Knock-offs aren't something made to resemble a character not created by you. A knock-ff is a direct copy or replica of something existant. So no, all 3rd party toys aren't knock-ffs whether they infringe on trademarked characters or not, and I really wish people would stop using that scapegoat as an excuse to be against them, when more often than not it's just price that's the determining factor. I mean, seriously, shit... if you want a site full of direct examples of knock-offs, go to KO Toys.
I think he's on your side actually, and was probably replying to my comment about certain Third Party stuff like PE Reflector/MGT Arcee/MP Soundwave/PP Ironhide & Bumblebee. Which I still maintain are about as perfect renditions of those G1 Transformers characters as we Transformers fans can ever hope to own. How can that be a bad thing, at least for us? In an ideal world, HasTak will prove me wrong and release a perfect G1 VW Bumblebee, or a G1 Arcee that isn't a bike, etc, but I highly doubt it. And if we haven't had these things by now, over a quarter of a century down the line, well... How long do we wait? I ain't getting any younger!!
I wouldn't call myself a Has/Tak loyalist... However 99% of my collection is official Has/Tak. To me, paying $50 for a deluxe & $100 for a voyager is plain unjustifiable. It's not that I don't have the cash to shell out... It's that I find it absurd to pay 5 times the cost of something that is either already out, or will more than likely be out in the future. I own the Fansproject Protector armor for my classics Rodimus... And yeah, for it and Sidearm was like $100. However it was worth it because it enhanced what was already a great official product. My personal preference, my personal choice. Add on kits to me are different than 3rd party figures. But that's just my opinion. On to 3rd party figures. I'm aware that the Universe Springer vs. Fansproject Warbot is a no brainer on which is superior. Warbot hands down. However I did not see justifying buying a voyager sized tripple-changer for $100 shipped when there is a deluxe (while it only has 2 modes) for much cheaper. Granted if Hasbro decides further down the line that they think Springer needs a voyager upscale update, then they'll do it. And I wouldn't put it past them either. Then you've got a lot of people pissed that they shelled out the extra unneeded cash on something that would get an official release at the $20 price point with better QC. It's called patience. Something a lot of folks fail to grasp the concept of. Also, who's to say Hasbro won't reverse engineer some of the stuff 3rd parties put out, to only make a FEW minor changes for child safety & Copyright/Trademarking reasons to avoid a 3rd party company coming after them, which IMO would resort to Hasbro countersuing the balls off of them for IP reasons. (also to note that IMO, the Hercules & Giant, Not-Devastators do look rather amazing... I mean really outstanding pieces.. But at what? $600 to complete Herc? Yeah they can go fuck themselves for those prices... That's a brand new 50" HD TV, just saying) While still on topic of 3rd party stuff in my own personal standpoint. As most of us know the rumors of MP11 Starscream's release & iGear's Not-Starscream. The Takara version is set at (I believe) $143.77 USD + shipping. While iGear's is set at $100 USD + FREE shipping. As a logical consumer... I'm going to jump all over the iGear seeker as opposed to the Takara version. However this is because I stopped collecting all through out the Classics, Universe, & MP lines only to pick back up when ROTF came out. The iGear Starscream while superior to the original MP03 release is a great opportunity for me (and many others) who missed out the first time. However, like I said about patience (I'm guilty of not having it at times too) for Hasbro to release their version of MP11 I probably won't wait for. That being said brings me to KO's. As I stated in the previous paragraph, I missed out on a lot of great shit. So in order for me to buy what I missed out on at a cost effective price, I turn to KO Transformers. I wasn't able to get my hands on the Hasbro or Henkei seekers. And I damn sure wasn't going to pay $500 for Henkei Starscream, Skywarp, or Thundercracker. KOToys saved my ass on that one. Sure the quality wasn't the best on those figures, but all they needed was a little bit of TLC and now they're fine. God forbid you have to put a very minimal amount of work into something to make it better, knowing it was going to suck ass when you made the decision to purchase it in the first place. I plan on buying a KO Shattered glass Rodimus whenever they come out/when I can afford it (with the Prime line only a few weeks out might be a little bit until that happens). Basically it's personal preference/patience for my all time favorite toy making company to make what I want them to make in terms of what line I stand on. I have like I said 99% of Hasbro product, because it's the real deal with good QC. I only have 2 Takara pieces (granted it's the same thing with different paint), which I also have the Hasbro counterparts for. Animated Rodimus & Henkei Rodimus which I keep MISB because of the superior aesthetics & the fact that he & Starscream are my favorites.. So IMO it all depends on what fancies your interest and what monetary lines you are willing to cross for something that will more than likely get an official release for 5 times less the cost than what you're initially paying for it from a 3rd party company.
^ if people here would step out of the collector personality once in awhile. talk to the voice of reason, mainly, probably the wife or GF or someone who doesn't collect these at all, regarding their purchases AND listen to them. i think a lot of people will agree that yes, purchasing a deluxe figure for 50$ and a voyager figure 100$ is pretty much a dumbass move thing to do. especially, when the person you speak to knows what 3rd party is all about. i ignored what my wife said about the devastators. i just couldn't resist. she ordered it for me. i don't have a paypal account. its better that way. its the same feeling when i picked up classics lion-o. shit, its not even a transformer and i heard the voice of logic but i decided not to listen to it. i just picked it up. when its circumstances like that i fall for the stupid marketing tactics. kinda like smoking. its stronger than you. its pretty sad really. you buy something that really doesn't benefit you except for a short time of joy then when you look at the ashtray, you see a display of what your addiction really is.
I wouldn't say the jokes on you till you see the price. There seems to be only one way MP prices are going.....and it ain't down.
Yeah, and I completely understand where you come from... And everyone's voice of reason is different in one way or another. My voice of reason is that $50 deluxes & $100 voyagers are absurd. Yet $100 add on kits are what draws me in. I guess it's more or less my mind & way of thinking can't justify me paying 5 times the price of something that does the same thing as something else mass produced, yet it can justify paying that much to further enhance an item I already have, but even then there is just a monetary line I refuse to cross; like I missed out on classics Ultra Magnus & FP City Commander armor. I would LOVE to have that in my collection. But I refuse to pay $60+ for a voyager that will more than likely get a 2nd run and more refusal to pay $200+ for that add on kit, when chances of a reissue classics Magnus will inadvertently cause Fansproject to make more City Commander kits to sell at the original price. And I know I said to hell with buying Herc or Giant (idk which one is better to be honest), but when tax return season comes around, if I'm not swamped in buying Prime line or if everything is mechanically sound on my car, I might fork that check over to buy the whole set... Or a bigger TV... Whatever my consuming tastes are feeling at the time. I know I'm going to be in love with it. But I also know if Hasbro comes out with their own on the same scale at a total of $100 I'm going to pay someone to kick me in the balls, because monetarily, that's what I did/will be doing to myself & I know it. A lot of folks act like there's not much thought process put into collecting. But man are they wrong...
i'm pretty sure everyone here thinks about it before every purchase. i think we all ignore it at some point. its just some may ignore it more than others. i crossed that line after i bought exgraver. hey, kudos to those who refuse to cross that line within this addiction. giant is the better looking one. though its really is just a tiny combiner.
Yeah I'm a Hasbro loyalist. Why? Because the Third party stuff is way out of my TF budget. I'm not gonna pay over 20 bucks for an accessory.
I'd say it's more difficult to actually take on the financial investment of an unlicensed figure. That's another expense to add to an already expensive hobby. And sometimes, you have to sacrifice a handful of official TF purchases to be able to afford one 3rd party toy. Sitting back and talking about how you're soooo NOT going to buy something is more histrionic than anything. It's easier to sit back and not do anything...even in this hobby.
Hehe well, I'm usually like that too (at least I've been so far), but mostly because I can tell myself how much shit I can buy with that money & because of how tight money in general is now that I don't have steady income. Along with that, I've spent so much on Yugioh in the last 10 years that I'm pretty much scarred for life in terms of binging on hobbies. Then if that's not enough, I can always tell myself that I'd be better off putting that money toward my car than my toys, so that usually keeps me in check too. In other words, I could care less whether something is made by Hasbro or a pair of shady brothers in a Volkswagen because I'm always aware of how much things are worth & play accordingly. Instead, it's the dollar amounts that tend to keep me on the more budget path. Actually, I think the only non hasbro (newer anyway couse old shit & KOs don't count) TFer that I have is the Dark Skyfire, but the fact that I paid less than 30 bucks for him & a goldchrome bumblebee (shipping included) kindo negated my hesitation.
Well I was more or less stating that people who don't collect think that not much thought is put into it (at least amongst my friends & acquaintances). And who knows... My tax return may be sweeter this year (as I'm making more money than previous years) and I may get to afford Herc & a bigger TV. Just all depends. But as someone who likes to consistently pick up new figures, I can't really see myself picking them up one at a time as they're released at that price point & passing up various Halo, Thundercats, & other TF wants I have. Plus, I'd rather buy the whole Herc all at once. (at times I'm very impatient. Like for the Prime figures to hit shelves.. The anticipation is killing me and my patience grows thin lol). And I don't really know that much about Giant, as I only really see hype around Herc lol.
^ i only got herc cause i got my 2nd bonus of the year and a significant raise. my bonus is long gone now. though i'm expecting another one. hehehe nice try dude. its not about being histrionic. i would like to keep my wife and family while i enjoy my collection. we talk about every purchase we make especially if its useless things, big or small. finances are not a joke. that's also pretty insulting of you. the only thing histrionic here is when you see peeps needing approval from other that they bought the right toy. especially, when others have a different opinion of the said toy and start an all out nerdrage. "omg! did someone just call city commander fugly. i thought everyone liked him." then the person proceeds to asks why the said toy is fugly.
I guess it depends on how much money you make and how you put it forth to your family. I simply tell my gf that I need to buy a bot or two at the end of the month so I have something to motivate myself going to work. And I guess that living in Sweden has it's blessing in a way - if I buy a third party toy, a hasbro toy or a takara toy it's not gonna affect price much since the majority of what I pay is going to be for shipping and customs fees anyway.
I guess you took my post coming right after yours as a direct response to something you had to say. This is why I use the quote button or ^ to determine whether I'm actually referring to someone directly. Other than that, it's a pretty standalone post. I think you took way more offense to it than needed, especially since I wasn't really trying to single out you or anyone else in particular. Regardless, I'm sorry if you found my comment to be insulting, but again, I wasn't trying to pull some kind of fast one on you. I also have no reason to insult your family and financial situation. That's just a general feeling that I have.
Yeah, gotta love when a simple interception makes you look like an asshole, especially when someone replies before you can even edit accordingly.
Folks: I collect GoBots and Roadbots and Gundam and stuff, so I'm not really a Hasbro loyalist at all,but I don't go in for the high-end 3P robots. A few of the more unusual ones interest me. I was curious about Robobuz (of course) but I don't know if that will ever come out. Knight Morpher Annihilator looks nifty. So it's not so much loyalty as a lack of interest. It's a little hard to explain. Maybe it's because some of the interest is in Transformers as a pop-culture event, and these collector-targeted items aren't really part of it? Maybe this affects Classics for me, too; maybe it's why I didn't buy Chugthulhu Grapple when I saw one for $10 at TJ Maxx. It's better in most ways than my reissue Grapple, but I didn't want it.
