^This x1000!

 

Don't encourage them!

 

First off before anything, welcome to the big leagues, haha.

Yeah, since the pandemic first hit, prices for at least a fair part of the entire market became a bit touchy as a whole. Tending to go up at least a fair bit. But IIRC that the pandemic for at least the fairer part has passed through China, and the prices still stay as they are, then I think that poses questions on why.

Though Fans Toys has almost always been the endgame for a lot of us. They're making what ends up being the most accurate and more often than not, the best built, though their engineering hasn't always been up to par. Ask anyone on here and at least nine times out of ten they'll say that FT transformations have been harder in comparison to the rest of the competition. The prices have almost always been endgame levels as well, haha. IIRC when their Skyfire first came out he was $180-210? For me, it's been lost to time, haha.

And just to point on what you were saying, as a whole, you will get used to the sticker prices. Fans Toys for the most part, as I said earlier, is the endgame in terms of product, and that includes price. There are a lot of players in the game, and they'll most likely be going for the same if not less, in most cases.

Also, for the most part, there's no outright wrong choice. There are a lot of options for characters in this hobby, and aside from the ones that are QC nightmares that will just being a pile of dust in your hands when you're done with them for the night, you're pretty much in the clear.

For example, we have 3 sets of Stunticons out there. Those three being by DX9 (R.I.P), X-Transbots and Fans Toys. Fans Toys is meant to be the end-all-be-all set. While it's very much cartoon accurate, FT tends to add in a sprinkle of a more heroic and maybe even realistic? Proportions. They will still absolutely look the part however you look at them, though. Keep in mind though that these guys are also the most elusive. If you want to get their set, you will most likely have to check the secondary market for some and keep an eye out for the ever-so-uncommon reissue that tends to only happen once or twice. X-Transbots is probably the most cartoon accurate to a fault and is another solid set, but that set unfortunately also is comprised of the "Trailer of Broken Promises", the final piece of the puzzle being separate from all 5 bots at a very high price, but the real problem was that the accessories that were meant to come with it, were instead put in a fully separate accessory pack for an extra $80. It'll still end up being around the usual price for a full combiner ($500-600), though it'll definitely shock a newer collector like yourself. DX9's in comparison looks a bit more... unique? Cartoon-accurate, yes, but the sculpt I feel is the one that would be at odds the most, not to say it looks bad, still looks pretty good, but the competition is fierce, haha. Though they do beat the competition in price, their set as a whole ends up being the least expensive by IIRC at least a good margin.

Hope that helps, and if you're looking for a bit more info on the players of the 3P game, I have a post in response to someone else who was new in the game that I think would also help you out.

 

Good luck! I'm sure you'll be able to accomplish it tho as FT seems to be doing a good amount of re releases.

 

Thanks. Pretty sure I got a Motormaster in sight that I can line up, TFSource or TCP may likely have some extra stock once Drag Strip arrives in January (if he stays on schedule, that is...), and Dead End will just require me to keep on my toes and just double-drop with TCP, like I did Breakdown's reissue. Both copies of which are still in TCP's stack, and my second Wildrider is still in Source's Grasp of Sauron (@divinecomedy  ). I still got some stuff to pick up from them and BBTS mostly, so I can keep tabs on everything, check off the boxes and THEN go for gold. Mainly the older releases that have been out for a while now.

 

Does any one know of any store that still has smokey avaliable??

 

A moment on the wallet, a lifetime on the shelves!

 

Sorry, I tend to be more of a realist/pragmatist, and I’m just being honest: I got in like 3.5 years ago and even though I’ve “caught up” I barely got under the gun before prices for FTs, MPs and pretty much any MP-scale piece worth having from XTB, MMC, DX9, TW, KFC what have you went into obscene territory. I have no idea what your collection goals are, if it’s just 84/85 G1, or up to the movie, or up to the headmaster universe, or all the way out into IDW land with the DJD and whatnot, but if you’re looking to collect everything MISB from eBay or other avenues, the late tax will cost you a small fortune. On average you’re looking at $225 a bot I’d guess, so do the math for 100, 200 however expansive you want your collection to be. That’s before you buy display shelves, splungers, oils, stickers, outsource to various painters and customizers...

And don’t forget the insurance, the security cameras and the divorce attorney fees.

just run now

 

Don't worry people. The stimulus has just been signed. More moolah in people's pockets.

 

I want to know the same.

 

Hahahaha, thankfully i'm VERY far from that last one.

Exactly why I dropped my shit a couple months back and got my first FT Motormaster, haha. Currently standing next to me on my desk, love the big bastard. Absolutely worth the late tax I paid for him.

Since I started going with FT bots, those have been really the only ones i've dropped my shit and pre-ordered on the spot. Thankfully that so far netted me Astrotrain, Brawn, 2 Breakdowns, 2 Wildriders (though he was half drop everything and half just get then and there after being all like "Fuck XTB Menasor"), Perceptor 2.0, Huffer, Soundwave, Cerebros, Jazz and Mirage. Always from a retailer, secondary being a last resort. Except when I started collecting a year or two ago, it was more half-retailer, half-eBay.

I luckily have some of the list you mentioned put together. Just gotta get tabletops, table legs, drawer units to use as table legs, bookshelves, more regular shelves, spudgers, more spudgers, more of the same Ocean toon waterslides, even more toon waterslides, a metric ass-ton of Toyhax symbols...

Ok yeah, at this point i'd say sign me up for the security cameras if I didn't already have floodlights all around the house watching over everything and a doorbell that does the same

 

like I said, I was lucky to make the plunge into collecting MP/3P when I did, but when I did, I dove in with both feet. I think I’ve only paid late tax for FT Grimlock, FT Kickback, FT 29-T Cyclonus, FT Perceptor, FT Hound and a couple IDW figures in MMC Turmoil and MMC Strika. Pretty much everything else I got retail price. Still, I’d estimate I’ve spent 25-30k so far ...

 

I was able to catch up this month and get all 3 bots. Hopefully ill get a smokey without PO

 

Really appreciate all fhe in-depth replies!
Luckily the added tax isn't much of an issue for European buyers, so the price I see on eBay is the price I actually pay.

I'm trying to catch up on a few (MMC Combaticons, which luckily are getting a rerelease) and the Stunticons, which seem to be available a bit on eBay, except Smokey which I'll have to get lucky on.
Some stuff I'm just gonna have to bite the bullet on, like Studio Cell Unicron, before they all disappear.

 

The government is paying for the FT Deadend and skeleton

I'd recommend Aliexpress if you're in europe since some sellers have reasonable prices compared to ebay

 

I can easily cosign on the MMC Combaticons, they're nothing but fun. Onslaught's reissue should hopefully include the fixed ratchet joints so you hopefully won't experience any tolerance issues with Bruticus.

 

The tax they’re talking about isn’t a real tax, it’s just the name we give to the markup you pay when you buy it after release.
(So if FT Roadking had a day1 retail price of £120 and you find him on eBay 6 months after release for £180, that’s a £60 ‘late tax’)
The FT bots with the worst late tax are probably: Lupus, Thomas, Quietus and Forager.

hhmm, never noticed that before, going to have to always make sure I buy a copy of any FT bot whose name ends with ‘s’!

 

So allegedly TCP and Toy Dojo have confirmed Smokey will be released in the next 3 to 4 weeks. Info pulled from the FB group via an admin of the site.

 

I figured he would be late january or mid february

 

Hell yeah!