Looks Like More Trouble Ahead For MP-23 Exhaust

If this was going to be easy, owning a Malboor just wouldn't feel right.

Anybody else getting the feeling that PM just doesn't want it released, no matter what it looks like now?

Desslok2201 wrote:Anybody else getting the feeling that PM just doesn't want it released, no matter what it looks like now?

I'm sure that this is the case.


Regardless, this whole debacle is just getting Exhausting.

Robogeek1973 wrote:

Desslok2201 wrote:Anybody else getting the feeling that PM just doesn't want it released, no matter what it looks like now?

I'm sure that this is the case.


Regardless, this whole debacle is just getting Exhausting.

It is a bit of a drag, isn't it?....

I think the design is altered enough that Takara could take them to task on it, and countersue for the court costs and costs of delays if the court finds against PM.

My dreams of owning one are going up in smoke.
I'm so ashamed of myself now.

This is getting ridiculous. At this rate it'll never get released.

lost cybertronian, if it was you who chose that pic for the newspost, bravo sir

Whoever's in charge of Legal over at Phillip-Morris must have had a bad childhood experience with Transformers.

shajaki wrote:lost cybertronian, if it was you who chose that pic for the newspost, bravo sir

Indeed, I laughed hard over that.

Robogeek1973 wrote:

shajaki wrote:lost cybertronian, if it was you who chose that pic for the newspost, bravo sir

Indeed, I laughed hard over that.

I thought Materpiece Theatre was going to sue them over using the word "masterpiece." I was like, "Really? They just now caught wind of this?"

Maybe we should start a petition or email campaign to make PM concede?!?

This is so damn stupid...I guess no one can put Red, White and a detail of green without PM saying it's ok to do it. Damn, if thats the case, why isnt Moutain Dew suing over Dispensor (in any form)???

Surely there is a legal precedent that would absolve everyone I would think the laws that protect those who parody and lampoon would work...I say that because the very name "Exhaust" lends itself as a JOKE in regard to his deco.

All i know is PM apparently likes killing happiness, joy and fun as much as they like killing people.

Now I going to go wear a red shirt, white pants with green socks and wait to be told to cease and desist going outside dressed in a trademarked deco.

This just further illustrates how smoking is evil.

TFormers seems to think that exhaust will be outright cancelled. anyone else think this is a possibility? i thought that takara didnt care. but they obviously did, enough to try and alter to appease PM. is it time to start panicking?

shajaki wrote:lost cybertronian, if it was you who chose that pic for the newspost, bravo sir

I am pretty proud of that myself thanks

Desslok2201 wrote:Anybody else getting the feeling that PM just doesn't want it released, no matter what it looks like now?

They have to whatever it takes to get publicity and/or money since smoking continues to decline.

takara should tell philip morris to suck it!

Ultra Markus wrote:takara should tell philip morris to suck it!

If only. Phillip Morris USA, or rather, tobacco companies in general are very rich and powerful forces to be reckoned with. TakaraTomy would be fighting an uphill battle if they chose to directly go against PM's wishes. Let's keep hoping that this figure isn't completely doomed.

Nemesis Maximo wrote:Whoever's in charge of Legal over at Phillip-Morris must have had a bad childhood experience with Transformers.

And to think they let Kyoshu (scaled model car manufacturer) get away with a not Malboro version of the same car model.

fenrir72 wrote:

Nemesis Maximo wrote:Whoever's in charge of Legal over at Phillip-Morris must have had a bad childhood experience with Transformers.

And to think they let Kyoshu (scaled model car manufacturer) get away with a not Malboro version of the same car model.

When? And was it for sale in the U.S.?

I'm not sure if it matters whether it was sold in the US, as MP-23 is not marketed for US sale.

sol magnus wrote:I'm not sure if it matters whether it was sold in the US, as MP-23 is not marketed for US sale.

True, but importer retailers like BBTS, TFSource, etc. were interested in trying to sell this toy to U.S. consumers, which sparked this whole ordeal to begin with.

Whether it's domestic or imported, PM is trying its darnedest to keep this figure from ever being sold to the United States.

so, who thinks takara will say screw it and change the deco back now?

Since this would be an expensive figure and I already have Wheeljack, I don't really plan to get it, but out of sheer curiosity, I live in Mexico, would it be ilegal here?

Since this would be an expensive figure and I already have Wheeljack, I don't really plan to get it, but out of sheer curiosity, I live in Mexico, would it be ilegal here?

zatara1701 wrote:Maybe we should start a petition or email campaign to make PM concede?!?

This is so damn stupid...I guess no one can put Red, White and a detail of green without PM saying it's ok to do it. Damn, if thats the case, why isnt Moutain Dew suing over Dispensor (in any form)???

Surely there is a legal precedent that would absolve everyone I would think the laws that protect those who parody and lampoon would work...I say that because the very name "Exhaust" lends itself as a JOKE in regard to his deco.

All i know is PM apparently likes killing happiness, joy and fun as much as they like killing people.

Now I going to go wear a red shirt, white pants with green socks and wait to be told to cease and desist going outside dressed in a trademarked deco.

Oh my god are you people really that ****ing stupid that this is how you view this stuff?
Seriously, what the **** have I gotten myself into by joining this site? I thought that Star Trek fans were bad. Holy ****! What are there,like 3 adults here and everyone else is 12 or under with no clue whatsoever how the real world works?

Why don't you guys take a minute and look at it from PM's point of view. For all intents and purposes their branding has been placed on a TOY! Now don't go getting all up in my grill about this being a "Collectors Piece" because you'll just be preaching to the choir. Shoot, I went out of my way to pick up the TF:Prime Wheeljack in this paint scheme. But guess what? Most of the rest of the civilized world doesn't give two sh*** about the distinction between toys and collectors pieces so PLEASE...try to remember this and see if from their point of view!! They absolutely, positively DO NOT want their products in any way associated with kids toys or anything that the rest of society may perceive as a kids toy. I happen to agree with them on this approach. Now keep in mind that things were a lot more relaxed when the original toys first came out ages ago and back then PM couldn't have cared less but this is not 30 years ago. This is the 21st century and people will climb up a major corporations ass for the smallest offense and PM is not at all immune from this. We all know that some bitchy parent somewhere, at some point, is going to complain if they see what they perceive as a cigarette company promoting a "kids toy" so PM is just covering their butts. You want this product out on the shelves? Fine, you step up and pay the legal costs when some anal retentive parent bitches about it and sues. Until then, back off of PM and try to understand that they are doing what is in their best interests now as a company.

CrankyOldTruck wrote:
Oh my god are you people really that ****ing stupid that this is how you view this stuff?
Seriously, what the **** have I gotten myself into by joining this site? I thought that Star Trek fans were bad. Holy ****! What are there,like 3 adults here and everyone else is 12 or under with no clue whatsoever how the real world works?

Why don't you guys take a minute and look at it from PM's point of view. For all intents and purposes their branding has been placed on a TOY! Now don't go getting all up in my grill about this being a "Collectors Piece" because you'll just be preaching to the choir. Shoot, I went out of my way to pick up the TF:Prime Wheeljack in this paint scheme. But guess what? Most of the rest of the civilized world doesn't give two sh*** about the distinction between toys and collectors pieces so PLEASE...try to remember this and see if from their point of view!! They absolutely, positively DO NOT want their products in any way associated with kids toys or anything that the rest of society may perceive as a kids toy. I happen to agree with them on this approach. Now keep in mind that things were a lot more relaxed when the original toys first came out ages ago and back then PM couldn't have cared less but this is not 30 years ago. This is the 21st century and people will climb up a major corporations ass for the smallest offense and PM is not at all immune from this. We all know that some bitchy parent somewhere, at some point, is going to complain if they see what they perceive as a cigarette company promoting a "kids toy" so PM is just covering their butts. You want this product out on the shelves? Fine, you step up and pay the legal costs when some anal retentive parent bitches about it and sues. Until then, back off of PM and try to understand that they are doing what is in their best interests now as a company.

Okay, here's the problem though, Japan is not subject to the same laws in regards to cigarettes as the U.S-of-A. This toy will be sold on toy shelves, in Japan, because they don't have laws about Cigarettes and kid-appeal, or if they do, they are allot different than ours. This toy, will not be sold on the shelves of a Standard U.S store, by any means, and if so it's only like specialty stores like comic shops, but even then... I digress. The point is, Little Midwest Jimmy will not be able to buy the toy at ToysRus. People will really, 99% of the time, be buying this over Online retailers only. By all means Takara Tomy didn't have to change the deco for retailers to sell out of country, but they did; by Japanese Standards these are classified collectors' items, and they meet their laws. If anything Takara Tomy was playing nice guy by changing it, which they didn't have to because it was perfectly fine for domestic Japanese release. I think the problem is Philip Morris' legal division is under the impression, because stores like BBTS and the like do sell retail cases, that these stores sell to your average toy store or Target, which they don't.

Desslok2201 wrote:

fenrir72 wrote:

Nemesis Maximo wrote:Whoever's in charge of Legal over at Phillip-Morris must have had a bad childhood experience with Transformers.

And to think they let Kyoshu (scaled model car manufacturer) get away with a not Malboro version of the same car model.

When? And was it for sale in the U.S.?

You can buy those Kyoshu model cars online. It's because of the TF brand why all the sh*t is hitting the fan.

Yall act like the KO guys arent gonna hook you up with the marlboor deco at half the price...

Screw Phill Morris and the god damn marlboro man. Within the next ten years they will probably go out of business as more states legalize recrational canibus. And unlike tobacco, canibus is backyard grower friendly so Phil Morris cant really cash in on legalization. Nobody smokes it with filters. The cigarette industry is doomed. So screw them..

Rated X wrote:Yall act like the KO guys arent gonna hook you up with the marlboor deco at half the price...

i thought of that... but how would they get the new head sculpt?

shajaki wrote:

Rated X wrote:Yall act like the KO guys arent gonna hook you up with the marlboor deco at half the price...

i thought of that... but how would they get the new head sculpt?

3rd parties are one thing, but I'm still never giving money to a KO maker

Desslok2201 wrote:

shajaki wrote:

Rated X wrote:Yall act like the KO guys arent gonna hook you up with the marlboor deco at half the price...

i thought of that... but how would they get the new head sculpt?

3rd parties are one thing, but I'm still never giving money to a KO maker

twas my point. KO'ers might give us a marlboro, but itd have a WJ head on 'em.

CrankyOldTruck wrote:Oh my god are you people really that ****ing stupid that this is how you view this stuff?
Seriously, what the **** have I gotten myself into by joining this site? I thought that Star Trek fans were bad. Holy ****! What are there,like 3 adults here and everyone else is 12 or under with no clue whatsoever how the real world works?

Tone down the cussin' old man.

I'm sure the KO guys can get ahold of their own copy of exhaust. It's not like takara is cancelling the figure and they're resourceful. Also, this literally only affects the US guys. there are ALOT of other countries, plus hong kong and singapore, that the KO companies would have no problem purchasing one from a private dealer in.

So is anybody in here going to take lots of pictures of Exhaust being played with by small kids and post it all over their Facebook?


If I had small kids, I pry would.

shajaki wrote:

Desslok2201 wrote:

shajaki wrote:

Rated X wrote:Yall act like the KO guys arent gonna hook you up with the marlboor deco at half the price...

i thought of that... but how would they get the new head sculpt?

3rd parties are one thing, but I'm still never giving money to a KO maker

twas my point. KO'ers might give us a marlboro, but itd have a WJ head on 'em.

And then Dr. Wu breaks out the Exhaust head. I dont see any reason someone wouldnt make one. They made Wheeljacks silly gizmos and grenades for G2 Sideswipe.

Rated X wrote:

shajaki wrote:

Desslok2201 wrote:

shajaki wrote:

Rated X wrote:Yall act like the KO guys arent gonna hook you up with the marlboor deco at half the price...

i thought of that... but how would they get the new head sculpt?

3rd parties are one thing, but I'm still never giving money to a KO maker

twas my point. KO'ers might give us a marlboro, but itd have a WJ head on 'em.

And then Dr. Wu breaks out the Exhaust head. I dont see any reason someone wouldnt make one. They made Wheeljacks silly gizmos and grenades for G2 Sideswipe.

You're exactly right, I'm sure they're making the mold right now.
BTW, I wasn't saying that a KO would have a different head, I was saying that the straight KO makers, not 3rd party like Dr. Wu, are dirt and I won't give them money on principle.

I think PM is blowing smoke in their face.

Personally, I don't see why people are upset by this. But then, I don't have the money to buy into the masterpiece figures myself, AND I think Exhaust looks bad, so I suppose I can't really understand anyway.

I feel that Tomy already revised the design. If PM is still after them in the US market, well "F" them. So people should order it using a CREDIT CARD then! Just as simple to ensure no underage kid can get a hold of tobacco related products.

Simple as that.

Local (American) retailers should just label it with a yellow and black bar decal just like the now defunct ecchi anime dvd localizers used to do. You know FOR ADULTS (biologically and not mentally ) ONLY

That legally should suffice to get around the PM leagl ruling.

1. Buy with a credit card
2. PayPal is linked to a credit card if I'm not mistaken but just to be sure, use a CREDIT CARD that identifies you as over 18/21 years old.

fenrir72 wrote:I feel that Tomy already revised the design. If PM is still after them in the US market, well "F" them. So people should order it using a CREDIT CARD then! Just as simple to ensure no underage kid can get a hold of tobacco related products.

Simple as that.

Local (American) retailers should just label it with a yellow and black bar decal just like the now defunct ecchi anime dvd localizers used to do. You know FOR ADULTS (biologically and not mentally ) ONLY

That legally should suffice to get around the PM leagl ruling.

1. Buy with a credit card
2. PayPal is linked to a credit card if I'm not mistaken but just to be sure, use a CREDIT CARD that identifies you as over 18/21 years old.

You know, you might be right. Also, I just did a check, and most of the other sites still list the revised version for sale.

Desslok2201 wrote:

fenrir72 wrote:I feel that Tomy already revised the design. If PM is still after them in the US market, well "F" them. So people should order it using a CREDIT CARD then! Just as simple to ensure no underage kid can get a hold of tobacco related products.

Simple as that.

Local (American) retailers should just label it with a yellow and black bar decal just like the now defunct ecchi anime dvd localizers used to do. You know FOR ADULTS (biologically and not mentally ) ONLY

That legally should suffice to get around the PM leagl ruling.

1. Buy with a credit card
2. PayPal is linked to a credit card if I'm not mistaken but just to be sure, use a CREDIT CARD that identifies you as over 18/21 years old.

You know, you might be right. Also, I just did a check, and most of the other sites still list the revised version for sale.

Let me add, in Japan, a certain online retailer only sells their adult ONLY products via credit card. If you don't follow their rules then no sale. So it is up to the retailer to require I.D. for such a product.

You can probably count the number of minors in America with BOTH the interest and the money to buy MP Exhaust on one hand. How many American kids own a Takara. MP Tigertracks ? Like I said earlier, screw phil morris and the god damn marlboro man ! Just buy the KO when it comes out. I wouldnt be suprised if those KOs are made in the same factory with takaras own mold while the official employees are sleeping. Serves them right for setting up shop in China to take advantage of cheap labor.

Looking forward to Exhaust still. I have a feeling any worry about it being super hard to get will go up in smoke once it's released.

ScottyP wrote:Looking forward to Exhaust still. I have a feeling any worry about it being super hard to get will go up in smoke once it's released.

Agreed. That is one smokin' toy, but PM is trying to lay it to ashes.

the recent march '15 issue of dangeki hobby features some shots of our pal exhaust. im taking it as a good sign that he's still being released

shajaki wrote:the recent march '15 issue of dangeki hobby features some shots of our pal exhaust. im taking it as a good sign that he's still being released

Sporting his new looks, even. Nobody said anything about him being canceled though: he just can't be sold to anyone within the US, which strangely renders the change moot...

shajaki wrote:the recent march '15 issue of dangeki hobby features some shots of our pal exhaust. im taking it as a good sign that he's still being released

The issue was never about its being released (in Japan), but about its being sold by importers to American consumers. It's gonna come out in its domestic Japanese retail release regardless of anything Phillip Morris does to stop it from commercially reaching American shores.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:Sporting his new looks, even. Nobody said anything about him being canceled though: he just can't be sold to anyone within the US, which strangely renders the change moot...

strangely enough.. TFsource has their preorders back up.

Sabrblade wrote:The issue was never about its being released (in Japan), but about its being sold by importers to American consumers. It's gonna come out in its domestic Japanese retail release regardless of anything Phillip Morris does to stop it from commercially reaching American shores.

i know i know. but after they made the changes and it still didnt make PM happy, there was some speculation that he might be cancelled. all i was saying was maybe this will eleviate some of thoese worries.

shajaki wrote:strangely enough.. TFsource has their preorders back up.

Which leads me to believe that the lawyers say it's enough of a change in the deco to make it to U.S stores, and that it's just that PM isn't happy about it still.