Third Party CHUG and you

Discussion in 'Transformers 3rd Party Discussion' started by Hyoumaru, Sep 4, 2018.

  1. Hyoumaru

    Hyoumaru M.S.B.S. ver. 10.5

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    So at this point, it feels safe to assume the third party market is largely dominated by either the MP-scale or the Legends scale figure.

    One of these is large enough to be incompatable with Hasbro-releases, at times fragile and usually prohibitively expensive, and the other is good quality but absolutely destroys the idea of scale for the large part.

    Meanwhile, the CHUG scale is a much smaller part of the third party market as it exists now. It was an option in the days of early 3P, such as Uniquetoys' Predaking, but these days Third Party Chug largely exists in the way of upgrade kits only, which have noticeably shifted from the same kind of companies we've seen producing full on figures to largely western-based hobbyists operating out of their own garage at a much more modest scale.

    Of course there's more to the idea of CHUG than just scale. CHUG-style designs, defined as "G1 but modernized" are still somewhat found among MP-grade 3P figures, though those being scaled at MP or somewhat larger heights render that somewhat moot. Every now and then though we seem to have something CHUG-compatible, something we can integrate into our Hasbro CHUG collections such as Hot Soldier's Centurion/Hearts of Steel Bumblebee or the 3P Legends figure that was meant to be Legends-scale in the first place, but by and large, it seems to be a more difficult angle of the 3P market to work with.

    How do you approach the 3P CHUG aspect?

    2018-09-04 05.12.30.jpg
     
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  2. Dread_Wing

    Dread_Wing Decepticon

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    I used to collect CHUG, but my collection has evolved into a purely MP one. My CHUG figures, both Hasbro, Takara, and 3P, gather dust in cardboard boxes, or get sold if I can find anyone to buy them.
     
  3. Windsweeper II

    Windsweeper II Banned

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    There is very little official-style chug these days.
    I know some people count the WFC style things and the IDW stuff as chug, but that's not the kind of thing I buy so it's of no intrest to me.
    Part of the problem seems to be that 3p's seem afraid to compete with hasbro in chug.
    But it seems to me there are lots of characters they can do in an official (non "updated") style that Hasbro is not likely to make toys of any day soon.
     
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  4. Phoenix Blaze

    Phoenix Blaze Brain Waster

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    I see two ways of looking at things. First, is that MMC Reformatted, Maketoys Cross Dimension and any other line that's essentially not MP style but also not Legends sort of fits into CHUG. Hell, Chug or just Generations (as I prefer) is a mash up of loads of lines under one banner (sort of like the original G1 release eh?) so plenty of 3P toys can find their place there. GCreations Prowl is a perfect fit even if he's 'MP' scale. The 3P chug movement is alive and well, it just looks a bit different to the days of upgrade kits and early releases.

    The other way is that some companies, like MMC and Maketoys are more focused on making their own aesthetic and their own universe to the point where you can have a whole shelf of just Reformatted toys with a similar size and look. These toys will exist within chug collections for a while but ultimately I think some companies are more interested in having their own complete line rather than just pegging onto a Hasbro generated one.
     
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  5. GR1ML0CK

    GR1ML0CK Dinobot Commander

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    I love MMC and Maketoys for the chugs they make. Can’t wait for Cylindrus and Stealth Wing
     
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  6. DogFriedRice

    DogFriedRice Well-Known Member

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    Does feel that way.


    You mean 3P MPs are "fragile and usually prohibitively expensive"?.....no more or less than Takara MPs

    3P Legends "destroys the idea of scale"?......completely disagree. You can have a legends collection that are all in scale with each other.


    Not sure what you're trying to get at. My CHUG collection is almost complete.
     
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  7. TFXProtector

    TFXProtector TFW2005 Supporter

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    I loves me some CHUG.

    I'm tired of spending ridiculous sums for a single figure or a small set of them. Don't get me wrong, I collect MP, but it's prohibitive and they're not cheap to replace if they break, whereas I can go back to the store or Amazon and grab a replacement like what happened with my Blast Off.

    Can't do that with MP, especially if imported from AJP.

    I'll be fair, some CHUGs end up costing more than MP in the long run, but up front cost is more palatable. I have, what I think is, a nice selection of figures in my collection and I'm not bleeding money to complete it, nor will I grow old and gray or snap out of it before it's completed. If I had to wait on Masterpiece, I'd never get it even close to finished.

    I wish 3rd parties would at least throw us a bone, here and there, but I don't blame them for not wanting to when Hasbro has been bringing their a-game and it's hard to compete at those prices.
     
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  8. GR1ML0CK

    GR1ML0CK Dinobot Commander

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    I strongly suggest looking at the Maketoys Rioter Despotron. One of my favorite figures
     
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  9. DocSeth81

    DocSeth81 Well-Known Member

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    1) it is nice to see someone appreciate the Unique Toys Warlord figure. Great figure

    2) We need more CHUG 3P stuff
     
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  10. LazyAza

    LazyAza MMC color go brrrr

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    The problem as always isn't at all that chug is dead or under catered to by 3ps. It's that this is what 3p chug is now:

    nonmps.jpg

    If you're a long term collector of mmc figures, if you're way in to maketoys stuff, if you have planetx's toys, you have plenty of modern chugs by now and many to look forward to in the future. And best of all a great many mps will often compliment them nicely and vice versa.

    If you're desire is high quality deluxe scaled toys that are only slightly pricier than hasbro ones then yeah eternal frustration and sadness awaits you from now until the end of time.
     
    Last edited: Sep 4, 2018
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  11. DocSeth81

    DocSeth81 Well-Known Member

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    honestly, for a high quality Deluxe, i'd spend in the range of 60 for a figure. I totally understand that I can't get a good 3p deluxe for 25 dollars. But most 3P companies that are making CHUG stuff simply aren't making any deluxe, probably because the profit margin just isn't there. Although I am super excited for MMC Nickel and The Pet which seem to be closer to Deluxe (or a little smaller).
     
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  12. JoeHavok

    JoeHavok Well-Known Member

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    I used to collect CHUG when Hasbro were putting out quality figures. Once they downsized due to the cost of plastic, and started making hollow figures I decided to mostly stop collecting official CHUG all together. I almost exclusively collect Masterpiece now. As a result I don’t have any interest in third party CHUG either
     
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  13. MechaToast

    MechaToast G1? No thanks.

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    You should never feel safe to assume anything.
     
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  14. mikeszekely

    mikeszekely Not Pessimus Prime

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    I started collecting 3P to fill gaps in my collection (like buying Feral Rex and Ordin after it became clear that they weren't going to turn up in Combiner Wars) or to fix characters that I felt were done poorly (like getting Mania King to replace Reveal the Shield Galvatron). Between 3P usually delivering much better quality at a time when Hasbro's stuff was getting super hollow and and remold heavy I started to want to go all 3P. After about a year or so of that I realized that I was never going to have a version of every character I wanted that I'd be satisfied with unless I went MP, and the larger size of MP figures meant that I'd have to limit myself to G1. Although I am thinking about sneaking in some IDW characters in as Legends.
     
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  15. Bezuul

    Bezuul Well-Known Member

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    I like the CHUG figures for the variety and cost. I picked up a lot at discount so I’m really happy. If I started paying over $30 for a deluxe figure then I could see myself wrapping up the collection and just focusing on a cartoon accurate legend scale collection which currently has most of my focus anyways.

    Sometimes I wish we could see a steadier flow of 3P upgrades for deluxe figures because certain figures just need a makeover like Kup or Hot Rod. Otherwise I’m fine with 3P focusing on other things. Except this upscaled MP is getting a bit crazy even though they look really awesome, if you got the space for it then more power to you.
     
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  16. BIOMEC

    BIOMEC Terrorcon, aka "Ratchetman"

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    And that's the reason I don't understand why people what to mix 3p with official CHUGs.

    The 3p "CHUGs" are for the most part almost equal to MP in quality and standards. They are basically MP figures that are aesthetically stylized, which most of the time, look better than the original design.

    I usually see CHUGs not as a scale or aesthetics type, but a low budget figure.
     
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  17. LBock

    LBock Well-Known Member

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    Hasbro killed that market now that they've pretty much covered most of G1. I think their upcoming Siege line looks every bit as good as the old 3P CHUG figures.

    I'd suggest getting into Maketoys Cross Dimension, MMC Reformatted, and Planet X figures if you haven't already. They all have a similar scale, look fantastic, and are fun to mess with. You can also pick up all the old 3P CHUG stuff for pennies on the dollar if there's anything that you've missed.
     
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  18. ProtectronPrime

    ProtectronPrime Subjectively Objective

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    A lot of stuff in your post to go through. I don't know if this reflects the full picture, but I can definitely see your position.

    I think there are a lot more collectors that are worn out with the MP rush in particular. I feel like many collectors switched to the legends scale BECAUSE of the burnout on MPs. That said, in a manner of speaking, the "Legends" scale figures ARE CHUG figures... just designed to scale with the CHUG Titan class releases as opposed to the standard Deluxe/Voyager/Leader scales. As a result, I don't feel that CHUG collectors have been left unserved.

    Let's look at your examples, though:

    Not quite sure what the focus on your photo was. It seems like your inference was that the only 3P CHUG offerings are too big, old and fragile,... or not a 3P?

    Let's look at UT Predaking. I'm pretty sure a lot of people grabbed him at the various sales the past 2-3 years because he scaled well with the Combiner Wars guys as opposed to being "too big". Heck, if "too big" is the issue, what of Titan Class Predaking and Titan Class Devastator which by definition are CHUG releases.

    I don't get why Volcanicus is there. The photo itself shows a Hasbro release with some upgrades. I'd also argue that absent the upgrades, Volcanicus is really nothing to write home about. If it destroys scale, it's because that's what Hastak released. If you look at the IDW comics, however, the Dinobots vary in scale from book to book, and they still scale okay with Legends figures if you like your Dinobots a lot bigger.

    Ultimately, "dominated" isn't quite right. MP and Legends are definitely the scales that most 3P collectors are vocal about. However, as pointed out, there are a few companies that eschew the MP/Legends scale altogether. Between MMC's Reformatted line, PX's FoC/WfC line and incoming IDW line, MAAS Toys and it's "We make whatever we feel like" design philosophy, anyone that wants to ignore the MP/Legends collecting has a place to go for a relatively steady stream of figures. There are also companies that take occasional random shots in the dark. GOD, Black Apple, SXS, and there's even a few companies toying with the Movie Studio Series scale.

    That said, I do feel that MMC tends to skew big, turning what might be a decent deluxe into a Voyager size in an attempt to keep with a house "scale", but your mileage may vary. Some want a bigger rodimus, some don't.

    Then there's folks like @BIOMEC who feel CHUG means something 100% different:

    Nothing necessarily invalid with that opinion, since CHUG is a made up term. So there's at least some valid question as to what CHUG even means.

    Personally, the IDW comics got me back into collecting CHUG figures, so if the design showed up in the IDW comic and is produced by HasTak, I'll get it. I generally try to stick with the scale presented by the Deluxe/Voyager/Leader class lineup. That said, if MMC tosses out a figure that Hastak has given me, I'll usually swap out the Hastak figure. I don't get too far into the "MP" sized IDW figures outside a few here and there because it's too niche for me, but I definitely appreciate that they're around.
     
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  19. Windsweeper II

    Windsweeper II Banned

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    There's still a lot of ground to cover that 3p companies can pick up the slack for.
    Especially now that Hasbro turned the clock back to 84 again.
     
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  20. Predakwon

    Predakwon ...Green Lantern's light!

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    I could really use more 3rd CHUG.

    HELLO VOYAGER SOUNDWAVE CASSETTE PLAYER AND VOYAGER GUN SHOCKWAVE!!! ANYONE THERE?
     
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