ALL THINGS TRANSFORMERS!!!!

[lotus000]

I do like the MakeToys Jazz, but I will be holding out to see what Takara is going to offer. We have three companies making Jazz at this point so I'm sure we will be seeing something from Takara soon. I not only want it to look like Jazz, but also have a smooth transformation. I will make my buying decision after everyone has released theirs.

/

 

[Pro Design]

Re: All things transformers!!!!

Takara defines the "real thing"?? they are not the final authority of transformers toys

100% correct.

People can rattle on all day long about Takara being the second coming of Christ, but the comical part about it is that HASTAC employees have quite a lot of interaction with the third-party manufacturers and designers amongst themselves. It's a known fact that they share ideas and converse on a regular basis. So, many of the ideas that you see have input from all those kinds of different sources... 3P included. Hell, even within the third-party world specifically, several of the companies have involvement with the same people being owners/designers for different companies. KFC / xtransbots have same folks doing work... I helped Voodoo robots with some design changes to their 3P ironhide and know specifically they do work with other companies. HASTAK included. So feel free to bleed Takara if that's what makes your world go round... In the end you have a little bit of everybody's DNA in your bloodstream anyway regardless what you buy! LOL Seriously, you should just buy the one that looks the best to you and call it a day.

 

[teemu]

Re: All things transformers!!!!

Eh, they are to me, so, I couldn't care less about what you, or anyone else thinks on that regard. If you enjoy fan made transformers, more power to you.

Well, same to you then

Takara's are just as "fan made" as third parties

 

[koolkollectibleskhai]

2012 and before.

The MP line was rebooted in 2012 with the release of Optimus and Starscream, and that was certainly a great way to start! The figures before in Rodimus and Grimlock (and their repaints) still fit in fairly well with the new MPs. I think in 2012, not many collectors would be thinking the series would take off into pretty much a new golden era of TF toys..........

 

[koolkollectibleskhai]

Re: All things transformers!!!!

Class of 2013.

What a fantastic year it was where the series shot straight into the stratosphere with brand new designs like Sideswipe, Soundwave, the cassettes, and Prowl. Variants like Red Alert and Tigertrack, Streak and Smokescreen, and Nemesis Prime were also done. With official car licenses the new goal for the Autobot cars, and state of the art toy engineering, these are some of the best TFs ever made.

 

[koolkollectibleskhai]

Re: All things transformers!!!!

Class of 2014.

This almost turned into a dud year after the explosion in 2013! Only a few repaints were made, until they released three big new molds in Wheeljack, Bumblebee, and Ultra Magnus late in the year. Definitely a fantastic way to end the year on a bang with again the best G1 representations of these characters ever made!

 

[koolkollectibleskhai]

Re: All things transformers!!!!

Class of 2015.

This was definitely the year of the repaint, with Diaclone colours emerging in full force with Exhaust, Bluestreak, Red BB, Road Rage, and Clampdown releasing. Only two new molds were released in 2015 in Star Saber and Tracks. But of course, the two big releases for me were the long awaited repaints for Skywarp and Thundercracker! Getting those two to complement Starscream was something that had been a long time coming!

 

[lotus000]

Re: All things transformers!!!!

Very cool pics Khai. Its really neat to see the progression of the MP line throughout the years. I'm happy with their new Toon direction.

Thanks for sharing

 

[koolkollectibleskhai]

Re: All things transformers!!!!

Very cool pics Khai. Its really neat to see the progression of the MP line throughout the years. I'm happy with their new Toon direction.

Thanks for sharing

No worries. It's my annual cleaning and rearranging of the collection so it was a good and fun time to do it. Plus the kids had a good time checking them out too

 

[karamazov80]

Nice pics, Kool! I really dig that Jazz. I might buy, though like others I would prefer to go worth Takara. But no guarantees in that department.

 

[Wanderer]

Re: All things transformers!!!!

Well, same to you then

Takara's are just as "fan made" as third parties

Well said you and Pro Design.
I dont know whether to roll around laughing or just roll my eyes with each Takara fanboy comment i see here. Its like a broken record. The last comment was a particular highlight though amd pretty much sums up the guy's mentality sadly.

 

[dedguy]

I think it's pretty great to have options, particularly when Takara hasn't been the most consistent in terms of aesthetic.

 

[koolkollectibleskhai]

Bah humbug to all the negativity lol. I think it's a fantastic time to be a TF collector, with options from all sides to cater for everyone's tastes.

On that note, here's my entire MP collection at the end of 2016! It's been a pretty awesome year for the MP series I think, and overall the series is just going from strength to strength! Can't wait to see what 2017 brings!

 

[koolkollectibleskhai]

Here's my Transformers Masterpiece End of 2016 Collection Update video. I just give my thoughts on the MP line over the past few years, and why I love these figures! Hope you can check it out

 

[franpincho]

Great pics Khai! Shows how magical the MP line is.

 

[soundwave]

new pics from the 3p jazz...

looking good so far!

Maketoys have this nailed...I am 100% grabbing this bad boy
He will be perfect on the shelf

100% correct.

People can rattle on all day long about Takara being the second coming of Christ, but the comical part about it is that HASTAC employees have quite a lot of interaction with the third-party manufacturers and designers amongst themselves. It's a known fact that they share ideas and converse on a regular basis. So, many of the ideas that you see have input from all those kinds of different sources... 3P included. Hell, even within the third-party world specifically, several of the companies have involvement with the same people being owners/designers for different companies. KFC / xtransbots have same folks doing work... I helped Voodoo robots with some design changes to their 3P ironhide and know specifically they do work with other companies. HASTAK included. So feel free to bleed Takara if that's what makes your world go round... In the end you have a little bit of everybody's DNA in your bloodstream anyway regardless what you buy! LOL Seriously, you should just buy the one that looks the best to you and call it a day.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

This whole "Tak" only stance makes no sense to me if another company puts out a perfectly good representation of a character I want then I will 100% go for it over Takara.
I have no brand loyalty to Tak & I am just happy to have the best version of a given character.

Waiting for Jazz from Takara??
I wouldn't...we have already had Bumblebee from them back in 2014 who they obtained the official license from VW to use the Beetle mold & since then speculation has been rife about them doing Jazz but we are still waiting & as has been speculated it probably lies with the issue of licensing the Porsche 935 to use if this hasn't happened in 2 years then I genuinely can't see it happening
I reckon 3P is the only way we will be getting Jazz.

Also fanboy aside IF Takara were really bothered about their IP then why let these 3P companies exist??
Why not clamp down & shut them down, to me they just seem happy to let them co-exist & pick up their slack or tackle the figures they aren't concerned about & possibly have issues securing licenses for (Mirage, Hound & now Jazz for example all have what I suspect to be hard licenses to secure)

I think these days to have the best of a TF collection you need to have 3P in the line up, there is no getting round the fact that you are missing out if you don't

Neil

 

[dajuice]

I used to go with Takara only because they did a great representation of the G1 characters but I then also went with 3P because not only was Takara taking such a long time with new figures, 3rd parties were making figures that looked so close to the G1 toy/cartoon. So far, my moto is whoever creates a figure that just appeals to me and looks good, then I'm buying regardless of the company.

 

[dedguy]

Also fanboy aside IF Takara were really bothered about their IP then why let these 3P companies exist??
Why not clamp down & shut them down, to me they just seem happy to let them co-exist & pick up their slack or tackle the figures they aren't concerned about & possibly have issues securing licenses for (Mirage, Hound & now Jazz for example all have what I suspect to be hard licenses to secure)

Short version? They don't clamp down for a variety of reasons but they also likely couldn't even if they wanted to.

This might be tldr for some but…

At least from my understanding, IP rights aren't as black and white as a lot of people believe. Especially when it comes to characters and toys and all the various depictions that constitute "Transformers". They can trademark names but copyrighting anything else is a bit trickier. The way I have always heard it explained goes something like this, albeit with examples different from Transformers.

An IP rights owner can own the rights to a specific rendition of a red and blue semi truck that turns into a red and blue robot but can never claim rights over all red and blue trucks that turn into a red and blue robot.

It's very likely that if Hasbro ever did try and take any of the third party companies to court they'd loose. Even if it was a US based company producing the toys. Sort of like Mattel loosing their suit against Bratz and Nike loosing their various suits against companies producing Converse Chuck Tailor-like shoes. So while I often hear people, even third party fans, say what third parties do is "simply illegal" it really isn't… at least based on my layman's knowledge.

 

[MxBxM]

new pics from the 3p jazz...

looking good so far!

It looks ok. It just does not have that MP feel that other 3rd party figures have. Looks cheaply made. Maybe the white plastic has that effect? The soft facial features? Dunno what it is.

 

[MagpieMad]

White plastic is the only thing holding me back too. If this came out and the white was painted to match MP Prowl I'd be much more interested.