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[El Duque]

While this probably won't come as a surprise to those who have followed this project, the 2011 Slagacon exclusive Vector Zeta has now been officially cancelled. The Powermaster style upgrade for Classics Optimus Prime was plagued with production issues, and now a lack of communication from the manufacturer has lead to the set's cancellation. Refunds for the remaining pre-orders will be issued.

We are sad to report that the Vector Zeta toys are not going to be produced. We have not heard from the manufacturer in an extended period of time which leads us to believe that he is not going to follow through with his commitment to this project. With that being said, we are going to issue refunds to the remain people who have orders for these sets.
Chad Williams is currently selling off his entire collection of TF’s in order to make these refunds happen. It is not going to be a fast process but everyone will be paid back in full. We hope to have this completed sooner than later but it could take as long as till Slagacon 2012 in October.
We are deeply sorry for all the issues that you as fans have weathered in order to see these projects completed. We also apologize for the length of time it will take for some of you to get you refunds. Chad feels personally responsible and want to insure you, he is doind everything he can to get these refunds to you as fast as possible.

Our Deepest Apologies!

[RAcast]

That's such a shame. :\ That looks like it would have been pretty great.

This is that powermaster-esque thing we got concept pictures of awhile ago, right?

[GuyIncognito]

That's such a shame. :\ That looks like it would have been pretty great.

I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or you just aren't familiar with the reaction this thing got when the prototype was shown. It looked awful and got a lot of negative reaction. I suspect that has something to do with the cancellation.

[Bumblevivisector]

I didn't hate the thing, but I never thought news of its cancellation would make me sad. And then...some guy behind this con has to sell off his entire collection?!?

OUCH.

Hopefully this was the result of an unscrupulous manufacturer, and not legal action against 3rd Party stuff. Please correct me if the latter option is nothing but paranoid conspiracy talk.

[WolfDawg]

I didn't hate the thing, but I never thought news of its cancellation would make me sad. And then...some guy behind this con has to sell off his entire collection?!?

OUCH.

Hopefully this was the result of an unscrupulous manufacturer, and not legal action against 3rd Party stuff. Please correct me if the latter option is nothing but paranoid conspiracy talk.

I highly doubt it's because of legal action. These 3rd party products are not easy to make, and I'm guessing there were production problems. It's expensive to produce molds and get factories and such to mass produce figures even at a limited amount. I'm sure it was a daunting task, and when pictures surfaced of how half assed the thing looked, people started backing out. This was most likely one of those situations where at the rate things were going, it would have been more expensive to take a chance on producing the figure than to hurry up and back out (even if that meant selling off a collection).

I'm sorry the guy has to sell off his collection, but I guess that's part of the risk associated with entrepreneurship...which is basically what creating 3rd party TF products is.

[RAcast]

That's such a shame. :\ That looks like it would have been pretty great.

I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or you just aren't familiar with the reaction this thing got when the prototype was shown. It looked awful and got a lot of negative reaction. I suspect that has something to do with the cancellation.

Eh, big and chunky robots just do it for me, lol (hint hint, my avatar). And I'm quite unfamiliar with the reaction, I'm afraid. I just remember seeing the prototype pictures awhile ago.

[El Duque]

Hopefully this was the result of an unscrupulous manufacturer, and not legal action against 3rd Party stuff. Please correct me if the latter option is nothing but paranoid conspiracy talk.

This was really never a "third-party" item, more of custom piece, but no it has nothing to do with any sort of crack down. Just an unscrupulous manufacturer who hung Chad out to dry.

[gothsaurus]

While I DID want this to be more widely available and affordable... It's heartbreaking to think of anyone selling off their collection like this. I'm gonna tip out a drink for my homey... and put on this black armband.

[GetRightRobot]

Hopefully this was the result of an unscrupulous manufacturer, and not legal action against 3rd Party stuff. Please correct me if the latter option is nothing but paranoid conspiracy talk.

This was really never a "third-party" item, more of custom piece, but no it has nothing to do with any sort of crack down. Just an unscrupulous manufacturer who hung Chad out to dry.

I never ordered one of these, but I have kept tabs on the turmoil. El_Duque is ABSOLTELY correct. This had nothing to do with Hasbro, but rather a con artist, garage based toy maker who took the money and ran. Albeit with a lot of stories, complications and excuses. I hate that this has come down on Chad's shoulders, he seems like a good person.

[Kibble]

That sucks... Can there not be anything done legally to either get the money back or the product that was paid for from this manufacturer? Although I supposed they were probably based in China or something where legal schmegal...