The Energon Pub

oh god no. not more KO.

$150?? Thats a little steep, swoop for 75 was hard enough but 150 is a little greedy for this ko company...

Roboto750 wrote:

ZoneDaiatlas wrote:

Liege Evilmus wrote:I agree $150 for a knock off is insane.

I know the origional mold is broken. I also have Mirage and from what I can see, it looks good.

So my question, how about an "official" authentic, reconstruction?

No improvements('cept on the clip for the shoulder rocket), just take a old one and redo it.

That would be cool!

Why can't they make a new mold? Is it too expensive for Takara Tomy to make a new mold? We bought enough Reissue and Repaint toys from Takara Tomy that they can send their kids to College...

You know, I was thinking the exact same thing tonight! Half the work should be done for them already.

We should petition

O_O $150???????????? Guess I will NEVER get this one. Don't care about the Constructicons. I already have it. A KO as well and WAY lower than these prices. Don't remember now but I am sure it didn't went nowehere near the $20s.

So they basically took Mirage apart and re-modeled all parts, right?

Vile MK III wrote:Tomy Takara should step in and stop these KO and release both of em them self. Now that would worth the money.

For starters it's hard for TomyTakara or even Hasbro to step in and stop these KO's as they're often produced in China where there aren't many laws on copyrights for toys.

Secondly, it would be bad business for TomyTakara to produce their own genuine articles to compete with KO's.

Yes, there are collectors who will buy genuine TT over cheap knockoffs, however a company can't survive solely on collectors, they also have to target the general public, and the general public would rather pay for a cheaper item with less quality rather than shelling out extra for a genuine good quality product.

These knew KO's however with the G1 packaging are simply a bunch of, for lack of a better term, pirates, producing cheaply and selling pirated material at inflated prices.

Anyone who willingly buys them knowing all too well they're KO's and adds them to their collection as genuine articles are fools.

Not adding it to my collection as a genuine article, I happen to be a fan or good KO's, or KO's that have a cool color different from the original.

(My supplier said $150 for it, but is allowing pre-orders for only $78--: ) )

Burn wrote:

Vile MK III wrote:Tomy Takara should step in and stop these KO and release both of em them self. Now that would worth the money.

For starters it's hard for TomyTakara or even Hasbro to step in and stop these KO's as they're often produced in China where there aren't many laws on copyrights for toys.

Secondly, it would be bad business for TomyTakara to produce their own genuine articles to compete with KO's.

Yes, there are collectors who will buy genuine TT over cheap knockoffs, however a company can't survive solely on collectors, they also have to target the general public, and the general public would rather pay for a cheaper item with less quality rather than shelling out extra for a genuine good quality product.

These knew KO's however with the G1 packaging are simply a bunch of, for lack of a better term, pirates, producing cheaply and selling pirated material at inflated prices.

Anyone who willingly buys them knowing all too well they're KO's and adds them to their collection as genuine articles are fools.

These new knockoffs are advertised as such 85-90% of the time. They are made in China along with every other Takara Transformers toy. They are satisfying the consumer who was left to either spend 50-75 for a beat up original or drop 400+ for an unused or sealed toy.

You are the fool for thinking that anyone adding a boxed G1 figure to his collection would pass it off as vintage. Most people that will purchase these probably don't have many if any original boxed or sealed TFs.

JBrock wrote:You are the fool for thinking that anyone adding a boxed G1 figure to his collection would pass it off as vintage. Most people that will purchase these probably don't have many if any original boxed or sealed TFs.

Fool?

Maybe. But at least I don't delude myself into believing all collectors are honest.

Do you honestly think that there isn't one person in this world who will pick up these KO's, pop 'em in their collection and try to claim them as originals?

Then again, I have seen people post that they will do exactly that, buy them and pass them off in their collection as originals.

Yes sir, I am a fool for having respect for my collection. I would rather pay hundreds of dollars for an original boxed figure and NOT give these criminals (because that's what they are) one cent.

To anyone who might care or is interested in what I found; last month I was at a TRU is Holland (where I come from). Automatically I went to their Transformers section and there I also found a few Knock Off's. I only bought one box. That same box includes 5 Decepticons (you can tell by the logo, but it has a few changes) and one extra robot, which just comes with it. I would like to share it with anyone here but I dont know how to upload them to here or to who I can send it to. Anyone knows? Just contact me. Thanx!

You realize they are toys, right? WTF does it matter if someone wants to put a reissue or knockoff on a shelf with a vintage piece?

I was fighting this counterfeit fight a long time ago but more for the fact that they were being sold as original vintage pieces.

Money aside, it is almost impossible to find sealed vintage toys so I see no problem if a custom toy maker wants to find a niche and distribute his product to a wider fanbase.

ZenithF0RTE wrote:Anywho, I had no idea the Mirage mold was broken. When did this happen?

Years ago or yesterday I'm not sure to when the mold was damaged but a lot of TF molds are damaged or destroyed do to
Hasbro and Takara over-producing toys (The Autobot Brothers
from RiD are example of this) to just simple not thinking 20+
years later after a toy was made that would still be a demand
for it. We got lucky that they able to repair the Soundwave mold (and maybe Soundblaster as well) and in some cases they
no longer own the rights to the molds (toys like the G1 Shockwave, Jetfire, Roadbuster, Whirl, Barrage, Chop Shop, and Venom) because they never did own them.

It's easy to say that Takara and Hasbro should've taken better care of the molds but once the G1 line ended in the US in 1989/90 there was the thinking: "Well we don't these molds so lets get rid of them we need space for our new toy molds."

Which made business sence at the time, now in retrospect even
they have (and if they haven't they should) admitted it was a stupid idea.

JBrock wrote:You realize they are toys, right? WTF does it matter if someone wants to put a reissue or knockoff on a shelf with a vintage piece?

Because if someone says "hey look at my MISB Swoop!" ... well it's not a genuine article.

Like I said, i'd rather have a genuine article in my collection than try to pass off a fake as the genuine thing. See my point?

Money aside, it is almost impossible to find sealed vintage toys so I see no problem if a custom toy maker wants to find a niche and distribute his product to a wider fanbase.

So you see no problem with someone selling unlicensed goods?

You have no problem with these "custom toy makers" flooding the markets with their poor quality materials? I know you're aware that the fact these things are one the market are one of the major reasons there hasn't been a Constructicon/Devestator reissue.

Yeah, sorry. But on principle I don't support these and I don't support anyone who buys them unless they're for kitbashing purposes.

And if you don't like that, well that's good for you. I hope you realise where i'm coming from and can accept my opinion on these things like I do yours.

after buying the KO swoop and feeling rather ripped off (im ashamed, the whole MIB thing made me lose my senses) i wil NOT be buying any more KO unless they are $10!

I've actually been looking for a Mirage lately and have noticed an increase of boxed Mirage figures going for $150-$199 range on ebay. The KO's haven't hit the market yet have they? I thought nothing of it since I thought Mirage's mold was damaged and assumed that they were just real G1 figures. I'll start posting auctions for G1 boxed Mirage's in this price range when I start finding them to see if anyone can spot it as a KO.

I fully understand how you feel as I had the same mindset but, I have seen no effort by Takara or Hasbro to curb these counterfeits and I have also seen no indication that they plan on releasing authentic reissues of Mirage, Swoop, or any of the long list that fans have been asking for.

Swerve wrote:I've actually been looking for a Mirage lately and have noticed an increase of boxed Mirage figures going for $150-$199 range on ebay. The KO's haven't hit the market yet have they? I thought nothing of it since I thought Mirage's mold was damaged and assumed that they were just real G1 figures. I'll start posting auctions for G1 boxed Mirage's in this price range when I start finding them to see if anyone can spot it as a KO.

Yeah, but thats $150-200 for something genuine not to mention vintage. There are no more new ones of what your seeing.

This is something that can be(and eventualy will be)pumped out in the thousands. I'm gonna take my chances and wait and see if it hits the odd lot, bargain, closeout stores like so many knock offs do.

Hell, same place I just found a bunch of Classics had some poor quality "Quick Change" Robot Master 2 packs for $3. Real cheap stuff, but every war needs some casualties!

Liege Evilmus wrote:

Swerve wrote:I've actually been looking for a Mirage lately and have noticed an increase of boxed Mirage figures going for $150-$199 range on ebay. The KO's haven't hit the market yet have they? I thought nothing of it since I thought Mirage's mold was damaged and assumed that they were just real G1 figures. I'll start posting auctions for G1 boxed Mirage's in this price range when I start finding them to see if anyone can spot it as a KO.

Yeah, but thats $150-200 for something genuine not to mention vintage. There are no more new ones of what your seeing.

This is something that can be(and eventualy will be)pumped out in the thousands. I'm gonna take my chances and wait and see if it hits the odd lot, bargain, closeout stores like so many knock offs do.

Hell, same place I just found a bunch of Classics had some poor quality "Quick Change" Robot Master 2 packs for $3. Real cheap stuff, but every war needs some casualties!

The thing I find interesting is that most of that some of these are supposedly sealed and going at that price. Seems a little cheap for a figure that will never likely be made again, especially in that condition. Also Mirage was one of the first wave releases I believe, someone can correct me on that if I am wrong, but they say it includes all box inserts or in the case of MISB you can see them in the box. They aren't styrofoam but rather clear plastic. Did Mirage come in clear plastic? I thought that pretty much all the first wave original G1 came sith styro inserts.

That price is completely absurd. I really hope fans will put theuir foot down and not plunk down that kind of money for something that's not an original product.

oooooooooooo


Looks to be promising.

I'd consider it for $50, but $150 is laughable.

It's not worth that much money. There's an acceptable margin of profit a vendor can make with a product, and it begins to grow increasingly amoral when the margins spiral to these heights.

i'm sorry, but I'd never pay 150 for a KO. The seller needs his head screwing on right if he expects people to pay vintage price for unoriginal Knock Offs. If I wanted a mirage, I could get them cheaply from various places, like what was said by many in earlier posts.

I looked on eBay and I could get a C9 mirage for $75 with missiles and gun. I'd rather buy the vintahe and do it up than waste my hard earned cash and time with a cheap knock off

i'm sorry, but I'd never pay 150 for a KO. The seller needs his head screwing on right if he expects people to pay vintage price for unoriginal Knock Offs. If I wanted a mirage, I could get them cheaply from various places, like what was said by many in earlier posts.

I looked on eBay and I could get a C9 mirage for $75 with missiles and gun. I'd rather buy the vintahe and do it up than waste my hard earned cash and time with a cheap knock off

Chosen wrote:

Ultra Markus wrote:i feel sorry for those people who blow over 20 dollars on fake immitations made of low quality plastic and no metal parts.

Swoop was more of a miss than a hit, but I've still yet to hear anything that significantly bad about the cassette KO reissues. It's not like these are the same thing as the nasty dollar-store nonsense that's all over the place.

And as for your other point, that's good and all, but then you get people who try to pass off knockoff parts or accessories as if they're the originals.

The cassettes are really good quality, except the stickers.

I bought the ones that were translucent plastic (orange...blue...clear), and the ones that were never sold solid, like all black, and all white.

But I have a collection of figs like that...

Well, I like how Devastator is looking, Mirage is alright, when I see the finish product, maybe I'll get them.