And like I state as my main point: They doubled the price, and for that they could do better and not be cheap about such things as gaps, the accessories and the paint.

If it doesn't bother you, well, enjoy your figures as they are... I prefer mine to look as best as they can/could.

But can you be honest and say that if the figures came "standard" without gaps, better paint, more accessories, that you'd say that you'd want more gaps, less accessories and less paint and still pay the same?

 

so let me get this straight..

the user who is okay with waffles has a screen name waffle house?

 

It seems to be. Thanks

Personally, I think the Siege line was enjoyable. Thanks for the feedback though!

I understand why the people complained. I mean, deluxes are $100+ in my country and if the price was to rise by about five bucks, the price would rise even further.

 

I hate waffles. I murder them and use their corpses to build my home.

 

Of course I would want more bang for my buck, who wouldn't? My point is that this is not a new issue. I have figures from all eras of Generations and very few of them are without gaps. The forearm one especially is not egregious, I can't think of a single figure that didn't just say "fuck it" and leave the forearm gap exposed. That is not a recent thing.

I totally understand not wanting to pay more while you're not getting anything more. I'm just saying we're not getting anything LESS. Hasbro did not up the price and then introduce gaps to the figures. That's what they've been doing forever.

 

Think Siege and Earthrise is Hasbro's best effort to give you bang for your buck vs their costs?

Hasbro pays a licensing fee/royalties to Marvel/Star Wars/Disney and Power Rangers, etc., yeah?

Imagine how much more expensive the same 'crappy' Transformers toys would be if Hasbro didn't outright own the property.

 

If you want to expend more money and have quality figures it's better to go the Masterpiece or 3P route.

 

I see what you're trying to say. And I agree that a few simple panels will help transformer figures lots

 

WTF?

 

They don’t pay licensing for power rangers, they own the IP

 

Yeah, that bought it last year. My best friend is a PR fan and he thought it was amazing.

 

Ha, yes. Can you guess the Voyager and leader class prices 

 

I don't know if I'm right on this but my guess is that yes, they might charge higher if we got more gaps covered to make up for that expense with more profit. Maybe their equity has gone up through the years. I don't know.

 

I'd pay more for figures without gaps, though I was pretty happy with what we got in Siege save for a few figures.

 

Agreed that it's not new, but it's the question of the 100%+ price increase... I'm looking at the figures of my collection that are next to me, and not a single one has as bad gaps as we've seen in some figures in Siege, that a couple of years ago, they started selling figures with no accessories, went from decent weapons and such, to the really cheap ones, so simply a lack of accessories.

I find that the mono-pieces guns and such, that are "dollar store" level of quality are really cheap as heck... stuff like Wheeljack's tiny weapon... they really could have given at least another hand gun, or a wrench (even a copy of Ratchet's).. just something that would make the figure more complete.

Just to say an example that could create a whole different flame war here... but Cliffjumper, such a small figure, but great design, lots of accessories, I consider that figure to be great and more worth that price increase than something like Impactor. The bit of gaps he has are hard to notice, so not an issue.

It's just wanting a fair equivalence for the price increase.. again, so many figure are good, some really good, but those few little things that Hasbro decided to be cheap on, screws that figure to being just good or very good, when it would have been a great or even amazing.

Put the price thing aside and I would still say the same across almost all series prior to the current ones, every figure could have a little "extra" done to make it better... but throw that doubling the price factor that happened with Siege, and it's more a "come on, for double the price, how about really doing it right and don't be that cheap"...

Another example.. can you look at the gapless Seekers and OP and not enjoy the fact that they don't have unsightly gaps? I'd just wish that they would have pushed that level of quality to all the figures...that's all.

 

Lovely. Yet another thread complaining about hollowness.

Regardless of how serious we may take Transformers, they are still toys, which means they still have to come in at price points that Walmart will carry and parents will buy. I'd rather Hasbro continue to focus on features and QC than worry about "gaps". We're already getting into the "too expensive" range - I don't want to pay even more across the board just so some fans can pretend their toys are high-end collectables. I'd rather pay for the occasional upgrade kit or Reprolabel set for the figures I like enough to make that effort.

What annoys me? Missing features like no landing gear on ER Starscream. Siege Megatron's head being mounted on that floppy panel. Siege Prime having that huge chunk backpack floating over his actual back. The tiny armatures on SOundwave and Hound that popped off and wouldn't stay on after being reattached. Especially Hound, since that meant the leg then became a partsforming deal. Stuff that affects the usability of the figure.

I don't mind my toys being toys.

 

And that's the point... panels for the gaps, cheap paint or flat all same color, no accessory or really cheap ones... it's about Habro being cheap in various aspect, not just the gaps, but in general.. where just a little bit extra effort would make a huge difference in regards to the quality of the toy.

Hell, the G1 Cyberjets had landing gear that folded, freaking legend sized figures that were 5$.. and here we are, decades later and 30$ figures that skipped on simple design items...

Hound and Hoist that could have their hands/arms tucked in the empty sections instead of simply dragging under the vehicle. Wheelejack having the ports underneath with huge "lips" that rubs against the ground (which I ended up filing 1/2 of them down and now there's no more drag), etc. and just not having any weapons aside that crazy cheap missile launcher that's just that.. cheap.

And so on for almost every figure... just a bit more effort, Hasbro not being so freaking cheap, and these toys would be so much better for it.

P.S. I fixed my Megatron floppy head, look for my post in the Siege appreciation where I show and explain what I did.

 

This is a good way of looking at it. If I wanted near perfect collectors items, I'd go broke on MP and 3P. But I can't afford that.

What I can afford is Hasbro Mainline and I think the quality of what we're getting at the price we're getting it is just fine. Would I be against a prince increase if it meant something like no more gaps? That depends: how much is it going up? 25%? I'm ok with that. 50%? Looks like I'm skipping Commander and Titan class releases. 100% No thank you.

And before anyone tries to rope me into that Hasbro can do no wrong" group, I'm not one of them. I just have this weird habit of complaining with my wallet instead of online. If Hasbro does or makes something I don't like (for instance, ER Smokescreen and Megatron - way too similar to the Siege version - and Starscream - just doesn't look good at all), I simply don't give them my money. Its that easy. I certainly wouldn't complain about all the ways Hasbro got a figure wrong but also give them my money for said figure.

 

FWIW I think for SIEGE, the Commander class for Jetfire shined. That was the only SIEGE figure I bought last year which didn't feel somewhat shortchanged. It remains a to be seen if I feel the same way with Skylynx but I wouldn't be surprised.

 

I think the likeliest scenario is either that we'd get something on the order of Action Masters if Power Rangers Lightning Collection were the bar or MP lites. The Furai model kits come close and would come closer still with customization -- which IS an option.

Super7's license would cover something like this and cost similar to Furai's model kits with a bit of extra heft and height.

If you're looking at Transformers that transform, the best realistic option I can see is one where Takara discontinues MPs and MPs "reboot" as a more rugged, play friendly thing where Optimus clocks in at Commander class and carbots are Leader pricepoint with Voyager minibots. This would reset MP pricing back down to where it once was and probably essentially boil down to upscaled CHUG minus gaps and with articulated hands.

It would likely constitute a downgrade from MPs and upgrade from CHUG. Part of the problem is that a collector friendly figure that's affordable needs to ditch vehicle licensing and/or reuse molds and/or go smaller for the same price and/or lose parts count.

And no retailer would support it (they barely stock Commanders as-is).

The CHUG scale largely gets away with what it does balancing size/budget/parts count.

The smallest figures in a size class really come close to budget MPs. The largest have gaps and compromises.

Maybe if you cut off Deluxe at Sideswipe height and cut off Voyager at Starscream height or a bit below...

Either you go premium and small or you use the extra budget of a bigger figure but brick and mortar stores would have trouble with either.

The canary in a coalmine that lets you know conditions are ripe IMHO would be Takara's MPs failing in a scenario where the 9 inch seamless body Star Wars figures succeed. Hasbro really needs a major direct to consumer success while ALSO having a scenario where the Japanese high end market implodes.