The Energon Pub

Autobot032 wrote:This was a complete waste of resources. There's literally NO need for this thing to exist. If it transformed, possibly. If it was...oh screw it. There's no justifiable reason for this thing to exist.

I hope they cancel this before it's too late and they go in debt over stupidity.

I expect it will not sell and than the prce will hopefully correct and drop to an equivalent action figure. When I can go to Waly-World and buy a Darth Vader or Superman figure, that is just as tall, and interesting, for 1/22 the price, I have to stop and ask; what is this company thinking?

It doesn't transform.

There are 3rd party combiner sets that cost only 499.99, that are almost as big, and FAR more complicated.

Also Metroplex is only a C-note, (depending on store, tax, shipping, ETC).

If this figure was only 24.99 to 29.99, I could consider him to be a good buy, (I had G1 Scorponok as a Christmas present as a child), like Vader and the Blue Boy Scout. That is all it is worth, given cost and demand.

Tronus_Rex wrote:If this figure was only 24.99 to 29.99, I could consider him to be a good buy, (I had G1 Scorponok as a Christmas present as a child), like Vader and the Blue Boy Scout. That is all it is worth, given cost and demand.

I think you're being completely unrealistic with that price range... multiply that by 10, and we're being more reasonable about a 2 foot tall, attractively articulated Japanese import.

Not to say I would buy it at that price... it doesn't transform, after all

megatronus wrote:

Tronus_Rex wrote:If this figure was only 24.99 to 29.99, I could consider him to be a good buy, (I had G1 Scorponok as a Christmas present as a child), like Vader and the Blue Boy Scout. That is all it is worth, given cost and demand.

I think you're being completely unrealistic with that price range... multiply that by 10, and we're being more reasonable about a 2 foot tall, attractively articulated Japanese import.

Not to say I would buy it at that price... it doesn't transform, after all

To be 10 times more expensive, 249.99 & 299.99, they would need to not just be imports but out of production collectibles, that are also in HIGH DEMAND. Being that this is just a giant "Action Master" with alright articulation, it's not desirable in the price rage it is being offered in. Transformer fans want the toys to transform.

Also it is entering a market that has FAR more complicated, intricate, and articulated Transformer and 3rd party toys that cost less. And my first example of Vader and Supe's are 32" figures. They're articulation is just, okay, but it wouldn't cost that much more to improve that.

This Action Figure is wrong for it's target market, doesn't cost that much to make, and isn't going to be in that much demand.

If it Transformed though, I would pay 699-899, if it was also given enough crazy features I would pay a grand. But this action figure is no transformer.

I do like it, but not 549.99 (plus shipping), like him.

Tronus_Rex wrote:

megatronus wrote:

Tronus_Rex wrote:If this figure was only 24.99 to 29.99, I could consider him to be a good buy, (I had G1 Scorponok as a Christmas present as a child), like Vader and the Blue Boy Scout. That is all it is worth, given cost and demand.

I think you're being completely unrealistic with that price range... multiply that by 10, and we're being more reasonable about a 2 foot tall, attractively articulated Japanese import.

Not to say I would buy it at that price... it doesn't transform, after all

To be 10 times more expensive, 249.99 & 299.99, they would need to not just be imports but out of production collectibles, that are also in HIGH DEMAND. Being that this is just a giant "Action Master" with alright articulation, it's not desirable in the price rage it is being offered in. Transformer fans want the toys to transform.

Also it is entering a market that has FAR more complicated, intricate, and articulated Transformer and 3rd party toys that cost less. And my first example of Vader and Supe's are 32" figures. They're articulation is just, okay, but it wouldn't cost that much more to improve that.

This Action Figure is wrong for it's target market, doesn't cost that much to make, and isn't going to be in that much demand.

If it Transformed though, I would pay 699-899, if it was also given enough crazy features I would pay a grand. But this action figure is no transformer.

I do like it, but not 549.99 (plus shipping), like him.

So you would be willing to pay $700-$900 if this thing transformed, but since it doesn't, it's worth $25-$30? Excuse me if I think you're a bit all over the place. And the 32" Vader comparison makes little sense to me, since those are hollow, simplistic play-things for kids that basically just have cut-joints at the shoulders (if you're talking about what I think you are).

I'd really love to see evidence that this thing "is wrong for its target market, doesn't cost that much to make, and isn't going to be in that much demand." Like I said, I'm not getting this figure, and it looks like many people on this board aren't either, but I tend to bristle at generalized and unsubstantiated assumptions such as the ones you're making.

What people seem to be forgetting is that one reason the price is so high is because it's being produced in limited numbers to begin with, because they know it will only appeal to a small market, and that small market will pretty much pay for anything that resembles a Transformer, regardless of if they can play with it and if it can transform or not.

megatronus wrote: I'd really love to see evidence that this thing "is wrong for its target market, doesn't cost that much to make, and isn't going to be in that much demand." Like I said, I'm not getting this figure, and it looks like many people on this board aren't either, but I tend to bristle at generalized and unsubstantiated assumptions such as the ones you're making.

Well Burn just answered my question as to why the insane price . M', you missed my point, this figure does not transform, it's a just a big robot that looks like Scorponok, not a transformer.

http://www.tekyu.com/2012/03/05/action- ... nsformers/

"...The good news was that like the Classic Pretenders sub-line, this one took notice that kids still liked the original Transformers characters and wanted to see more of them, or ANY of them in this case leading to the reintroduction of folks like Wheeljack, Shockwave, Megatron, Inferno, and Devastator back into the toy line.

It wasn’t well received by fans regardless of how well the gesture was appreciated to include iconic characters. Taking away Transformation was a serious party foul and this basically snuffed out Transformers so badly around the world that the line went in hiatus for awhile. Seriously, the only other thing keeping the franchise afloat were Micromasters and Pretenders."

I'm a high end collector. I also have studied marketing and demographics. High end collecting can get the prices, I myself stated, and even higher, depending on the hobby. Now, imagine a Model Train Hobbyist being offered a reissue of a prewar Lionel Train for 5 times the price of an equivalent, even being far more detailed than the original, but, it doesn't move on the tracks, & is basically a statue. It's the same as offering an RC Airplane hobbyist an RC version of an Airbus A380, with a 10' wingspan, extreme level of detail & accuracy, costing 20K...that couldn't fly and never would. The RC Airplane hobbyyist would say, "No thank you, I want planes that fly, not a museum model.

Also looking at Scorponok, he isn't any better in detail and articulation than other high end transforming Transformers. He is better than some, but they at least Transform.

Anyway, we were both missing the point that Burn mentioned, this item is a limited release.

I still feel it may not sell and be a shelf warmer in a warehouse or two.

megatronus wrote: Not to say I would buy it at that price... it doesn't transform, after all

This is one source of my confusion as you did already say what I was saying, LOL!

Still, its a Limited Release. I do not think it will sell at the 549.99 price anyway. If it does, well, $%i+, that might mean they will make more...not a good trend...

These "statues" are really just a step up from the busts that were all the rage a few years back. They were made in limited numbers, cost around the $100 mark and sold fairly well.

The market is there, but it's a tiny market and one that isn't very vocal.

I want this, and Unimetal Prime.

However, I believe there is far more to this than what we can see here.

All we have right now are tiny crappy pics, there seems to be a whole lot of detail along with accessories we haven't seen yet, just look at that render. I believe once we see actual and large pics this thing will look amazing.
But where would it fit in? Too small for MPs, and too good looking and articulated for G1 or WSTs.

Tronus_Rex wrote:

megatronus wrote: Not to say I would buy it at that price... it doesn't transform, after all

This is one source of my confusion as you did already say what I was saying, LOL!

Still, its a Limited Release. I do not think it will sell at the 549.99 price anyway. If it does, well, $%i+, that might mean they will make more...not a good trend...

Like I said - you're making generalized assumptions. Even if I'm not buying the thing due to lack of transformation and price, doesn't mean I agree that a market doesn't exist. I've also studied marketing and demographics, and it appeared to me that you were using yourself as a proxy for the target market, as well as making unfounded assumptions on the actual cost.

Per Burn, this thing is a limited release. And per Dead Metal, it's hard to argue that a market isn't there. The preliminary renders and prototype show a heck of a lot more detail than you might think. Until we see color photos, it's tough to speculate how well this thing might do.

Well M', you have to understand that I come at this as both a collector and a hobbyist, or, someone who wants the "toy" to actually function.

There are high end model collectors that build giant ships, planes, and the like, but these things can demand prices as high as 20k and more. When given what I just stated is actually not unusual at all, I suppose a mere 549.99, being only 1/5 of what I just described, it's not unusual. Still, it just seems odd that there would be fans who didn't care if the figure transformed or not.

I do look forward to seeing the features on this as well. Hopefully, for the model collector, it will meet that standard too.

Tronus_Rex wrote:it just seems odd that there would be fans who didn't care if the figure transformed or not.

I've encountered fans who didn't care about TF toys but were fans because of the comics.

There's also a rather large group of people out there that are TF fans because of the Bay movies.

We are a rather diverse bunch really.

Tronus_Rex wrote:Well M', you have to understand that I come at this as both a collector and a hobbyist, or, someone who wants the "toy" to actually function.

There are high end model collectors that build giant ships, planes, and the like, but these things can demand prices as high as 20k and more. When given what I just stated is actually not unusual at all, I suppose a mere 549.99, being only 1/5 of what I just described, it's not unusual. Still, it just seems odd that there would be fans who didn't care if the figure transformed or not.

I do look forward to seeing the features on this as well. Hopefully, for the model collector, it will meet that standard too.

I don't care if it transforms as long as it meets this criteria:

• Fantastic robot-mode
• fantastic detailing
• Show/ Movie accurate
• Good paint job
• Good articulation

Oftentimes the toys have to sacrifice things in order to transform, quite often these sacrifices come at the cost of the robot mode's accuracy.
The concept of this franchise is "robots in disguise", the alt-mode is just that: an alternate-mode. Not the main-mode, the main-mode and standard form for that matter is the robot-mode.
We constantly have people complaining about a toy's alt-mode not being perfect enough, like ROTF Leader Starscream, Masterpiece Optimus Prime (both molds), THS G1 Optimus Prime.

If I care for a character and like the way his robot-mode looks, I want that robot-mode to be as close and good as possible, sometimes the normal toys are great or good enough for that, but often times, like Movies or Prime, they aren't.

And since these are robots, and I like robots, they are displayed in robot-mode, not alt-mode. IF I wanted to display a bunch of cars, trucks, planes etc I would go get models of those things, but since I like Transformers for the robots and characters I collect them for the robots. I guess I'm just weird like that.

For those fans who are absolutely infuriated that their almost perfectly show accurate Optimus Prime sacrifices alt-mode accuracy in favor of a good main mode to the point that they claim it's not worthy of the title Masterpice, well they can still just go and buy themselves a model truck and display that instead.

But official TF toys are the only source for this minority of people like me who like TFs for the characters and their robot-modes, so stuff like this is appreciated.

Granted, this thing is an odd example and choice, since his alt-mode isn't something from the real world and can easily be pulled off without sacrificing any of the robot-mode, its articulation, or detailing, but it's a step in the right direction.

An expensive step, but then again, it's huge, has diecast, probably isn't as hollow as your typical TF, has a decent amount of articulation, is pretty accurate, seems to have a crap ton of detail, and it's produced in extremely limited numbers. It is also priced pretty much the same as other figures of its class:
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/prod ... ode=retail
And that's not even an import.

And back on the topic of Unimetal Prime, that thing is not only huge, but made almost entirely of die-cast