The Energon Pub

Apart from the odd Reprolabel here and there, I've never really gotten into the whole 3rd party stuff, and I was just wondering is any of it any good?

Obviously I've seen some of the pictures from IGear, along with pieces from CrazyDevy and fansproject respectively. It all looks good, however looks can be deceptive, allot like the Chinese KO's floating around recently.

Also I feel some of these pieces, although desirable, do appear to be a little pricey and really don't represent good value for money. However, I am willing to except my assessment could be inaccurate.

So, what do you guys reacon, is this something I should really start to buy into to get my regular Transformers fix or not?

If there is something that really grabs you, then yes you should indulge yourself. I think just about everyone will agree that Fansproject is the best 3rd party in terms of quality and you get exactly what you pay for. They go the extra mile for collectors. You can't go wrong with Fansproject.

The crazy devy upgrades is good stuff although a bit pricy for what you get. The Devastator upgrades are a must get if you enjoy the character.

Igear is just a distributer who distributes products from mystery companies probably in hopes of hiding from HasTak. I only have Faith Leader and he feels a little cheap.

There are way too many to go through but if it's something that gets your attention then yes do a little research and go for it.

Fansproject is the undisputed front runner of all the 3rd party companies. Of course many of their sets rely on Hasbro or Takara products, such as Bruticus, Ultra Magnus, and Hot Rod, which makes their already expencive sets even more expencive when taken in total. But I've bought most of their sets and have no regreats about any of them.

There's so many sets now, and they vary in quality. There are some "must haves" other than the stuff FansProjects puts out. Still, it's not for everyone. They are very expencive and you're in uncharted waters when it comes to new 3rd party stuff. Do your reaserch. It pays not to jump in and be the first to buy the newest product. And always be careful. 3rd party stuff has a tendancy to be more fragile than official stuff. It pays to check out which sets are more breakable or of inferior design.

I haven't purchased too many from 3rd Party. But from the two 3rd Parties I got so far, they have been wonderful:
1.Fanproject CityCommander does have great quality in their material. The only thing I didn't like is the design of the leg/feet connection. I fear over uses will break the connection.

Another great 3rd Party is from Heerotoysmaker. Their WST UMagnus is totally amazing from details, accessories, stickers, to material. I got 4 versions of WST Magnus (black, clear, regular, and the yellow).

My next one will be from Igear but I'll wait for now until I see they put up the design for UMagnus trailer.

I would say any Fansproject is definitely worth the price if you can get it at the original price. So if you can get Warbot Defender (Springer) and the Crossfire 02 (Bruticus) sets, not to mention City Commander and the G3 Trailer go for it. But one that is long sold out, Crossfire 01 (Superion) goes for MUCH higher than the original cost. I have it, but I wouldn't say it's worth going out there and spending $100 on. It was originally half that, and that was slightly pricy for what you get, but worth it. But not $100. The rest are definitely worth the costs providing you don't pay inflated eBay prices. I don't regret buying any of them. High-quality, superb design, great concepts...there's everything to love about Fansproject.

There's also TFC, which stands for TFClub I believe, but has no affiliation with anything offical from Hasbro or Takara. So far they have produced weapon add-on kits, notably for Classics and ROTF/MP/Classics/Alternity Prime. The former is some interchangeable missiles for some of the Classics deluxe cars, a ladder for Inferno, an Autoscout accessory which is compatible with G1 Soundwave, and a weird 'hologram' box thingy which simulates Mirage's disappearing ability. I got it as a gift, and while there are some QC issues with the launchers (they jam), I would say it's nice if you want some extra weapons and can get it for under $40 or $50. The ladder is especially worth it. The latter add-on kit is a light-up LED gun with modular parts which is usable with all the modern versions of Prime I listed above. Very cool. Definitely worth it if you want to give your ROTF Prime a gun. I believe I paid about $35 for it. The quality seems higher than the previous release too. They also produce the MP Rollar accessory, the transforming Roller which is also compatible with different versions of Prime. I don't own it as the style doesn't appeal to me, but it looks decent quality-wise.

Then there's BTS Toy who have made a Classics-style trailer for various color schemes of Classics Prime, and an additional add-on for that trailer, as well as a recent add-on for G1 Prime. I own the first two, which also come with extra hand-held weapons for classics figures. While I really enjoy the great design, the build quality leaves something to be desired. They use lower quality plastic which is definitely noticeable. That said, the paint jobs are actually great. The prices do reflect the quality, I feel, as you could probably pick up the trailer for around $50, which is quite a bit less than Fansproject's. I would say get the BTS trailer if you really love the design, otherwise go Fansproject.

I don't even remember who made them, but I also own the MP Starscream & Grimlock add-on kits. Starscream's is cool and cheap to pick up. The cape could look better, but the crown and shoulder armor is worth it for sure. Grimlock's is useless if you have the US release because the only accessory that's worth it is the crown. The build quality is decent on both of these, and they're cheap.

JustiToys produces fairly high-quality WST versions of G1 figures. They're behind the WST Dinobots, Shockwave & Blaster. All worth it, IMO, although I think the Dinobots are becoming hard to find.

Heerotoysmaker was mentioned above, and he only sells through eBay, but if you want other WSTs they're worth it too. I have some of the seekers and the Magnus. The plastic isn't as high-quality as the real things, but Takara never did produce a Magnus trailer. Go for it, you won't regret it. If he has a new product in the future though, don't rush to buy it. The first few will sell for ridiculous amounts. A few weeks later you could pick it up for $25.

Impossible Toys kind of let me down with their Valkyrie (Arcee) figure. The design looks good, but the QC is terrible. Some had sloppy or missing paint apps, the figure doesn't peg together like it should, and mine even fell apart. Not worth what I paid for it, sadly. The one iGear is offering looks much better, but too expensive for my taste.

I can't comment on the rest of the 3rd Party companies' products as I don't own any others, but I do have to say I am avoiding CrazyDevy like the plague, and I'm very wary of iGear.

CrazyDevy is ridiculously overpriced, I hate their marketing tactics, and they seem to have released their Predaking wings without actually testing it...they cause damage to the figure when you install them.

iGear is making blatant KOs of Masterpiece figures and seems to be taking ideas from customizers and not crediting them. However, they do also distribute items for other producers, such as the aforementioned Arcee. I've also heard the QC for their Faith Leader (MP KO) figures is not very good, the clear versions being particularly atrocious. They're also far too expensive in my opinion.

There's one last company I haven't mentioned, and it's Perfect Effect. They've made the recent Rumble/Frenzy figures which are repaints of their Shadow Warrior, which was actually designed to be an add-on for Fansproject's Shadow Commander set. Their designs interest me a lot. I have heard of some mis-assembly issues and a few sloppy paint apps, but these seem to be fairly random, and they're supposedly generally good. The one thing holding me back from buying their products is price. I would definitely jump on the Rumble/Frenzy pack if it was under $40, but at the actual price of around $60 I just can't justify it. They're tiny figures. But they look really cool if you have the money, and all of Perfect Effect's designs look very promising to me.

iGear made the Grimlock's Crown accessory. It's FAR inferior to the real crown and sits lobsided. It came with a mug and a badly painted Ramjet. They didn't make Starscream's coronation set. They also made an Autoscout and I really like it.

TF Club made the Coronation Starscream set. I love it.

JustIToys made MP Megatron's stock and silencer and MP Prime's trialer. I have the Megatron set and it's quite nice.

Impossible Toys also made the Quints. Old, but good and worth mentioning. They also have paint issues, but they don't transform and, somehow, that makes them a tad better than their attempt at Arcee.

And then ther's the Coronation set for Classics Starscream. It's decent, but it does have issues for me as the wing upgrades were warped. But the "leader parts" fit in perfectly. Don't remember who made them.

HeadRobots, IT, Mastermind Creations and FP are the shiz. The rest can go on the hall of shame

^ Whoops, forgot about MMC.

Gauntlet101010 wrote:iGear made the Grimlock's Crown accessory. It's FAR inferior to the real crown and sits lobsided. It came with a mug and a badly painted Ramjet.

Too bad I didn't wait for the Hasbro version of Grimlock. That explains why it's not great, iGear made it.

Gauntlet101010 wrote:TF Club made the Coronation Starscream set. I love it.

Ah, cool. I guess I can definitely count them as a 3rd Party I'm on board with.

JustIToys made MP Megatron's stock and silencer and MP Prime's trialer. I have the Megatron set and it's quite nice.

I keep meaning to pick up that Megatron set.

I keep meaning to pick up that Megatron set.

The Megatron set is very, very nice. I have to admit, I love holding Megatron in gun mode with the Walther attachments. But the thing that won me over on that set (other than their trailer or the official Prime with the trailer) is that it also is capable it's G1 configurations. Which means it's usable when Megatron is in robot mode, unlike Prime's trailer which just sits there like a big shiny box.

Gauntlet101010 wrote:

I keep meaning to pick up that Megatron set.

The Megatron set is very, very nice. I have to admit, I love holding Megatron in gun mode with the Walther attachments. But the thing that won me over on that set (other than their trailer or the official Prime with the trailer) is that it also is capable it's G1 configurations. Which means it's usable when Megatron is in robot mode, unlike Prime's trailer which just sits there like a big shiny box.

Yeah, definitely cool. Plus it adds extra heft to his feet in robot mode with the metal parts. Now if only I could get it for under $40.

Well, I can only comment on the ones I've bought...

I'll just parrot what everyone else has said about FP. I own their City Commander upgrade set for Classics Magnus, their two-sofar-Crossfire upgrade sets for Energon Superion and Bruticus, their G3 trailer and Defender(Springer). All are high-quality items and are recommended.

The Gear of War and GoW II sets from TFC Toys are nice. The first set has some IMHO minor issues with the chrome preventing perfect fits, but they really enhance Sideswipe, Red Alert and Inferno. The Autoscout's cool, too.

The other Classics Prime trailer from BTS Toys is... I don't want to say cheap, because of negative connotations scribed to the word. I'd say less expensive. If you can't afford the G3 trailer, this is quite nice too.

Mastermind Creation's Knight Morpher Commander is made of 98% win. A great Steampunk Optimus Prime.

CrazyDevy's G1 Devastator add-on kits make him a lot more articulated and increase his play value... but the price is getting ridiculous.

Perfect Effect's little Rumble and Frenzy are nicely done, but a bit expensive as well.

Headrobot's upgrade kit for Universe Hardhead simply makes the figure. Not too expensive and well worth it.

I did buy iGear's command center playset. Not bad, but too expensive now that I look back on it. I had to frikkin' glue the panels together and the pieces don't lock onto anything! The stickers are crap, too. Never. Again.

Impossible Toys is kinda hit and/or miss. I got one of their Quintessons, and it's a good toy. They sold little Spike and Sparkplugs that fit in well scale-wise and aren't too expensive. Nightbird is a good toy except for one floppy ankle joint. Valkyrie... except for the chest not locking down, it's not that bad.

And that's it from me.