My thoughts...
I am in awe of reading all these messages.... "Not as durable as the Trendmaster!", "It's not worth the money!", and "The original Trendmaster version went for a lot less." Yeah, but that was also nearly 20 years ago. One word guys... inflation! This isn't then. This is now. As an example, a SideShow Darth Maul v 1.0 went for 50 bucks. The latest installment goes for 250. Again, inflation. My understanding is that this is more limited. And one was sold as a toy. The other a collectible. I get it, they are both technically toys... but seriously, who's paying 300 fish bones to get this for a kid? This is for the adult kid in us. And I can't speak for you guys, but for me, it poses quite well, stands on its own with no issue. Holds its accessories well, and the electronics work. So as a toy, it does what it was made to do.
This is far superior in terms of accuracy and accessories. It also takes from 3D scans from the movie. So you're getting the real McCoy in the real 3D world, in terms of aesthetics.
I also hear the disappointment there is no die-cast. Mondo never claimed it had die-cast parts. It's not a toy. It's a collectible. It never sold itself as something it wasn't. What we see in the photos is what we got. A hunk of plastic that resembled the Iron Giant character. My HT Delorean is not a toy. I don't pay 700 US into something before taxes and duties to play with. It's there as a display piece. I'm also not a kid. Now it's not to say one can't be creative and play with their toys. To each their own.
I knew from Day 1 what I was getting myself into, so there were no surprises for me.
Is it worth the 300? If you're a huge Iron Giant fan, then absolutely yes, it is! If you're just a casual fan, then no it's not. Is anything we buy on this forum really worth what we pay? More often than not, they aren't. Most of them are mass produced. Even if it's limited... it's not to the point where it's 1 of 1 or even 20 of 20. We're talking into the hundreds and sometimes into the thousands.
It was always a 150 dollar toy and/or collectible (whatever you want to call it), but I knew I couldn't get this representation at that price, so I went with it. I knew once in hand, I would be like, this is sweet, but it isn't 300 sweet. But as a collector of the medium and the character/film, I simply had to have it.
Again, if you're not a big fan, stay away. It's not going to be something you want or need. I don't even need it, but I do want it and I am glad I got it.