The Energon Pub

[mesh]

This is insane.
I'm lost for words.
If a third party group can produce a phenomenal g1 representation for just a little over $110 CAD HOW DO YOU JUSTIFY $585CAD????????
FOR THAT PRICE I SHOULD BUY ZETA TOYS BRUTICUS!
I have been extremely loyal to Takara Tomy since the 80's. I have to look at the overall expenses now as that amount of money is equivalent to typical monthly payment on a Subaru STi.
I think I've met my match and will focus on third party from now on. Or better still, I'm happy with my version of MP-10.

This has gotta be a typo $585 CAD???????

[MCutter]

HAHAHAHAHA! No.
That nonsense price can take right off.

[Cobotron]

I will from here on out refer to MP-44 as...

OPTIMUS PRICE!

[mordhelm]

Is it possible that something is a bit misinterpreted and that is the price for the case of 2? If you look at the post, it very well could be.

[TRNSFRMNDRLLT]

I’m looking at my V2 beside my MP Ratchet and it’s looking like OP V3 is also going to be a little taller. So it seems like they’re not only making him incredibly overpriced but also seems like they’re going to try and start a new MP Scale standard. Which makes a lot of sense on their end but is a huge middle finger to us, the collectors.

It makes sense because bigger figures mean they can price them all this high going forward. And they can attempt to undercut the entire third party MP Scale industry.

But this only works if we buy into this BS. If they don’t sell well they’ll be forced to stick to the current MP Scale. And with the way Takara’s QC is now and how they offer absolutely no recourse to fix their bad QC on their MP line (save for the distributor accepting a return and I’ve already completely cut out one major online seller because their standard is much less than mine and they don’t accept returns unless there’s a ton of QC issues. A big paint chip? Sorry, you’re out of luck. “You’re a serious collector, we get that” my butt).

If Takara actually took care of us after sale or even if they just upped their QC to acceptable standards for $300-$500 figures then I’d think about biting. But when 3Ps do it better AND make sure you get a good copy (sometimes going above and beyond) you can be sure I for one will be grabbing that pretty 10” Magic Square OP and bollocks to a new MP Scale.

[william-james88]

Is it possible that something is a bit misinterpreted and that is the price for the case of 2? If you look at the post, it very well could be.

People hoped the same for Dinobot but that turned out to not be true. That is the price per figure, not the price of the case.

MP Beast Wars Megatron is $320 USD https://www.entertainmentearth.com/prod ... on/hse4006

This toy would be $100 more which makes sense if it is the same size as Megatron and comes with a ton of stuff including a trailer. It would not make sense to cost less than MP Megatron.

Anyways, the price on Amazon Japan will be $310 which is less than what the domestic release of MP BW Megatron costs. Obviously we are looking at different markets, but I just wanted to show that the price is not that far off from what we have seen so far and it fits (way more than $220 does).

[YRQRM0]

Man that is crazy high. I think I reached my price limit with my recent MP Megs purchase, and so far I've no incentive to get this on top of MP-10s..

I'll pay anything when those Armada MP figures start coming out though

[Jelze Bunnycat]

Is it possible that something is a bit misinterpreted and that is the price for the case of 2? If you look at the post, it very well could be.

People hoped the same for Dinobot but that turned out to not be true. That is the price per figure, not the price of the case.

MP Beast Wars Megatron is $320 USD https://www.entertainmentearth.com/prod ... on/hse4006

This toy would be $100 more which makes sense if it is the same size as Megatron and comes with a ton of stuff including a trailer. It would not make sense to cost less than MP Megatron.

Anyways, the price on Amazon Japan will be $310 which is less than what the domestic release of MP BW Megatron costs. Obviously we are looking at different markets, but I just wanted to show that the price is not that far off from what we have seen so far and it fits (way more than $220 does).

To put things into perspective, would it be priced roughly the same as similar items from other companies? NOT talking "Third Party" here, but from high profile direct competitors.

[william-james88]

Man that is crazy high. I think I reached my price limit with my recent MP Megs purchase, and so far I've no incentive to get this on top of MP-10s..

I'll pay anything when those Armada MP figures start coming out though

By that time, it will probably be $1000 for Demolishor.

[TRNSFRMNDRLLT]

Is it possible that something is a bit misinterpreted and that is the price for the case of 2? If you look at the post, it very well could be.

People hoped the same for Dinobot but that turned out to not be true. That is the price per figure, not the price of the case.

MP Beast Wars Megatron is $320 USD https://www.entertainmentearth.com/prod ... on/hse4006

This toy would be $100 more which makes sense if it is the same size as Megatron and comes with a ton of stuff including a trailer. It would not make sense to cost less than MP Megatron.

Anyways, the price on Amazon Japan will be $310 which is less than what the domestic release of MP BW Megatron costs. Obviously we are looking at different markets, but I just wanted to show that the price is not that far off from what we have seen so far and it fits (way more than $220 does).

To put things into perspective, would it be priced roughly the same as similar items from other companies? NOT talking "Third Party" here, but from high profile direct competitors.

Those can be very expensive but the problem there is that Takara is faaaar from justifying that price because their quality is way worse and they don’t offer any after purchase support at all. No one to even email. One could argue that the distributor is responsible for that but we aren’t dealing with normal distributors with these. A lot of them are small companies that are able to operate with just a few employees because of the internet and it’s totally up to their discretion if a figure needs replacing or not. And since TT’s QC is so bad they end up dealing with a ton of exchanges and replacements or they end up refusing your retturn because their idea of “okay” has been vastly expanded in response to the returns from bad TT QC. No one wins here.

Now if Takara’s QC was up to the standards of their competition then yeah, let’s talk about $300-$500 figures just like Hot Toys. But they need to offer the after-sale support that Hot Toys does too as well as vastly improve their initial QC.

[Emerje]

I'm only going for this at under $350, shipping alone is going to be pretty crazy as I expect this to have a larger than normal box just for the heck of it. I definitely can't justify anything close to the MSRP when 2/3 of this set will never leave the box (I don't care about trailers and don't have the space to display them). At least the bulk of the stuff that comes with BW Megatron will be displayable on him.

Emerje

[Burn]

If this is the path TakaraTomy are taking, by making ultra high end collectibles, then I'm out. There is no way I can justify that sort of money on a figure, no matter how awesome it may be.

I hope that it's a one off and they stick with the current trend of figures being between $100AUD - $200AUD, otherwise, I feel I won't be the only one who will find themselves priced out of collecting.

More quantity/lower price over Lower quantity/higher price please.

[D-Maximal_Primal]

Let's hope they don't feel the need to redo Megatron any time soon.

...at this price hike, I wonder what an MP Grimlock redo would cost...

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

Wow, so now there's two reasons this sucks: Incorporating more stupid Deryisms (the first reason; I don't think cartoon accuracy should extend to stuff like magically-disappearing tires or to the Combaticons below the neck) and now costing a fortune.

[william-james88]

If this is the path TakaraTomy are taking, by making ultra high end collectibles, then I'm out. There is no way I can justify that sort of money on a figure, no matter how awesome it may be.

I hope that it's a one off and they stick with the current trend of figures being between $100AUD - $200AUD, otherwise, I feel I won't be the only one who will find themselves priced out of collecting.

More quantity/lower price over Lower quantity/higher price please.

I dont think its a one off since Dinobot and the two Megatrons are also above 200 AUD (i think even above 300 AUD)

[daoist]

Totally hypothetical question for all the "no way" people:

Suppose the price is accurate. Suppose he comes with the trailer. And what if he...combined with the trailer into Powermaster Optimus Prime? Still out?

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

Wouldn't happen. He is designed to resemble the cartoon's depiction of Optimus Prime in his original body with not only the Dery diaper but even the magic disappearing tires.

If he were going to be Powermaster Optimus he would be based on Ginrai's animation model, with the hinged codpiece and the visible tires on his hips and all.

[Burn]

If this is the path TakaraTomy are taking, by making ultra high end collectibles, then I'm out. There is no way I can justify that sort of money on a figure, no matter how awesome it may be.

I hope that it's a one off and they stick with the current trend of figures being between $100AUD - $200AUD, otherwise, I feel I won't be the only one who will find themselves priced out of collecting.

More quantity/lower price over Lower quantity/higher price please.

I dont think its a one off since Dinobot and the two Megatrons are also above 200 AUD (i think even above 300 AUD)

Well above 300, I think they came in around 350. As much as I want BW Megatron, I simply do not have the money to drop on just one figure, regardless of how near perfect he is.

Totally hypothetical question for all the "no way" people:

Suppose the price is accurate. Suppose he comes with the trailer. And what if he...combined with the trailer into Powermaster Optimus Prime? Still out?

That ... is a damn good question, and would have me rethinking my decision to not get him.

I've already got V1 (x2) and V2, so V3 would have to have something incredibly different to get me to drop the money on him, a Powermaster version is damn good incentive.

[Ironhidensh]

Totally hypothetical question for all the "no way" people:

Suppose the price is accurate. Suppose he comes with the trailer. And what if he...combined with the trailer into Powermaster Optimus Prime? Still out?

Like Ultra Magnus? Who was less than half the price?

Hell yeah, I'm still out.

[daoist]

I honestly don't think the trailer does the PMOP thing. But it does look like it does something more than the standard MP-10 stuff.

Evidence: The front of the box has hinges on the edges. It doesn't need them for the repair bot gimmick.

Also, and this is less convincing, there appears to be too much junk hanging down under the trailer. From the shadows it appears there's more under there than the outriggers.

So yeah, might not be PMOP. But I think there might be more than meets the eye.

[chuckdawg1999]

Good thing somebody like Bandai aren't finally doing a SOC style figure of the old VF-1s or 2019 would end up being rather expensive... Oh wait.

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

I honestly don't think the trailer does the PMOP thing. But it does look like it does something more than the standard MP-10 stuff.

Evidence: The front of the box has hinges on the edges. It doesn't need them for the repair bot gimmick.

Also, and this is less convincing, there appears to be too much junk hanging down under the trailer. From the shadows it appears there's more under there than the outriggers.

So yeah, might not be PMOP. But I think there might be more than meets the eye.

I disagree.

Too much light coming through for there to be more than the outriggers. The extra junk is because the outriggers themselves been dolled up to look a bit more like real semi trailer undercarriage stuff. As for the hinged panels on the front and the top, they're not too special. They're not needed for the repair station gimmick, true. But they are needed for this:


They're to enable the function served by the square holes on the original Optimus toy's trailer, without actually leaving constantly-open holes.

[daoist]

Nah, I saw those too.

I mean the hinges at the corners. Like the back doors. Except on the front. They're more visible in the other good trailer pic.

If the trailer has a gimmick where it just opens up flat, that's probably not worth the $150 extra. But maybe there's something there.

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

Nah, I saw those too.

I mean the hinges at the corners. Like the back doors. Except on the front. They're more visible in the other good trailer pic.

If the trailer has a gimmick where it just opens up flat, that's probably not worth the $150 extra. But maybe there's something there.

Oh, these?

I don't think that's a hinge; there's no beveling to allow the parts to turn. I think it's just a seam where the trailer body panels join together.

[daoist]

Oh, these?

I don't think that's a hinge; there's no beveling to allow the parts to turn. I think it's just a seam where the trailer body panels join together.

Yeah, thanks for finding a better pic.

You may be right. If those are just seams, why the Gap at the top? If they are beveled on the inside they could slide up a little and then flip inwards somehow. Or maybe just slide up? Or maybe those are tab slots for some accessories to fit into?