there. The fact it's getting more recognition now versus before with all the other stuff around it is a big statement. There are plenty of Japanese reviews on amazon jp, it' s pretty easy to get an idea about how they feel about the product.

 

Yeah, the cartoon over toy aesthetic and much higher prices are what's taken the magic away for me. Granted thanks to 3rd parties I only need Skids, Downshift, Camshaft and Overdrive to feel like my MP collection. Is complete

 

The toon look killed it for ME!
Others have said the same. Who said it killed the line?

 

Well, I like Megs, but by and large I agree that MP’s just aren’t attractive to me any more.

 

As long as there are missing official G1 figures, not at all.

I've always been a blend of the toon/toy kind of guy. I appreciate the toon styling direction as the more detailed offerings of 3P companies can look too busy (looking at my Warbotron Bruticus), and be a nightmare to transform/pose due to issues with materials and tolerances that official MPs don't suffer from, for the most part. Personally, I have decided to go after versions that better combine both aesthetics. I really like how this reveal came completely unexpected for me (granted I haven't been paying too much attention lately). I only wish that they would release them more often. My fondest memories are walking down full aisles of toys where every character I saw on screen was also available as a toy AT THE SAME TIME. That's where the magic is lost for me. It seems we spend more time wondering when/if we'll get an official release of (insert character here), than we do enjoying the few we get in a calendar year. I understand the business model of keeping your customers on the line, trickling out releases to keep your revenue stream flowing, but if they had come out and displayed 5-10 new figures they would release in the next 3 months, I'd have no problem throwing my money their way. Can any of us say we wouldn't be floored by a reveal of official versions of Trailbreaker/Hoist/Jazz/Mirage/Cliffjumper/Huffer/Gears/Brawn, all at once? Now THAT would knock our collective socks off!