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The more i see of him the more i like him. Hopefully we will also get an Ironhide/Ratchet version 2.0, the current mold looks horrible. They are just too lanky and the panels on the waist plus the back - it all just looks like a mess.

Nearly $500 for that?!

The more I see of him the less I want him. I am VERY happy with my MP-10.

Hehe.. lots of very diverse opinions on here.

I am in the more i see the more i like category.. but still dont know if i will justify the price given non articulating fingers and no english sounds effects.. time will tell.

I'm sort of waiting for it to go on sale and then consider picking it up. I do like it, but that price is terrible.

Yeah obv sale would be ideal.

I assume it wont reach sale in the UK..

Rodimus Knight wrote:I'm sort of waiting for it to go on sale and then consider picking it up. I do like it, but that price is terrible.

MPs go on sale routinely? I doubt this guy will be able to get for cheaper than the $320 you can get him for right now on Amazon Japan.

Agreed. I would suggest you jump on the Amazon JP option now. You still have the option of cancelling it up until close to the release date.

PadForce wrote:Yeah obv sale would be ideal.

I assume it wont reach sale in the UK..

If by sale you mean "being sold in the UK" your best bet is import sites as Tru was the only one to sell Masterpieces. If you mean reduced prices...good luck with that... Will is right, amazon jp is the best option here.

Yeah I use Kapow toys personally, would never rely on TRU or other physical stores.

The more niche masterpieces (typically repaints) do tend to end up on sale. I guess price for MP 44 will mean lower stock will be reserved by the importers and it is less likely to go on sale. Never know though, might be surprised if people decide against shelling out so much £££ for a new version of a done to death character.

I dont think I should consider ordering through Amazon Japan at the moment because EU has free trade deal with Japan.. when Brexit happens all the packages from Japan will presumably be subject to import tax again so slaps another 20% on top of the price.. definitely not something I am willing to stomach.

PadForce wrote:The more niche masterpieces (typically repaints) do tend to end up on sale. I guess price for MP 44 will mean lower stock will be reserved by the importers and it is less likely to go on sale. Never know though, might be surprised if people decide against shelling out so much £££ for a new version of a done to death character.

Yeah, you'd think, but so far there is only evidence against it. People are still calling foul for a $50 Optimus G1 cab and yet at the same time people are trying to find one. Same with all those G1 bees sold on e-bay for $20. There was diselief at the price of MP Megatron and MP BW Dinobot followed by both toys selling out Dinobot selling for a freakish amount on the secondary market. And what about Siege Shockwave who is being atacked with torches and pitchforks for being a leader price? That toy is hard to find too since a bunch of fans nabbed him. And now we have Optimus Prime, the main character of the franchise, if only a small bit of fans who know him want him that will still be a bunch of sales.

If those expensive statues have a market, then a $400 fully transforming toy does too.

I'm going to get one (Lord help me).

william-james88 wrote:

PadForce wrote:The more niche masterpieces (typically repaints) do tend to end up on sale. I guess price for MP 44 will mean lower stock will be reserved by the importers and it is less likely to go on sale. Never know though, might be surprised if people decide against shelling out so much £££ for a new version of a done to death character.

Yeah, you'd think, but so far there is only evidence against it. People are still calling foul for a $50 Optimus G1 cab and yet at the same time people are trying to find one. Same with all those G1 bees sold on e-bay for $20. There was diselief at the price of MP Megatron and MP BW Dinobot followed by both toys selling out Dinobot selling for a freakish amount on the secondary market. And what about Siege Shockwave who is being atacked with torches and pitchforks for being a leader price? That toy is hard to find too since a bunch of fans nabbed him. And now we have Optimus Prime, the main character of the franchise, if only a small bit of fans who know him want him that will still be a bunch of sales.

If those expensive statues have a market, then a $400 fully transforming toy does too.

Yes i agree.. its whh im not holding out hope of getting a discount. Ill potentially see what the importers put it on at and then see how i am feeling.

The mess of the hitch area is a lot less visible with all that blue on it

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:The mess of the hitch area is a lot less visible with all that blue on it

Plus it's in a place no one normally look.

Does anyone think that there will be a high-quality 3rd-party reproduction of MP-44?

I picked up the Infinite Transformations E.O.D. copy of MP-36 and I am really happy with it. It was $80 shipped on eBay, which was justifiable to my budget (the $250 for MP-36 was not). With MP-44 going for $350-$450, I'm back in the same boat in even deeper water.

Further, does anyone know what kind of timeline is typical for the 3rd-party copies to appear after the Masterpiece release.

Sorry if this upsets anyone who are Takara purists and don't like aftermarket rips. It just is what it is, my wallet isn't as fat as I'd like.

Disdain for this kind of behaviour is nothing to do with being a Takara purist, and everything to do with respect for the law.

I can’t afford a Ferrari, but that doesn’t justify me stealing one!!!

Id usually agree with the sentiment but the poster is not stealing.. and the demand only exists here because the official prices are so ludicrous. In this instance i think the company is making a rod for its own back.

I for one didnt hesitate to grab a KO ratbat because like f**k was i shelling out £100 - £150 for essentially a second soundwave just to have all the cassettes.

Looking at MP44, are they offering an english speaking version? No. Are they offering a cheaper non electronics version? No. Are they offering a cab only version? No.

Taking your Ferrari annecdote.. its more like wanting a DB9 10 - 15 years ago when they were the car to have, then deciding to buy the Jaguar sports car that basically copied the silhouette and cost £40k less.

It’s theft, pure and simple. It’s like buying a knock-off DVD. The price that Takara is charging is immaterial. It doesn’t matter if MP Ratbat costs $1000 or $1, if it’s a KO it’s illegal, and by owning one, you’re a party to that.

Justify it to yourself all you want, but don’t expect everyone to agree with you.

And your Jaguar example doesn’t prove anything. You’re essentially saying “someone else got away with it, so I should be able to, also.” So by your argument, does that mean I’m allowed to burgle your house, just because other burglars have occasionally gone unpunished?

Yep, and im fine with that because in my opinion if companies make decisons that make their products unobtainable then they deserve others providing completing products. Its capitalism.

Its not like buying a knock off dvd because dvd prices are not unobtainable. It would be like buying a knock off version of the 2007 Transformers movie if to get the official movie you had to buy a life size Sam Witwicky manequin with it.

Confused by your response ont he Jaguar example - the whole point is that example is perfectly legal, yet you respond with burglary that is clearly illegal?

I must admit, I have very little knowledge of the Jaguar example. Did Jaguar get permission to copy the DB9? If not, why didn’t Aston Martin take legal action?

Capitalism requires copyrights and patents in order to function. If innovation, artistry and entrepreneurship aren’t protected, and copying becomes rife, then that becomes a disincentive to come up with new ideas.

Plus, did you ever consider that the prices for MPs take into account losses due to KOs? Perhaps if less people bought illegal and immoral knock-offs, the prices of the official figures would decrease.

Well j think the inards of the car would not have been the 100% the same,it just looked more or less exactly the same with different logos.


Agree on the point about copyright etc for capitalism to function,however as we know capitalism is not a perfect science and you still need gov bodies to step in an regulate ie monopolies.. in my opinion what we are seeing with the more recnt spike in prices for these MPs is symptomatic of a monopoly milking a captive market (i make that observation without knowing anything at all about the construction cost side of things other than electrics = expensive). Clearly in the toys market no reg body is going to bother complaining about a monoply effect!

Increasing prices due to losses to knock offs.. i dont know if that makes sense but if anyone works in the industry id be happy to be corrected. Surely if as a business you were really worried about knock offs the best way to minimise their impact on your business would be to produce high quality products at a reasonable price that benefit from being official and first to market?

From my point of view (almost exclusively mp collector), the prices just look like milking. Im not that bothered as i dont buy that many (not into BW for example) and skipping new Bee etc. Im thinking of getting MP44 if i can justify it to myself (i can afford it,just dont want to spend £250 - £300) but I wouldn't begrude someone who has no hope of affording that hoping for a Ko version.

Well, I appreciate and understand your position on KOs, even if I don’t agree with it. Thanks for taking the time out to explain your thinking, it’s much appreciated.

Peace and love!

starfish wrote:Well, I appreciate and understand your position on KOs, even if I don’t agree with it. Thanks for taking the time out to explain your thinking, it’s much appreciated.

Peace and love!

ksquad80 wrote:Does anyone think that there will be a high-quality 3rd-party reproduction of MP-44?

I picked up the Infinite Transformations E.O.D. copy of MP-36 and I am really happy with it. It was $80 shipped on eBay, which was justifiable to my budget (the $250 for MP-36 was not). With MP-44 going for $350-$450, I'm back in the same boat in even deeper water.

Further, does anyone know what kind of timeline is typical for the 3rd-party copies to appear after the Masterpiece release.

Sorry if this upsets anyone who are Takara purists and don't like aftermarket rips. It just is what it is, my wallet isn't as fat as I'd like.

I am going to reply to my own post here to recenter the discussion. We've all read the back and forth about this being theft, not being theft, it being a market that Takara itself created, etc. While everyone is entitled to their opinions, this is really not the information I am looking for.

If people could just refrain from those arguments for the moment I would greatly appreciate it. Please, if you plan to reply to this particular post, do so in response to my actual questions. Thanks Seibertronians.