Which are your favorite transformer 3rd parties?

Discussion in 'Transformers 3rd Party Discussion' started by SarahZhangEYOUCOLLECTION, Nov 18, 2018.

  1. ahro23

    ahro23 Omnibot

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    Hi Sarah, glad to see you joined!

    My favorite 3P companies have been:

    -Fans Toys
    -Make Toys
    -MMC/Ocular Max
    -Master Made
    -DX9oys
    -Iron Factory
    -Generation Toy
    -Planet X

    I've also been enjoying some of the newer KO stuff, particularly WeiJiang and most recently, Black Mamba.
     
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  2. GrimLocke

    GrimLocke Cultus Volcanicus

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    That’s New Age.

    They’ve also announced a Shockwave that should be a bit smaller than Iron Factory’s Bridgewatcher, so it might fit better in IF’s War Giant’s mitts.

    And, of course, there’s the hope that they will continue to make more minibots, or at least more Volkswagen Beetle decos, like (Black) Cliffjumper, Animated, pre-Beast Waspinator, and Glyph.

    But, I’m unaware of the quality of their post purchase support.

    Conversely, that might be because there haven’t been widespread reports of misassembly and broken parts, which is a good sign, in itself.
     
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  3. rubadubspawn

    rubadubspawn Rubadubspawn deals @ [email protected]

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    @SarahZhangEYOUCOLLECTION - Hi Sarah & welcome.

    I think what makes a great 3P company are a combination of a good product (sculpt/qc/materials/etc.) + good QC support + good communication.

    Over the years, many different companies have emerged, and while none have hit a home run with every single release, there are some that frequently put out consistent good releases. Your own sales volumes are probably the most indicative of which company and which products are the most successful.

    Another thing that I think often skews sales is how many versions of the same character are already out in the same scale/style (i.e. Legends vs. MP vs. etc.) and how popular that character is. 3P companies can continue to make Optimus & Megatron figures in different styles and because they are popular characters, they will usually always sell.

    However, if you think about Trailbreaker or Hoist - both have a couple MP versions out and whether you like them or not, if a 3P company decides to make yet ANOTHER version of the same character, they are competing for sales of a) Customers who never purchased the previous versions of the characters, b) Customers who purchased a previous version but want to upgrade, or c) Customers who purchase everything!

    These 3 groups are generally smaller than say the group of Customers who are waiting for an important character that hasn't yet been widely released - say Alpha Trion.

    Just my thoughts... take them or leave them. Regardless, nice to see you posting here.
     
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  4. Haywired

    Haywired Hakunamatatacon

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    Iron Factory, DX9 and their Legends-sized stuff. Not much interest in 3P otherwise.
     
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  5. sofos87

    sofos87 Well-Known Member

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    almost all of them
    top3: generation toy,maketoys,gigapower, (GT latest releases don't impress me much, MT waiting on cross dimension and GIGA is slow)
    these days????
    mmc/ox, rules them all
    honorable mentions: spark toys(most underrated company),G-creations(great potential)
     
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  6. emporio80

    emporio80 Well-Known Member

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    1 x-transbots, the last 3 i had from them were really good(klaatu, crack-up and flip-out)
    2 fanstoys, i love their paint jobs
    3 maketoys, i really love their seekers
    4 gigapower, those dinobots are soooooooo good
    5 Weijiang, their oversized mp are amazing
     
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  7. dj_convoy II

    dj_convoy II Remix!

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    These days, probably MMC and Maketoys. Maybe Fans Hobby, but I would need to have more than one toy of theirs to really confirm or deny.

    Used to be all about Fansproject, but seems like they aren't up to too terribly much anymore.

    I wish X-Transbots were better, because I often like their sculpts, but, even after all of these years, they still mess up a lot of stuff, and we're the dummies, 'cause we keep buying it.
     
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  8. LoserBroadside

    LoserBroadside Your ship just came in.

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    Magic Square
     
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  9. deaculpa

    deaculpa Stand Alone Complex

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    Deez Bots.
     
  10. doomtron

    doomtron Hunter

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    Welcome :)  thus far i have been enjoying hot soldiers.mech fans toys and dx9
     
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  11. SarahZhangEYOUCOLLECTION

    SarahZhangEYOUCOLLECTION TFs seller

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    Thanks to all :p 
     
  12. Nighthawkblack

    Nighthawkblack Well-Known Member

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    Fanstoys
    X Transbot
    KFC

    Those are my favorites for realistic touches in their design and materials.

    Maketoys and bad cube I like for playability but don't care for their design cues as much as the ones above.

    If you asked me 3 or 4 years ago my list would be long.
     
  13. bcm77

    bcm77 Not A Proper Fan.

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    Iron Factory, Mech Planet, Mech Fans Toys, Magic Square and DX9 have between them ensured my transition from MP scale to Legends scale has been a very smooth and enjoyable one.

    MMC also continue to get my cash for their Reformatted line.
     
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  14. spot138

    spot138 Proud Gee-Wunner!!!

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    In this order:
    1. Fanstoys
    2. DX 9
    3. Maketoys
    4. X Transbots / KFC
    5. MMC / OX Max
    6. Toy World
    - There are probably more out there but, I collect MP only.
     
  15. Mormolyce

    Mormolyce Throbbing Member

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    I am a complete manufacturer slut. If I see a cool bot I'll buy it no matter who made it.

    I've bought from all the big name 3Ps at this point and can say I have at least one awesome bot from each of them, so they're all certainly capable of producing great Transformers.

    Since I'm picky (well I was... impulse control is getting harder... I blame you guys and your peer pressure!) and try to wait for reviews if I can, I haven't gotten many duds. Even when I'm not totally happy with a figure, it wouldn't necessarily stop me from buying from them again. I've seen enough to know that it varies from figure to figure. Hell, probably the worst bot in my collection is ACE's Cliffjumper, and I'm still hoping those guys come back from the dead and release their Seaspray some day...
     
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  16. StapDLambs

    StapDLambs Well-Known Member

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    I am a HUGE fan of Iron Factory. Their legends size bots go perfect with CW gestalts, and make for awesome displays. Their approach to reinventing many of the classic characters has been refreshing, and I am always down for a company who takes risks and ventures into new territories (E.G. IDW D.J.D.).

    Which brings me to MMC. They first impressed me with their willingness to tackle the Hearts of Steel designs. Though they may have had some QC issues, I enjoyed the fact that someone was willing to at least attempt it.

    I only own one of their figures (their version of Tarn) but from my limited experience with him, I have been bery pleased by its quality.

    Fans Project is also near and dear, with their Causality Stunticons. The designs were daring and different, but most definitely welcome.
     
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  17. zfarsh

    zfarsh Big Penguin Chief

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    Hi @SarahZhangEYOUCOLLECTION,

    First pick companies that are safe for you in terms of service, ie that they can handle customers directly, and make the large Masterpiece Scale. I know they have great quality and service in helping out fans directly. This will relieve some stress from your shoulders.

    Fanstoys
    Mastermind Creations
    Fans Hobby
    Maketoys

    Then, other current VERY popular companies that make good quality product and are selling very well, but i dont know how they give aftersale service (you will have to check with them) are below. They make Small Legends figure which fans love alot, cause not everyone wants Masterpiece anymore:

    Iron Factory
    Magic Square

    So these are the first 6 you want to consider. They are your more safe bets for your customers, and for you as a reseller.

    Also, because there will be ALOT of demand, you want to probably at least provide the CURRENT Xtransbot / KFC figures, if the owner will help you out with qc. There current figures are: Crack-Up / Flipout / Toro / Savant.

    There are many other companies, but these should be your bread and butter ones that you want to first concentrate on.
     
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  18. Ambrojh

    Ambrojh Well-Known Member

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    @Megatronus, he listed the most popular and probably the best 3rd party companies. The companies he listed (I own pieces from most of the companies he listed, but not every single one), most of those companies produce high quality to exception pieces and I have personally been very fortunate so far as to not need customer support.
     
  19. Grievlocke

    Grievlocke Omni Armory

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    Iron Factory generally puts out solid products and their replacement services aren’t terrible. They are the only 3P I purchase without reviews generally.
     
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  20. DocSeth81

    DocSeth81 Well-Known Member

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    most of my 3p stuff is MMC. Then Planet X, then a few Perfect Effect and 2 or 3 Fansproject add on kits. if more 3p figures made more CHUG scaled stuff, i'd buy a lot more.

    my "want" list of stuff coming out or already out.....

    MMC
    Roller
    Nickel/Pet
    Tesarus
    Helex
    Whirl
    Roadbuster
    Guzzle

    PX
    Star Saber
    Deathsaurus
    Ironhide

    Perfect Effect

    Jetpower Prime
    Beast Gorira
    Mega Dragon

    i'm hoping that by June of 2020 I complete the list
     
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