I would hardly say there's no love of 3P in this thread, heck I blame this thread for much of my exposure to 3P figures. I've bought a few 3P figs from threadizens - at least two from @Napalm   - and people aren't shy showing off 3P figs in here.

 

"You made fun of me and called me a stooge

Now run in terror cause im fuckin huge"

 

 
Late to the game but I've just found out that Takara Legends Godbomber comes with compatible Combiner Wars ports!  

Anyone here who owns GB, have you tried adding CW limbs? I need to search for pics!  

Godbomber - Transformers Wiki

 

I'm going to be coming back to this part of the thread with the blame-hammer when Smyths Christmas shelves in 2024 are chock full of Commander class Wheelie - still without any leg articulation.  

 

 
Found a pic - seems to be just his legs you can swap out.  

Talking of Combiner Wars - please check my updated sales thread for some lovely Mint In Sealed Box/Mint On Sealed Card transforming robits!   
Robotmel's UK Junkyard: Transformers Masterpiece, CHUG & more!

 

A real Boneheaded move!  

Get some Vaseline/Discount Shop KO off-brand Petroleum Jelly on those babies PRONTO, it's possible that may recover them if they're not too far gone like my G1 Prime's tyres!

I was gonna suggest the Botropolis set to snag the Astro Squad's Cosmonauts redeco but, boy, howdy, looks like they only have ridonkulously overpriced third Party seller listings left! $105 Damned yanquee dollars?! I should very much cocoa!

@w00dimusPr1me Siding with the Wisdom of Brian here, deffo debts first, and hang fire for the plethora of 2010 and/or Platinum Unicrons that may get shifted at bargain prices due to folks trading up to the Haslab, maybe?

 

 Ahahahahaahhahahahhahahahaa 

Hey, hey @Imperator ! Hey! We found the plot for your Wheelie episode! 

 

 

I agree, from what I can tell there was definitely a switch in strategy internally. Once the TF team had some evidence showing 3rd Party offerings, they could estimate the money left on the table.

My friend's Fan survey from the 2015 Auto Assembly also really helped provide solid evidence for what fans wanted.

I remember this image, I also remember a couple of UK Threadizens salivating over the prospect of a potential Road Caesar/Big Motivator retool.

 

Other than MMC there hadnt been much great stuff from 3P for a few years unless you want 6 MP Springers. This year has been a bit better. I've also fallen down the Fans Hobby trapdoor.

Purple Potato is just fantastic. So innovative yet at the same time feels so obvious in hand, like was Shockwave going to be reformatted at one point in the script? This is what 3P used to be.

Banana Force Black Fire Convoy is amazing.



Studio Cell Pumpkin is - for me - the perfect Unicron. Not too big and not hiding a complete dining set on his back and legs like the Haslab.



MMC Reformatted keeps on trucking. Their Ocular Max line isn't afraid to go weird and obscure. Srellarus Prominium is the sex.



I feel 3P should give us toys that Hasbro never will. Fill gaps, put right molds that once went wrong, take chances. Not actively compete.

 

Finally installed the dna kit i bought earlier in the year. Oh yeah, now he's a pimpin scorpion of death! With a proper shield!


It did indeed have the transclearant visor too. I know there's another two kits but skipping those, this is all my scorponok needed.

 

behold my terrible drawing skills. Also didn’t anticipate how big a Commander wheelie would be so this had to straddle two pages

 

That was him? Bravo.

Just Plastic Ange to open and that's another MCU full set done.

Now watch the Film turn out shit.

 

But then we would all have no choice but to pay £400 for MP44 instead of the £50-100 for the Magic Square and Transform Element offerings

 

Yup. Not only that, but the 5mm posts on his arms mean you can kinda add arms using the potp fists. If not a lil wobbley

 

Or just be happy with the awesome MP10. For every "cheap" 3P MP there is a too expensive for CHUG release. You don't have to "upgrade" Prime every time a new one is released, you can be happy with your own collecting goals.

I agree though, choice is everything and I'm glad we have it. I just want to see more variety than another MP style Optimus, and I aim that at both HasTak and 3P.

I said about 6 years ago we were going to see a lot of 3P companies disappear as they're all fighting over the same patch of turf, a gold rush where claims were staked with fuzzy silhouettes, it was obviously unsustainable. Problem is with mainline so good, 3P have had to stick to MP to justify their prices or tangent to Legends (but they're getting silly prices now).

Heck, during peak 3P wars, people ignored Mech ideas Ironfist, an honest to God LSOTW straight of the pages bot for less than £30 which got completely lost in the shuffle of collectors transitioning from CHUG to MP. So sure that the new MP10 scaled MP was the future of the franchise.

It's been a strange decade for 3P. One day I'll write that book.

 

Waiting for Show Z to dispatch TE Prime. Absolute steal at about £45 shipped.

 

I’ve got WST Slag and Snarl if you’re interested?

I was just going to suggest Road Caesar, what a shame they didn’t go for it - Sunstreaker and Jazz would have been pretty perfect for Braver and Laster.

 

Finished this off last night. It looks great, but I can't say I enjoyed making it that much. Now where's my Mega Construx Lindisfarne model, Mattel?

Love it!

"My time has come, and yours is lost! No Primes remain now Wheelie's boss!"

 

Was Ironfist and Crankcase really ignored? Seemed to sell well enough when it was in stock at various places, and aftermarket is still pretty healthy on them as there hasn't been a Hastak update since.

I know there where QC issues with the thigh swivels - my Cranky has fused joints there because they both just twisted right off and had to be glued - but really liked them.

And I'd be very interested in that book. It's a history that needs telling.

 

Yeah, it had a very rough ride that figure from first reveal to release. It was sort of unintentionally sabotaged early on by a well known US retailer advertising it at a crazy price they'd just made up (just to stake that claim in the pre-order gold rush) and that killed a lot of interest in the figure in the 3P threads and a lot of people never came back once it finally did get released years later.

The fact that it did get released at all was something of a miracle, and I believe the original company and designer basically just handed it over to Mech ideas to get it made and made no money themselves.

The production run was small because no retailers wanted it and there were scant preorders, which in turn creates the illusion that it was really popular as they did disappear fairly quickly but even then at clearance prices. Had they produced 3 or 4 times more would it have sold better or would they just still be on clearance now? That's anyone's guess, but the damage was done early on, the retailers knew their money was safer in MP and Fans Toys.