UNGA BUNGA

We need simplicity for our caveman brains

 

i will hurt the pride of many proudful collectors

 

MP-52 KO is popping up on TaoBao. List price 580 yuan (US$90), with discount if pre-order.

 

Are you referring to an actual KO of MP-52, or are you referring to DS-01, of which some vendors thought it was a KO of MP-52?

 

An actual KO: mp52红蜘蛛KO改进版 变形玩具

But MP-52, no matter how cheap, is not on the radar for me.

 

Sweet! I'll pay close attention to the development of this one. Not the first time and won't be the last time I replace an official MP figure with its KO counterpart!

 

If the TaoBao price is $90us for the KO-52, then regular Chinese retailers are going to be $110+. For that price I might as well just spend $25+ more and buy DS-01.

 

i'd probably still nab one - but will wait to see if there's a good version.

I got a lot of screamers now :/ damn hoarding mentality.

 

From the description:
- Original ratchet replaced by die-cast
- Easily broken part replaced with tougher material
- First preorder including LED head
ETA the end of 2021 (For reference only, release date might change)

I don't know kinda tempting tho.

 

I hope they go crazy with variants on the KO 52. I’ll take one in white/red Shattered Glass colors, all grey “low viz”, and glow in the dark. I don’t expect any of those to happen but I can dream.

 

I really like MP-52 from an aesthetic point of view but in hand he feels cheap considering how much I paid for him. Looking forward to DS SS. Looks like he will have a premium feel to him worthy of the price point.

That being said I don’t think it would take much for a KO company to beef up MP-52 a bit for it take the crown as a definitive SS.

 

The only problem is it would still look like MP-52.

 

  Unless they add 15-20mm in height, repaint him in a lighter grey, make him put down that backpack full of spare parts he's carrying, and put him on a strict low-cal diet, he'll always be a dark, fat kibbly midget - KO or not.
Most fans of DS-001 aren't praising it for its low price, we're praising it because we think it's a better Starscream. KO'ing 52 ain't going to change that.

I just paid the balance on my DS on TaoBao. AU$145 vs AU$195 from Show.z.
TaoBao now charging 10% GST sucks a lot, but it's still substantially cheaper. Of course, given the state of global shipping out of Chna, I should have this guy in hand sometime in ... October 

 

curious to what you mean by cheap? like its super light? floppy bits? Fragile? all of the above?

 

I think even if they make the parts that are prone to breakage, the KO will still feel like the original especially if its 1 to 1, imo. The KO's that feel significantly better than original have always been the oversize versions, and not just because they're bigger. Also, it depends on who makes it like when the MP-44 KO was released having problems of it's own while claiming fixes from the original then claiming to have fixed those issues on the next reissue but people were still claiming issues. We'll have to wait and see. I'm curious if an MP-52 KO will be made with paint or colored plastic like 44 KO and will that detract the level of premium finish.

Anyway, not sure what's been going on with the ups and downs with ShowZ's stock of DS-01 and someone mentioning that they had their order cancelled and refunded earlier but they seem to have over 250 of them now! I hope DS gets out the blue and black/purple colors soon, I want the trio! Then they can take some time to figure out what individual changes they need for the cone heads.

 

I took months deciding to get MP-52 because it looked like it would be the best we would ever get, and now something better comes along right after getting MP-52, that is a lot cheaper as well.

Damn.  

The legs, feet, and wings, and cockpit look a lot better on DS-01, even the vents are painted black on his ribs.

 

Nowadays 'light' means 'cheap'. Which i don't agree with. I personally feel that MP-52 is a very well made and sturdy figure and the designers definitely put a lot of time and effort into making it an enjoyable figure (which unfortunately inflated the price).

To me MP-52 feels a lot better in hand than DS. But that's just my opinion

 

I was so close to taking a $260 plunge on MP-52 and $230 for each of the Takara seekers. But hearing about all the loose ankles and breakages, and seeing Showz's message about no aftersales service, I just canceled everything.

I guess I should be thankful to MP-52's QC problems for making the decision not to buy it more clear cut. If MP-52 had a flawless release I probably would have bought it a long time ago and would now be looking to sell it.

 

If they add height, it would be an overall upscale, so the jet would become bigger too.
And then everyone will say i like the scale of the original one better

 

A larger jet would be a happy side effect.  

No interest in a 1:1 MP-52 KO. The price has very little to do with my preference for DS at this point.