Gauntlet101010 wrote:Oh, people are always sounding the alarm when it comes to high quality 3rd party products.
FP, iGear, Justi Toys, and Impossible Toys are all glorified KO companies. None of them have a licence to produce TF stuff. Hasbro / Takara will always be hanging that axe over their heads and it will drop at any moment. So enjoy this stuff while it lasts, I say!
Gauntlet101010 wrote:The difference between these 3rd party companies and KO companies are fan-made use fan-related logic. The only difference between a KO company that may heavily modify an existing mold or give it superfluous add-ons is quality. That's it.
Fan-made companies tread on HasTak's intellectual property at the very least. At most they copy a mold. The confusion people are having is the quality, which is better than most KOs you can pick up in China Town and because they are making things we fans want to see. But the actions they are taking is really no different that what KO companies do. They are all just as illegitimate be they add-ons or mold copies.
That said, mini Prime runs a greater risk because they are copying the Autobot symbol. Even most KO companies try to avoid that. But again, it doesn't make an already illegitimate TF toy less legitimate. It just makes it somewhat more brazen.
Every single time 3rd party companies make anything the axe starts swinging. Be it your new Arcee toy to the Protector armor to this. This is just ... reality. I'll bet iGear and FP and everyone else knows that at any moment HasTak can come knocking. But the alternative is to just stop. So, all I'm saying, is that we should all just be aware that it could end at any time and that any product that's announced could be the last and enjoy it while it lasts.
Venksta wrote:Also to add, Hasbro said their fine with the addons. They do have issues with those making full figures and charging over $100 for them. This was said at BotCon and in a previous TFCC newsletter.
Venksta wrote:Gauntlet101010 wrote:The difference between these 3rd party companies and KO companies are fan-made use fan-related logic. The only difference between a KO company that may heavily modify an existing mold or give it superfluous add-ons is quality. That's it.
Fan-made companies tread on HasTak's intellectual property at the very least. At most they copy a mold. The confusion people are having is the quality, which is better than most KOs you can pick up in China Town and because they are making things we fans want to see. But the actions they are taking is really no different that what KO companies do. They are all just as illegitimate be they add-ons or mold copies.
That said, mini Prime runs a greater risk because they are copying the Autobot symbol. Even most KO companies try to avoid that. But again, it doesn't make an already illegitimate TF toy less legitimate. It just makes it somewhat more brazen.
Every single time 3rd party companies make anything the axe starts swinging. Be it your new Arcee toy to the Protector armor to this. This is just ... reality. I'll bet iGear and FP and everyone else knows that at any moment HasTak can come knocking. But the alternative is to just stop. So, all I'm saying, is that we should all just be aware that it could end at any time and that any product that's announced could be the last and enjoy it while it lasts.
Realistically, any action by Hasbro/Takara will actually only make it harder for fans to buy this stuff. Hasbro can't stop these 3rd part groups at all. Just like they can't stop KO makers. But they can stop the retailers. For example, a store called Ages Three and Up use to operate here in Vancouver, along with a online store. They carried official Hasbro products, but also brought in G1 KOs and advertised them as such. Hasbro sent them a legal letter, which stopped them from selling the KOs. I would say it hurt them, as they had inventory that could not be moved. For the customers who were planning to buy, they would just have to move on and find another seller.
I expect if Hasbro or Takara makes a move, it will be similar to what happened to A3U. Also to add, Hasbro said their fine with the addons. They do have issues with those making full figures and charging over $100 for them. This was said at BotCon and in a previous TFCC newsletter.
Gauntlet101010 wrote:Venksta wrote:Gauntlet101010 wrote:The difference between these 3rd party companies and KO companies are fan-made use fan-related logic. The only difference between a KO company that may heavily modify an existing mold or give it superfluous add-ons is quality. That's it.
Fan-made companies tread on HasTak's intellectual property at the very least. At most they copy a mold. The confusion people are having is the quality, which is better than most KOs you can pick up in China Town and because they are making things we fans want to see. But the actions they are taking is really no different that what KO companies do. They are all just as illegitimate be they add-ons or mold copies.
That said, mini Prime runs a greater risk because they are copying the Autobot symbol. Even most KO companies try to avoid that. But again, it doesn't make an already illegitimate TF toy less legitimate. It just makes it somewhat more brazen.
Every single time 3rd party companies make anything the axe starts swinging. Be it your new Arcee toy to the Protector armor to this. This is just ... reality. I'll bet iGear and FP and everyone else knows that at any moment HasTak can come knocking. But the alternative is to just stop. So, all I'm saying, is that we should all just be aware that it could end at any time and that any product that's announced could be the last and enjoy it while it lasts.
Realistically, any action by Hasbro/Takara will actually only make it harder for fans to buy this stuff. Hasbro can't stop these 3rd part groups at all. Just like they can't stop KO makers. But they can stop the retailers. For example, a store called Ages Three and Up use to operate here in Vancouver, along with a online store. They carried official Hasbro products, but also brought in G1 KOs and advertised them as such. Hasbro sent them a legal letter, which stopped them from selling the KOs. I would say it hurt them, as they had inventory that could not be moved. For the customers who were planning to buy, they would just have to move on and find another seller.
I expect if Hasbro or Takara makes a move, it will be similar to what happened to A3U. Also to add, Hasbro said their fine with the addons. They do have issues with those making full figures and charging over $100 for them. This was said at BotCon and in a previous TFCC newsletter.
Okay, that's probably what'd happen.
I didn't see anything with them being fine with add-ons. Even so ... I don't see any difference. Either way we don't need to scramble the jets every time a 3rd party company decides it's gonna make something "iffy".
Gauntlet101010 wrote:It won't hook up with the G3 trailer. The legs too too big to fit under there. And it lacks the squar connecter peg. Maybe iGear will make a trailer for it in the future, though.
metaphorge wrote:Gauntlet101010 wrote:It won't hook up with the G3 trailer. The legs too too big to fit under there. And it lacks the squar connecter peg. Maybe iGear will make a trailer for it in the future, though.
You're probably right about the peg, but the legs WILL fit. It does look a little off with the FP trailer, though. I would not be at all surprised if i-gear scaled down their TG-004 for it.
As you've put it and I'm rephrasing, they all live by the sword and could potentially die by it.
Gauntlet101010 wrote:Yep, that's the deal. iGear, Fansprojects, and all the rest are going into this with their eyes wide open. I don't think it's something that can last forever. Every single project brings them, potentially, the wrath of HasTak, but the alternative is to just stop.
Convotron wrote:Gauntlet101010 wrote:Yep, that's the deal. iGear, Fansprojects, and all the rest are going into this with their eyes wide open. I don't think it's something that can last forever. Every single project brings them, potentially, the wrath of HasTak, but the alternative is to just stop.
Well, one of the alternatives is to simply not create products that have more likelihood to invoke the wrath of Hasbro and Takara. Hasbro made it clear to the public and to 3rd party producers that one of the things on their radar is expensive($100+) full figure products. So if the mini MP OP is finished and is sold at a price of over $100 then iGear is pretty stupid for not heeding Hasbro's warning.
If Hasbro says they don't have issues with add ons at this time as Venksta said then I think 3rd party producers like Fansproject are safe for the time being because they're smart enough to not cross the line that Hasbro has drawn. The Knight Morpher project by Master Mind Creation is near that line as a full figure product but doesn't cross it because it isn't priced at over $100.
Venksta wrote:I got the feeling off of Hasbro's statement that they simply don't want to see any of these groups making this into a business, and getting rich. As long as its done for fun/hobby, it'll be ok with them. Something FansProject stated in their interview with Seibertron, that the FP stuff is all a hobby, and they actually have full time jobs.
Though, with iGears, and at the rate they announce their products, I wouldn't be surprised if they really are a company, compared to a couple of fans doing all this. I can't see them having the time for all this and a full time job. Also to note, it seems you can buy directly from iGears. Their prices are the same as BBTS. So they'll be getting some more cash then have their products sold by retailers.
http://www.igear.tf08.net/?page_id=223
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