ZetaToys Kronos (Masterpiece Superion/Aerialbots)

Discussion in 'Transformers 3rd Party Discussion' started by daimchoc, Oct 28, 2016.

  1. Prime135

    Prime135 Friend of Arcee

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    Let's entertain this theory for a moment then. The two requirements for combiners are 1. A market that is willing to buy multiple figures simply for completions sake, something that was priced to be quite possible given how well combiner wars and unite warriors sold, and 2. A market willing to spend large amounts of money on a single figure. Titans are selling well enough that one figure is being produced in this class every year. I'd say this is the most ripe the market has been for a masterpiece combiner in the history of the brand.

    However, I would point to Megatron as a major counterpoint to your theory that everything Takara does is logical based on market research. The fact that he's completely illogical has been the greatest argument against characters like Megatron and shockwave from the beginning. They're harder to design, more expensive to produce, one of them will be extremely hard for some importers to obtain (Takara had acknowledged importers as a notable portion of their market in the past), and now they've begun including not only large amounts of accessories but lights and sounds as well. This simply doesn't jive with your theory.
     
  2. Blaque_Ravage

    Blaque_Ravage The Beast From The East

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    This is what I hope Toyworld does as well,and they learned from there MP Devy its best to have G1 Toon or Toy head options.
     
  3. luckyman76

    luckyman76 Well-Known Member

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    Your first paragraph is contradictory. You conflate Takara with the 3P market. They are not the same in their approach to the market or have the same goals. One Titan figure at $150-$200 sells at a price point Takara is comfortable with not $500-$600 for an MP combiner. Why would Takara compete against their own combiners? They are not looking at lines like you are. Toyworld did not release a CHUG Devy that Constructor is now stepping all over. Takara sees that people could have bought their other combiners because they are looking for the guy that can't buy the $500 combiner but will buy the official one and be satisfied. A much bigger target audience even with MPs. They are in the good enough business where the profit is. This is not accurate but for the sake of argument. 3P company with $1M income takes 50% chance on 30% profit. TT is a $2B+ company that just runs differently. They are into the 90% chance on a bigger profit and they can afford to wait for the opportunities that hit that portfolio. They have more resources but less freedom and much less risk adverse because they have so many built in other costs. In the long run they can do it cheaper but that ramp up is expensive. More importantly they know costs better than 3P ever will. They are not taking chances.

    My logic argument is about market. Regardless of engineering, Megatron makes perfect sense for them because of the expanded market. This isn't Skids. They released the first MP-05 to match up to MP-01 and committed all but 12 days to the travesty. MP-10 has been twisting in the wind waiting for his nemesis. TT should be making the iconic figures. That is where the money is. Anything else better have multiple repaints for reuses of the mold again to reduce risk. How much profit did TT make off of the $200 MP-11 mold? The 3P are too small for TT to care about and 3P have gone in different directions on Megatron through different influences. TT noticed that everyone that collects MP complains if something doesn't look G1 (ie toon) enough. Most notably with Ironhide TT went with this ultratoon motif. I loved it for Ironhide and Ratchet (although hated the hips...another topic) but not wild about it going forward. This does two things. It allows them to appeal to the main audience and reduces costs. Shockwave and Megatron are iconic and are both guns. I think you will find there is some shared engineering concepts in the designs. Lost in all of this discussion is that TT has been using 3P to learn more about the market's elasticity. They did the Lambo and Datsun because of four uses, the others had multiple uses but they were tests of rolling out a line. Inferno/Grapple/Artfire/Hauler seems to be a test of this elasticity. Two options are on the market and perhaps the best one is late. Can we still play in that market? With a lower cost product they can come in at a higher price point than previous carbots and start going after those $150 prices. Did you notice that TT got more expensive? Here is where TT has a competitive advantage. They can keep mold cost down because of high volume and easily produce the little extra parts through effective layout. Now 3P is having to do that and they don't like it. Ultimately, TT is spending $5 to get $50 more on end price. That is why everyone is speculating on TB/Hoist next. I think there are too many options for some more obscure figures but they are willing to bet that they can come in and win on these deals. It expands their risk out further because there are fewer greenfields in this market where a character has not been touched. Star Saber was a test of the Victory line and Optimus Primal and Cheetor are tests of Beast Wars. As for the lights and sounds on Shockwave the G1 toy had them and TT only faced competition from the old Quakewave so they do that fairly easily. You notice that he was much smaller and had no diecast, less paint.
     
  4. GrimSwipe

    GrimSwipe Shock Trooper

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    A new MP-esque Superion is on my shortlist in my effort to finish up my MP collection. If this guy is in the same ballpark as their Devy (which I don;t own, but the pics looked impressive), I'll be in.
     
  5. RIDRuination

    RIDRuination Well-Known Member

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    That arm cannon is actually pretty cool, would like to see that but ideally beefed & teched up a little. I always wish the Combiners had cooler weapons. The only ones with weapons that fit the awe the Combiners should inspire are Victorion/Mega Empress, Pirahanacon/King Posiedon, & Predaking
     
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  6. Toolala

    Toolala Breast Master

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    I think Liokaiser's various spears and melee weapons were rather cool as well.
    and, well its not really canon because its only third party, but Fansproject Bruticus was ar.ed to the teeth, with a gigantic sniper rifle, 2 shotguns, an army knife and shoulder canons.
    but i totally agree, combiners need more interesting weapons.
     
  7. Qingtianzhu

    Qingtianzhu waiguoren

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  8. Unicron the Chaos Bringer

    Unicron the Chaos Bringer Protecc this smile!

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    Finally, looks like they got around finally, also, IDK why but I somehow like vortex's stocky look, it makes him look more menacing even though he's mistransformed
     
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  9. bigsteve03

    bigsteve03 Well-Known Member

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    I didn't care for Vortex, but those aerialbots are right in my strike zone. I'm in on this set now.
     
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  10. David Hingtgen

    David Hingtgen Chromaticon

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    Same two we saw before (Fireflight and Air Raid), but nice to see bot modes.
     
  11. deathsheadII

    deathsheadII Not a Bounty Hunter yes?

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    all that yellow translucent plastic kills it for me
     
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  12. David Hingtgen

    David Hingtgen Chromaticon

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    Would definitely be better in a light blue---Aerialbots generally had blue eyes and "clear" canopies.
     
  13. G.I.EDDIE

    G.I.EDDIE Purple treads suck!

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    If I'm being honest, I'm getting a STRONG TFC vibe from those bot modes. NOT a good thing.
     
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  14. edgecrusher

    edgecrusher "She wanted nothin', and I delivered." TFW2005 Supporter

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    Agreed. Translucent yellow plastic, overly stocky builds, blocky robot modes. Ehh... Maybe combined form will still be good? If they can pull off a reasonably G1 look to combined mode and the colors are nice, I'm still interested since no one else is going to deliver an MP sized Superion in the foreseeable future.
     
  15. sifu74

    sifu74 Banned

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    Yeah, I like the size but they look like larger TFC figures.
     
  16. ZEGR

    ZEGR Well-Known Member

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    I like how these look(apart from the yellow transculecent eyes).Definetely need to see more clear pics before i make up my mind..Indeed TFC vibe
     
  17. David Hingtgen

    David Hingtgen Chromaticon

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    Changing the yellow to blue (LIGHT blue) would do wonders. TFC kept changing Poseidon's clear colors up to the last minute on every fig, so we know it's not too late to change.
     
  18. Qingtianzhu

    Qingtianzhu waiguoren

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  19. Tipsycon

    Tipsycon Well-Known Member

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    I dont know, but to me the robot mode looks just too.. ordinary
     
  20. edgecrusher

    edgecrusher "She wanted nothin', and I delivered." TFW2005 Supporter

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    That ugly white block of a stand is a placeholder for a proper combiner foot for Superion though, right?


    This almost seems like an updated, oversized Uranos that's put on some weight. :) 
     
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