The Energon Pub

i think its common knowledge that theres a KO MP10 out there, and that they actually KO'd their own mold. but the situation over the other MP KO's is unclear (to me at least).

ive seen "KO's" of all the car bots thus far (save BB) and ive heard tell that they are actually assembled from factory scraps. does anyone know this to be truth? all the car bots have picture perfect boxes with no distinguishing signs of being KO's correct? if so, that would make sense if they indeed came from a legit factory. at least in the case of the MP10 KO's, there are tell-tale signs on the boxes themselves.

can anyone shed some light on the subject?

shajaki wrote:i think its common knowledge that theres a KO MP10 out there, and that they actually KO'd their own mold. but the situation over the other MP KO's is unclear (to me at least).

ive seen "KO's" of all the car bots thus far (save BB) and ive heard tell that they are actually assembled from factory scraps. does anyone know this to be truth? all the car bots have picture perfect boxes with no distinguishing signs of being KO's correct? if so, that would make sense if they indeed came from a legit factory. at least in the case of the MP10 KO's, there are tell-tale signs on the boxes themselves.

can anyone shed some light on the subject?

Months ago, Did some research on this. Watched several youtube videos, read hundreds of forums threads with fans who bought these and reviewed them along side the liscensed versions.

My research found all of this,

The KO MP TF Voyager cars bots bots have a glossy shiny art on the boxes. While the Liscensed boxes for these MP TF Voyager cars boxes have a duller art on the boxes.

Regarding the toys themselves. The KO MP TF Voyager cars bots, Don't think any of them have any liscensed car insignias on the toys. Think some might have misspelled ones on purpose or misspelled liscense plates.

There are noticeable differeces in the real and KO MP TF Voyager cars bots. To not make the KO's factory rejects. like KO MP Sideswipe having a better paint coat applied that make the toy have less scratches, cleaner paint and less chips. KO MP Prowl uses a smoky film tanslucent clear car windows, while the HasTak version is more clear and looks better. There are some slight retooled parts that make the KO's either better or worse.

Don't think any of the KO MP Voyager cars bots have any Takara or Hasbro toy company patents on the KO molds.

Ive got a different theory. Same factory. Same takara mold. Different group of workers being snuck in at night to make the KOs while the "official" workers are sleeping. One of the official workers is in on it so he knows the process which would explain why the KOs come out so well. Serves Takara right for exploiting cheap chinese labor. If they would make transformers in Japan and pay Japanese workers Japanese wages, this s**t wouldnt happen. Greed works both ways. KO MP-22s dropping in March, lol.

Rated X wrote:Ive got a different theory. Same factory. Same takara mold. Different group of workers being snuck in at night to make the KOs while the "official" workers are sleeping. One of the official workers is in on it so he knows the process which would explain why the KOs come out so well. Serves Takara right for exploiting cheap chinese labor. If they would make transformers in Japan and pay Japanese workers Japanese wages, this s**t wouldnt happen. Greed works both ways. KO MP-22s dropping in March, lol.

Think, All of this makes them KO's, Not factory rejects, not after hours factory productions toys. More shiny box art. Removed or mispelled liscensed car insignia and liscense plates. Different factory paint or colors applied to the molds. Removed takara and Hasbro patents on the toys. KO Prowl having smoky clear car windows. Slightly modified parts. Extra Exclusive accessories thrown in.

There are slight moulding differences on Ratbat (as detailed int he KO Ratbat thread), so I'm going to say they're straight-up KOs.

There are differences on the boxes, just you won't notice them at first glance.

The whole "factory reject" thing came up as a theory and then rumor due to the high quality on most of them. The logic being that they are so damn close to the real ones, that they have to be made from legit parts scavenged from rejected figures.
But that's just wishful thinking, the figures have slight mold differences, mostly the heads, all the Sideswipe mold Kos for instance use the Tigertrack head instead of their own.

It's far more likely that they got a figure and KOed them the traditional way, just with the difference being that they care a bit more for quality than your typical KOer.

shajaki wrote:ive seen "KO's" of all the car bots thus far (save BB) and ive heard tell that they are actually assembled from factory scraps. does anyone know this to be truth?

Dead Metal wrote:The whole "factory reject" thing came up as a theory and then rumor due to the high quality on most of them. The logic being that they are so damn close to the real ones, that they have to be made from legit parts scavenged from rejected figures.
But that's just wishful thinking

My first MP after the rescaling was Sideswipe. I got him cheap after much worry and stress from the seller which was documented here..
http://www.seibertron.com/energonpub/masterpiece-mp-12-lambor-sideswipe-has-arrived-in-the-uk-but-there-are-problems-t90378s20.php
He was official but a factory reject as the torso was pinned to waist the wrong way around and the head was split with poorly applied pin/glue.

Tsutsukakushi wrote:There are some slight retooled parts that make the KO's either better or worse.
Don't think any of the KO MP Voyager cars bots have any Takara or Hasbro toy company patents on the KO molds.

I was going to pass on Red Alert due to the fake wheels stuck on the shoulders but once the KOs started rolling out I grabbed one of those, cheap as chips! A couple of sloppy paint apps, and the head didnt fold together very well but came with a stamped part/figure number behind his bot mode knee. I have never heard of any parts being retooled or remoulded on the Car-bots?

After those two Lambo woes I bought an official Prowl who is superb with no QC issues at all!

On the strength of my Fairlady I picked up a cheap KO Smokescreen who was excellent apart from a scratch across his hood straight out of the sealed box which I gained a massive discount on! A couple of very minor paint app issues but very good.
If it was sold as an official item, I may not have known, but the seller did list it as a KO.
He also has a part number stamped on the inside of his bot mode leg.

I missed MP Optimus Prime when he was available at TRU which I kicked myself for so the announcement of a KO MP Op was interesting. By the time it actually came out and all the QC issues that came with it i passed, hoping Ebay would help.
Finally bought myself MP Optimus Prime (Asia reissue w/Vector Sigma)!

Due to limited funds I plan to also pick up KO Bluestreak but an official Wheeljack as there is no KO of him yet. If my funds take a nose dive again and a KO Wheeljack does get released I may have to go that way also and I still need Bumblebee and Exosuit Witwicky!

So there are official, factory rejects, KOs and now some remoulds (looking at you KO MP Optimus) such as 'mitten' hands and obvious ones like MP Bape Op's shoulder faction symbol, so being careful about where and when we buy is a must these days!

thanks everyone!

my main reason to giving the factory reject idea volition, was the amount of (widely known) versions of the MP10 molds. i dont recall any revisions made to any of MP car molds, but it makes sense that convoy would be popular enough to make such updates and sell more units.