Although I now understand the complexity of the figure I agree it still feels odd to HasLab a generations figure (probably) that already has a masterpiece. It being a double pack with him and Victory Leo together may justify it being a HasLab, though I still can't imagine Star Saber by himself will be more impressive than the MP. So we'd be getting a definitive Victory Leo and a less than definitive but probably still great Star Saber. I'm all for it but yeah. Interesting situation. Maybe they can take some creative liberties with this one and make it stand apart from the MP. I've said it earlier in the thread but I think Victory Saber is pretty lame if it's just a jetpack and boots... I hope they make it their own and do more with body armor. Agreed. Something like a pair of high quality gimmicky commanders feels perfectly justified for the $200-$300ish range if that's where it ends up. If it's $400+ though it better knock our socks off... large scale with a really creative and fresh combined mode.
Hasbro had nothing to do with developing the MP though, so it's existence is pretty irrelevant when it comes to a Hasbro initiated endeavor
Rodimus has been showing up and fans have been giving it a thumbs up. This just makes me more excited to see what HasTak can do with a larger budget.
Yeah, I don't really see why a clean looking but ultimately flawed Masterpiece figure produced by Takara 7 years ago would have any bearing on a new generations style figure. A new version could have improvements like actually being able to hold his sword properly or having joints that actually support the weight of the figure.
Hasbro may want their own Star Saber but Takara would be developing both... and I'm sure any Takara engineer working on this is going to have the MP sitting on their desk next to them the entire time if how much MP engineering is borrowed by WFC figures is any indication. It does exist and does matter in some capacity especially to the international fans who already have one. I'm just saying it should set itself apart in a meaningful way.
The people who act like we don't "need" this because we've had the MP (7 years ago) remind me of the people who treat Kingdom Rhinox as pointless because they've got a T30 version from almost just as far back ago. Why though? There are people 7 years ago who couldn't afford MPs that can afford this type of stuff now. Man, I thought the Zeta fanboys were obnoxious enough during the Unicron campaign but now we're going to have people spending the entire Saber one telling us not to bother because the MP exists?
It really doesn't matter though, least not in the context that people are trying to claim it does. A MP figure has no bearing on if a generations style figure gets made (and vice versa, want proof? Look at Jetfire). The MP is 7 years old and there's never been a Star Saber available for purchase in the US market. Hasbro is a US focused company that does partner with Takara (who as you said made the MP figure and does much of the physical design work for the franchise). None of this discredits anything I said, the existence of the MP figure created by Takara has any bearing on the existence of this Hasbro initiated project.
Yup. We got all of those MP BW figures and then got Kingdom anyway. MP Arcee, ER Arcee, and Cyberverse Arcee were all revealed/sold around the same time. WfC has done two versions of multiple characters between Siege, ER, and Kingdom...and many of those had versions that were just in stores during Prime Wars. As far as "setting itself apart..." well the potential for an actual Victory Leo seems pretty high on that list.
I get where you’re coming from, but I also agree than any engineers will of course look at the MP and ask themselves what worked and what didn’t and how they can do a much better job at this price point.
I haven't heard all that much suggestion that Kingdom Rhinox was "pointless," but I have heard quite a few complaints that it's inferior to the T30 version. That's quite a bit more damning, IMHO.
That's their reasoning for not buying it as a "replacement" for T30. That's the problem. People who have been buying toys longer than the target audience takes to grow out of the line have to treat every figure as a competition with the previous version. It's why the word "definitive" needs to be stricken from the lexicon. They come up with whatever excuse they need to not buy yet another version of a character they already have because if they don't then they have to deal with the FOMO. Meh. It's a bunch of hand wringing over his headsculpt. It's the same overreaction as people who nit pick over fist color and shoulder height. There's nothing wrong with Kingdom Rhinox that you need to seek out the T30 version and whatever costs come with that. And if you've already got him...congrats. You don't need to justify why you don't want to "replace him" because all you gotta say is "I've already got a Rhinox." I've got *both* versions because I like BW and both have pros and cons of both are worth owning two. ---- It's the same thing with Star Saber. Having the MP version is a good reason not to invest in this project. But it doesn't make the project worthless to anyone who either doesn't have one or just likes what they see when this is revealed.
Well yeah. It would make sense that they'd look at ANY version of Star Saber for inspiration (I'm sure they're probably looking at Simba too considering we've seen HasTak borrow design ideas from 3Ps before) but that doesn't make this project "unnecessary." And when the figure is revealed, if you like the MP more...great. Go find that instead of backing this project. And if you've already got the MP...also great. That doesn't mean people who don't have the MP are going to want to spend the entire campaign being told they're dumb for supporting this instead of seeking out the MP. (And you know the 3P fans are going to show up to start pushing Simba as an excuse for why the MP is acceptable and this project is not. I also wouldn't be shocked if Zeta comes in and zetas up the whole thing by teasing their own Saber/Leo, just like they did with Unicron when that started and their Raiden when that was first teased)
I love love love my MP-24, warts and all. It's easily one of the gems of my collection, but it's incredibly fragile. I've transformed it exactly once and I still haven't screwed up the courage to install the KFC kit I bought for it. It's basically a gorgeous statue. I'll almost certainly* back the haslab version because I'd love a full victory saber combiner with modern articulation and poseability that fits in with the CHUG/3pCHUGs I have. *Assuming that my wife is ok with how much it costs.
If it costs as much as an MP then yes it will be compared to the existing MP, which can still be bought today by people who couldn't get one 7 years ago. If it costs as much as the MP and is two high quality figures instead of just himself then I'm sure those comparisons will come out favorably. If it costs the same but looks just like the MP except with better joints and doesn't include Victory Leo, and is also a generations figure which should automatically put it at a cost advantage, people will ask whether it's worth the trouble. No need to accuse me of being an obnoxious fanboy when in my original post I explicitly made the case for a HasLab funded version. I said its an interesting situation and that I'm all for it. Nobody is being called dumb here except maybe me.
But that's an entirely unrelated point to my initial stance replying to a post stating it was odd that they're doing a Haslab of a Generations figure that has a MP figure. The MP figure existing doesn't really have any bearing on this Haslab project, especially since it is a Hasbro initiated project and Hasbro had 0 involvement with the MP. I never said anything beyond that sentiment.
This is just my two cents, but I think if we get a higher price at $250, it'll be due to the articulation and engineering required for said articulation to work with the transformation. Take for example butterfly joints. That's present on the MP Star Saber, but not present on Commander class Jetfire, who I think will be the base skeleton of how Haslab Star Saber will be founded on. There are no butterfly joints in the Commander Jetfire, so having to engineer those in might raise the cost somewhat. However, I think in other areas, there will be smart compromises. Take Jetfire's hand engineering, where a slot for the gun appears when the hand is closed, and disappears when open. I can easily see that being kept in Haslab's Star Saber to make it easier to hold his sword(s). Plus, the chest section of Siege Jetfire is about the same mass as MP Saber. I can't recall who took the photos with the mass measurements, but they do exist. Plus, I think that whatever HasLab is doing with the engineering and parts count? That's going to be where the figure shines. Not in size. I think it's kind of unnecessary to make him a Titan class when combined with Victory Leo. Again, just my two cents.
Titan class, no. But if Star Saber and Victory Leo were both somewhat smaller than MP-24/Simba then Victory Saber could be roughly the size of a modern (CW/PotP) non-titan combiner:
...we don't know this. And even if it WERE the case, keep in mind that Jetfire doesn't have to house an entire Voyager+ mold in it's chest. I think the odds of Saber being an extensive retool (or even a Tigatron style example of similar transformation on an upsized figure) are low, but non-zero. That said, I'm certain it won't stop people from getting out the red circles to deem this "a repaint" and an reason to argue people should buy the MP instead.
Honestly, it's not really likely in any way. Every Haslab project thus far has been unique and not based on tooling from other figures Takara footed the cost, not Hasbro, and despite Takara's obvious involvement this is a Hasbro initiated project. So again, it's not odd at all considering Hasbro didn't foot any of the cost for the MP Star Saber
