Victory Saber is at 25% backed in just 5 hours according to the US Pulse site.

 

have the original G1 release. Had stopped buying all official Masterpiece at MP-16 - having been in from the start and having EVERY variant and colour of MP-1 through to MP-16 with the only exception being the MP-10 cone heads and sunscream. Had ghost star scream, dead Optimus, both variants of Rodimus prime etc etc.

so when star saber came out I waited on the KO. Tried 4 times from various sellers including ones that had delivered other items ok and EVERY time the seller turned into a scammer - sure I got my money back from PayPal, but after 4 attempts I gave up at the time and the KO was around £110 at the time and the official on the aftermarket about £250

years later and you see a few masterpiece star Saber on eBay etc but anything under £200 is categorically the KO and not labelled as that and the official those are the KO and the official Takara version with shipping to the U.K. is £280 upwards even 2nd hand.

as for 3rd party offerings none of them really do everything I want and look decent. Any figure that’s star Saber is not star Saber without the brain master gimmick (although I’m not sure that this release does everything the G1 does in that regard, but we will see when they have a prototype they can transform)

£179.99 for this haslab release is ideal for me for the pair, hence the instant backing
Sure they have cut corners compared to a masterpiece in that you can already see plastic shell gaps etc that are typical of cost saving on modern Hasbro toys, however the engineering looks pretty decent and excited to see the transformation

anyway, sorry for the long post.

Any transformers fan is doing themselves a disservice by not watching the Takara season 4-6 anime trilogy in Japanese language with the English subs (English dub is HORRIBLE), it’s amazing, interesting and quite dark - the story writing is top notch and it gives you a whole new perspective on beloved characters from those shows like Fortress Maximus, Scorponok, Ginrai (power master prime for us) that Hasbro bastardised into the tail end of G1, as well as introducing you to fantastic characters like deathsaurus etc
My only caution for collectors is that you will fall in love with characters that are unobtainable without selling a kidney ;p
It’s one of the reasons I’m excited for the black zarak version of scorponok coming this year because due to the gold plastic risk that was one of the few (along with leokaiser and dinoking) that I never obtained the G1 toy of, I spent thousands and thousands of £ back then, but I refused to pay over £1,000 for ANY one set, a complete mint black zarak was over £2k back in 2008/9 - if there are any remaining fully intact I dread to think of their worth today, especially as even knocking a sealed box at this stage would lead to that gold plastic crumbling no doubt
[quick update] yeah there isn’t a single black zarak on eBay that is complete below £3,200 right now.. so Hasbro’s scorponok variant is a no brainer for me

releases link this Haslab Star Saber allow me to get unobtainable characters at the right size with decent modern engineering levels at a decent price

Others will have their own reasons, but I welcome Haslab backed projects like this and would LOVE Deathsaurus next (although very unlikely)

 

Why so hollow.... For those backing I sure hope they clean up the guns, wings, legs, forearms, etc etc... give the brainmaster some knees.... eesh. This totally looks like a retail release at best...

 

Do you know where I can watch them? Or is this like Gundam where I have to shell out for physical media to watch old shows?

 

It's almost as though this is a retail test of a niche character and not some high-end collectable. Hence the price point.  

 

How long has this thing been up?  It\'s already almost at 3000 people who funded it.

 

Okay, okay, I'll bite. It's a bit expensive; I'd have been happier with $150 (basically, a Commander class figure plus a Leader class figure, which this seems to be) but I'm not gonna let the extra few bucks dissuade me, especially if they hit the other sales targets (which I hope they will).

Overall I'm pretty pleased. They hit most of the big targets in terms of what I expect from these two. Leo is a bit smaller than I expected but it's still bigger than the leaders and it actually makes sense for him to be a bit smaller for the sake of Victory Saber's overall proportions.

I wish they'd have figured out a way to engineer the legs in such a way where the Star Saber knees were lower for Victory Saber's, whether that was by giving him extendo-thighs, or allowing you to lock out S.S.'s knees and having a secondary "V.S. only" knee inside of Star Saber's calf. Also not a huge fan of the empty spaces in the arms of Saber (small dude) and V. Leo, but I can live with that.

It's honestly kind of lame that the cannon doesn't come without a 'tier' requirement, since it's Victory Saber's signature weapon and integral to V. Leo's tank mode, but even if the crowdfund falls short of the tier requirement, I'm absolutely certain a third party will make one.

And with that... I'm in. BACKED!

 

This is essentially a retail release which is why it is only $180. The only reason this box set is not the next Titan class is because Hasbro is not sure if it will sell well, hence the limited run. If this does really well expect other JG1 exclusive characters like Deathasaurus in Legacy Year 2 and 3.

 

This figure looks like it will be amazing, all of the Commanders have been great, and the price ain\'t half bad either. Only downside is I don\'t give a shit about Victory Leo, I just want Star Saber.

 

im not upset.

just slightly annoyed that this will have...

better paint apps
better articulation
an addition victory leo

than an mp I already bought at the same price point.

fucking crazy how a few years and some good designers can completely change the game.

 

Except most retail figures out right now don't have this much hollowness.

 

Thank you for more context. Maybe it’s a hidden nod to his idw counterpart?

 

To be fair, if MP Star Saber was going to be released today, it would be another $4-500 MP

 

Got the feeling man. A good friend of mine passed away some years ago and he was a great Soundwave fan and he was never able to buy one. I got the Netlfix Soudnwave to remember him.

Back on topic... it seems this is kind of a test for more accesible Haslab products. Maybe we could get that Armada Prime mold from long time ago if Victory Saber gets funded. Looks great for a retail figure that would not have been a great seller if sold by regular ways of distribution. Not as impressed was I was and I am still with Masterpiece Star Saber, specially by the change in the Brainmaster gimmick but I may back him only if I am absolutely sure we get the V-cannon. I think it was ridiculous not to include that in the main release.

 

I doubt that Takara can do whatever they want with Masterpiece figures without Hasbro approving it.

 

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i want it

 

2786! That's 25% in the first day.

 

You think so? I think the MP version is still going to look better once we are able to compare the two. Articulation and Victory Leo is another story!

 

@Apollux any word on the tiers for this guy?