Except the QC issues on 3P can be WORSE than Hasbro.
I've had at least 4 3P figures break on me, with only light use (just transforming and posing a few times).

 

There's a bit of "luck of the draw" involved with Hasbro as of the past couple years-ish(your mileage may vary of course).
There used to be a time in the early post-MP-10 days when there was a feeling that they were setting the standard. Outside of Fanstoys with Quakewave, there wasn't a whole lot going on in 3P at the Masterpiece level, and what there was oftentimes was "meh" in quality.

Now of course it's blown up and IMO it's 3P setting the standard and TT that sometimes presents "meh" products.


I'm hardly the only one that says this, but don't get caught up in whether something is official or 3P. Just go with the design you like best. As long as YOU like it, that's the only thing that really counts.  

 

Yeah I buy somewhere in the range of 7-10 3P toys a year and I usually have one out of that being a bad apple and needing parts/replacement.

With hasbro it's gotten so bad these days that I fear for something being wrong or ungodly loose on everything I purchase. Granted, some are easy fixes but it just kinda dampens the feeling of getting new toys when you have to do repair work straight out of the package.

Its a bit less of a blow considering most deluxes are at the $15 mark but still an annoyance when I want to enjoy what I just purchased instead of having to go to the repair box.

 

My point is that having QC issues with a figure that can cost over 100 dollars is far more than one costing 20 dollars. It's also easier to get a refund or replace official TFs.

 

Depending on the company, though, you can oftentimes get replacement parts or reengineered fixes from 3p if there is an issue. I have received free replacement parts for both FansToys figures (where they corrected an engineering issue) and MMC (where a part had a misassembly and would not transform properly due to not being seated flush). Good luck getting a replacement part for a Hasbro figure without having to buy a duplicate. There will always be occasional QC issues with any kind of mass production like assembly errors, even if the figure itself is outstanding otherwise.

 

Y'know folks it's entirely possible to like G1/IDW/Beast Wars/Whatever and not have to get all territorial and partisan about it. This topic started with a reasonable observation about market-reversal of roles and ending up pretty quickly into "IDW iz da bestest!" And "G1 or fuck off!"

It's perfectly OK to have those as opinions, but it isn't pretty to read it. Over and over and over.....

Cool Robots are Cool Bots and its a damn fine time to be a TF/NotTF Fan. Be happy.

 

The other thing about IDW is IDW is very G1 centric.

I'm primarily a GeeWunner, but cool characters from IDW, like DJD, can easily make it to my Neo-G1 shelves.

Also, G1 characters with IDW interpretations may look better to me than a strictly G1 look.
The MP Stunticons that are coming out may make it to my (VERY G1) MP shelf, because they look great as Menosaur, and quite frankly I don't think a toon accurate G1 Menosaur would look as good.

I prefer my MPs to have a look that melds the toon with real-world. I think MP10 and MP Soundwave hit the note very well.
The more recent slavish to the toon looks of Takara has been putting out in the MP line, are really not for me. I prefer the look of Hellfire to the official MP Inferno, for example.

These are the characters to which I have a connection, and I want the "best" interpretation of that character possible.
What "best" means is very subjective.

I like all the choice I have today.
I like being able to pick from 3 or 4 Infernos, Hounds, Springers, etc.
I research the crap out of them, and then pick the one(s) I like best.

Like others have said, this is a golden age of being a TF fan.

 

Don't be mad because G1 >>>>>>>>>> the rest.

 

3rd Party will probably jump on the Beast Wars bandwagon if MP Optimus Primal demonstrates there is a market for toys from that generation. A year or two from now, "Let the Rhinox wars begin..."or something along those lines

 

Regarding the original topic, I've noticed this too. It wasn't that long ago that people thought Toyworld was being bold in making their first Orion figure, as if there was an unwritten rule that Optimus Prime was an untouchable character that third parties shouldn't dare to attempt. But now how many unofficial versions of the Autobot leader are coming down the pipeline? Now it seems like nothing is off-limits for third parties to tackle, thus why it sort of feels like they are going backwards while the official brand is going forward with combiners and headmasters (which probably wouldn't had happened if third party didn't show that there was still interest in those gimmicks in the first place).

What a great time to be a fan.

 

Naw, I never loved 3rd party because they did characters mainline wasn't. I'm not really interested in filling out a checklist.
I love 3rd Party because they don't have the budget limitations and can do what they want, and they make toys that are better than the mainlines.
So they can do all the same guys and it doesn't matter to me. Because there's only one I'll get, most of the time, a 3P.

 

I've ALWAYS gotten replacement parts from Takara. I've even gotten two G1 Tigertracks given to me due to a shop not giving me ones that I paid for. Takara are usually bloody great at customer service (although after their merger with Tomy, not so much), even though they don't even have to bother communicating to me in English, they sometimes do, and then go the extra mile by replacing parts.