The Energon Pub

I just sent this message to Hobby link, i will post their response once I receive it:




Dear hobby link Japan Staff,



I just read a disturbing statement on my favorite transformers website and I want to make sure its true before I take any actions. The message if regarded as true will surely prompt my full unwavering cancellation of the Masterpiece Megatron and will force me to order him from another supplier outside of the USA. The message is as follows:

Hi,

I'm sorry to inform you that we will be making any
adjustments necessary to the item in order to comply with US
customs law. Even though it is packed in robot mode, it can still be transformed into a realistic looking gun and thus would require an orange tip at the end of the barrel. This is evident in Hasbro's TF Classics Megatron that although his alt mode does not resemble a real gun but it still has a
bright orange tip.

Thanks for your understanding.

-------
Joseph Tsai Yiing Haur
Products
HobbyLink Japan (http://www.hlj.com)





Please contact me back in this regard. If your company is to modify the Megatron masterpiece, I would rather pay an extra 50.00 to another company either in hong kong ot China or other parts of Japan, then to recieve a modified Megatron with a horrid orange tip. thank you for your assistance, and I look forward to your response.

Order from someplace else, not only does adding the orange tip make the toy look all sissy like, it also ruins the collectibility of the toy since they need to open it to do this.


And how is an oversized toy gonna be looked at as real, unless Andre the giant is weilding it.

And does anyone else but me think it's STUPID that classics Megatron, who is at best, a nerf gun that's white, purple and green, needs to even HAVE an orange tip? I mean if a cop is that dumb to think that's a real gun, he/she deserves to get shot in the first place and have someone higher on the food chain take his/her place.

Plus Hobby Link, and any other seller for that matter, is gonna get destroyed in sales when the other guys sell Megatron untouched.

Smeg, I see G1 reissued Megatron ship to the U.S. IN GUN MODE for the past 3 years over here.

Plus in the states, it's easier to get a real gun than it is to get a robot who becomes one.

End rant.

Emperor Primacron the 1st wrote:Order from someplace else, not only does adding the orange tip make the toy look all sissy like, it also ruins the collectibility of the toy since they need to open it to do this.


And how is an over sized toy gonna be looked at as real, unless Andre the giant is wielding it.

And does anyone else but me think it's STUPID that classics Megatron, who is at best, a nerf gun that's white, purple and green, needs to even HAVE an orange tip? I mean if a cop is that dumb to think that's a real gun, he/she deserves to get shot in the first place and have someone higher on the food chain take his/her place.

There was a kid a few years back that ws shot to death by police officers because they mistook his bright blue squirt gun for a real gun.

Emperor Primacron the 1st wrote:Order from someplace else, not only does adding the orange tip make the toy look all sissy like, it also ruins the collectibility of the toy since they need to open it to do this.


And how is an oversized toy gonna be looked at as real, unless Andre the giant is weilding it.

And does anyone else but me think it's STUPID that classics Megatron, who is at best, a nerf gun that's white, purple and green, needs to even HAVE an orange tip? I mean if a cop is that dumb to think that's a real gun, he/she deserves to get shot in the first place and have someone higher on the food chain take his/her place.

Plus Hobby Link, and any other seller for that matter, is gonna get destroyed in sales when the other guys sell Megatron untouched.

Smeg, I see G1 reissued Megatron ship to the U.S. IN GUN MODE for the past 3 years over here.

Plus in the states, it's easier to get a real gun than it is to get a robot who becomes one.

End rant.

I completely agree, without the rant.. i must say though that it is my hope that all the orders for the Megatron MP-05 that will be modified from Hobby link are returned, that is the only way i can think will affect policy.. Not to mention, thats where I got mty megatron Reissue in the first place!! It wasn't modified at all.. Only here in the USA do we have trigger happy cops who fire on 10 year old kids in the 80s to cause a stupid orange tip and funky colored TOY gun law to be enacted!! I can't believe that we are the only country in the world who has this regulation!! It sickens me to see that a fine quality "Masterpiece megatron" would be modified and changed into an orange tipped monster!! The unmodified versions are gonna sell out like hot cakes, and those who miss them will be hard pressed to find them at fair prices.

Personally I would rather go without a MP-05 Masterpiece Megatron then to purchase one with a stupid Orange tip! It defeats the purpose of the word "Masterpiece" in the Masterpiece megatron, because once that modification goes on, it ceases to be an example of masterpiece perfection and what it was intended to be in the first place.

It just reminds me of the whole, Short stacks issue with optimus Prime 20th anniversary... I went and bought the Japanese one from ebay becasue I was dissapointed in the US version that Hasbro released due to the shortened stacks, it made him seem broken and not complete..The whole battle damage paint was a "gimmic" to me to detract from the stupid "child safety" decision to remove the longer stacks. My thought is, If your gonna buy an 80.00 toy for your kid, make sure the toddler or baby is watched at all times..absentee mothers are the ones who have kids who choke, its not the toys fault if you buy a dangerous toy..

Lawyers should be shot, they are the ones who changed the toy laws to suit their egos and clients pockets from their clients own stupidity..

No, shoot the politicans first.

And Black Convoy.....that cop outta be shot himself, if we got cops that dumb, we're in big trouble. Here in detroit a bunch of cops shot a deaf man who was weilding a RAKE at them.....that's right a ****' rake.

Let's face it, not only does the rest of the world hate us cause we butt our nose in their affairs.....we're also so smeggin' STUPID.

If a kid chokes on an optimus smoke stack, or a short missle, I say GOOD, it weeds out the gene pool a little bit. Cause I mean, come on....when I was a little kid, I knew that sticking little objects in my mouth could probably result in choking. The only kids who do this smeg are the Ralph Wiggums out there, only reasons he never got his brains splattered are because he's a cartoon, and he has no brains to splatter to begin with.

And yes, these laws are getting dumb, I tell you. Cause you don't see Takara making U.S. law friendly toys, like orange tipped Megatrons is cause they don't give a crap about them....have you been to a japapese arcade? The games with the light guns have black or grey guns.....not pussy pink, baby piss blue, or Doritos orange like over here.

I am surprised Art Asylum was not forced to put orange on their TOS Star Trek phaser toys.

Emperor Primacron the 1st wrote:No, shoot the politicans first.

And Black Convoy.....that cop outta be shot himself, if we got cops that dumb, we're in big trouble. Here in detroit a bunch of cops shot a deaf man who was weilding a RAKE at them.....that's right a ****' rake.

Let's face it, not only does the rest of the world hate us cause we butt our nose in their affairs.....we're also so smeggin' STUPID.

If a kid chokes one an optimus smoke stack, or a short missle, I say GOOD, it weeds out the gene pool a little bit. Cause I mean, come on....when I was a little kid, I knew that sticking little objects in my mouth could probably result in choking

I'm sure they are thinking of those kids who are smaller and don't know the difference, but come on, its the parents who aren't watching their kids who have those problems..If your kids are being watched instead of ignored then they won't be putting things that aren't supposed to go in their rear, nose, or mouth in the freakin first place. I watched my daughter and Son with great care when they were little kids, they are now 6 and 8 years old and know better, and yes I had some very hot collectible toys destroyed "in packages", or the term is MIB, but my opened stuff was high off the floor and unreacheable to them.. they would never choke on any toys I got them, because I would buy smart.. ummm hello parents "buy smart" duhhh.. chocking hazard on the box should be good enough, and anyone who lets their kid go outside with an $80.00 to $100.00 toy that looks like a gun is either rich or just plain stupid..

skywarp-2 wrote:

Emperor Primacron the 1st wrote:No, shoot the politicans first.

And Black Convoy.....that cop outta be shot himself, if we got cops that dumb, we're in big trouble. Here in detroit a bunch of cops shot a deaf man who was weilding a RAKE at them.....that's right a ****' rake.

Let's face it, not only does the rest of the world hate us cause we butt our nose in their affairs.....we're also so smeggin' STUPID.

If a kid chokes one an optimus smoke stack, or a short missle, I say GOOD, it weeds out the gene pool a little bit. Cause I mean, come on....when I was a little kid, I knew that sticking little objects in my mouth could probably result in choking

I'm sure they are thinking of those kids who are smaller and don't know the difference, but come on, its the parents who aren't watching their kids who have those problems..If your kids are being watched instead of ignored then they won't be putting things that aren't supposed to go in their rear, nose, or mouth in the freakin first place. I watched my daughter and Son with great care when they were little kids, they are now 6 and 8 years old and know better, and yes I had some very hot collectible toys destroyed "in packages", or the term is MIB, but my opened stuff was high off the floor and unreacheable to them.. they would never choke on any toys I got them, because I would buy smart.. ummm hello parents "buy smart" duhhh.. chocking hazard on the box should be good enough, and anyone who lets their kid go outside with an $80.00 to $100.00 toy that looks like a gun is either rich or just plain stupid..

We outta take a page from Japan. On Japanese Transformers boxes, there's a picture of a cartoon pac-man kinda fellow with him swallowing a piece of something, which easily means "You can choke on the small parts here" Also had a picture of the same fellow with his hand over his eye, which means "You can hurt your eye if you are not carefull". So I say, put this cute little pac-man fellow on the toys that pose a potential hazard and actually hire police with an IQ that's actually higher than their shoe size and punishing the smart folks.


This message has been brought to you by the Emperor Primacron the 1st for president 2012 & 2016 campaign.

A rake? A ****ing rake? Well now, that's just plain stupidty in my book. As well as others I'm sure.......but it is kinda sad that places ar elosing their MP Megatron orders. But do what I do, just paint the damn thing. It'll look better & you will have gotten it legally. I'm just hoping that I can apply adhesive remover & not damage him......that or whatever needs to be done........

Decepticlone Soundwave wrote:A rake? A ****ing rake? Well now, that's just plain stupidty in my book. As well as others I'm sure.......but it is kinda sad that places ar elosing their MP Megatron orders. But do what I do, just paint the damn thing. It'll look better & you will have gotten it legally. I'm just hoping that I can apply adhesive remover & not damage him......that or whatever needs to be done........

I will not, even if it's simply a matter of painting over it. We should not have to paint the barrel. And I am not ordering because I am against stupid things like this, and not ordering it is how I can do my little part in not supporting this steaming pile of feces toy law.

Recently there was a story floating around the internet about a kid getting shot because he was wielding a PS3 controller when cops came to his door...

gutter bunny wrote:Recently there was a story floating around the internet about a kid getting shot because he was wielding a PS3 controller when cops came to his door...

Those cops outta get gang-raped by a pack of 800 pound, diseased infested, foaming at the mouth Silverback gorillas stricken with leprocy.

Cops are pretty much becomming the people they are suppossed to protect us from.

I'll protect myself from now on, thank you.

Emperor Primacron the 1st wrote:

gutter bunny wrote:Recently there was a story floating around the internet about a kid getting shot because he was wielding a PS3 controller when cops came to his door...

Those cops outta get gang-raped by a pack of 800 pound, diseased infested, foaming at the mouth Silverback gorillas stricken with leprocy.

So you want a bunch of Optimus Primals to beat up the cops? is that right? I'm cool w/it.

Decepticlone Soundwave wrote:

Emperor Primacron the 1st wrote:

gutter bunny wrote:Recently there was a story floating around the internet about a kid getting shot because he was wielding a PS3 controller when cops came to his door...

Those cops outta get gang-raped by a pack of 800 pound, diseased infested, foaming at the mouth Silverback gorillas stricken with leprocy.

So you want a bunch of Optimus Primals to beat up the cops? is that right? I'm cool w/it.

Primal has leprocy?

things may be changing to the more extreme because of the fact that here in the US, were becoming super anal when it comes to questionable imports. it will probably get to the point to were we wont be able to get any japanese tfs because a reissue bumblebee can be made into a terrorist bomb.

i can understand and apreciate the saftey issue, and wanting to protect out own stupidity against retards. however it is even more redundant to modify megatron if he is truly being packaged in robot mode.

now i can understand if it was a shady toy collector that was working customs and wanted to "seize the contraband"

however you cant tell me, that if a customs guy sees the toy robot in the scanner hes going to "omg wait stop that box!!" rip it open, take out the toy, and go through all the many steps it takes to transform a mp figure, just to see if i turned into a gun in the first place?

to me that makes about as much sence as a football bat.

Black_Convoy wrote:There was a kid a few years back that ws shot to death by police officers because they mistook his bright blue squirt gun for a real gun.

Dont they have tests to filter out the retards in the Police application process?

Mind I cant even mock the yanks anymore seeing as we're getting a similar law a month or so after MP Megs comes out.

Hey can we cut out all of the violence talk here? Lets try and keep this a civil thread and lay off the "kill everybody" or "blank should be killed". If we cant keep to this, the thread is going to get locked.

Well... here where I live (Poland), they don't have any such laws requiring orange tips, so I emailed HLJ about whether I could just buy a non-modified Megs off of them...


Not that I was even planning on getting MP Megs....

Skids

gutter bunny wrote:Recently there was a story floating around the internet about a kid getting shot because he was wielding a PS3 controller when cops came to his door...

If it's the same incident that I'm thinking of they went to his house to arrest him for his involvement in a violent assault and robbery of a PS3 on release day. The 'kid' was 18 and had pics of himself showing-off assault weapons posted online (MySpace I assume) so they went in armed. Excessive maybe, but given the circumstances I feel worse for the poor dog they shot than I do the kid.

What's the big deal? It's a removable cap, just take it off when it arrives.

shockwaveuk wrote:What's the big deal? It's a removable cap, just take it off when it arrives.

They're probably going to glue them on with either hot glue or epoxy. Otherwise, if the thing could be popped right off, it would defeat the purpose of installing them.

AbsumZer0 wrote:

shockwaveuk wrote:What's the big deal? It's a removable cap, just take it off when it arrives.

They're probably going to glue them on with either hot glue or epoxy. Otherwise, if the thing could be popped right off, it would defeat the purpose of installing them.

I doubt it, they know it's a collectors item and wouldn't ruin it. The cap should be held in place by the packaging but if necessary they'd use blu-tack or something non permanent. If it worries you that much ask for confirmation whether it will be a permanent modification or removable.

shockwaveuk wrote:

AbsumZer0 wrote:

shockwaveuk wrote:What's the big deal? It's a removable cap, just take it off when it arrives.

They're probably going to glue them on with either hot glue or epoxy. Otherwise, if the thing could be popped right off, it would defeat the purpose of installing them.

I doubt it, they know it's a collectors item and wouldn't ruin it. The cap should be held in place by the packaging but if necessary they'd use blu-tack or something non permanent. If it worries you that much ask for confirmation whether it will be a permanent modification or removable.

I'm in CANADA and we do not have or need such stupid laws. Thank God we will be able to get the real deal without having to worry about the orange cap eyesores.

I'm not getting one with an orange cap. I don't have kids so I don't care about safety laws. It's not my problem. Damn BBTS and their paranoid impulses.

If it's the same incident that I'm thinking of they went to his house to arrest him for his involvement in a violent assault and robbery of a PS3 on release day. The 'kid' was 18 and had pics of himself showing-off assault weapons posted online (MySpace I assume) so they went in armed. Excessive maybe, but given the circumstances I feel worse for the poor dog they shot than I do the kid.

That would be the same incident...although i hadnt heard of the pics. Irregardless of him being 18 or commiting a crime, the police should be sure that the person is a threat before fireing. Personally i dont find a ps3 controller to be threatening. Although it does show why so many are for placing the bright orange caps on toys.

thats it...I demand a 'safety orange' cap for my ps3 controller

skywarp-2 wrote:

I completely agree, without the rant.. i must say though that it is my hope that all the orders for the Megatron MP-05 that will be modified from Hobby link are returned, that is the only way i can think will affect policy.. Not to mention, thats where I got mty megatron Reissue in the first place!! It wasn't modified at all.. Only here in the USA do we have trigger happy cops who fire on 10 year old kids in the 80s to cause a stupid orange tip and funky colored TOY gun law to be enacted!! I can't believe that we are the only country in the world who has this regulation!! It sickens me to see that a fine quality "Masterpiece megatron" would be modified and changed into an orange tipped monster!! The unmodified versions are gonna sell out like hot cakes, and those who miss them will be hard pressed to find them at fair prices.

Personally I would rather go without a MP-05 Masterpiece Megatron then to purchase one with a stupid Orange tip! It defeats the purpose of the word "Masterpiece" in the Masterpiece megatron, because once that modification goes on, it ceases to be an example of masterpiece perfection and what it was intended to be in the first place.

You can return the figure all you like, but by law the US retailers have to do it. The Reissue Megatron slipped through the cracks and they made it through customs, but of course that was before the security crackdowns that started after 911. Now adays its unlikely it would go through either. Any large shipment of MP Megatrons that come through US customs will get confiscated. Individual figures ordered by people from overseas stores are less likely since smaller packaged tend to get searched less often. But big international orders such as those going to stores have a much higher chance of get searched, and no orange tip means illegal and there goes the figures. And regardless of if its shipped in Bot mode or not the fact that it can become a gun causes it to fall under the law.

All these stores are trying to cover their bottom line, if they don't want to lose their money by having the figures confiscated they have to do the mod. If everyone returns them they will simply have to return them to the stores wholesaler who will then have to try and return them to Takara. In the long run its not going to help.

It just reminds me of the whole, Short stacks issue with optimus Prime 20th anniversary... I went and bought the Japanese one from ebay becasue I was dissapointed in the US version that Hasbro released due to the shortened stacks, it made him seem broken and not complete..The whole battle damage paint was a "gimmic" to me to detract from the stupid "child safety" decision to remove the longer stacks. My thought is, If your gonna buy an 80.00 toy for your kid, make sure the toddler or baby is watched at all times..absentee mothers are the ones who have kids who choke, its not the toys fault if you buy a dangerous toy..

Your right, its parents who should be watching their kids and making sure they don't do stupid things. Unfortunately the bad parents of the world are not going to suddenly get better, and law makers are going to keep doing things to keep them from screwing up kids to much .

Lawyers should be shot, they are the ones who changed the toy laws to suit their egos and clients pockets from their clients own stupidity..

[/quote]

Lawyers can't change laws, they don't have the power. All Lawyers do is plea cases to judges or juries, who also don't have the power to change laws, only decide on verdicts and enforce laws. Politicians make laws. Politicians are chosen by the people. And laws like this almost always start at the state or city level before they make it to the notice of congress. Which means it was voted into place by the general population of several states before someone in congress said lets make it a federal law. And several states have added to it by adding that toy guns can not be in realistic colors, thats why Classics Megatron is nerfed, thats the only way they could sell him in half the US.

The general population of the US is who keeps making these laws more restrictive, if enough people wanted a law like this changed it could happen, but the majority of people feel safer with this law in place and taking it away so a few thousand toy fans can get a toy isn't going to sway them. You want it without an orange cap order from a seller outside the US and hope it doesn't get found by customs. You take the chance, but if its worth the risk to you then do it.