I got some money for my birthday and I'm looking to spend about 25-30 of it (or less) on filling a gap in my collection. What are your thoughts on -PRID Vehicon -PRID Kup -Go Budora Edit: oh yeah, Iron Factory Windblade fits in this budget point too. As a present for myself? (I suppose Marvel Legends War Machine is also an option, but that's not a topic of discussion for this thread).
IMHO, Prime Kup sucks. Bought it, hated it, sold it. Tried again later when they showed up for $6 at Ross, hated it again, sold it again. That hood piece that just sticks out the back...It feels like an unfinished Legends class figure that was upscaled. I wanted to love it, since it's in my favorite colors, but I could not. I really like Grimwing, so while I don't own Go Budora, I can attest to the mold. Plus, the colors and remolded head(s) look pretty good too. Iron Factory Windblade is a neat figure, but, like most 3P figures, feels a bit fragile. For the size, I don't think it's worth more than $20. Love Prime Vehicon. If you don't own it already, do yourself a service and pick one up. My best recommendation? Watch video reviews of each one.
Vehicon easily. Such a great figure! There's a mod, that involves some plastic trimming, that gives him more arm articulation at the elbows. Avoid Kup, unless it's dirt cheap. Like GiganGoji said, the hood kibble behind the head is just sad. You can however, pull it off and reattach it backwards to help clean up the botmode. (partsforming...booo!) My least favorite TFP deluxe figure, only beaten by Airachnid.
Out of those options (aside from War Machine since I don't have an opinion one way or the other) my vote is for Vehicon. It really is a nicely done toy, two solid modes and an interesting, fun transformation.
Vehicon. One of the best transformations of any figure of any line to date. Small car mode doesn't give a clue as to the long and lanky robot within, no real kibble, just a great, great toy. I am using Sgt. Kup for a custom project, and I'm generally not impressed with the figure. The backpack is pretty awful.
Hmm. These are all helpful. It's seeming like Kup is more or less out. And while I like IF Windblade I'd really rather start my 3P collection with their Overlord at a later date. Vehicon looks awesome and I want to collect all of the main Prime cast someday, my favorite show in a lot of ways. Budora fills two niches of being a use of the Grimwing mold, which has been on my radar for a while (this is the cheapest of the 3 currently) and of looking kinda sorta like TM2 Megatron. Budora is over 20 bucks cheaper than when it first came out, Vehicon is more than five bucks more. They're actually both about the same price.