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Posted: **Mon May 25, 2015 12:04 am**

shajaki wrote:
Sabrblade wrote:Hope that clears things.
That wasn't really necessary. I'm not confused, I just see things differently than you. All those points have been discussed to death already, aaaand I've been here the whole time.

That's basically my thinking on the matter.

Posted: **Mon May 25, 2015 7:48 am**

Ordering for Unite Warriors Defensor is open with TakaraTomy Mall. Ordered mine.

Randy

Posted: **Mon May 25, 2015 9:05 am**

Powered Convoy wrote:Ordering for Unite Warriors Defensor is open with TakaraTomy Mall. Ordered mine.

Randy

How did you do so? Do you have a Japanese address? (Or a friend with one?) I, for one, could not figure out how to even register with their website without one.

And out of curiosity, how much is the shipping going to cost you?

Frankly, though, given that BBTS and TFSource only seem to have about a $25.00 mark-up on this, and given that with TFSource at least (I don't know about BBTS here, been ages since I ordered with them) you can get free shipping on this to U.S. addresses even if you are ordering it alone (as it is enough by itself to hit the $150 threshold for free shipping) I feel fine with having not been able to register at the Takara Tomy Mall. I don't think it would have made much of a difference in cost, if any.

Posted: **Mon May 25, 2015 11:00 am**

Yotsuyasan wrote:
Powered Convoy wrote:Ordering for Unite Warriors Defensor is open with TakaraTomy Mall. Ordered mine.

Randy

How did you do so? Do you have a Japanese address? (Or a friend with one?) I, for one, could not figure out how to even register with their website without one.

And out of curiosity, how much is the shipping going to cost you?

Frankly, though, given that BBTS and TFSource only seem to have about a $25.00 mark-up on this, and given that with TFSource at least (I don't know about BBTS here, been ages since I ordered with them) you can get free shipping on this to U.S. addresses even if you are ordering it alone (as it is enough by itself to hit the $150 threshold for free shipping) I feel fine with having not been able to register at the Takara Tomy Mall. I don't think it would have made much of a difference in cost, if any.

BBTS doesn't offer free shipping, but with the POL feature, each additional item to the POL only adds a few cents to the shipping (based on weight, I think.) My last $500 order, which was a boat load of items at 12.4 lbs, was only $16 shipping cost. *shrug* I'll pay that shipping cost to have the choice of when my POL ships. Correct me if I'm wrong, but TFSource's stack feature needs to have all items arrive before it ships.

Defensor is $25 more than the other sets. But, if this is the only way to get deluxe Groove, then I'm in. (And since I was able to obtain Quickslinger and Brake-neck, I canceled my preorder for the other sets. Sorry, Takara, but I need monies for Trypticon and Devestator...)

Posted: **Mon May 25, 2015 11:33 am**

Yotsuyasan wrote:Frankly, though, given that BBTS and TFSource only seem to have about a $25.00 mark-up on this, and given that with TFSource at least (I don't know about BBTS here, been ages since I ordered with them) you can get free shipping on this to U.S. addresses even if you are ordering it alone (as it is enough by itself to hit the $150 threshold for free shipping) I feel fine with having not been able to register at the Takara Tomy Mall. I don't think it would have made much of a difference in cost, if any.

Let's look at Superion - HLJ (one of the more expensive import sites) has him for 11200 Yen, approx. $92. BBTS has Superion listed for $135. Assuming for a moment you're buying a few things from HLJ and ship them together via their Private Warehouse, you're looking at maybe $10 of shipping cost per item. The Superion 5-figure box set will be a bit heavier than the average item, and bulkier, so let's assume BBTS will hit with $2 of shipping for that.

So that's $102 vs. $137, a $35 difference. That's definitely significant enough for me to import. I hope Defensor finds its way to HLJ, because I expect the cost differential/savings to be much greater.

Agamemnon wrote:Correct me if I'm wrong, but TFSource's stack feature needs to have all items arrive before it ships.

I'm confused by this; I'm not sure what difference you're trying to delineate here. BBTS will only allow you to ship in-stock items - same with TFsource.

Posted: **Mon May 25, 2015 11:46 am**

megatronus wrote:
Agamemnon wrote:Correct me if I'm wrong, but TFSource's stack feature needs to have all items arrive before it ships.

I'm confused by this; I'm not sure what difference you're trying to delineate here. BBTS will only allow you to ship in-stock items - same with TFsource.

Right. But, with TFSource's Stack feature, all pre-ordered items have to come in before the stack ships, correct? With BBTS, I can ship my POL at any time, without the need to wait for any pre-order items to come into stock.

Basically, if I take the recent Combiner Wars orders as an example, with all items either added to Stack or POL:

Legends Wave with Groove, Viper, and Warpath arrives
Deluxe Protectobots arrives at same time
Voyager Hotspot and Cyclonus arrive 2 weeks later.

Under TF Source, I have to wait for Hotspot and Cyclonus before the stack ships. With BBTS, I can choose to ship my POL with just the Legends and Deluxe figures, and ship a future POL with the Voyagers.

I know I have the BBTS POL correct. Is this how TFSource's Stack feature works? If this is all true, then I would rather pay the shipping and have the choice when my POL ships than have to wait on an item before my Stack ships. This is especially true for Takara's Defensor (Guardian?) as it is not expected to come in until late in the year. I'd have to guess which other items I want to Pre-order with the set in order to maximize shipping. This isn't an issue with this set due to the cost. But, for other orders that are significantly less than the shipping minimum, well, I'm okay with paying the shipping to have the freedom to determine when to ship.

Does that make sense, or am I talking in circles again. 8-}

Posted: **Mon May 25, 2015 11:54 am**

Hmm, I seem to be in a dilemma. I really want the Deluxe Groove but I cannot justify paying £30 more just to have a more accurate version of Defensor. I do hope Hasbro decide to release Deluxe Groove as they did with Slingshot and Wildrider.

Posted: **Mon May 25, 2015 11:56 am**

megatronus wrote:
Yotsuyasan wrote:...given that BBTS and TFSource only seem to have about a $25.00 mark-up on this...

...So that's $102 vs. $137, a $35 difference.

I was basing my "about a $25.00 mark-up" on what the Takara Tomy Mall website is selling Defensor for, ¥16,200, if memory serves. Google tells me that this would be $133.35 in U.S. dollars. So if BBTS and TFSource are charging $159.99, then that is a mark-up of about $25.00, or to be more specific, $26.64.

Since the Takara Tomy Mall is the only place (officially) to purchase the Takara Defensor, then comparing his cost to what other retailers charge for other Unite Warriors gestalts is not really a relevant comparison to determine what the mark-up U.S. retailers are adding to it is.

Posted: **Mon May 25, 2015 12:00 pm**

Agamemnon wrote:But, with TFSource's Stack feature, all pre-ordered items have to come in before the stack ships, correct?

No, you can ship a Source Stack with only part of it in stock. Once Superion and the white Perfect Effect hands & feet are in, hopefully sometime in June, I'm planning to ship what I have so far. I'm not waiting until December when they project Defensor's arrival to get Superion in.

Posted: **Mon May 25, 2015 12:19 pm**

Yotsuyasan wrote:
megatronus wrote:
Yotsuyasan wrote:...given that BBTS and TFSource only seem to have about a $25.00 mark-up on this...

...So that's $102 vs. $137, a $35 difference.

I was basing my "about a $25.00 mark-up" on what the Takara Tomy Mall website is selling Defensor for, ¥16,200, if memory serves. Google tells me that this would be $133.35 in U.S. dollars. So if BBTS and TFSource are charging $159.99, then that is a mark-up of about $25.00, or to be more specific, $26.64.

Since the Takara Tomy Mall is the only place (officially) to purchase the Takara Defensor, then comparing his cost to what other retailers charge for other Unite Warriors gestalts is not really a relevant comparison to determine what the mark-up U.S. retailers are adding to it is.

While that may be correct :-B

, it isn't practical in the least since less than 5% of us can order from Takaratomymall. A comparison between channels we can all purchase from is far more practical and helps us make up our arguments since they have a practical connotation, rather than simply theoretical.

The price difference of this exclusivity is even greater than the one Megatronus write about. What might have cost us 102$ US (if we could import it like the others), now costs upwards of 160$ US (doesnt include shipping and heavy customs fee for non USA buyers), which is a significant difference. And now I must seriously rethink about my strategy with these combiners.

I think the smartest thing to do right now is wait. I will wait to see if he comes to HLJ or amiami (I can hope), I will wait to see if there are discounts on Hasbro's version in stores, I will wait to see if Hasbro releases their own groove (the clear plastic usage is not indicative that this is solely a Takara product, the RID figures have clear plastic too). Simply put, I will wait for either a better (aka cheaper) opportunity in owning the Takara figure to present itself, or wait for discounts on the Hasbro versions in store. Whichever comes first.

Posted: **Mon May 25, 2015 12:21 pm**

Yotsuyasan wrote:
Agamemnon wrote:But, with TFSource's Stack feature, all pre-ordered items have to come in before the stack ships, correct?

No, you can ship a Source Stack with only part of it in stock. Once Superion and the white Perfect Effect hands & feet are in, hopefully sometime in June, I'm planning to ship what I have so far. I'm not waiting until December when they project Defensor's arrival to get Superion in.

Hrm....

I wonder if that was a change in policy from when the Stack first was implimented. The reasons for staying with BBTS may have shrunk... And both stores are very close to me...

Thanks, guys!

Posted: **Mon May 25, 2015 2:03 pm**

Agamemnon wrote:
Yotsuyasan wrote:
Agamemnon wrote:But, with TFSource's Stack feature, all pre-ordered items have to come in before the stack ships, correct?

No, you can ship a Source Stack with only part of it in stock. Once Superion and the white Perfect Effect hands & feet are in, hopefully sometime in June, I'm planning to ship what I have so far. I'm not waiting until December when they project Defensor's arrival to get Superion in.

Hrm.... I wonder if that was a change in policy from when the Stack first was implimented. The reasons for staying with BBTS may have shrunk... And both stores are very close to me...

Thanks, guys!

No worries!

You are able to select which in-stock items you want to ship, so there's actually a greater degree of flexibility with Stack; you can keep a couple in-stock items in the Stack if you want to generate two orders from it, or wait for another item to come in to get that free shipping. Flip side is once it's in-stock, items are harder to cancel. So both Stack and POL have their benefits, but Stack is a much better system than most realize.

Posted: **Mon May 25, 2015 3:04 pm**

I'd like to front page this, but you can't News every single pic

Posted: **Mon May 25, 2015 3:08 pm**

You learn. Good.

Posted: **Mon May 25, 2015 3:45 pm**

Va'al wrote:You learn. Good.

Posted: **Mon May 25, 2015 4:11 pm**

Delta Magnus wrote:
mirageandjazz1197 wrote:
Rated X wrote:A combiner based on lazy repaints that never actually existed in any fiction. For those of you who want to re-enact the G1 episode "Masquerade" that badly, just buy two Menasors.

Is making useless posts your specialty?

Yes. X is our resident FUNposter.

Well everybody has there own opinion of what is "useless".

What I consider useless is updates to characters who already got an update. Additionally, these molds in robot mode are missing key aesthetics for those autobots. I need them to have those signature carparts on their chests, not backpacks. And a prowl without wings just isnt prowl to me. I call them "lazy repaints" because these new younger hasbro designers were too lazy to flip through the IP archives and find characters that the molds actually resemble. Im sure there are dozens of micromasters, G2 characters, Japan only characters, Unicron trilogy repaints, original RID characters, etc. that the CW molds would have resembled much better for homages. Instead we get, oh its a police car so give it a prowl head. Or its an SUV so paint it red and give it an Ironhide head. Dont forget the inevitable repaints of the repaints so they can sell you bluestreak, smokescreen, ratchet, sideswipe, and Fracture. Im happy with the current CHUG versions of all these characters. Some have their minor flaws, but their key G1 aesthetics are all spot on in a CHUG kind of way. This autobot combiner really fits better with Hasbros strategy. Im surprised Takara would even do something that deviates so far from G1 cartoon or toy accuracy. Its even funnier that Takara was the first one to officially acknowledge the autobot limbs will be made. All we saw from hasbro is leaked store information from a TRU computer.

Posted: **Mon May 25, 2015 4:36 pm**

*sigh*
So why have a new figure when he already has an updated representation? Sideswipe has a great Classics/Henkei update, and a Masterpiece. So are you saying we should NEVER get another Sideswipe again?

Also the amount of remolding you expect is kind of ludicrous. At that point you might as well make a brand new figure. Which they obviously don't want to go through the trouble to do. So its either these, or nothing. I choose these, you obviously choose nothing, so why not leave it at that instead of continuously raining on everyones parade?

The way I view this whole thing (G1 dudes getting CW figures) is no different than say Optimus Primal being upgraded to Transmetal, then to Optimal Optimus. TF's change bodies ALL THE TIME.

Posted: **Mon May 25, 2015 4:45 pm**

shajaki wrote:TF's change bodies ALL THE TIME.

Just look at Starscream in the comics - he's had what, 3 bodies in the last year or so?

Posted: **Mon May 25, 2015 5:30 pm**

shajaki wrote:*sigh*
So why have a new figure when he already has an updated representation? Sideswipe has a great Classics/Henkei update, and a Masterpiece. So are you saying we should NEVER get another Sideswipe again?

Also the amount of remolding you expect is kind of ludicrous. At that point you might as well make a brand new figure. Which they obviously don't want to go through the trouble to do. So its either these, or nothing. I choose these, you obviously choose nothing, so why not leave it at that instead of continuously raining on everyones parade?

The way I view this whole thing (G1 dudes getting CW figures) is no different than say Optimus Primal being upgraded to Transmetal, then to Optimal Optimus. TF's change bodies ALL THE TIME.

@ shajster!

Posted: **Mon May 25, 2015 5:42 pm**

fenrir72 wrote:@ shajster!

Posted: **Mon May 25, 2015 5:56 pm**

Rated X wrote:
Delta Magnus wrote:
mirageandjazz1197 wrote:
Rated X wrote:A combiner based on lazy repaints that never actually existed in any fiction. For those of you who want to re-enact the G1 episode "Masquerade" that badly, just buy two Menasors.

Is making useless posts your specialty?

Yes. X is our resident FUNposter.

Well everybody has there own opinion of what is "useless".

What I consider useless is updates to characters who already got an update. Additionally, these molds in robot mode are missing key aesthetics for those autobots. I need them to have those signature carparts on their chests, not backpacks. And a prowl without wings just isnt prowl to me. I call them "lazy repaints" because these new younger hasbro designers were too lazy to flip through the IP archives and find characters that the molds actually resemble. Im sure there are dozens of micromasters, G2 characters, Japan only characters, Unicron trilogy repaints, original RID characters, etc. that the CW molds would have resembled much better for homages. Instead we get, oh its a police car so give it a prowl head. Or its an SUV so paint it red and give it an Ironhide head. Dont forget the inevitable repaints of the repaints so they can sell you bluestreak, smokescreen, ratchet, sideswipe, and Fracture. Im happy with the current CHUG versions of all these characters. Some have their minor flaws, but their key G1 aesthetics are all spot on in a CHUG kind of way. This autobot combiner really fits better with Hasbros strategy. Im surprised Takara would even do something that deviates so far from G1 cartoon or toy accuracy. Its even funnier that Takara was the first one to officially acknowledge the autobot limbs will be made. All we saw from hasbro is leaked store information from a TRU computer.

Concerning the lazy engineers from both sides of the Pacific Ocean. I'm quoting a previous interview with the MP team. Whether you want to stick to a one track path or not. Transformers, Hasbro and TT are all in it for the money. So long as there's consumer and fan interest they'll keep the figs coming. Else, the TF brand will go the way of the Twinkie ( Hostess got bankrupt and nearly kicked the can until another capitalist pig/investor rejuvenated the brand again )

Source: http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transform ... st11048732

Read:

Q: About the Masterpiece that succeeds those - The hoped for Ultra Magnus

Kobayashi: The last decisive blow was to keep the costs low. Our idea was to keep the costs low, so that more people could have the figure.

Once upon a time, recolors were just that. Recolors. Lazy recolors like the uber expensive e-Hobby Orion Pax. The mere fact that TT is willing to invest in creating new head molds for a base body goes to show how how far they are willing to max out a mold that they heavily invested in R&D with an added cherry on top.So cost concerns will always be a factor for a product. It should not break the bank enough to sacrifice an items' "buy me factor" too much.

Ain't capitalism grand?

Posted: **Mon May 25, 2015 5:56 pm**

shajaki wrote:
fenrir72 wrote:@ shajster!

Nah man, you're doin' it wrong. Your face should be more like this:

Posted: **Mon May 25, 2015 6:11 pm**

Knock if off with the off-topic memes...

Posted: **Mon May 25, 2015 6:56 pm**

shajaki wrote:*sigh*
So why have a new figure when he already has an updated representation? Sideswipe has a great Classics/Henkei update, and a Masterpiece. So are you saying we should NEVER get another Sideswipe again?

Also the amount of remolding you expect is kind of ludicrous. At that point you might as well make a brand new figure. Which they obviously don't want to go through the trouble to do. So its either these, or nothing. I choose these, you obviously choose nothing, so why not leave it at that instead of continuously raining on everyones parade?

The way I view this whole thing (G1 dudes getting CW figures) is no different than say Optimus Primal being upgraded to Transmetal, then to Optimal Optimus. TF's change bodies ALL THE TIME.

The guy asked me a question and I gave him an answer. Burn told me I shouldnt be getting into these wars because it brings out the worst in everyone here. And its true. I wasnt even online last night but you guys all went banannas on the black prime thread. So ill keep it simple...

I choose the classics versions of those characters. While theres room for improvement, what were getting here is not the kind of improvement im looking for. Im not raining on anybodys parade. My opinions arent going to stop anyone from buying what they like.

Posted: **Mon May 25, 2015 8:13 pm**

fenrir72 wrote:Lazy recolors like the uber expensive e-Hobby Orion Pax.

Oy! No you don't. He may have needed a new head, and a custom sticker sheet... but once you took care of those few minor(ish) issues, he's actually a really good G1 Orion Pax, and I quite love having him in my collection!

I won't hear another word against him!

...

...

...

...in part, because if I did hear another word, and then felt compelled to reply to that word, it really would drag this thread too far off topic.

So... Erm... On that note, now back to your regularly scheduled Unite Warriors discussion! Yeah!

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