Thanks, brother! Still can't believe this guy's real and I've had him a month now. But then I feel the same way about Megatron, 2 1/2 years after his release!

 

Of course TT have to make profit, and we don't know the actual numbers for licenses etc, so all we can do is go by our own opinions of these things.

While it is completely fair for TT to up the prices, and potentially exclude a large part of their buyers, the price still seems too high for the product IMO. And I love their new products! Making product prices suddenly higher doesn't always lead to more profit, especially with 3rd party competition out there.

There's a difference in opinion of how much of the money made is profit and perhaps there's a business ethics issue here too. Everyone has a different perspective about it and thats cool.

 

TT competes with JP toy-makers.

 

And your case, mine's and of many others, they were right: we payed what they asked.
End of the line.

 

Sure, but with 3rd party MP's TT is in direct competition.

 

Right...not sure anyone's suggesting otherwise.

 

Agreed, 3P's sees TT as competition, of course. I'm not sure the opposite applies.

Is TT aware of 3P existence? Of course they are. But I sincerely doubt they care about a 4th Springer being released named "green smart robot" as much as they do with, say, Bandai and their top of the line heavy 80's hitters like Vehicle Voltron or GoLion.

 

Glorious figure aand GLOOORIOUS PICS man! Keep on meeting the banner high!

 

Thanks, my man! Wish I could take photos of this guy all day!

 

One does not necessitate the other. If 3rd parties like FT and what not mattered in the overall Japanese market they would be competitors,but since there presence is virtually nil there ,Takara is hard pressed to view them as "competition".

 

The big guy finally arrived. Glad to say the knees look fine so far. Transformation was tricky to say the least, but the end result is a contender, if not the, for best TF figure ever made.

 

Didn't HasTak step in on Zeta Unicron? Apparently they saw that as competition and a threat...

 

Very nice pictures. Really captures the premium feel of MP-44. I can’t get any rest of enjoying him right now.

 

Thanks so much, man. That's high praise! I know the price is an issue for many, but to me he looks and feels twice as expensive as MP-10 in hand.

 

I guess you could make a case for that in that sense, but this is a big Hasbro production being pushed globally specifically targeted toward die hard transformers fans, the only ones who would have an inkling Zeta even exist. The MP line isn't specifically targeted toward G1 or BW or even Transformers fans specifically, they're designed to appeal to the overall Japanese market.

 

I've had this figure for a few days, now, and I'm amazed by the degree of articulation and the engineering that went into this figure is astounding. Pretty much any pose you can think of, MP-44 can pull off.

I think, however, this is probably peak MP for me. The articulation requires more compromises in design and aesthetic that I'm not comfortable with. The panels, the gaps, it's probably less of an issue with a smaller bot, but for a bigger figure like MP-44, it's a bit much.

 

Has anyone tried or have the capability to see if the antenna from MP-10 or one of extra heads from TE-01 will work on MP-44? Please and thank you.

 

Thank you kindly  

 

Yyeeesssss thank you

 

I’ll be getting mine soon
I have TE-01 but I am loosing interest in him
He’s just not up to par w/ 44
Articulation is more limited and he’s blocky and stiff- looking......oh well
At least I got to experience TE Prime......
MP44 was the one I really wanted but due to prices, I convinced and fooled myself into justifying.....TE does this better or that better. Eh mp44 doesn’t do this as well......blah blah blah.......I think it was because I was impatient and wanted an Mp Prime badly to replace mp10. He was cheap, cleaner and he has the extra movie head too.......I don’t know why I got caught up......lol
I tend to do that. Even with MP36!
I think mp44 is gonna be my real MP Optimus this time! No one else!!!!!