At the risk of derailing the thread slightly...
Chironext wrote:On the subject of 3rd party-
From my understanding unless its Hasbro, Takara or licensed from them they are NOT a part of the Transformers brand merely simulations/knock-offs (not saying they aren't nice and tempting to buy) so how does collecting them make you a "hardcore" Transformer collector?
Well, speaking only for myself, my collection is mainly official product, and what third party items I have exist to augment the official collection. It started with add-on parts to augment official products, such as the good ol' example of Fansproject's City Commander set, which took the official Classics Ultra Magnus, which was just a white and blue repaint of Classics Prime, and turned him into the figure he should have been. Or, for a more recent example, Before & After's Six Sigma set, which adds to Metroplex, who only came with Scamper, by also providing Sig-Gun and Slammer.
Eventually, third parties started noticing gaps in what Hasbro was offering: characters popular with "hardcore" fandom that Hasbro wasn't producing. So they then started producing whole figures to fill those gaps. There was a demand, and if Hasbro wasn't going to offer the supply, then they would. This touches on another question you asked:
Chironext wrote:Which begs an interesting question what defines 3rd party over another company making transforming toys like Roadbots? Is it appearance only (must look like existing character) or something else?
With very few exceptions, it is appearance that is key. If a figure looks like, say, Huffer or Shockwave, and is being marketed as, "Totally
not that transforming robot character you all know and love! Nudge nudge, wink wink, say no more!" Then it is a third party Transformer. Anything else is just another company making transforming toys.
But to get back to full figures... There are those who disagree and say, "I want the best version of a character possible, and I don't care who makes it!" But my feelings are that third party products should be used to
augment an official collection of Hasbro and/or Takara figures. Now, with add-ons and accessories, this is no problem. Without the official figures, they don't really do much. But with full figures, it is a little more grey.
Personally, if Hasbro or Takara have announced intentions to produce a figure for a certain character, or have already done so within the past four or five years, then third parties should consider that character off limits. Because third parties should not put themselves in direct competition with the official products.
If both an official version and a third party version do exist (or are known to be soon to exist) when I am planning a purchase, then I am buying the official version. If I happen to buy a third party version before an official one is announced, however, then that is the one time where (once the Hasbro version is known to be coming) I may be willing to say, "Ah, well, Hasbro lost this round." For example, my lack of intentions to pick up Combiner Wars Devastator is related to the fact that I already own and am happy with Green Giant, and I don't feel that the Combiner Wars version would be a better addition to my collection, especially for the projected costs involved.
On the other hand, though, I did already have Warbot Defender, and was happy to get Generations Springer. In that case, it was a better figure for a minimal investment. But if it had happened the other way around, if Generations Springer had come out first, and if Warbot Defender had happened to be a better figure and even if I could somehow get it for a low cost... then, well, tough. There is already an official figure, so no need for a third party version even if it is hypothetically better. I'm not trading my Universe Galvatron for Mania King any time soon, because in my opinion Mania King had no business being made in the first place.
Again, this is just how I view third parties and how they integrate into my official Transformers collection. I am sure others are of varying other opinions on the matter.