I know from experience with USAGS their problems usually result on who their distributor is for imports. One time I bought something from them for preorder but they were at the mercy of the local shipping yards and whoever their supplier was wasn't pulling their weight, often shortsheeting their orders. Just be patient, they'll honor their customers.

 

And after I decided to skip the Kuro Kara Kuri Megatron, ShowZ has him on sale for an attractive price...

 

That sounds like a distribution / supply issue rather than a release issue - I got mine from BBTS about a month ago.

 

Sure it is. A number of shipping routes are still unavailable. EMS shipping from Japan to Canada has been closed since the end of October last year, for instance.

Things are still snarled in various ways.

 

20 days before I can escalate, but USAGS might just decide to refund me before that. We'll see. I am just not convinced they will get their stock anytime soon.

 

Received this guy today and have bee appreciating the heck out of him(check out my Instagram for more photos).

My quick review: fantastic figure, awesome articulation, beautiful deco and sculpt... Incredibly excessive price tag.

 

My passion for the KuroKaraKuri line has been dyin a bit, but Megatron is pretty cool. Lovin the spiked ball, and his wings are quite different than Star Saber's. Was fun settin this scene up for Megatron and Prime's epic showdown

 

Great shots!

I'm almost too scared to play with mine, after multiple QC issues  

 

Thanks! Yea I've noticed a few joints and flaps have gotten a bit looser. Also quite finicky when posing sometimes. Star Saber took a bad spill a while back so he's got some loose pieces, and his stand straight up broke :/

 

The Boys...

 

Hobby Lobby has 40% off their model kits. Starscream and G1 Optimus are 27.59, Bumblebee and Decepticon Megs are 33.59. Free shipping at $50 dollars. I saw them in stock at my local store for the first time this weekend.

 

Argh. I REALLY want to get the 3K Megs. I think it looks brilliant. If it were around $200, I’d have bought it, no questions. Even around $300, I probably would have bought it already. But over $400 is really giving me pause. There are other top shelf figures I want, Chinese or Japanese robots with plenty of die cast lighting, for half the price. Doesn’t sound like this is significantly better than those in terms of quality, so it boils down to whether or not the IP license is worth the premium. Maaaaaaaaybeeeeeeeee?…

 

In a lot of ways value is relative - depends what you can afford. As I said in my Star Saber review I can see where the money goes in these figures - the design and engineering is incredible and the manufacturing would be intensive to say the least. And I do think they are a cut above other figures I've experienced if we're purely talking poseability and wow factor.

But I agree, $300 would be the right price for these figures. Of course the market disagrees, as they are selling out at the current price point  

I did allude to QC issues above and I apologise as someone asked me to elaborate and I forgot to. On my Tarn figure the gun was broken out of the box - thankfully it was an internal join. I emailed support asking if it was OK to glue, but leaving it open ended so they could do what I would say is the right thing and offer a replacement part (even if I pay shipping). No apology or even fake surprise, just confirmation that glue was OK. Second issue was the Optimus Prime (this time bought at considerable premium aftermarket, but still MISB) - straight out of the box his chest window snapped off despite me being very carful handling it. They just told me that there was no chance of getting a replacement part and "to take care when gluing it"...

 

I just opened my optimus, I bought a MISB D4 exclusive version from someone about a year and a half ago for slightly above retail (basically 470USD) but waited till I moved houses to open it, and I think the reason why the chest window snapped off on yours is due to clearance issues w the shoulder pad. There's very little clearance to open the chest windows when his shoulders are positioned inwards or at default. I still think the idea of the chest flipping upwards instead of sideways is dumb (that amalgamation design of theirs feels off when standing next to the rest of the line due to the rest being faithfully based on the IDW designs), but that axe man... I couldn't resist. He's the only K3 I own that's the exclusive variant and it was more than worth the slightly more expensive pricing. If only I caught onto the line when drift was still available...

 

Yep it's a very flimsy joint and can catch on the shoulder as you say, but this was definitely weakened in production or something as it came straight off. I had looked at the manual prior to touching the figure and noted that it was very clear about the chest being delicate, so I was super careful when opening.

Congrats on the figure, they are amazing but definitely a "buyer beware" situation.

 

When you say that there are a cut above, what other figures are you measuring them against? FWIW, the figures in judging against are those by brands like Motor Nuclear, or Moshow, or Bandai Metal Builds.

yes, value is a bit subjective, and it’s more complicated than just what you can afford. It’s also about opportunity cost. I can definitely afford it, but If I get this megatron, that’s maybe two other high quality die cast figures I can’t get. It sounds like there are a number of potential QC issues with these that I haven’t heard of regarding the others, but let’s assume its quality is significantly better. Is it twice as good? I’m sure I’ll enjoy this a bit more than the others, because I have more sentimental attachment to Megatron, and to this form of Megatron in particular. But will the pleasure I get out of it twice as great as the pleasure from the other figure(s)? IDK. it’s hard to swallow that one figure could be that much more valuable than another of objectively similar quality by objective measures (articulation, durability, joint strength, etc).

But despite my my seeming resistance here, the subjective, sentimental appeal might yet get me if I’m confident it won’t have or develop loose joints that prevent really great posing.

 

All great points. I only collect some non-transformers so it's hard to relate, and I have no experience with the brands/lines you mentioned. If you have a range of figures you are interested it's definitely harder to invest in these guys. In my experience TF collectors are starved for offerings at the premium end - especially those with no interest in anything related to the modern era movies. So it's not so much of an "either/or" it's more a "should I" and can I justify it to myself.

Regardless of whether you or I disagree with the value these guys are selling out and commanding a premium at resale, so the market is saying they don't need to be cheaper unfortunately!

If I were you I'd take the plunge sooner rather than later - if you don't like it you can resell it for probably what you'll pay or close to (if you can get it at retail). I wish I had of done that when I first started taking notice - probably would have saved half of what I paid so far!

 

Oh, good point about reselling if I decide I’d prefer other things. That comment may have just sealed the deal.

(Don’t get me wrong, I haven’t been complaining about the price in a “that’s unfair” sort of way. Just musing about whether I feel justified in spending on it. Whether or not I decide to buy, more power to them for making something that people have decided they are willing to buy at those prices)