The Energon Pub

I don't know how much of this is/was known previously, so I'll start from the top. So it's well known that iGear's PP03 A, B, and C and Dirge, Thrust and Ramjet in probably not that order. A hint on the nature of PP04 has been dropped on TFW2005, when their member Lord Starscream has posted this flamboyant comment:

Lord Starscream wrote:I know what it is pp04 is Magnus armor I sent them my marksprojects perfectedtion trailer back in October of 2010 what modifactions and changed I'm not sure, pp05 is the work in progress predaking it is mp style, they said they will drop a bomb and they mean it. Marks trailer is the best that I seen that's why I paid $1200 price tag for the only problem for me is that it's too big and doesnt fit in scale with my classics and their ultra leader does.

An interesting post was later made by the creator, anemis:

anemis wrote:so you sent them the trailer that i,ve built for you so they could copy my work and make replicas ?

anemis' trailer/armour can be seen here for reference.

Again please keep in mind that this is one post on TFW, and the poster hasn't even posted again in that thread (not that it surprises me), so it could be off the mark.

Thanks to our dear friend Mkall we have a pretty interesting and at the same time horrible bit of information to share. This information is that of the identity of I-Gear's upcoming PP-04. According to this post over at tfw2005 the upcoming figure will be and Ultra Magnus trailer for their downsized MP-02 KO. Sure this might be great news to some, but please read the post, we've quoted it for you:

Lord Starscream wrote:I know what it is pp04 is Magnus armor I sent them my marksprojects perfectedtion trailer back in October of 2010 what modifactions and changed I'm not sure, pp05 is the work in progress predaking it is mp style, they said they will drop a bomb and they mean it. Marks trailer is the best that I seen that's why I paid $1200 price tag for the only problem for me is that it's too big and doesnt fit in scale with my classics and their ultra leader does.

Marksproject is a seibertron.com member, you might know him under the name of TF anemis on our boards.
So? Maybe i-Gear asked him for permission first? You might ask, but TF anemis had this to say:

TF anemis wrote:so you sent them the trailer that i,ve built for you so they could copy my work and make replicas ?

This isn't the first time i-Gear has stolen a kitbasher's work, the anime head and hands they used for Faith Leader and the MP Conehead designs are all copies of kitbashes. But then again i-Gear mostly does Bootlegs now so it comes as no surprise.
For reference's sake you can click here to see the Ultra Magnus armour TF anemis made.

Wow, what a shame. I'd have a real hard time sending something I paid $1200 for to go get bootlegged.

Fortunately for me, this won't be making it's way into my collection. A masterpiece Predaking on the other hand..

Wowie...

Counterpunch wrote:Wowie...

Yeah.

Can we get a comment from TF anemis over here?

I've always wanted one of his trailers, but never had the funds to do it. I will make it clear that I will not be buying anything from Igear due to their blatant lack of respect for the work of others.

Where was the logic in sending the comany one of these trailer armour sets?

robofreak wrote: Where was the logic in sending the comany one of these trailer armour sets?

Bingo

That's a pretty nice unit TF anemis has built there. It's a damn shame that iGear appear to be continuing their trend of profiting from other people's work; I can understand why anemis might be annoyed. But at the same time selling it for $1200 does kind of mean he gave up the rights to having a say in what happens to it.

I find the notion of iGear making a masterpiece Predaking highly dubious. Surely they'd need someone elses work to copy and the only thing I can think of worth copying was that MASSIVE Predaking that was made using Zoids. It's immensely impressive but the combined form didn't really do it for me.

Sodan-1 wrote:That's a pretty nice unit TF anemis has built there. It's a damn shame that iGear appear to be continuing their trend of profiting from other people's work; I can understand why anemis might be annoyed. But at the same time selling it for $1200 does kind of mean he gave up the rights to having a say in what happens to it.

Are you joking?

Hopefully, this is just a rumor. That trailer had a lot to it and made by just one dude ... ripping it off is really low.

I'd like to hear the full story behind the Coneheads before condeming iGear over it. After all, there's only so many ways you can make an MP Conehead. It's not enough to simply say they're similar.

First I'm hearing about them ripping off their new heads, though. Who first sculpted those? It'd be nice to have a database for these sort of things. So we know who we're buying from.

That sucks. I wonder if the person who sent the figure to iGear profited from the deal.

I'm definitely feeling some tensions between iGear and Marksproject. I'm on Markproject's side! I say sue them all!

So you guys are totally ok with rip offs like faith leader and the retardo cone heads but when they rip off something that is already essentially a rip off intself (albeit a handmade custom by a well-known customizer) then "the line has been crossed?"

I've been calling for zero support for these 3rd party bullshit artists for a long time. There is no gray area. Have some integrity and understand that all of this is wrong, not just this instance.

For someone's homemade kitbash it's quite good but for a sell-able item it's terrible.

Yah know this is gunna become a **** storm to many... but really why?

I see only one person who is harmed by this... ANEMIS....and only because he wasn't compensated for it. At least as far as we know.

Even if it sells this will still be ANEMIS' artwork being showcased to everyone and I can't think of a higher praise to such a talented artist.

In addition... this also means that more people can now own this figure that will bring them joy and I see no harm in that.

And don't get started about how this will hurt the price of the toy. First of all its a different size so it doesn't matter. The piece will still be a unique figure.

Second... I bought this as well... when I purchased this figure for 800 dollars I didn't even care about the price I got it for cause I wanted a piece of artwork that was my favorite character.

The only two grips I have is that

first the artist didn't get paid by the company duplicating his work.

Second the artist after 3 years still hasn't delivered on the primary piece paid for. And therefore I will probably end up purchasing and getting a PP series figure at a cheaper price than what I paid for the original before I ever even get to own and original. I gotta admit... Mark has just been damned slow.

ok listen, that Masterpiece Predaking made of Zoids was done by a god of customizers!!! I speak of course...... of FRENZYRUMBLE!!! look him up, go to his site, buy something, and you'll have no regrets.

Why would they compensate or look for permission from the designer of the Magnus armor? What's the diff between that and what they usually do? If a major corporation doesn't pose a threat to them, how would some average schmo?

We can only hope the new MP Prime will lead to a proper Magnus w/ armor release...

Wow. God you sound like a freaking needy child.

"I want this so I should get it"

No.

Regardless of who is being harmed, this stuff is wrong. The use of Aenemis' design without his consent is a violation, and it's apparent that the ethics of iGear are at the bottom of barrel, if that wasn't apparent already. If they were in America, they would be out of business by due to the laws of our land. You sound like you know nothing of what it's like to be a creator in any form and what it means when someone pawns off you creation as their own.

pathetic.

And once again the reasons for Fansproject's and other third party manufactures success becomes so apparent. I'm glad I held out for Protector over MP Rodimus. Ya know, even if this actually ends up being God Ginari instead of Prime, I still have reservations about getting it until I see some pics, and even then I have doubts.


Man, this year has been a bad year for TF toy collecting. First it's nearly impossible to find any Generations figures any where. Then a lot of the upcoming movie toys are so dumbed downed from the last movie's crop, that most of them are a huge pass for me. (How many versions of Movie Optimus can I be interested in? Let alone Bumblee Bee. ). Then MP Roddimus Convoy's QC issues. I'm not saying I ready to throw in the towel, but in the for the first time in years my wallet is gonna get fatter than usual.

Well, at least the comics and show have been good so far this year.

Crimson87: I've never ready so much BS in my life, and trust me, I've read a lot of crap.

1. You have stated you are a paying customer of Anemis and yet you are complaining that he's taking to long on getting his good to you? If he had steel injection molding and an actual set up for making them quickly then I'd complain too, but he doesn't. His armor is a homemade set. You cannot rush something of that nature. I've heard of commisions take over 3 years sometimes before they are done.

2. FP makes their own stuff. They do not rip off other designs. Yes, the intended homage is blatant, but they are carfeul to make it their own.

There's more I'll go over later, but as an artist myself, I'm going to stand up for him.

Collecticon wrote:So you guys are totally ok with rip offs like faith leader and the retardo cone heads but when they rip off something that is already essentially a rip off intself (albeit a handmade custom by a well-known customizer) then "the line has been crossed?"

I've been calling for zero support for these 3rd party bullshit artists for a long time. There is no gray area. Have some integrity and understand that all of this is wrong, not just this instance.

Collecticon wrote:Wow. God you sound like a freaking needy child.

"I want this so I should get it"

No.

Regardless of who is being harmed, this stuff is wrong. The use of Aenemis' design without his consent is a violation, and it's apparent that the ethics of iGear are at the bottom of barrel, if that wasn't apparent already. If they were in America, they would be out of business by due to the laws of our land. You sound like you know nothing of what it's like to be a creator in any form and what it means when someone pawns off you creation as their own.

pathetic.

Mate, I agree with your stance on 3rd party stuff, but you have to accept the fact, some people don't give a toss about the integrity of their collection or who gets trodd on as long as they can make their collection look good.

Collecticon wrote:Wow. God you sound like a freaking needy child.

"I want this so I should get it"

No.

Regardless of who is being harmed, this stuff is wrong. The use of Aenemis' design without his consent is a violation, and it's apparent that the ethics of iGear are at the bottom of barrel, if that wasn't apparent already. If they were in America, they would be out of business by due to the laws of our land. You sound like you know nothing of what it's like to be a creator in any form and what it means when someone pawns off you creation as their own.

pathetic.

while i agree to an extent if you dont want your work copied or stolen then get a patent or trademark for the creative process involved in your creation. oh wait it was an UNOFFICIAL armor add on for an OFFICIAL product. nevermind

Hating all 3rd party products is really another discussion entirely.

For me, there's a makred difference between ripping off a large company like Hasbro or Takara, who makes millions of their products and a lone individual who is mostly doing it out of love for his hobby and craft. Yeah, for me it's the scale that matters. Legalities shemaglities, I don't really care about that.

It's all in the way you look at it. Some people think iGear is wrong for deliberately stealing ideas(molds) and producing them. Some people think all 3rd party items are trash because they aren't official. Heck, I guess that makes any custom a legality issue.

Pointless debate if you ask me.

I personally think Igear is different amongst other 3rd party groups.

FansProject actually develops their own stuff and it's all their own work. And yes, it is intended for use with official TF merchandise, but they are unique enough that they don't have to worry about Hasbro breathing down their necks because if anything, their products improve sales.

Igear, has ripped off 2 kitbashers now that I know of. The Coneheads were developed by another artist and Igear got their hands on it and then produced the molds for them while giving very little support to the guy that made it possible. They didn't even ask his poermission.

Also we now have Anemus here who made his own item only to have it given over to Igear by one of his customers. He was not approached or asked for permission to even make it. Igear does nothing but rip off designs from what I've seen.

scratching my head here
where was this uproar when they announced the coneheads or faith leader?
i dont recall this many posts of people up in arms.

TOO MUCH POLITICS !!!

If you like the character and think the figure would look good in your collection, BUY IT !!!

If you dont like the figure for whatever reason, SAVE YOUR MONEY !!!

Stop worrying about what money another man does or doesnt get in his pocket. I guarantee he isnt worried about your wallet. The world was built on supply and demand. Us collectors demand figures and companies supply them to us.

I support all 3rd party companies for listening to fans and giving them what they want by any means necessary.