Hey all, A question I've had for a while is what it takes to convince a person to buy an update of an existing figure. I'm not talking about going from G1 to masterpiece, but instead a new version of a figure inside an existing toy line. For example: I bought the heck out of Thrilling 30 Springer despite the fact I already had a classics Springer I still like (GDO). But I'm passing on the new Jetfire despite the fact he's always been a favorite of mine because I'm perfectly happy with my Voyager Classics build. Ditto the new third party Warbotron (Colossus for the win!). How about you? What does it take to convince you to buy new versions of existing figures? What new features do you look for? Does price or a new size class effect your decision?
Because sometimes a different take on the same character can elicit a different reaction than the other figure. There's nothing wrong with having more than one version of the same character. Now, if you mean you discard a figure you have in favor of a new one, that's a different story entirely.
It all depends, really. I try to buy every Mid-size Optimus Prime I can, but that upcoming Prime looks like a Playskool toy.
It really depends on if I like the new version better than the old version. And I'm not sure I do like the new Jetfire enough to let him replace the Classics version. I'm having the same thoughts on the new Powerglide, I have the red Universe version and he looks fine with Seaspray and Warpath who are all different sizes. OTOH, I have the Universe versions of Cosmos and Wheelie and still bought the Generations "updates" to both. And I might buy if it is a different version of the character, kinda like how Luke Skywalker's Tatooine and Bespin outfits are totally different but both belong to the same character. +-MWG-+
If the newer versions reps what I love most of that character then I'll replace...so as I care for my minibots to have a similar size I'll replace my Universe red Powerglide with this new upcoming legends Powerglide...similarity to original deco also is a factor in replacing for me as that is the reason I replaced the white/red Powerglide with the red Powerglide at the time...the Springer situation went from needing a triple changer (Timelines for Defender), wanted the official version that atleast had the heli mode (Defender for GDO) then wanted a official triple changer version (GDO for Generations)...I went back in forth on Soundwave choices based on compatibility with minions...
If they're the same size, I'd only buy the new one if I considered it an improvement. If they are different sizes, and I like the new one, I'll likely still buy it. The example you used was the new Jetfire. I have the old one, and I like the way he scales with Legends figures and deluxe sized Optimus figures. I'm thinking the new one will scale nicely with voyager sized Optimus figures, and deluxe sized Classics Bumblebee.
you buy the new one when the new one is better.. like.. if it's in better scale, has a better color scheme, is more accurate, has better articulation.. etc. to be perfectly honest.. as annoyed as i am about them cutting down the paint apps on leader jetfire, and the hollow thighs and stuff.. it's still WAY better looking than the previous voyager jetfire. so.. when it comes to leader jetfire versus the voyager.. i'd say that it's definitely time to update. leader jetfire looks MUCH better than the voyager in both modes, and scale wise it fits in a WHOLE LOT better.
MP prime and the seekers. After that it'll probably just be MP combiners to replace third party versions.
I've no interest in the original Optimus, Seeker, and Megatron MP figures, but I can't live without MP-10 and MP-11. I'm sure I'll feel the same way about the eventual MP Megatron 2.0. The new figures are more aesthetically pleasing, dynamic, cartoon accurate, and in-scale with regards to bot mode.
If it's an improvement, I'll buy it. Jetfire is a great example. Makes classics Jetfire look cheap. I do always think about this when I buy another version of a character myself. I have all 3 Classics seekers in my Classic Decepticons. I still bought FOC Starscream and Generations IDW Thundercracker. Thundercracker goes in my Thundercracker collection, but I still keep FOC Starscream separate from my classics display, so he's pretty much his IDW self to me now, as all the other FOC figures I have fill the holes in my Classics. I may get Skywarp, but I don't plan on replacing my classics seeker. I also went through a similar thing when getting my Ace Seeker Set. I already had Generations 2010 Thundercracker. So, I decided to bunch all my Thundercrackers together, besides my Ace Seeker Set one (which would go in Classics) to make a TC collection, as they had no other place to be. Just something to consider, if you have multiple versions of a favourite character and can only put one in your display.
Naw, an adherance to 'one toy per character' sounds like OCD to me. Personally different versions of the same character per line have never bothered me, I have an old Legends Cosmos but am awaiting the Generations Legends that I have on order, same with the new Jetfire. I have the Classics (all Reprolabeled up and everything) and he remains one of my favourites (the mould is still fantastic) but I have the Leader Jetfire on order too. I think I appreciate them more as toys rather than representations of characters?
If I were a Generations guy I'd sell my old voyager Jetfire in favor of this new leader. It's superior in every way. Only thing going against it as far as I can see are all the hollow bits.
Well for me, it doesn't only have to be better, but better enough to justify the second buy in. The new Jetfire is a good example as it is a very nice figure, but is it worth the $40 buy in? For me, not so much. Utopia vs Metroplex and Colossus versus Warbotron is similar. Better? Yes, but not enough to buy in. Generations Springer vs GDO though represented a toy that not only was better, but better enough to justify the buy in.
