The Energon Pub

Just ordered Starscream after everybody's input. Pls help guys. I've been spending way too much money

joeprime276 wrote:Just ordered Starscream after everybody's input. Pls help guys. I've been spending way too much money

It happens. There was a stretch of a few months (5 maybe?) last year into this year where I ended up with I think 10 MP figures. And some other not as expensive Generations/Combiner Wars stuff mixed in. It's craziness. It never stops!

So this guy arrived the other day:



I'll be honest, he isn't the greatest. He has a huge backpack, and the feet could have been made better. Also, like most X-Transbots, he is a bit fiddley. Still though, he looks great. I picked him up on a great deal on eBay, and choose snail mail, so while he took 5 weeks to arrive, Ididn't pay for shipping. A pretty addition to the MP shelf. Maybe one day Takara will make a better version, or at least one of the other 3rd party groups will.



So, a discusion topic. What is with the hatred a lot of members of these boards have for the 3rd party market? I'm not talking about those of us who prefer official product, I understand that point, even if I don't agree with it. I'm talking those who hate 3rd party, and will actually attack those of us who do buy it. What gives with that?

I don't fully understand that either about the hate towards 3P products. I have a similar outlook on it as you Ironhidensh; if a non-official company offers a product that is either not available officially, or with higher quality then they deserve my money more than Takara. For example, I just bought my first 3rd party figure- DX9 Mightron. Why did I buy a 3rd party Megatron? Because MP-05 is quite frankly **** compared to what DX9 and Maketoys offered us this year with Mightron and Despotron.

I'm more or less the same, except that I'll almost always choose official over 3P, as cost is a huge concern for me.

I just don't buy much 3P stuff anymore. When they first hit the scene, they provided an invaluable service by giving us things that we thought the official source never would. But possibly taking cues, HasTak has really stepped up and for the most part I don't really need 3P's anymore.

The current 3P focus seems to be Masterpiece and Legends scale toys. For MP, I go official, and I have no real interest in making an entire collection of small scaled figures. Especially when the majority of that small collection would be unofficial and thus pricey. The 3P MP's actually have a really good bang for buck ratio, but I feel that the sky is the limit with Takara if you have the patience, and I do.

I'm glad that the 3P's are still out there, and have stood the test of time. Whether on purpose or not, official products forced them to focus elsewhere besides combiners and they're still going strong. I don't think they're going anywhere.

And Densh, I highly respect your vision. You're willing to get a character done by multiple companies to find what's best for you. I do sort of the same thing with the official products in regards to figures with multiple deco's. And trust me, there are some molds out there with a SICK amount of redeco's.

Ironhidensh wrote:So this guy arrived the other day:

I'll be honest, he isn't the greatest. He has a huge backpack, and the feet could have been made better. Also, like most X-Transbots, he is a bit fiddley. Still though, he looks great. I picked him up on a great deal on eBay, and choose snail mail, so while he took 5 weeks to arrive, Ididn't pay for shipping. A pretty addition to the MP shelf. Maybe one day Takara will make a better version, or at least one of the other 3rd party groups will.

Arkose!! I was wondering if someone I knew would get him!! From what I've been told, Beachcomber was one of my first Transformers. I still have my old G1 with at least 2 tires I'm not thrilled that he isn't the greatest and is fiddly.

Ironhidensh wrote:So, a discusion topic. What is with the hatred a lot of members of these boards have for the 3rd party market? I'm not talking about those of us who prefer official product, I understand that point, even if I don't agree with it. I'm talking those who hate 3rd party, and will actually attack those of us who do buy it. What gives with that?

Who are these people that hate 3rd Party things?! To quote Bobby Skullface quoting someone else, "Hate is for children!!"

Seriously though, my only "problems" with 3rd Party stuff is that there are too many options and I don't have the money to buy all to test them out. The second problem is I don't know what the figure is going to be like until I get it in my hand and if I don't like it/it is damaged how easy it would be to get something replaced. I am SUPER fortunate BBTS has taken care of my most recent Apollyon issue and the ones I had prior, but I don't feel like that is the norm. Generations/MP figures you can pick up at retail and return if you don't like it relatively easily. Even via Amazon it's simple. I'm just so selective now a days I'd rather just wait for the official, even if that means me using a G1 or Generations as the "Stand-In" for the "best version" of what I'm looking for.

I love 3rd Party for what they can do and what they show us, ESPECIALLY in the "enhancement" side of things (accessories/add-ons for existing stuff). I just always think now "When's the Takara version going to be shown?" of any of the MP style figures which is quite the annoying thought to have

You know what? After all of my dealings with Apollyon I had a thought: MP5 and MP9 were terrible and they were OFFICIAL product. Both of those figures had MAJOR QC issues, and I'm still having issues with both that CAN'T be fixed.

So why NOT go with a 3rd Party figure if it checks the boxes you want it to?!

That's my new stance. With the exception of the fact that I'll still say to myself "when's the official reveal?"

I think the ONLY 3rd Party figure that is TRULY on my radar right now is FANSTOYS Sovereign (Galvatron).

Or FANSTOYS Phoenix (Skyfire).

Or even FANSTOYS Hoodlum (Hot Rod).

Dang it FANSTOYS, making my statement into nonsense!!

Having said that, I do really like the X-Transbots designs for Andras (Scourge) and Eligos (Cyclonus). Never had G1 Scourge and Cyclonus, and even though I have the current Generations/CW/TR versions I'd reaaaaaaaaaaaally like an MP.

Personally, I like my stuff to me official, and the 3P stuff tends to be too expensive for me at the current time. It's not like I don't like them or hate them, it's that they are too much. And sometimes I just don't like them, like how complex some of the combiners are compared to what we got. They are probably far better, but I like the option I ended up being able to afford to get.

So I don't hate them, and I don't understand why some people hate them so much. That is beyond me. It must be that they are so tightly wound that anything that can be considered an unofficial knockoff is an abomination.

Sorry I didn't really answer your question. Some people just gotta hate.

On 3P stuff though: That x-Transbots Boosticus upgrade kit did wonders for my Ruination. 3P for the win there!

Gwynn ironhidensh, any plans on getting GT-04 J4ZZ? He looks gorgeous and I wasn't sure if you had him yet for an opinion.

joeprime276 wrote:Gwynn ironhidensh, any plans on getting GT-04 J4ZZ? He looks gorgeous and I wasn't sure if you had him yet for an opinion.

I'll pass on him. A beautiful figure, for sure, but more online with a chug update than a Masterpiece. I'm holding out for MakeToys at this point.

Ironhidensh wrote:

joeprime276 wrote:Gwynn ironhidensh, any plans on getting GT-04 J4ZZ? He looks gorgeous and I wasn't sure if you had him yet for an opinion.

I'll pass on him. A beautiful figure, for sure, but more online with a chug update than a Masterpiece. I'm holding out for MakeToys at this point.

I never noticed the typo sorry, "Gwynn" should say "hey".

That Maketoys is looking nice based on that mold. I also agree that the GT version, it looks too modernized and toy-like to be an MP. I'm curious as to why Takara hasn't made an MP Jazz yet. He was definitely a pretty prominent character in G1.

They can't get the license rights for it.

How you liking despy

Bumblebee21 wrote:How you liking despy

Totally in love with him. Best Megatron I've ever had. Totally knocks the pictures of Takara 2.0 out of the park.

My only complaint is that his alt mode is a little silly looking, but I can get over that. He will spend 97% of his life in robot mode.

Ironhidensh wrote:

Bumblebee21 wrote:How you liking despy

Totally in love with him. Best Megatron I've ever had. Totally knocks the pictures of Takara 2.0 out of the park.

My only complaint is that his alt mode is a little silly looking, but I can get over that. He will spend 97% of his life in robot mode.

im not sure which of the three im going to get yet. it all depends on takaras price. if its 200 plus im going third party. Apollyon is automatically out. It's a toss up up between despotron and mightron, if takara doesnt come through.

Holy ****, just saw this is on its way. Not sure who is making it though.

thats maketoys

Bee, I personally have Mightron and I love him just as much as Ironhidensh loves Despotron. It really spends on what you want out of a Megatron. Mightron is a bit plainer which makes him look more cartoony- which is why I went with him, so he looks straight out of the cartoon. Despotron is slightly more stylized which makes him look cooler in some regards, but it's up to you. Do you agree with those statements Ironhidensh?

And I feel bad for asking but which character is that a picture of?

joeprime276 wrote:Bee, I personally have Mightron and I love him just as much as Ironhidensh loves Despotron. It really spends on what you want out of a Megatron. Mightron is a bit plainer which makes him look more cartoony- which is why I went with him, so he looks straight out of the cartoon. Despotron is slightly more stylized which makes him look cooler in some regards, but it's up to you. Do you agree with those statements Ironhidensh?

And I feel bad for asking but which character is that a picture of?

the third parties are a backup plan in case takara makes megatron over $180.

its thunder manus,
either ultra magnus or pmop

Bumblebee21 wrote:

joeprime276 wrote:Bee, I personally have Mightron and I love him just as much as Ironhidensh loves Despotron. It really spends on what you want out of a Megatron. Mightron is a bit plainer which makes him look more cartoony- which is why I went with him, so he looks straight out of the cartoon. Despotron is slightly more stylized which makes him look cooler in some regards, but it's up to you. Do you agree with those statements Ironhidensh?

And I feel bad for asking but which character is that a picture of?

the third parties are a backup plan in case takara makes megatron over $180.

its thunder manus,
either ultra magnus or pmop

Powermaster Prime.

Ironhidensh wrote:

Bumblebee21 wrote:

joeprime276 wrote:Bee, I personally have Mightron and I love him just as much as Ironhidensh loves Despotron. It really spends on what you want out of a Megatron. Mightron is a bit plainer which makes him look more cartoony- which is why I went with him, so he looks straight out of the cartoon. Despotron is slightly more stylized which makes him look cooler in some regards, but it's up to you. Do you agree with those statements Ironhidensh?

And I feel bad for asking but which character is that a picture of?

the third parties are a backup plan in case takara makes megatron over $180.

its thunder manus,
either ultra magnus or pmop

Powermaster Prime.

thats who i thought it was.

Ironhidensh, is it me or are things not what they seem..?

The more I look at my Apollyon compared to MP36..the more I like Apollyon.

itscramtastic wrote:Ironhidensh, is it me or are things not what they seem..?

The more I look at my Apollyon compared to MP36..the more I like Apollyon.

What makes you say that? I actually quite like the looks of MP-36.

Also, for those who have MP Ironhide and Ratchet, can you get both for your collection and have them look distinct from each other? I have Ironhide but am wary of getting Ratchet due to him being the exact same mold.

joeprime276 wrote:

itscramtastic wrote:Ironhidensh, is it me or are things not what they seem..?

The more I look at my Apollyon compared to MP36..the more I like Apollyon.

What makes you say that? I actually quite like the looks of MP-36.

Also, for those who have MP Ironhide and Ratchet, can you get both for your collection and have them look distinct from each other? I have Ironhide but am wary of getting Ratchet due to him being the exact same mold.

But Joe, weren't you just talking about getting all 3 Seekers?
I have both and like them, a lot. But for some reason Ratchet wears the mold way better, IMO.