It's additional feet and chest parts to change the look. Big difference. He already has feet and a chest so the combiner still functions without it.

I absolutely agree.

Only if you're a completionist or prefer the altered aesthetic. You don't have to buy additional parts. That's the whole platform MMC was riding on this one: that all the combiner parts are integrated.

Yes, it does. It's an upgrade because it is not necessary to own it, it's purely optional.

Again, I agree. I wouldn't want it in the base form either since I'm not into the toon look and prefer the G1 toys. But that makes it essential for us personally, not to assemble the combiner.

 

Man i cant wait to have this guy on the shelf
...also happy with this pick the wings are higher as i was hoping they would be

 

Yeah, that thumbnail render is older. King Lion's horn is the older render and not the knife we get in the latest render.

 

This. I completely agree that the extra parts of that figure are not essential. They may be preferable, depending on one's perspective, but not necessary for the combined form. Personally, I like Assaultus better without the gaudy chest wings and the too-large feet. I think the "standard" feet are a tad small, but I the accessories push it too far for my tastes. I also really appreciate the fact that the combined form is possible without parts-forming, and that's more important to me than visual tweaks. I buy figures for interesting and fun engineering, not photogenic shelf presence.

 

You guys can be fine with MMC gouging customers, I'm not changing my mind.
No one is buying the upgrade parts as a stand alone item. Those parts should've been included at purchase end of story.

 

Well yeah, cause they're an upgrade kit, and to a possible look not everyone may want either cause they like the toon look or already have a Bruticus.

It would be like trying to buy a cosmetic dlc (that yes may have some fixes to non-gamebreaking bugs) to a game you don't yet own.

 

Fair enough.

In my case as a fan of stylized/toy/Marvel aesthetics, I've simply accepted that I'm a stark minority in this fandom. To get what I want generally involves me customizing (and spending money to do it, anyway). If somebody has a kit to make it closer to my vision for $50 and saves me hours of work...cool. God knows I've spent way more than that on custom jobs, lol

 

Unfortunately that's not a good analogy. Bug fixes exclusive to DLCs are frowned upon any community.

Cosmetic DLCs do not have bug fixes in them.

Any company that labels any cosmetic add-ons as a "bug fix" is a bad and shady company.

At least be low-key shady and put the upgrade kit under a different brand /s

 

I think they're selling these parts as an "upgrade" kit because MMC is marketing the toy as a combiner that requires no parts-forming. To include them up front pretty much eliminates that particular selling point. However, in my opinion they shouldn't cost more than perhaps $15. They're making money off of the figures and could really sell the add-ons at cost, but they know the people who really want them are already on the hook.

 

It's incomplete without the "upgrade" you might prefer an incomplete look, that's fine. I shouldn't have to pay extra for parts just because you don't mind not having them.

Amen to that. I just don't feel the Assultus set qualifies as an Upgrade. To use the prior video game analogy. It's standard content locked behind a pay wall, not an expansion.

Yes, and that's really my issue with it. The "Upgrade set" was available immediately after the combiner was complete. This wasn't designed as a companion piece. It was built right along side the figures. Removed packaged and priced separately. Not like the figures themselves were at all cheap to begin with...

 

I mean, if you're going for the toon look it isn't incomplete, toon Bruticus didn't have matching coloured feet and the vortex coloured chest piece.

And not everyone going for the set was going for combined form but for the bots, since MMC's stunticons are the best ones we've gotten, so they need the upgrade kit even less in that case.

 

Except UT and Zeta are both far more toon accurate representations of Bruticus than Assaultus. If anything MMCs is the most toy accurate interpretation of the 3. Going for a "more toon accurate" look with the least toon accurate option, isn't a very strong argument for omitting the parts necessary for full realization of the toy aesthetic. Which is the direction the product clearly tends towards.

So what? That makes ZERO difference to the people building the combiner and needing those parts to complete it... That certainly wasn't the goal of the designers either.

I'm not saying your collecting goals should be dictated by the intentions of a company, but I shouldn't be penalized because my collecting goals coincide with their intentions... They removed this because they knew they could charge just a bit more. The same way developers lock content that's already a part of a game.

 

I’d bet that had each figure cost $10 more with the “upgrade” pieces distributed among them, no one would have batted an eye. The point is that MMC set out to create a combiner that doesn’t require extra parts for the gestalt, and they succeeded. They are also offering additional unnecessary parts for those who want a different look— an “above and beyond” option that no one should expect to be free. This is nothing compared to the situation with XTB’s Menasor.

 

I only use the upgrade kit chest and head because Assaultus' toon chestplate isn't made out of Vortex parts.

I already have Ragnaros for the toon look.

 

Why? I didn't want that shit, and was quite happy not to pay for it. I'm tired of all the useless crap MPs and other toys carry with them. For once one company made it optional.

 

Since this is apparently the assaultus thread now, does anyone know when the battle gaia deco is getting released?

 

I think the relative merits of upgrade kits is relevant to the discussion though? Most of us would rather have all the essential combiner bits bundled in with the six figures, rather than having to fork out for a seventh buy. (Then again, there are a few folks on this thread who are just in for the individual figures, who might have preferred all the extra kibble to be sold separately.)

As well as the XTB Stunticon Trailer and the MMC Combaticon bits, going back further in time you had the upgrade sets for TFC’s Devastator and Superion.

I thought their Devastator looked perfectly fine without the upgrade set, but their Superion looked awful without buying the upgrade.

I suppose it all comes down to personal choice, and how successful the base figure turns out to be.

To be fair, I think XTB fans are more worried about the fact that their Drag Strip’s shoulders are made of a brittle, crumbly plastic than they are about anything else!

 

I still argue MP-44 would have sold so much better overall had Takara also sold it in an alternative packaging like MP-49. Sure, people would have complained about the high cost either way, but forcing people to pay for another $150~ish of fairly unwanted accessories was kind of a dick move, IMO. At least give people more of a choice with that amount of price hike.

 

That's debatable. I feel like with the upgrades they created a beautiful homage to the G1 toy. I would've gladly sacrificed the all in one for better hands in combined mode. The idea is great, execution is better than I imagined it would be, but it makes it's share of concessions.

That is a FACT. lol

As do I. I like the MMC set more, but their Bruticus looks really bad without feet. That's just my opinion.

You already paid for it though. The MMC set wasn't cheap. To achieve the most out of it, I've got to fork out another chunk of $ for parts that should've been included? That's not an upgrade it's extortion...

I can agree with Sanity Bleeds that MP44 would've benefited from a "base model" option. Assaultus however is incomplete without the "optional" upgrade. You've gotta buy the feet separately...seriously? I can't believe people are okay with this. Whatever enjoy your stumps.

 

Probably because you don't.