Make Toys Masterpiece Coneheads (Dirge, Ramjet, Thrust)

Discussion in 'Transformers 3rd Party Discussion' started by ZEGR, Oct 22, 2017.

  1. Korgunaard

    Korgunaard Well-Known Member

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    I actually emailed them with the very same idea to at least consider crowdfunding for the rest of the Target Masters and Headmasters. They said they’d consider it but it does really seem like they are more focused on Cross Dimensions. It’s a good line but I really like their MP stuff the best.
     
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  2. Verboten

    Verboten Car mode rolling specialist

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    Yeah I'm worried about it too. I remember back then, I used to really like the edgy designs and heroic proportions. Striker Manus was widely adored. Although their MP line was amazing, maybe they did it out of necessity just to stay competitive.
     
  3. metalwar2010

    metalwar2010 Well-Known Member

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    It makes sense to a degree seeing the 3P market is getting very crowded, on all scale of TF's. Even 4th party aka KO's have competition. I think it would be less competitive if they all weren't trying to release the same figure within any given time frame. Free for all sort a speak.

    Personally, just the seekers alone should show G1 is still a big deal. I honestly can't imagine the other stuff is. Anything MT thinks is probably due to poor decision making on the quantities of all their figures. How can FT, XTB/KFC, MMC, etc all sell out of their products, even do reissues months later with most still selling out but MT somehow has large stock left to last a year plus? Were they producing Hasbro quantities? I wish somebody had those answers.

    I'm with you though. I'm hoping this message being passed around isn't anything but talk because all their seekers brought new light to my S1-S2 cast.
     
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  4. Starganderfish

    Starganderfish Well-Known Member

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    I think we over-estimate the popularity of some characters and even more we over-estimate the viability of crowdfunding in a lot of scenarios. MT’s Sunstorm was a real slog that seemed to barely scrape by at the end. MMC’s Fort Max failed to fund at all.
    And don’t even get me started on MAAS and the f#cking mess they’ve made of crowdfunded transformers and audience trust with basically everything they’ve done.
    Personally, as a customer, I wouldn’t touch a crowdfunded TF figure from anyone, except MAYBE Takara. And even then I’d be wary. But even withcompanies I trust like XTB and FT? I don’t trust them enough to support a crowdfund. The 3P market is too fluid and vague and full of contradictions and rumours and shady back room deals.
    Of course I have zero interest in any thing HM or TM anyways so I’m totally not the target market. But I wouldn’t even support a crowdfund for a must have figure.
    I just think it’s a bad idea to encourage any of these companies to start down that path. You only have to look at the mess MAAS Toys have made and the shady sh!t from Spence to realise that. We just don’t know enough about ANY of these companies for it to be a good option for us as customers. And before anyone starts saying “we can trust Maketoys” and “they won’t let us down” ... the folks behind MAAS used to be trusted and accepted too.
    Crowd Funding is a risky way to do business and as a customer, you are taking all of the risk and getting none of the protection. Stick with retail purchases. Please. Don’t encourage these companies to move away from the few consumer protections we have as customers.
     
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  5. JoeHavok

    JoeHavok Well-Known Member

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    What it most likely boils down to is their lack of interest in G1 as a company. It may not be their area of passion. You can see from their history that FansToys is only passionate about G1, and it shows. If your a company that’s producing figures, and your barely making any profit on them, and it’s not even interesting to you, I guess they may decide to move on. But, I really wish they wouldn’t.
     
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  6. Predaking EX

    Predaking EX I am Power.

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    With HasTak being so committed to the G1 nostalgia themselves it would seem not to keep trying to contend with the source, especially when the source is cheaper outside of MP. Especially when there are so many other series they can touch. BW is getting more and more traction. I expect RiD/Car Robots to get more attention soon and Armada.
     
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  7. StrangePlanet

    StrangePlanet G1

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    If this rumor about MakeToys future plans is accurate, it would seem to indicate this the widely held opinion that 3P MPs are the #1 money-maker in the biz is just not true. Not anymore.
     
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  8. metalwar2010

    metalwar2010 Well-Known Member

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    Depends I think on a few factors. Characters you choose, like OP where TE-01 is already moving to a 3rd batch release. Price can be a factor too. As far as G1 goes, everything up to maybe a year has been mix toy and toon or some other variation. MT must realize that G1 is still popular, if they go the full toon colors and pick characters carefully, IMO.

    Unfortunately, I worry that TM's, HM's, and even PM's, don't have the demand as the first couple of series characters carry. XTB/KFC's headmasters didn't sell out and FT's seem to drag, even on Dracula but then again, we have no idea what quantities are being produced, which is another factor too.
     
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  9. siniquezu

    siniquezu Well-Known Member

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    did their starscream have that butt flap too?
     
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  10. divinecomedy

    divinecomedy Board Certified Fans Trollar

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    Decepticon jets need their butt flaps to fool Ultra Magnus.
     
  11. Verboten

    Verboten Car mode rolling specialist

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    Same here. Even with high expectations, I still have to watch reviews for confirmation. I didn't pull the trigger on MP Megatron because the transformation didn't look like it would be fun even though I was sure I was gonna buy it. I even watched a review of it again not too long ago and couldn't change my mind. Crowd funding is definitely not for me, either.
    I feel like I've been brainwashed to go for G1 only lately. I used to love the non G1 designs but now I just skip right over them. Only exception is Firebird Arcee but only time will tell.
     
  12. Rasbot

    Rasbot Well-Known Member

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    I love a lot of their designs, I just don't have the room for cross dimension stuff. I'm so commited to just finishing the g1 so I can be done.
     
  13. divinecomedy

    divinecomedy Board Certified Fans Trollar

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    When you think about it, it's crazy that we are several years into 3rd party, etc and despite the many number of products already released, we still don't have a complete S1, S2 characters. Yes, we are getting closer, but it's been a grind.
     
  14. Starganderfish

    Starganderfish Well-Known Member

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    A large part of that is the broad cast of G1. It WAS all about selling toys so the more characters they introduced, the more toys they could put on the shelf. Or at least that was the thinking in the beginning. Not sure how well that worked for them seeing how they started killing a bunch off starting with the movie, but at leas in S1 & S2, that seems to have been the idea.
    Contrast the broad sweep of G1 characters to the much tighter cast of BW.
    Given the volume of characters (which grows even larger when you throw in combiners) it’s actually pretty amazing that we are as close to finishing the cast as we are. If it wasn’t for 3P it’s unlikely that Takara would ever finish even a single season worth of characters. If I’m able to finish the three G1 seasons and the movie, in MP scale, I think that will be an amazing situation.
     
  15. Sportimus

    Sportimus Well-Known Member

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    They need their butt flaps as it can get pretty drafty up there when they're on Cybertron...
     
  16. Digger

    Digger Banned

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    And that’s a real shame honestly. Cause some of my favourite designs are from the later era anime series with mainly the godmasters and also the targetmasters. It’d be good to have at least one set done.
     
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  17. ChromeMagnus

    ChromeMagnus Well-Known Member

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    Maketoys' first 3 seekers certainly had loose crotch plates.
     
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  18. Sportimus

    Sportimus Well-Known Member

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    That's a bit too general because all 3 of my copies are just fine, and I got them one at a time over a period of several months from different retailers. Perhaps I just got lucky? I can't say.
     
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  19. Optimis prime

    Optimis prime Well-Known Member

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    Nope. My crotch eh i mean my maketoys seeker crotch are good too.
     
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  20. LEGOprime

    LEGOprime Well-Known Member

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    I wouldn’t be surprised. If only I got to see it.
     
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