No it wouldn't. Translucent pieces are just bad under stress. If it's just a little thing that stands there, though, then it's no problem. Translucent plastic ain't GPS.

 

There hasn’t been a significant exodus of backers to claim they are losing interest. What would be the rationale? Someone who bought in with the expectation that they won’t receive it until 2021 is losing interest even though they still won’t get it until 2021 just because the campaign is still going?

Buying in isn’t an active process in which you have to be continuously engaged. For most people they buy in and move on with their lives until the toy gets delivered in two years.

 

What I meant is the fragility of small translucent plastic pieces.

 

I'm aware, but it's only really a problem if you just throw the figurine in a bin and it gets crushed by a big heavy toy or something. Merely handling the figurine, or it simply existing, shouldn't be enough to cause the figurine to self-destruct.

 

I was comedically exaggerating...

 

Then you really didn't sell that well enough, because there's nothing really comic, or exaggerated about those statements...

 

Or you didn't catch it.

 

I caught it. The phrase "explode if you looked at it funny" is not something I would ever attribute to anything other than comedic effect. Not all comedy is straightforward. It was more amusing than laugh out loud.

And now that I reread that, it sounds more like I'm lecturing you than just honestly saying my opinion. Man it's hard to convey tone and intonation in writing isn't it?

But uh, to stay on topic, Unicron. Tell your friends.

 

Sure, that much is obvious, but I remain confused by the central point here. What single-piece, mass-produced translucent figurines are fragile?

Quintessa is fine. The old Legends of Cybertron PVCs are fine. Why would there be any concern at all for a little translucent figurine add-on? It’s not like we’re talking Shapeways materials here. These guys I’m referencing have plenty of give to them and can take a beating.

 

Not to belabor the point, but the figure of speech would be more effective if we weren't in a fandom where GPS was a thing, and translucent plastic breakage weren't commonplace. In the context of this fandom, it's pointing out a serious concern in a lighthearted way, rather than exaggeration to the point of farce. The connotations are completely different.

And that's the problem with joking on the internet. A great deal of joke delivery is in the facial expressions and gestures, and tone of voice, rather than the words themselves. You might be in on the joke by the way it sounds in your head, but without the addition of emojis or whatever to convey the tone to your audience, all that's left to go on is the words themselves, and without prior context, the default is probably to treat them seriously.

Using exaggerated, but commonplace, figures of speech usually doesn't convey the joke by itself, especially in cases like this where there is an underlying concern. If you're trying to joke on the internet, without the aide of emoticons, you really need to exaggerate beyond the point of absurdity to clue the audience in that you're not being serious.

Umm, and this concludes our Internet Comedy 101 minute?

 

I am so very grateful they gave us the split chin beard. It would’ve annoyed me to no end every time I see a movie still of Unicron if we only had the initial “filled in” chin.


If you're listening Hasbro, an easy update could be you guys showing us a fully painted Unicron face with the shattered eyes. The eyes really need to be green, and NOT left silver.

 

I've been thinking about it & I would much rather have a Fortress Maximus or Metroplex this size. I think that would be a lot of fun to actually play with as a toy. And it would be a great center/display piece. I could see me adding all the other base/city transformers around it in a million different configurations. It could provide endless hours of fun. Just like the current titans & my new Omega Supreme. But when I had Armada Unicron there wasn't much I could do with it. I flew the planet mode around a little bit & just posed the robot mode & it just stood there. It wasn't much fun as far as playability went. I got tired of it fast & it just sat there. But I'm pretty sure I would never get tired of a city/base that big. Especially if you're a CHUG or Legends scale collector. And then you can create a bunch of unofficial fan modes. I would probably back a Fort Max or Metroplex. And I would go absolutely apeshit over an RID Brave Max. I think they would keep most collectors, especially those with small children, a lot more entertained than Unicron ever could.

I was also thinking, based off a few comments in the other thread, what if this doesn't get backed & Hasbro just made it a smaller regular titan class in the main line for the normal $160? I think a lot of people would prefer a regular titan class Unicron & Primus. It would be better all around for the price, size & weight. And wouldn't require this crowdfund nonsense.

 

I don't know if "losing interest" was the best choice of words.

What is more likely is one of two other possibilities:
Buyers Remorse: These guys jumped right in during the announcement. Got super excited and splashed the cash (so to speak) too quickly. As time went on, their excitement cooled. Maybe more pictures and videos of the pictures made them pause. Maybe they realised that almost $600 was actually a bit more than they were willing to spend. Maybe they decided they actually could wait a year and half (or more if there are delays) and figured they could get something else sooner. MAYBE a certain third party version of the character was more appealing. Either way, the impulse buyer had more time than expected to think things over and for some reason found the idea wanting.

Real Life Steps In: There have been a few here. These guys did want the toy. Did like the toy. Would still like to get the toy. But between backing it and now, something else came up. New dishwasher, car repairs, broken phone, sick kids or any other myriad of things. That $600 has to now go elsewhere, not on a frivolity. The more the campaign gets extended, the greater the likelihood that this occurs.
Kind of related to this one is that the extension also pushes the billing date closer to the holiday season, where many people will need that money elsewhere. Gifts, travel, getting through the holidays if they don't get holiday pay from their employer etc.



As an aside, if you DID back this figure and got charged for it, but between now and release needed to cancel for whatever reason, is that actually possible?

 

With so many here vying for additional content to come with Unicron, maybe Hasbro could try something a little different akin to stretch goals. Instead of having to produce additional items, maybe offer a discount at certain stages?
- 8000 backers, Unicron gets made
- 8500 backers, 5% off total price
- 9000 backers, 10% off total price
- 10,000+ backers, 15% off total price
Most people love a discount or sale, and what better way for the fandom to totally justify the cost if one could obtain Unicron for less than $500? If the 15% were to be reached, that would drop Unicron down to $488.75 ($575 - 15% = $488.75), and would still secure Hasbro almost $4.9 million.
I'm just saying that it might not hurt Hasbro to consider something like this. Those that already preordered would get the discount back, and just maybe those on the fence would be apt to pull the trigger and order 1 or 2.

 

And now I know!

I think the implication was that it would be a transforming figure? ...I just realized I'm arguing someone else's point. You're right though for single piece figures. Apparently my brain is somewhere else today...

 

A mini rodimus prime holding the matrix would be a cool adder. Or a near dead Megatron

 

There have already been hundreds of posts in the past on why simply downsizing this figure wouldn't work, and would be too expensive for the titan class price point.

 

Why do you think Hasbro is going after Zeta so hard? In case Unicron doesn't get funded, they will make Zeta "an offer they can't refuse" to turn over the CAD files for Zetacron in exchange for not being sued into oblivion. Then Hasbro will take Zetacron, fiddle around a bit and then release him instead in 2021 as a special Titan's Plus figure for around $250.

They can't lose!

 

I don't think even Hot Rod haters would want what they did to Galvatron done to Hot Rod.

 

Agreed. The smaller the size also means lighter plastics, smaller pins and hinges and quite possibly a downgrade to what we're being offered now. A smaller scale could also possibly mean that Unicron would not necessarily look exactly the same. For instance, some of the leg panels might have to be consolidated into bigger pieces because of tolerance issues. I, for one, would not really like skinnier looking legs and more back kibble. Not to mention the opening jaw mechanism could also possibly be cut.