I hate these kind of threads, but I really can't decide - which 3rd party MP scaled Reflector should I get? They all look good to me, which are best for the buck?

 

KFC to me has the best balance. A transformation that's not ridiculous, and closest to animation models.

 

My reasoning for who I got (KFC's) was pretty simple. All three sets look great and all three sets have some imo minor issues. So I just went with the cheapest. Most US retailers I think still have KFC's on sale. Usually I think about $30-40 cheaper than the other two options.

 

I have the Fanstoys. To me it is closest to the 'toon of all the options, which is all I really wanted, so I guess it is good enough.

If you just want something for a shelf you aren't going to mess with much I say Fanstoys.

 

If you've held out on them for this long, it means you probably don't think they are good enough otherwise you would have probably bitten a long time ago. Dunno about you but it's quality over quantity for me, I want figures in my collection because I think they're awesome and the best representation of the character and not there for the sake of being there....to fill some quota or some rush to get every figure of every season.

I picked other, frankly, I think they all miss the mark one way or the other if Sunbow accuracy is what you're looking for. I'll wait and see what TT has in store and if they never get around to making him....I couldn't give a crap, he's one character I can't stand anyway, him, Blaster, Perceptor and Cosmos.

 

Pretty damn happy with my KFC Reflector. Can't really tell you why I think it's better than the others available, except that it was the least expensive of them.

 

I went with Maketoys, though to be fair mainly cause they were the first but I see no reason why I should had traded them for one of the others either. They seem to be, I dunno, more fun than the others.

 

I definitely prefer Maketoys's. No partsforming and visually cleaner designs.

 

Fanstoys is definitely the closest to toon accurate. They come with a ton of accessories and display options. The transformation is a little finicky, but they are super sturdy figures. Maketoys just look too squat and don't have toon accurate colors. KFC's figures look pretty good, but they're just slightly off. If you want toon accuracy with a ton of accessories and such, Fanstoys is the way to go.

 

I have the FT one and I like the way they look, but they are not fun at all. I transformed them twice (going to camera mode then bot mode) and said nope ain't gonna do that anymore. So I guess if you just like good looking bot modes that fit quite nicely in your MP shelf, FT is fine. But if you like messing with your bots, look some where else. Unless of course you enjoy doing some frustrating and complex transformation...then yeah FT.

 

Maketoys for me.

 

This is a rare case where you can't really make a wrong choice. All 3 are pretty good figures. I immediately liked MT's Visualizers. They are toon accurate enough for me, have different facial expressions, are solid, have a clean design and there is no partsforming involved. (FT Spotter has too many loose parts for my taste and KFC Reflector is a bit too bulky.) I've never regretted my decision.

 

I have MakeToys and FansToys versions. MakeToys has the build closer to the character model, but FansToys does a better job on the colors and has the toon backpacks that I find fairly iconic to the character. I've been rewatching episodes recently and find myself preferring FansToys' version. I don't transform any of my figures, so I can't comment on that.

 

I'll be honest, to me the Maketoys set is the most toon accurate camera mode. Also, it's the only set that has accessories that are true to the original toy.

Handguns are same as original toy (not generic like Fanstoys), and flash is again a hand held missile pod.

Also, a nifty transformation once you get used to it. Plus, having the lens as part of the transformation is pretty neat. Also nice how camera can actually be mounted in actual camera stand (with optional included piece).

Faces are a tad too thick, but you get used to them. They also are a tad plain, but that's an easy fix with the Reprolabels/Toyhax set. Those are the only minor drawbacks.

 

I think the last time this topic came up it was just MT vs FT, so I find the view fit KFC this time interesting.

Here's and odd question... Which of the three is the shortest?

 

kfc looks great but theyre slightly larger than carbots.

 

You really can't go wrong with any of them. But, I like Maketoys since it doesn't require parts forming and they just seem more fun. They even have funny faces.

 

This, whenever my MT set is in alt mode it lives on a little tripod on the shelf and looks cool as heck!

 

I prefer the MT as I liked the look of the clear chest and I also much preferred the face sculpts on these, non-partsforming is icing on top of the cake for me. As an adult collector, a good transformation is one of the things I value in my TFs, and the finnicky transformation on the FT is frankly what pushed me away.

Don't get me wrong, with something like Reflector, partsforming is something I'm willing to accept. Perfect Effect took that to an extreme with their Reflector, and I absolutely LOVE how they turned those camera parts into coherent weapon and armour bits that distinguished an gave each figure their own characteristic. However, the way it was handled on FT Reflector just felt lazy, and I think I'd actually rather them have done nothing than do what they did with those parts.

The KFC came out quite a bit later and I do enjoy the looks of those quite a bit. The features that they included are quite practical and enjoyable, too. However, I still have some reservations about the quality of their figures and some of the reviewers did mention they see some stress marks. While I do think the KFC would be a set I'd enjoy (especially for the price), being late to market, it wasn't good enough to convince me to trade my Visualizers. That said, for someone like the OP who doesn't have any of the sets, the KFC is a pretty worthy contender in my opinion.

 

MT Visualizers. They are excellent figures without parts forming. I think that they are also the most toon looking and fit in with the new MPs the best.