Did you get it yet?

 

Granted, yes, but as it stands I've already relegated my shelf to use the Titans Return figure from Chaos on Velocitron.

 

To not do a Greatshot from this mold seems like a waste to me. I think that dalianjj meant no premium Sixshot repaint of this but I don't think that completely rules out Greatshot. This is literally, Sideswipe/Red Alert-Prowl/Bluestreak/Smokescreen level to me. You are right that trying to remold Hydra into Sixknight/Quickswitch would never work in MP. I have GCreations Fuuma and love the figure. If FT won't do Greatshot, I hope they do. For me, even with the issues with this FT version of Hydra, a Greatshot version was me throwing my money at the screen. I love FT and buy virtually all of their figures but this is something that needs to happen with this figure and is a mistake not to do it. They already have the replacement chest gimmick in place.

 

Well, FT have said they plan to do every single character. Maybe in another fifty years we'll get FT Greatshot  

 

You gave credit where it was due in the Hanzo review, while at the same time not pulling any punches. IMHO the highest praise any reviewer can be given is that their reviews are fair and balanced, and yours definitely was!
All I can say is that I'd be very keen to read a review from you on Hydra!  

 

.....and 4 other people on TFW2005 which is why FT aren't pursuing it because there simply isn't enough demand for that random repaint, Greatshot. And the comparisons were bad because the ones you used were all onscreen characters who appeared in arguably the most popular incarnation of transformers, Sunbow G1, they are canon! Some of those mold mates you mentioned might even be C or even D listers but they were in the G1 cartoon and are infinitely more popular and would be sought after than random repaint Greatshot.

The risk isn't worth the reward for FT to appease a handful of people of TFW2005. I mean look at the FT dino repaints......they are still shelf warming and readily available and easy to find due to their inability to sell. And they are arguably more popular than random repaint Greatshot. From a business point of view it's just not viable and from a personal point of view I hope they don't, it will just take up resources which could be allocated to other figures and it will cause even more delays!?

 

In 50 years, dalianjj will be old and can't affix those QC stickers anymore. It will have to be earlier.

 

Pour one out for QC Tester #20. He lived as he died - unable to afford or fathom any of the products that left the factory.

 

quick review after going through the transformations: this is a mediocre toy that looks great. articulation points are there but don't actually give you a lot of articulation that should be possible. I really like looking at it and am glad to have it for my six shot collection but do not recommend unless you really want a sixshot to look at and not engage with. even the chest was hard to swap because the screws almost stripped.

 

FT-20G says hi. A limited run would sell out. I think, correctly, dalianjj was referring to the Phoenix X paint job of going back and pearling everything and using the metallic red paint. That is costly and time consuming and effects tolerances. FT red, blue, and green dinos were G2 and very obscure and $200. Greatshot was an actual character. This wouldn't take up a lot of time because the engineering issues are solved. Their time is being spent on the figures we both want. I mostly agree with where you are coming from on these issues just not in this case. This would take minimal time for them but they probably won't do it. I too want all of their other figures but that doesn't mean you just throw this one away and forget about. This likely gets a reissue down the road so when the molds are in use there is the opportunity there. This to me is no different than Maketoys reusing the Seeker mold or KFC reusing the Junkion mold. It has a place sometimes.

 

Unfortunately that seems to be the general feel for the last few FT offerings as far as I'm concerned. I've got at least 1 mold of all their offerings save for their Seaspray and Reflector and they've definitely placed looks over everything else to my eye. While I do primarily display and not touch after a few posings/transformations, there's something to be said about a collectible toy you can pick up and mess around with. I'll say he's a whole lot less fun to handle than Hanzo, issues and all.

I'm glad I got him, but Hydra is a top tier collectable, and a mid tier toy to me.

 

Bummed about the ankles. SS is kind of like a ninja/samurai to me, so I was going to display him in the most dynamic pose i can think of. Sigh, oh well. Even FT can't have an endless streak, fair enough.

Not to mention, Hydra is rather inexpensive for what you get. No complaints really, just felt like it could have been much better with a few small improvements.

 

Hanzo can do some pretty wild stances thanks to his overly-posable ankles.
Old photos, but we're talking this posable:



And that's free standing, he's not leaning on anything.

 

If Hanzo could look as good as he posed, I would have bought Hanzo. I appreciate that it did come out first and is an excellent figure though.

 

Yeah I was really hoping Hydra would be definitive version of SixShot but I don't like the big seams on the arms and somewhat limited posability in the ankles, thigh cuts, and wonky elbows. But he does have better shelf presence in the basic a-stance for sure. Would have been even a notch higher if the white plastic had a coat of paint.  

 

I hear ya... exactly the same gripes I had with Hanzo. I'm too late in the game to ever replace Hydra though. I'll just have to give him a menacing A-Stance, oh well #FWP

 

Hydra's a solid choice.
I plan to keep them both for now but could probably be happy with either one.

 

Hydra: A ninja that can only pull the A stance. There's irony in that.

 

I agree with this. FT knows how to make a great looking display piece. And for quite a few collectors, that's enough for them as it is all they really want. They get an MP or 3rd Party MP, take it out of the box, and place it on their shelf. That's it forever. But for me, while I also like to put MP's on my display shelf, I also like to take one down to mess around with and enjoy it. I'll pose it, transform it, and spend some quality time with it. After all, I may as well enjoy the $100 I paid for it, right? And for me it's the whole package, which goes beyond just aesthetics. I want quality, articulation, good alt mode(s), and a transformation that I would enjoy and be afraid of tackling. The engineering and design is a big part of what I enjoy about Transformers. I flip thru this thread alone and I see an amazing looking Hydra in his bot form. His alt modes are respectable given that he's a six-changer. Beautiful piece. But it loses its luster when it comes to articulation and transformation.

Now lets look at the competition. DX9 Hanzo seems to be the only direct competitor to Hydra. Hanzo doesn't look as cool to me compared to Hydra in any mode. Hydra wins out in looks easily. But Hanzo was designed to be more hands-on. It's built like a tank and has better articulation. Hydra lacks this and has a few common issues like weak knees. Both are quality releases. Neither Hanzo or Haydra are perfect, and neither are clear winners over the other as a whole. So it's a matter of which one I and others are willing to accept. I don't foresee anyone else that's going to tackle making their own version of MP-style six shot anytime soon.

 

I did not know who Greatshot was until this thread. If Fanstoys did a crowdfund with a set number needed like Maketoys did with Sunstorm, I would buy one if the repaint looked exceptional.