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Post by triumshockwave on Aug 30, 2019 20:06:29 GMT -5
This was probably more of a "gauge interest" thing than a "we need the money to do it" thing. They really just need to know how many they should commit to making. I wonder if 8000 is a minimum order just to get the pricing to where they want it though.
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Post by Optimal Megatron on Aug 30, 2019 22:52:34 GMT -5
So, they did a video of the full transformation. Is it just me or is this like...the most unfun transformation I've ever seen? And I remember Alternators Grimlock.
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Post by Optimal Megatron on Sept 16, 2019 8:43:44 GMT -5
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Post by Gojitron on Sept 16, 2019 19:55:04 GMT -5
Yeah, I thought the timing on that 3rd party announcement was pretty stupid and cocky on the part of Zeta Toys. At least wait until the HasLab version succeeds or fails.
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Post by machsabre on Sept 16, 2019 23:08:45 GMT -5
Yeah, honestly? This is going to be a fucking problem. Zeta crossed a line and a lot of creators are going to feel this. And not just 3P toy makers.
Look, despite however you feel about 3P manufacturers... This was a long time coming. Everyone knows Hasbro hasn't been too happy with the IP infringements. It's one thing to make a upgrade set for a toy you have to buy. A transforming robot for your TR Powermaster Prime, an armor boosting add-ons to Fall of Cybertron Bruticus, a different head of weapons from Shapeways for the existing toys. And so on. But to outright say "Here's Not-Megatron! And Not-Grimlock! And Not-Dirge! And Not-Kup! And Not-Megatron again!" We all know that they were really honking Hasbro off with those, but because the dollar amount they made their Predaking combiner sets that the 3P people had to pay nearly $500 for didn't really affect the bottom line of Hasbro's Predaking... Hasbro just took it.
And I'm saying this as someone who's benefitted from this. Hasbro has a great relationship with the creative community. The only reason they ever step forward to put their foot down was when there's a real danger of IP infringement. (Like that My Little Pony fighting game some time ago.) As such, other creators in other fields have benefitted from this relationship. The MLP community is loaded with fan created material that Hasbro doesn't endorse but totally loves. The GiJoe community is basically kept alive because of this soft-touch to the creative rights. And the TF community as well. So much artwork and material has been made from this. Unofficial artbooks and artworks by artists. Custom stickers and modifications. And there was always a line of respect. You don't push it and they don't push back with lawyers. Hell, you might get a job out of it, if you're good enough!
But Zeta shat the fucking bed. And they put that thing out... Smaller but significantly cheaper than Hasbro's toy? Right when Hasbro's trying to desperately get their thing made? Of course Hasbro says "That's enough."
Our fandom sucks. They just don't know when to fucking stop while they're ahead.
You know what?
I think things may have been better in the middle 00s, during the Unicron Trilogy when if you wanted a goddamned Optimus Prime? You had to get Energon or Cybertron Prime. Tough shit if you wanted a bunny-eared Cyclonus.
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Post by Mako Crab on Sept 17, 2019 16:29:40 GMT -5
All that aside, I’m still impressed that Zeta found a way to use or hide all the planet mode panels & still have a solid robot mode. His planet mode maw looks like a nacho platter though. Haslab’s planet mode kills Zeta by a mile.
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Post by triumshockwave on Sept 17, 2019 20:36:23 GMT -5
I've been watching the third party toys that BBTS offers keep having less and less of their own styling. It is actually a problem when you look at a pic of a third party figure, and you're not sure at first if it's official or not. That's where we go from "homage" to "bootleg".
Bandai recently has had enough of this shit too, going after not just the companies that flat out recast their kits, but the ones who do their own from scratch too. Sometimes they'd fill a gap where a particular kit wasn't offered officially, and they might stylize it, but it's still obviously a specific Gundam.
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Post by Valo Sweet 666 on Oct 1, 2019 14:27:47 GMT -5
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Post by Optimal Megatron on Oct 1, 2019 15:05:00 GMT -5
Prime is a hard pass unless I see him on a *good* sale. I got Siege's Prime for 20% off and that was a Voyager. This one's a leader with a trailer I don't really want under a gimmick I don't really want. Galaxy Upgrade Prime gave me a giant robot. This gives me... a trailer that splits down the middle into a lazy base mode that's only acceptable due to nostalgia. Grapple and Ironworks look pretty cool though.
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Post by Greatshot on Oct 1, 2019 20:53:52 GMT -5
Grapple looks terrific. Nice to see a genuine figure from him instead of an Inferno retool that doesn't work as well as the original because modern firetrucks and cranes don't share chassis. Prime is... er, he's fine, I guess? It's a 1:1 modernization of the original figure, but at normal retail, not MP quality. I can see that being popular with the kids as Prime's going back to his original design in the fiction across the board now, but I second OM's opinion of "Not at full price."
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