The Energon Pub

I am not impressed. I know that he is a KO and that you assume certain risks when purchasing a KO fig but DAMN!!
This thing is so brittle and light weight Im scarred to touch it. None of the parts fit right when trying to transform him. All the joints are severely loose and his right leg is longer than his left! LOL!! Also his eyes are just kinda painted on with no indention and he dosent have a mouth.
So The first thing I do when transforming him from plane to bot is unfold his foot right? Well, his feet are too big to fit and so when I pulled them into place the pin hole that holds the pin that keeps his foot on split. His foot stayed on, but it wasnt gonna stay long. His other foot did the same thing.
Thankfully nothing else broke, but his upper body dosent quite fit into place and his hands are so loose that they stay half way in and half way out. I decided screw it! I broke out the super glue and fixed his foot and hands and was able to build up the male end of his hip joint so that his legs arent loose anymore.
Using super glue on his hands and feet made it imposible to transform him ofcourse, but Im not sure Id have chanced transforming him back and forth anyway. Besides it was either glue his feet, or loose them.
After fixing him, I ended up with a pretty good looking 30.00 substitute for the usually 80 dollar skywarp. I couldnt make myself fork over that ammount for a repaint.
All in all I guess Im glad I bought him. Now if only my starscream substitute would arrive......

I thought when I ordered my KO Skywarp Id be getting a near perfect sculpt to the hasbro made seeker figure. Instead I get a 100% stolen sculpt complete with decepticon insignia. They even put hasbro/takara 2006 on the inner leg of the figure!! How do the KO companys get away with doing this?
Id have thought they would actively persue any copmany that straight up steals a t.m.ed property, rebuilds it with cheap parts and redistributes it as authentic.
On the back of the box they have advertised grimlock, voyager classic prime and megs and mirrage. They didnt stop with skywarp. Amazing!
How do they get away with doing this? I like that I can get a cheaper figure and everything, Im just wondering why they havnt been shut down?
Take care all and have a great weekend.
Scott

Did you order the version I or version II of him? Whatever the case, it sound like you received the version I fig... If in fact what you ordered specified version II, you should contact the seller and nicely ask WTF.

If you bought a KO Skywarp, then it's obviously not being distributed as a legit Skywarp (i.e box logo changed). As for why Hasbro doesn't go after them there are two main trains of thought on the matter (that I'm aware of) and both are probably somewhat true.

The first is that the KO makers/producers are located in China. The current relationship with China is that if we do anything against them, they will freeze all trade and watch us starve because we have become too dependent on stuff that they make and distribute from their armies of underpaid labourers. Ok I'm probably exaggerating that slightly, but you get my drift. It's extremely difficult to do any sort of legal action against anything in China.

The Second train of thought is that if it WERE possible to do something against China, it's just too costly in time and money because the benefits to Hasbro/Takara are near non-existent. The KO companies, at least those that market the "good quality knock-offs" (kinda sounds like an oxymoron huh?) target a subsection of collectors. Considering that collectors only make a small percentage of Hasbro's profits (I've heard anywhere from 7-12%), and only a fraction of that group buys KOs, then there is absolutely no profit to Hasbro in getting them to stop.

So KOs will stick around for a long while until replicators get invented or society collapses due to the economic collapse of the replicator being invented. Just do some comparisons and look for feedback in case you are looking at getting future KOs or figures you may think might be a KO

Everyone (including myself) experienced this when they bought their first knock-off. The question is will you keep doing it? I've had both good and bad experiences with my KOs leading me to usually stick to those produced by a group (I refuse to call them company) called CHMS, usually sold through kotoys.com. They are usually pretty decent, but they are of course a knock-off, which means the quality is cheaper. Oddly enough the markup seems higher...

Mkall wrote:If you bought a KO Skywarp, then it's obviously not being distributed as a legit Skywarp (i.e box logo changed).

I believe the first run of these they actually had the Takara logo on the package...oddly the quality of those was mostly crap, and once they started putting their own name on the package the quality started being much closer to that of the original.

Kibble wrote:

Mkall wrote:If you bought a KO Skywarp, then it's obviously not being distributed as a legit Skywarp (i.e box logo changed).

I believe the first run of these they actually had the Takara logo on the package...oddly the quality of those was mostly crap, and once they started putting their own name on the package the quality started being much closer to that of the original.

You may be right, I'm only thinking about the CHMS ones. However decepti-scott specifically said KO in his description, which leads me to believe that, at least in this instance, it was marketed (by the seller at least) as a KO. Thus his expectations of receiving a proper figure were misplaced.

Yeah, KO's by definition are inferior products. I spent good money on the KO Dinobots a few years back and it made me physically ill to have them in my collection so I had to sell them (made sure the buyers knew that they were KO's). Some people like them but I would just rather do without a figure than buy a KO. Especially if it benefits Krazy Owner toys. Also, why did you start two threads about the same topic within 10 minutes?

I don't belieeeeeeve it!

/Meldrew

Sorry. Ok, topic. KOs that are clearly marketed as such are not something I have too much of a problem with. If a person is aware of what to expect when parting with their cash, then it's up to them if they want to complete the transaction.

Please do not make another thread when it concerns the same subject as your previous thread, and please post said subjects in the appropriate forum.

Blurrz wrote:Please do not make another thread when it concerns the same subject as your previous thread, and please post said subjects in the appropriate forum.

........Yeah well I thought that there was enough af a difference in the subjects I was talking about to merit two posts. Not to mention that when I make a post that is "too long" certain members wanna whine about that too.
As for the proper forum KO Sky warp is a toy and I put it in the toy forum. How was that wrong?
Are you a mod? cuz if you arent, you may wanna let them police the boards. That is afterall their primary function here is it not? I have every confidence that they will correct me were I to commit an infraction.

Mkall wrote:You may be right, I'm only thinking about the CHMS ones. However decepti-scott specifically said KO in his description, which leads me to believe that, at least in this instance, it was marketed (by the seller at least) as a KO. Thus his expectations of receiving a proper figure were misplaced.

Actually Everything from the box with the transformers logo to the manufacturer stamp on the inner thigh was just as hasbro did it. Had it not been for the fact that the seller told me that it was a K.O. youd never kno the difference.
My problem wasnt that I was duped into buying a K.O. that I thought was a real deal. I was just supprised that the quality was SO VERRY bad. I know its a K.O. but for whatever reason I was expecting a figure that at verry least could transform without breaking. Live and learn yeah?
Now, Weather or not to chance buying the k.o. ramjet. I p.m.ed the seller and he said it was of good quality and that it was the henkei version with the chrome. He added that if any parts were broken th let him know and he would replace them but that he wanted me to buy it and at least give it a chance. Im leaning twards buying but Im not sure yet.... Any advise is much apprieciated?

Yes, I am a mod, I wouldn't open my mouth if I wasn't. I merged both of your posts and moved them to the Knock Offs and 3rd Party Toys. Both of your topics concerned KO Skywarp so there was no need for two different topics at once. No harm, no foul, just giving you a heads up.

I have a KO Defensor. The quality is 80% because you can see some parts feel brittle or the paint chips easily.

KO is a KO is a KO. I bought the KO because I saw Peaugh's video. had I not I would have not bought the damn thing.

The seekers have been in existence for a while. When I got Henkei TC I thought I had a KO, but then I heard Henkei TC was just plain bad anyway. The differences in the KO seekers were either horrible or halfway decent. I stuck with Hasbro Skywarp. I have a junker Skywarp with missing wings, but he is a Skywarp which I one time used parts from my friends broker seeker until I got Hasbro SK.

Gauntlet101010 wrote:It's odd, I usually hear good things about CHMS. My Seeekrs are decent ... although I rarely transform them. It's just a pain to get those hands out once they're in.

Anyhow, if it's just for display, you may as well try Ramjet. I think you got a bum Skywarp, but ... be more careful with the next KO.

The first round of CHMS seekers were hit and miss with a lot more miss. Version II (and up?) are much better and where CHMS gets their rep from.

bvzxa wrote:When I got Henkei TC I thought I had a KO, but then I heard Henkei TC was just plain bad anyway.

I admit, I have a KO TC...and he's one of the best quality seekers I own. Because the official Henkei one is so shoddy, I don't even feel overly bad about it. I bought the real Hasbro version as well, but I keep the KO as my 'official' TC because he's that good (and because his faction symbols are correct!)

Blurrz wrote:Yes, I am a mod, I wouldn't open my mouth if I wasn't. I merged both of your posts and moved them to the Knock Offs and 3rd Party Toys. Both of your topics concerned KO Skywarp so there was no need for two different topics at once. No harm, no foul, just giving you a heads up.

Well Im no fan of crow but Ill have to eat it and like it this time. I checked the mod list but saw no blurzz on it so I thought you were just another member going around giving people crap just because. I apologize if I pi$$ed you off.
Sometimes when I look at my posts and am met with wave after wave of rude comments for no real reason I let it get to me. I know I shouldnt but ya know.
I read this post after a particularly bad morning that was also filled with abrasive posts directed at me on some threads. I deserve the egg on my face in this instance.
Yeah though. Sorry for that. Perhaps I should have p.m.ed you this as it has nothing to do with k.o. skywarp but I wanted the other members to know that I apologized to you. I do not want the rep as one of these members that goes around challenging mods for whatever reason. Im not a butt head.
Thanks for the heads up (I didnt know there was a K.O. forum) and Ill try to simply ignore the authentic rude comments as opposed to commenting back...... I can make no promises though.

Does anyone have any pictures, also where did you buy your KO.

aeleven wrote:Does anyone have any pictures, also where did you buy your KO.

I do have pics of my collection and have been wanting to post them for a while now. Sadly I have no access to the tower of this cpu and the owner will not let me "jack around" with his cpu so Ill have to get someone to let me use their cpu to post pics.
I do have the name for the ebay seller that sold me skywarp. his name is rukongmengkukong. He was selling three of them if memory serves correct.

decepta-scott wrote:

aeleven wrote:Does anyone have any pictures, also where did you buy your KO.

I do have pics of my collection and have been wanting to post them for a while now. Sadly I have no access to the tower of this cpu and the owner will not let me "jack around" with his cpu so Ill have to get someone to let me use their cpu to post pics.
I do have the name for the ebay seller that sold me skywarp. his name is rukongmengkukong. He was selling three of them if memory serves correct.

And it sounds like that seller should be avoided since he was selling the shoddy, crap quality version...

Walmart had MP Skywarp for $30.00 a year ago. I wish I would have bought 2 of them.

Kibble wrote:

decepta-scott wrote:

aeleven wrote:Does anyone have any pictures, also where did you buy your KO.

I do have pics of my collection and have been wanting to post them for a while now. Sadly I have no access to the tower of this cpu and the owner will not let me "jack around" with his cpu so Ill have to get someone to let me use their cpu to post pics.
I do have the name for the ebay seller that sold me skywarp. his name is rukongmengkukong. He was selling three of them if memory serves correct.

And it sounds like that seller should be avoided since he was selling the shoddy, crap quality version...

Well thats kind of what I was tryin to find out. I didnt know if all K.O.s were of this quality or if I got burned. It is sounding like some times you luck out and get a good one and sometimes not.
Weather or not one should avoid this seller is unknown to me. He may have gotten ahold of a bad one for me but he could have sold a lot of good ones prior and after mine making the great majority of fans happy. On the flip side the majority of his product could be as faulty as mine is and many fans could have recieved duds from him.
In any case Im not suggesting anyone buy nor steer clear of the guy. I only put up his name because I was asked to provide the sellers name.
Having said that I stand by the opinion that my K.O. is of bad quality but for what I paid I suppose Im still glad I got it.

Take care.