Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed
Saturday, March 21st, 2015 12:08PM CDT
Category: Toy NewsPosted by: shajaki Views: 26,712
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Seibertron regular fenrir72 has shared with us that Hydra of the Allspark has provided MP-23 Exhaust's character bio. Many have assumed this incredibly cheeky bio comes as a result of his long stemming legal controversy. Keep scrolling to see the continuing comedy!
Seibertron asks though: does this mark the end of the Exhaust Saga? Keep your optics peeled!
So, his character is pretty hilarious. He's an employee of "Marlboor Dynamic," a massive interplanetary corporation that steals secrets from alien cultures around the galaxy. His power, given to him by the research department of the company, allows him to "Quantize": convert his body into living smoke. His function is industrial espionage, and he gathers new secrets and technology for Marlboor. He acts like a suave, debonair spy, but the stress of his job is actually getting to him, causing a chain cy-garette smoking habit that the medical officer has warned is detrimental to his health.
Seibertron asks though: does this mark the end of the Exhaust Saga? Keep your optics peeled!
Credit(s): Allspark
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Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665139)
Posted by shajaki on March 21st, 2015 @ 12:35pm CDT
Would this be because Hasbro Asia has been handling most of the coins lately? And they were the first to drop distribution of the figure?
Posted by shajaki on March 21st, 2015 @ 12:35pm CDT
I think you're right, but I ca't find that info. I recall someone posting their invoice from RobotKingdom saying they will uphold pre-orders, but won't receive the coin. What I don't remember seeing, is that the coin was outright cancelled.Sabrblade wrote:His collector coin was canceled.
Would this be because Hasbro Asia has been handling most of the coins lately? And they were the first to drop distribution of the figure?
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665140)
Posted by Sabrblade on March 21st, 2015 @ 12:39pm CDT
Posted by Sabrblade on March 21st, 2015 @ 12:39pm CDT
Yeah, the coins are Hasbro Asia's thing. Since they won't be touching Exhaust, he gets no coin.shajaki wrote:I think you're right, but I ca't find that info. I recall someone posting their invoice from RobotKingdom saying they will uphold pre-orders, but won't receive the coin. What I don't remember seeing, is that the coin was outright cancelled.Sabrblade wrote:His collector coin was canceled.
Would this be because Hasbro Asia has been handling most of the coins lately? And they were the first to drop distribution of the figure?
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665141)
Posted by Rated X on March 21st, 2015 @ 12:46pm CDT
Im no lawyer, but I see selling them through paypal no different to selling them out of the trunk of a car. When you sell through paypal, you are selling as an individual regardless if you happen to own a company.
No advertising = No company = Personal sale
Posted by Rated X on March 21st, 2015 @ 12:46pm CDT
JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:Rated X wrote:Whats shady about exploiting a grey area ? Politicians do it for a living. As I stated earlier, its not illegal to own (or sell) a marlboor wheeljack in the US. Its only illegal to advertise and market it as a "childrens product" in the US because it promotes tobacco. (according to phill morris who wants his piece of the pie) So if you do away with the whole "advertising" aspect of selling the product, you can legally sell it to adults in the US. (With paypal account being proof of legal age) Its that simple. So yes all these smaller retailers that are following bbts/tf sources lead are truly spineless and stupid. Its their profit loss, not mine. I got my classics Exhaust already. I dont collect MP.
You forget, no matter how much you try and sugar-coat it, legally Masterpiece Exhaust falls in the "Toy" category, because Hasbro and TakaraTomy, down to their cores, are "Toys and Games" companies and rtegistered as such, end of story. No matter the audience (children vs. adults) or the intent (like collecting). There is a category for "Adult Collectible" I believe, but only for companies that produce those, and only those. Look at FunPub and how their boxes say "Adult Collectible" with an age to match.
You're right about it not being illegal to own him, but selling him in bulk as a registered store will get you in trouble. And don't even think changing a products' category will change that, in fact that would only add fraud to the offenses once investigations have been completed.
Could anyone with a Legal Degree (which means someone who actually studied law) come here and explain a thing or two?
Im no lawyer, but I see selling them through paypal no different to selling them out of the trunk of a car. When you sell through paypal, you are selling as an individual regardless if you happen to own a company.
No advertising = No company = Personal sale
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665144)
Posted by STngAR on March 21st, 2015 @ 12:55pm CDT
Posted by STngAR on March 21st, 2015 @ 12:55pm CDT
Its been awhile since I read such an interesting bio
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665145)
Posted by Bounti76 on March 21st, 2015 @ 12:56pm CDT
Posted by Bounti76 on March 21st, 2015 @ 12:56pm CDT
I doubt that we'll see a collector coin for Exhaust. My order was placed months ago, and only got an email this week, saying the distributor had canceled the coin, but did I still want my order. Of course, I said yes.
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665151)
Posted by RiddlerJ on March 21st, 2015 @ 1:10pm CDT
Posted by RiddlerJ on March 21st, 2015 @ 1:10pm CDT
If The Botcon people were smart, they'd do a version of Exhaust out of the Generations Wheeljack mold.
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665153)
Posted by shajaki on March 21st, 2015 @ 1:17pm CDT
Posted by shajaki on March 21st, 2015 @ 1:17pm CDT
Hasbro is the one getting the blunt of the pressure from PM. I doubt they'll ever have a hand in an Exhaust type figure again unless the homage is so far removed that it loses most of its meaningRiddlerJ wrote:If The Botcon people were smart, they'd do a version of Exhaust out of the Generations Wheeljack mold.
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665174)
Posted by Jelze Bunnycat on March 21st, 2015 @ 2:36pm CDT
I'm curious to know if the ruling applies to "Toys and Games" only, or at the very least any category which has children exclusively as a target audience (which would exclude "Adult Collectibles"), or basically any type of merchandise category.
We really need someone with a Law Degree here on the boards
Posted by Jelze Bunnycat on March 21st, 2015 @ 2:36pm CDT
shajaki wrote:Hasbro is the one getting the blunt of the pressure from PM. I doubt they'll ever have a hand in an Exhaust type figure again unless the homage is so far removed that it loses most of its meaningRiddlerJ wrote:If The Botcon people were smart, they'd do a version of Exhaust out of the Generations Wheeljack mold.
I'm curious to know if the ruling applies to "Toys and Games" only, or at the very least any category which has children exclusively as a target audience (which would exclude "Adult Collectibles"), or basically any type of merchandise category.
We really need someone with a Law Degree here on the boards
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665178)
Posted by sol magnus on March 21st, 2015 @ 2:42pm CDT
Just because somebody is a lawyer doesn't mean they work in this kind of law, which involves a couple of different issues. We need a lawyer with specialized knowledge of import laws, international trade law and of course, domestic commercial law.
As far as I'm concerned, ratedX is pretty much right about the legal ownership. This is way less about laws, and more about Phillip Morris not being even asked for their trademark...which means no money to them for something they know will sit on American shelves (at home). If they had any real legal recourse in Japan, Exhaust would have been DOA off break. They could not block the production, so they go after the distribution.
Posted by sol magnus on March 21st, 2015 @ 2:42pm CDT
JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:shajaki wrote:Hasbro is the one getting the blunt of the pressure from PM. I doubt they'll ever have a hand in an Exhaust type figure again unless the homage is so far removed that it loses most of its meaningRiddlerJ wrote:If The Botcon people were smart, they'd do a version of Exhaust out of the Generations Wheeljack mold.
I'm curious to know if the ruling applies to "Toys and Games" only, or at the very least any category which has children exclusively as a target audience (which would exclude "Adult Collectibles"), or basically any type of merchandise category.
We really need someone with a Law Degree here on the boards
Just because somebody is a lawyer doesn't mean they work in this kind of law, which involves a couple of different issues. We need a lawyer with specialized knowledge of import laws, international trade law and of course, domestic commercial law.
As far as I'm concerned, ratedX is pretty much right about the legal ownership. This is way less about laws, and more about Phillip Morris not being even asked for their trademark...which means no money to them for something they know will sit on American shelves (at home). If they had any real legal recourse in Japan, Exhaust would have been DOA off break. They could not block the production, so they go after the distribution.
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665179)
Posted by ScottyP on March 21st, 2015 @ 2:46pm CDT
Again, I will say, this is not a blanket ruling that established a law, but a civil case settlement that five very large tobacco companies, including Philip Morris, are bound to abide by the terms of. They have basically permanent legal staff that aggressively pursue and shut down anything that might even remotely look like a PM endorsement of marketing practices that are forbidden by the MSA, often using copyright/trademark issues to pursue this. Typically, the threat alone will make anything go away, and for good. It's a US civil matter, so within the confines of Japan this thing is fine, but for companies like Hasbro that are more or less global, it's an issue, so anywhere that was going to get these things in distributed from Hasbro Asia (or any other subsidiary of Hasbro) won't. It's also rumored that Takara Tomy did a very limited run of these due to only really needing to meet demand for their domestic market.
Posted by ScottyP on March 21st, 2015 @ 2:46pm CDT
JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:shajaki wrote:Hasbro is the one getting the blunt of the pressure from PM. I doubt they'll ever have a hand in an Exhaust type figure again unless the homage is so far removed that it loses most of its meaningRiddlerJ wrote:If The Botcon people were smart, they'd do a version of Exhaust out of the Generations Wheeljack mold.
I'm curious to know if the ruling applies to "Toys and Games" only, or at the very least any category which has children exclusively as a target audience (which would exclude "Adult Collectibles"), or basically any type of merchandise category.
We really need someone with a Law Degree here on the boards
Again, I will say, this is not a blanket ruling that established a law, but a civil case settlement that five very large tobacco companies, including Philip Morris, are bound to abide by the terms of. They have basically permanent legal staff that aggressively pursue and shut down anything that might even remotely look like a PM endorsement of marketing practices that are forbidden by the MSA, often using copyright/trademark issues to pursue this. Typically, the threat alone will make anything go away, and for good. It's a US civil matter, so within the confines of Japan this thing is fine, but for companies like Hasbro that are more or less global, it's an issue, so anywhere that was going to get these things in distributed from Hasbro Asia (or any other subsidiary of Hasbro) won't. It's also rumored that Takara Tomy did a very limited run of these due to only really needing to meet demand for their domestic market.
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665197)
Posted by shajaki on March 21st, 2015 @ 3:31pm CDT
Posted by shajaki on March 21st, 2015 @ 3:31pm CDT
Found some sweet new pics 
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665224)
Posted by Autobot032 on March 21st, 2015 @ 4:37pm CDT
Posted by Autobot032 on March 21st, 2015 @ 4:37pm CDT
Bwahahahahaha... dat bio.
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665245)
Posted by Emerje on March 21st, 2015 @ 5:45pm CDT
Posted by Emerje on March 21st, 2015 @ 5:45pm CDT
It does make me sad knowing that the figure was only altered because of the Hasbro Asia release that never happened in the end and Takara Tomy got screwed out of an accurate release because of it. If this had all played out earlier we'd have an unmodified paint, but PM had to wait until the last minute to screw with us.
The coin was likely already made since the figure was canceled so close to release. I wonder if Hasbro Asia will try for an even more altered deco like ash gray or something so they don't entirely miss out.
Emerje
The coin was likely already made since the figure was canceled so close to release. I wonder if Hasbro Asia will try for an even more altered deco like ash gray or something so they don't entirely miss out.
Emerje
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665267)
Posted by fenrir72 on March 21st, 2015 @ 6:24pm CDT
I don't have a law degree but a lots on common sense. As you postulated, attempts to exploit the gray area will get you into deeper trouble for fraud etc. BUT, if you want to go by the letter of the law.......not advertising the product to minors. X mentioned something about PayPal. That outfit won't allow purchases of "adult" related products (at least on the surface
) I should..........know a bit of that cr@p. Anyway back to topic, I was once a member of a now defunct online retailer that was VERY strict with regards to such "adult" material. They strictly required members to reigster proof of their identity and the likes. Those measures imho were meant to ensure that proof of identity and not defraud.
X has a point on the "spinelessness" of the retailers. In a sense "the more trouble than its worth" mentality is running here but somewhere down the road, this might rear its ugly head again for Meister and Rijie.The result might deter Tomy from even issuing this guys.
I have a pragmmatic and legal approach to this sh*t piece.
Situation: Fenrir72 online store
Open an adults only section with the following requirements to access:
1.For American costumers Drivers' license scan and or copy of Credit card with the relevant numbers blacked out together with the user registering their actual/accurate bio data
2. Recent bank statements to indicate actual use of said card
3. Supposedly BBTS has secured credit lines so it's the risk of the buyer if they actually want to purchase the item if their info gets hacked.
4. The law should more or less see the efforts to stay true to the letter of the ruling to keep the retailers legally safe.
Posted by fenrir72 on March 21st, 2015 @ 6:24pm CDT
JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:Rated X wrote:Whats shady about exploiting a grey area ? Politicians do it for a living. As I stated earlier, its not illegal to own (or sell) a marlboor wheeljack in the US. Its only illegal to advertise and market it as a "childrens product" in the US because it promotes tobacco. (according to phill morris who wants his piece of the pie) So if you do away with the whole "advertising" aspect of selling the product, you can legally sell it to adults in the US. (With paypal account being proof of legal age) Its that simple. So yes all these smaller retailers that are following bbts/tf sources lead are truly spineless and stupid. Its their profit loss, not mine. I got my classics Exhaust already. I dont collect MP.
You forget, no matter how much you try and sugar-coat it, legally Masterpiece Exhaust falls in the "Toy" category, because Hasbro and TakaraTomy, down to their cores, are "Toys and Games" companies and rtegistered as such, end of story. No matter the audience (children vs. adults) or the intent (like collecting). There is a category for "Adult Collectible" I believe, but only for companies that produce those, and only those. Look at FunPub and how their boxes say "Adult Collectible" with an age to match.
You're right about it not being illegal to own him, but selling him in bulk as a registered store will get you in trouble. And don't even think changing a products' category will change that, in fact that would only add fraud to the offenses once investigations have been completed.
Could anyone with a Legal Degree (which means someone who actually studied law) come here and explain a thing or two?
I don't have a law degree but a lots on common sense. As you postulated, attempts to exploit the gray area will get you into deeper trouble for fraud etc. BUT, if you want to go by the letter of the law.......not advertising the product to minors. X mentioned something about PayPal. That outfit won't allow purchases of "adult" related products (at least on the surface
) I should..........know a bit of that cr@p. Anyway back to topic, I was once a member of a now defunct online retailer that was VERY strict with regards to such "adult" material. They strictly required members to reigster proof of their identity and the likes. Those measures imho were meant to ensure that proof of identity and not defraud.X has a point on the "spinelessness" of the retailers. In a sense "the more trouble than its worth" mentality is running here but somewhere down the road, this might rear its ugly head again for Meister and Rijie.The result might deter Tomy from even issuing this guys.
I have a pragmmatic and legal approach to this sh*t piece.
Situation: Fenrir72 online store
Open an adults only section with the following requirements to access:
1.For American costumers Drivers' license scan and or copy of Credit card with the relevant numbers blacked out together with the user registering their actual/accurate bio data
2. Recent bank statements to indicate actual use of said card
3. Supposedly BBTS has secured credit lines so it's the risk of the buyer if they actually want to purchase the item if their info gets hacked.
4. The law should more or less see the efforts to stay true to the letter of the ruling to keep the retailers legally safe.
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665269)
Posted by fenrir72 on March 21st, 2015 @ 6:27pm CDT
Noitice the font "good flavor"
Posted by fenrir72 on March 21st, 2015 @ 6:27pm CDT
shajaki wrote:Found some sweet new pics
Noitice the font "good flavor"
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665364)
Posted by King Kuuga on March 22nd, 2015 @ 1:49am CDT
Posted by King Kuuga on March 22nd, 2015 @ 1:49am CDT
I still fail to see how it's spineless for stores to refuse to stock this item when they're facing legal pressure from tobacco industry lawyers. Said lawyers are extremely experienced and backed by companies that throw them a ton of money to protect their interests. Whether or not Phillip Morris Co. is legally right to prohibit sales of Exhaust in America, the retailers that would carry Exhaust are not equipped to fight the notorious strength of the tobacco industry. It's simply not worth the time or money they would have to invest to engage in this legal battle, so it's easier to lose the profits for this one figure by not selling it, instead of losing the profits from their entire business by fighting.
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665375)
Posted by Agent-539 on March 22nd, 2015 @ 3:15am CDT
Posted by Agent-539 on March 22nd, 2015 @ 3:15am CDT
The legal issue has been explained a thousand and one times. Are some people having a hard time understanding that PM has done their homework to block domestically? That Bot and a few others are correct. It's not economically sound to challange a lawsuit to discover a loop-hole just push push a few units domestically. Hasbro and Takara would have to change their business catagory and anybody remember Joe Camel?
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665379)
Posted by fenrir72 on March 22nd, 2015 @ 4:03am CDT
And the issue is? Do not sell an item that is anyhow construed to be a tobacco endorsed product to kids.
So by all means do so and follow the letter of the law. As also mentioned in my post, the mentality of its more trouble than its worth then so be it. I'm actually not affected as my Exhaust is already on its way.
In my line of work, instead of just bellyaching, I proposed a solution. I don't "parrot" what the majority conveniently chorus.
And, my solution isn't at all towards Tomy and Hasbro. Tomy doesn't even have a problem with this regard as they sell to the Japanese market (as ALL MPs are meant to be with the exception of those with the Asian market in mind then Hasbro is indeed involved). If Hasbro sees it otherwise fine again.
But for parties who want to sell it independently, see the practicality of my suggestion without breaking the law.
Posted by fenrir72 on March 22nd, 2015 @ 4:03am CDT
Agent-539 wrote:The legal issue has been explained a thousand and one times. Are some people having a hard time understanding that PM has done their homework to block domestically? That Bot and a few others are correct. It's not economically sound to challange a lawsuit to discover a loop-hole just push push a few units domestically. Hasbro and Takara would have to change their business catagory and anybody remember Joe Camel?
And the issue is? Do not sell an item that is anyhow construed to be a tobacco endorsed product to kids.
So by all means do so and follow the letter of the law. As also mentioned in my post, the mentality of its more trouble than its worth then so be it. I'm actually not affected as my Exhaust is already on its way.
In my line of work, instead of just bellyaching, I proposed a solution. I don't "parrot" what the majority conveniently chorus.
And, my solution isn't at all towards Tomy and Hasbro. Tomy doesn't even have a problem with this regard as they sell to the Japanese market (as ALL MPs are meant to be with the exception of those with the Asian market in mind then Hasbro is indeed involved). If Hasbro sees it otherwise fine again.
But for parties who want to sell it independently, see the practicality of my suggestion without breaking the law.
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665443)
Posted by Seibertron on March 22nd, 2015 @ 10:21am CDT
Posted by Seibertron on March 22nd, 2015 @ 10:21am CDT
I think the biggest thing I learned about Masterpiece Exhaust was how quickly retailers complied with Philip Morris' lawyers. Now if only Hasbro's lawyers would follow in those footsteps to do the same with 3rd party products.
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665453)
Posted by megatronus on March 22nd, 2015 @ 11:09am CDT
That's just never going to happen...
Your personal animus of 3rd Parties aside, a legal challenge by Hasbro is in no way worth it for them. Marlboro's white/red triangle design is trademarked and an essential piece of the brand - it would be impossible for Hasbro to protect their hundreds of characters in the same way, especially when 3rd Parties' fudge the design cues that make certain characters recognizably Hasbro's. Plus... the MSA that PM must adhere to is a huge incentive to quash infringement - the resulting penalties should they not take action would be massive. Hasbro doesn't have the same noose around its neck.
Honestly, I think Hasbro is doing a great job competing on its own terms. CW is shaping up to be their best effort in years. 3rd Parties have lately shifted its focus to MP- styled figures, and of Takara steps up its efforts in that area, I can see the market for 3rd Party figures shrinking significantly.
Posted by megatronus on March 22nd, 2015 @ 11:09am CDT
Seibertron wrote:I think the biggest thing I learned about Masterpiece Exhaust was how quickly retailers complied with Philip Morris' lawyers. Now if only Hasbro's lawyers would follow in those footsteps to do the same with 3rd party products.
That's just never going to happen...
Your personal animus of 3rd Parties aside, a legal challenge by Hasbro is in no way worth it for them. Marlboro's white/red triangle design is trademarked and an essential piece of the brand - it would be impossible for Hasbro to protect their hundreds of characters in the same way, especially when 3rd Parties' fudge the design cues that make certain characters recognizably Hasbro's. Plus... the MSA that PM must adhere to is a huge incentive to quash infringement - the resulting penalties should they not take action would be massive. Hasbro doesn't have the same noose around its neck.
Honestly, I think Hasbro is doing a great job competing on its own terms. CW is shaping up to be their best effort in years. 3rd Parties have lately shifted its focus to MP- styled figures, and of Takara steps up its efforts in that area, I can see the market for 3rd Party figures shrinking significantly.
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665468)
Posted by shajaki on March 22nd, 2015 @ 12:22pm CDT
Posted by shajaki on March 22nd, 2015 @ 12:22pm CDT
It's also worth noting, that the motivation would be completely different as well. PM is doing this to protect themselves from something potentially illegal, not because they want profits from something stealing their likeness.megatronus wrote:Your personal animus of 3rd Parties aside, a legal challenge by Hasbro is in no way worth it for them. Marlboro's white/red triangle design is trademarked and an essential piece of the brand - it would be impossible for Hasbro to protect their hundreds of characters in the same way, especially when 3rd Parties' fudge the design cues that make certain characters recognizably Hasbro's. Plus... the MSA that PM must adhere to is a huge incentive to quash infringement - the resulting penalties should they not take action would be massive. Hasbro doesn't have the same noose around its neck.
Absolutely. I've always felt that 3P's actually inspire people to buy MORE official products. For the most part, 3P is there merely to supplement your existing official collection. CW has definitely won many fans back from the 3P scene, as well as the refocused direction of the MP line since MP09. They just need to plant seeds is all. For example: give us a redesigned MP Grimlock or another Dinobot scaled with MP10 to hint at the rest of the team. Eh?megatronus wrote:Honestly, I think Hasbro is doing a great job competing on its own terms. CW is shaping up to be their best effort in years. 3rd Parties have lately shifted its focus to MP- styled figures, and of Takara steps up its efforts in that area, I can see the market for 3rd Party figures shrinking significantly.
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665474)
Posted by Kibble on March 22nd, 2015 @ 12:46pm CDT
Ironic in that HasTak basically 'pulled a 3rd Party' with the PM IP...
Posted by Kibble on March 22nd, 2015 @ 12:46pm CDT
Seibertron wrote:I think the biggest thing I learned about Masterpiece Exhaust was how quickly retailers complied with Philip Morris' lawyers. Now if only Hasbro's lawyers would follow in those footsteps to do the same with 3rd party products.
Ironic in that HasTak basically 'pulled a 3rd Party' with the PM IP...
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665564)
Posted by OptimalOptimus2 on March 22nd, 2015 @ 5:12pm CDT
Posted by OptimalOptimus2 on March 22nd, 2015 @ 5:12pm CDT
I've never heard of this Exhaust character, but he looks pretty neat!
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665566)
Posted by King Kuuga on March 22nd, 2015 @ 5:24pm CDT
He's based on a Diaclone alternate deco of the toy that would become Wheeljack, if you're curious about his origins.
Posted by King Kuuga on March 22nd, 2015 @ 5:24pm CDT
OptimalOptimus2 wrote:I've never heard of this Exhaust character, but he looks pretty neat!
He's based on a Diaclone alternate deco of the toy that would become Wheeljack, if you're curious about his origins.
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665576)
Posted by shajaki on March 22nd, 2015 @ 5:47pm CDT
Posted by shajaki on March 22nd, 2015 @ 5:47pm CDT
mblase75 wrote:A couple relevant photos of the original(s):
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665580)
Posted by megatronus on March 22nd, 2015 @ 5:56pm CDT
Posted by megatronus on March 22nd, 2015 @ 5:56pm CDT
Ugh. It kills me that Takara ended up changing the hood design for nothing. It's still cool, and won't be so noticeable in robot mode anyway, but still... Exhaust's hood looks like a pixelated version of what should have been.
Oh well... Still psyched for my HLJ order to get here!
Oh well... Still psyched for my HLJ order to get here!
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665583)
Posted by Autobot032 on March 22nd, 2015 @ 5:59pm CDT
Not every 3rd party product infringes. Some are just accessories and nothing more. To go after the entire industry would alienate a number of fans, some of the point that they'd quit collecting. If I couldn't have my 3rd party, I'd probably stop collecting after a certain point.
Just because not everyone agrees on the subject, doesn't mean people should have to suffer to please the opinions of others.
It's not just the design that made it problematic, it's what PM's company offers: Cigarettes. I don't if anyone else here watches Last Week Tonight, but a few weeks back they aired a scathing report on PM and the tactics they go to to keep their products on the shelves. Here, in the US, they're not allowed to advertise fin most mediums, certainly not on a toy. If parents got the wrong idea (and they would), they could sue PM, and it would just be ugly. Hasbro would get slammed, too and they probably couldn't handle the fallout from it.
That's exactly what happened with me. I had gotten rid of most CHUGs once the movies hit, but once 3rd parties stepped in and provided upgrades for those official figures, I started buying MORE, not less, official product. I have FansProject M3 (Menasor) and because of the Perfect Effect set that's coming, I'm considering giving Hasbro another $100.00+ of my money and buying their Menasor because the PE set sold me on it.
People refuse to, they even get ridiculously angry when this is mentioned, but... People should look at this as a symbiotic relationship. Hasbro gets their figures sold, 3rd parties make accessories to fix or address certain issues, both sides get the dough. Thing is, the 3rd parties don't slap HasTak products all over their packages for most items. The accessories? You see a silhouette that could roughly be described as a transformable figure. No official logos, no official images, no names or places used. Even the full on figures skirt the legal limits by their drastic redesigns. Visually, M3 looks like Menasor (and to me and others, he is) but he's not Menasor officially. The G1 version, CW version and M3 are all different from each other in drastic amounts.
People complain about 3rd parties and cry about how they're stealing IP and money and all that, and I might give them the IP argument, but not the money. Most people opt to go the more affordable route and buy the Hasbro offerings, others opt to buy both because they can. Only a small number of people buy strictly 3rd party and their numbers are so small that their loss of income can't really be measured or felt. Besides, if you took the 3rd party away from them, they'd just not buy at all, so that doesn't help Hasbro's position either. I'd quit collecting on principle. People don't have the right to tell me what I can or cannot collect, especially when I spend my money.
Another person's opinion will not sway me, but will more often than not, anger me because they're infringing on my personal space and enjoyment when I don't do the same to others.
Posted by Autobot032 on March 22nd, 2015 @ 5:59pm CDT
Seibertron wrote:I think the biggest thing I learned about Masterpiece Exhaust was how quickly retailers complied with Philip Morris' lawyers. Now if only Hasbro's lawyers would follow in those footsteps to do the same with 3rd party products.
Not every 3rd party product infringes. Some are just accessories and nothing more. To go after the entire industry would alienate a number of fans, some of the point that they'd quit collecting. If I couldn't have my 3rd party, I'd probably stop collecting after a certain point.
Just because not everyone agrees on the subject, doesn't mean people should have to suffer to please the opinions of others.
megatronus wrote:Seibertron wrote:I think the biggest thing I learned about Masterpiece Exhaust was how quickly retailers complied with Philip Morris' lawyers. Now if only Hasbro's lawyers would follow in those footsteps to do the same with 3rd party products.
That's just never going to happen...
Your personal animus of 3rd Parties aside, a legal challenge by Hasbro is in no way worth it for them. Marlboro's white/red triangle design is trademarked and an essential piece of the brand - it would be impossible for Hasbro to protect their hundreds of characters in the same way, especially when 3rd Parties' fudge the design cues that make certain characters recognizably Hasbro's. Plus... the MSA that PM must adhere to is a huge incentive to quash infringement - the resulting penalties should they not take action would be massive. Hasbro doesn't have the same noose around its neck.
Honestly, I think Hasbro is doing a great job competing on its own terms. CW is shaping up to be their best effort in years. 3rd Parties have lately shifted its focus to MP- styled figures, and of Takara steps up its efforts in that area, I can see the market for 3rd Party figures shrinking significantly.
It's not just the design that made it problematic, it's what PM's company offers: Cigarettes. I don't if anyone else here watches Last Week Tonight, but a few weeks back they aired a scathing report on PM and the tactics they go to to keep their products on the shelves. Here, in the US, they're not allowed to advertise fin most mediums, certainly not on a toy. If parents got the wrong idea (and they would), they could sue PM, and it would just be ugly. Hasbro would get slammed, too and they probably couldn't handle the fallout from it.
shajaki wrote:It's also worth noting, that the motivation would be completely different as well. PM is doing this to protect themselves from something potentially illegal, not because they want profits from something stealing their likeness.megatronus wrote:Your personal animus of 3rd Parties aside, a legal challenge by Hasbro is in no way worth it for them. Marlboro's white/red triangle design is trademarked and an essential piece of the brand - it would be impossible for Hasbro to protect their hundreds of characters in the same way, especially when 3rd Parties' fudge the design cues that make certain characters recognizably Hasbro's. Plus... the MSA that PM must adhere to is a huge incentive to quash infringement - the resulting penalties should they not take action would be massive. Hasbro doesn't have the same noose around its neck.Absolutely. I've always felt that 3P's actually inspire people to buy MORE official products. For the most part, 3P is there merely to supplement your existing official collection. CW has definitely won many fans back from the 3P scene, as well as the refocused direction of the MP line since MP09. They just need to plant seeds is all. For example: give us a redesigned MP Grimlock or another Dinobot scaled with MP10 to hint at the rest of the team. Eh?megatronus wrote:Honestly, I think Hasbro is doing a great job competing on its own terms. CW is shaping up to be their best effort in years. 3rd Parties have lately shifted its focus to MP- styled figures, and of Takara steps up its efforts in that area, I can see the market for 3rd Party figures shrinking significantly.
That's exactly what happened with me. I had gotten rid of most CHUGs once the movies hit, but once 3rd parties stepped in and provided upgrades for those official figures, I started buying MORE, not less, official product. I have FansProject M3 (Menasor) and because of the Perfect Effect set that's coming, I'm considering giving Hasbro another $100.00+ of my money and buying their Menasor because the PE set sold me on it.
People refuse to, they even get ridiculously angry when this is mentioned, but... People should look at this as a symbiotic relationship. Hasbro gets their figures sold, 3rd parties make accessories to fix or address certain issues, both sides get the dough. Thing is, the 3rd parties don't slap HasTak products all over their packages for most items. The accessories? You see a silhouette that could roughly be described as a transformable figure. No official logos, no official images, no names or places used. Even the full on figures skirt the legal limits by their drastic redesigns. Visually, M3 looks like Menasor (and to me and others, he is) but he's not Menasor officially. The G1 version, CW version and M3 are all different from each other in drastic amounts.
People complain about 3rd parties and cry about how they're stealing IP and money and all that, and I might give them the IP argument, but not the money. Most people opt to go the more affordable route and buy the Hasbro offerings, others opt to buy both because they can. Only a small number of people buy strictly 3rd party and their numbers are so small that their loss of income can't really be measured or felt. Besides, if you took the 3rd party away from them, they'd just not buy at all, so that doesn't help Hasbro's position either. I'd quit collecting on principle. People don't have the right to tell me what I can or cannot collect, especially when I spend my money.
Another person's opinion will not sway me, but will more often than not, anger me because they're infringing on my personal space and enjoyment when I don't do the same to others.
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665603)
Posted by Seibertron on March 22nd, 2015 @ 6:52pm CDT
Posted by Seibertron on March 22nd, 2015 @ 6:52pm CDT
Had the 3rd party companies just stuck to creating accessories for official Hasbro products, I would have continued my support for those products as well. I was really excited about City Commander back in the day, and for those of you who recall, we had the world exclusive gallery premiere of that set which was a pretty amazing set back in 2008. Had 3rd party companies continued down that path, I would have been fine with it because it's like buying aftermarket accessories for cars. Companies that make aftermarket products for cars don't make their own cars that are rip-offs of Corvettes, Town and Countries, Thunderbirds, Challengers, Lamborghinis, VW Bugs, etc. If there was a clear-cut way to support the products that require the official Transformers products but not support the products that you can by-pass Hasbro and Takara's products, I would be onboard, but it's too difficult to support one without supporting the other so it's just easier to take a stance against all of it for the time being.
It's sad to see so many fans staunchly defending 3rd party products. What's even more bizarre to me is that many of you think you have a right to those products. It's odd that it's so black and white to myself and to others yet so muddied for everyone else. The "as long as I get what I want to get regardless of how I get it" attitude that is so prevalent amongst 3rd party collectors baffles me.
I'll continue fighting the fight on my end and doing my part behind the scenes because I feel that's right. Something positive might be coming out of my anti-3rd party stance for Seibertron.com ... someone on an official level acknowledged Seibertron.com's stance and what doors it might open for Seibertron.com. It felt wonderful to finally have someone on an official level acknowledge that they had taken note of this. It is frustrating fighting this fight when so many of you seem unconcerned by the ill effects of 3rd party products on the Transformers brand.
It's sad to see so many fans staunchly defending 3rd party products. What's even more bizarre to me is that many of you think you have a right to those products. It's odd that it's so black and white to myself and to others yet so muddied for everyone else. The "as long as I get what I want to get regardless of how I get it" attitude that is so prevalent amongst 3rd party collectors baffles me.
I'll continue fighting the fight on my end and doing my part behind the scenes because I feel that's right. Something positive might be coming out of my anti-3rd party stance for Seibertron.com ... someone on an official level acknowledged Seibertron.com's stance and what doors it might open for Seibertron.com. It felt wonderful to finally have someone on an official level acknowledge that they had taken note of this. It is frustrating fighting this fight when so many of you seem unconcerned by the ill effects of 3rd party products on the Transformers brand.
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665620)
Posted by SkyWarpt on March 22nd, 2015 @ 7:59pm CDT
Posted by SkyWarpt on March 22nd, 2015 @ 7:59pm CDT
Have to agree on this one, as the proof is there. Go back and look through the comments of MP Magnus before his release. There were many people deciding whether to put their money towards the Stacks or official release Magnus. It's highly likely purchases that would have been in Takara's hand went to KFC instead, which lowers the success of the Official Masterpiece line as a whole. Personally, I can't help but think Shockwave and Dinobots MP releases may be stiffled a bit by the release of third party products. I kinda wish some of those 3rd parties went through the proper channels and got hired or contracted as engineers so they would be official products furthering the success of the brand rather than taking away from it.
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665622)
Posted by sol magnus on March 22nd, 2015 @ 8:02pm CDT
I didn't know you had a bias against 3P figures until a few posts ago! That's interesting to say the least.
For my part, here is my feeling on it. There isn't a 3rd party figure made that if HasTak produces one better than the one that extists, I wouldn't pay for it. Examples - I own a City Commander set and Target Ultra Magnus. When I sold off my CHUG figures, I kept two out of all of them. Ultra Magnus and Springer. Springer is important because I owned (and sold off) the Warbot Defender they made when there wasn't an acceptable Hasbro alternative. Magnus and City Commander I will probably never get rid of, because Ultra Magnus is my favorite character. Although I am "strictly" a MP collector now, dollars to donuts I will purchase the Leader Ultra Magnus when it comes out. Up til Apollyon and Brawny, I stayed away from 3P Masterpiece, but I have gotten (or pre-ordered) those two, and I'm strongly considering Spinout (Sunstreaker) because HasTak doesn't seem to have any immediate plans to add them to the line. However, if and when they do, I would gladly spend the money to buy an official HasTak product to go with what I own.
In my case (and I'm sure others), Hasbro isn't losing one cent they aren't already getting from me. It suppliments a collection that cost a considerable amount of money to acquire and will continue to add up as time goes on. The 3P guys are getting paid, too because I'm not taking away money from HasTak to buy their product. Like Megatronus, I'm not infringing on anyone else's beliefs with what I am doing with my collecting habits, but it can be construed the other way around. For me, it's black and white...not muddied at all.
I enjoy the official coverage I get here at Seibertron.com, but I think it would be a sadder collecting world without 3P products to fill the gaps while I wait for official ones.
Posted by sol magnus on March 22nd, 2015 @ 8:02pm CDT
Seibertron wrote:Had the 3rd party companies just stuck to creating accessories for official Hasbro products, I would have continued my support for those products as well. I was really excited about City Commander back in the day, and for those of you who recall, we had the world exclusive gallery premiere of that set which was a pretty amazing set back in 2008. Had 3rd party companies continued down that path, I would have been fine with it because it's like buying aftermarket accessories for cars. Companies that make aftermarket products for cars don't make their own cars that are rip-offs of Corvettes, Town and Countries, Thunderbirds, Challengers, Lamborghinis, VW Bugs, etc. If there was a clear-cut way to support the products that require the official Transformers products but not support the products that you can by-pass Hasbro and Takara's products, I would be onboard, but it's too difficult to support one without supporting the other so it's just easier to take a stance against all of it for the time being.
It's sad to see so many fans staunchly defending 3rd party products. What's even more bizarre to me is that many of you think you have a right to those products. It's odd that it's so black and white to myself and to others yet so muddied for everyone else. The "as long as I get what I want to get regardless of how I get it" attitude that is so prevalent amongst 3rd party collectors baffles me.
I'll continue fighting the fight on my end and doing my part behind the scenes because I feel that's right. Something positive might be coming out of my anti-3rd party stance for Seibertron.com ... someone on an official level acknowledged Seibertron.com's stance and what doors it might open for Seibertron.com. It felt wonderful to finally have someone on an official level acknowledge that they had taken note of this. It is frustrating fighting this fight when so many of you seem unconcerned by the ill effects of 3rd party products on the Transformers brand.
I didn't know you had a bias against 3P figures until a few posts ago! That's interesting to say the least.
For my part, here is my feeling on it. There isn't a 3rd party figure made that if HasTak produces one better than the one that extists, I wouldn't pay for it. Examples - I own a City Commander set and Target Ultra Magnus. When I sold off my CHUG figures, I kept two out of all of them. Ultra Magnus and Springer. Springer is important because I owned (and sold off) the Warbot Defender they made when there wasn't an acceptable Hasbro alternative. Magnus and City Commander I will probably never get rid of, because Ultra Magnus is my favorite character. Although I am "strictly" a MP collector now, dollars to donuts I will purchase the Leader Ultra Magnus when it comes out. Up til Apollyon and Brawny, I stayed away from 3P Masterpiece, but I have gotten (or pre-ordered) those two, and I'm strongly considering Spinout (Sunstreaker) because HasTak doesn't seem to have any immediate plans to add them to the line. However, if and when they do, I would gladly spend the money to buy an official HasTak product to go with what I own.
In my case (and I'm sure others), Hasbro isn't losing one cent they aren't already getting from me. It suppliments a collection that cost a considerable amount of money to acquire and will continue to add up as time goes on. The 3P guys are getting paid, too because I'm not taking away money from HasTak to buy their product. Like Megatronus, I'm not infringing on anyone else's beliefs with what I am doing with my collecting habits, but it can be construed the other way around. For me, it's black and white...not muddied at all.
I enjoy the official coverage I get here at Seibertron.com, but I think it would be a sadder collecting world without 3P products to fill the gaps while I wait for official ones.
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665650)
Posted by Autobot032 on March 22nd, 2015 @ 9:54pm CDT
You would've continued your support of 3rd party... I'll address that below in a moment. As for this next part, it pertains to the line I bolded in your response.
There are many items that 3rd party produces that require the HasTak original item in a clear-cut manner. The DMY Pharonic kit for PRID Megatron, for example. It's a bunch of pieces in a box, those pieces clearly need the Hasbro figure for them to work.
The Perfect Effect Menasor and Superion add-on kits, you absolutely need the Hasbro product to make these pieces work. They're useless otherwise. As I said, that set is getting me to consider buying Hasbro's Menasor, and I already have a great Menasor (FP's) in my collection.
Those are just two very good examples and proof that you can support 3rd party without hurting Hasbro's bottom line and not be a traitor. Reprolabels prints out sticker sheets with official Hasbro logos slapped all over them, all the time and nobody bats an eye. That bugs me because it's incredibly hypocritical. I'm glad Reprolabels is in business, don't get me wrong, but to support them when they technically fall into knock off territory and ignore and hate 3rd party which doesn't knock items off in a lot of their offerings just makes no sense to me and people who sit there on their high horse and tell me about myself just anger me to no end. Such as below in the next segment.
Before we get to that next segment...
You can pick and choose what you consider legit 3rd party, such as accessories and what you don't consider legit, such as full figures that are an "homage" of a character. That's basically throwing the baby out with the bathwater, it's extremism that isn't needed.
Oh and it could be argued that City Commander will cut into Hasbro's profits for the upcoming Combiner Wars Ultra Magnus. Some collectors will say they find FP's version to be far superior, some (like me) don't like the Minimus Ambus aspect of it (fortunately, he's not required to make it work) and some will say "Eh, I have this one already, I ain't spendin' another $50.00 on the same guy. Nah." It's an accessory, sure, but it takes one figure and entirely makes another, which technically renders CW UM moot for some.
Can't have both your cake and eat it too, with that argument.
You know what baffles me? That you (and others who share your opinion) feel you have the right to judge your fellow fans and collectors because they do things differently from you. It's sad to see a fan decry 3rd party, and stop promoting it, but continues to keep the galleries of past 3rd party products alive. I'd think if one were to truly take a stand against 3rd parties, they'd do it in whole, not just part of the way. Let me make it clear: This is not a dig, this is not an attack, it's pointing out a hypocrisy that makes zero sense and has frustrated me and many (I do mean many) others.
Yet, you and others of the same mindset can sit there and call what we do sad and bizarre and entitled. We're all sad, bizarre and entitled, even you. The majority of us are adults either living with a significant other, or a family member and we have more toys than most stores. We watch cartoons, we watch movies based on cartoons, we read comics based on toys and cartoons. We even wear apparel and modify our bodies to show that we do just that. But, instead of trying to make others feel bad about this, why not embrace it? The world *IS* weird and we're a part of this world. We should embrace our weirdness, follow what makes us happy. And we should do it without judgment of any kind.
Now, we're at the part I wanted to address earlier. You said you would've continued your support of 3rd party if they had done this or done that or stuck to this or stuck to that, but here in this final segment, you made the statements I bolded above.
First bolded part: If you're going to continue fighting it on your end and you feel it's right, why would you have even supported it to begin with? Why would you even entertain the idea with your words, if that's how you feel? That confuses me and others as well.
Second bolded part: That's what it's really all about. Official recognition by Hasbro and/or Takara. It's not about a love for the hobby, it's not about your fellow collector and fan, it's about what doors it might open for you and Seibertron.com, which is an extension of you. I really do think it's great that someone in an official capacity took notice, that's awesome, it really is, but it alienates some of the fans.
It's a fight you chose to take up, out of the blue, all of a sudden after promoting 3rd party for so long. Now, we know why, official recognition, but you chose this. Since it's your choice, why does it give you the right to judge any of us? We don't have the right to judge you, so why's it fair in reverse?
Plenty of people ditched their Citizen Stack once MP Magnus came along. Check eBay, check the current prices over at BBTS and TFSource. They're all on clearance because people just aren't buying them. I see more people talk about the MP Magnus they just bought than the Citizen Stack they just sold or outright ignored. The number of 3rd party purists you believe to be out there is much, much smaller than you even know. As I said above, their piddling contribution of income to the fan world is so small it doesn't even register as a blip on Hasbro's radar. They're doing just fine without the proceeds of those fans.
And let's not forget... Hasbro, in the past, has told us time and again that we, the fans, are not their main focus and never have been. That we make up barely 10% of their sales (I had once heard it was closer to 7, maybe 8%) and when you keep hearing that, you can't help but take it as "Oh...okay. Well, alright then." 3rd parties come along and say they'll take our business, well of course a fan wants to hear that. Are they using that to get to our wallets? Sure, but the 3rd parties never promised otherwise, either. They never claimed they were doing it out of the goodness of their hearts.
Meanwhile, Hasbro has been officially licensing BotCon to put on conventions for the fans and give us panels to yell at with nothing really gained. It was at one of those panels that we heard our contribution is a drop in the bucket compared to their other sales numbers. A lot of fans are grateful and enjoy the conventions, they do, but there are a lot of fans that can't stand them either. Usually due to bad practices, ridiculously exorbitant prices and customer service that makes you want to claw your own skin off. 3rd party will actually listen to the fans. Where'd we get our first G1 Arcee? Impossible Toys. Sure, it wasn't the best quality, but they did try. Hasbro? ...28 years. Twenty. Eight. Years. Nearly THREE decades to do what should've been done long ago.
This is why 3rd party is so prevalent. This is why people keep giving them their money. Hasbro's finally listening, we're finally getting some really killer product worth buying. Combiner Wars? Heck yeah, GOOD stuff. Latest Generations? Rock solid. Why did it take decades to make it happen, though? Why did some of the best stuff have to have it's origins based in a filler line back in 2006? I realize the movies and shows take precedence over the fan oriented stuff, I do, but why not make a show or movie that helps sell the CHUG stuff so it doesn't have to be a filler line anymore?
It's decisions like those that make 3rd parties work. People are saying Hasbro shouldn't have to compete. I say, why not? In the 1980's, Go-Bots were their direct competition and Transformers beat them, but at least it was open and fair. Hasbro then went and bought up everything Go-Bots and repurposed it to their whims. That's fine, they have that legal right, they own it lock, stock and barrel. (I know the toys are owned by Bandai, I'm talking about the names, locations and fiction.) It also took their competition off the market.
Power Rangers is remotely their only real competition and for many years it beat Transformers with one hand tied behind it's back. I'd love to see Hasbro try and buy that up so they have no competition there. (It'll never happen. lol) 3rd parties are doing what Tonka and Bandai have/are doing. Competing. The competition wouldn't even be there if Hasbro would address what the fans have wanted all this time.
Now, if they had and the 3rd parties still came up with their versions of these items, that would be one thing. I'd be all "OMGWTFBBQ GUYZ?" because then people would have a solidly legitimate complaint. As it is, this all started as accessories and grew into more because Hasbro wouldn't address big, gaping holes in their lineups.
I must give Hasbro props, though... Roadbuster? That's an out of nowhere release and it was cool of them to take the risk. Turned out to be a nice figure, I thought. Bought it instead of the $90.00 FP guy.
Thank you for bringing that to our attention, we should make it far more clear than we do. That's something that needs to be addressed.
And this is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. Fans, especially long time ones, want what they want and if official sources won't produce it, but others will, well other will get the proceeds. I collect CHUG, show/movie bots and Masterpiece. If it's official or 3rd party, I'll buy it. I have no problem supporting Hasbro, I also have no problem supporting 3rd party. Springer's an excellent example. I owned Warbot Defender and as soon as Springer was in my hands, I sold off WD, seeing as I don't need TWO of the same character and when one of those is superior for a LOT less money. Chances are, I'll probably get rid of my D.I.A. Clone Commander when Leader Class Ultra Magnus comes out. In fact, I'm 99% sure of it.
I have no problem replacing 3rd party stuff with official, if it fits my needs and makes me happy. As of late, official stuff has been winning over 3rd party. CW Superion is a fantastic combiner and gives me zero need to have TFC's Uranos. (I'm speaking for me, not anyone else, so please people, don't jump on here and get after me about Uranos and his value and all that jazz.)
Exactly. In the end, I'm not bothering anyone, nor am I keeping the world from spinning. One day when we grow old and stop collecting, we'll look back on all of this and say "You know what? It was pretty crappy to judge that dude over some toys. We need help." It bothers me to be judged, when no one has that right, no one.
Absolutely agree.
Posted by Autobot032 on March 22nd, 2015 @ 9:54pm CDT
Seibertron wrote:Had the 3rd party companies just stuck to creating accessories for official Hasbro products, I would have continued my support for those products as well. I was really excited about City Commander back in the day, and for those of you who recall, we had the world exclusive gallery premiere of that set which was a pretty amazing set back in 2008. Had 3rd party companies continued down that path, I would have been fine with it because it's like buying aftermarket accessories for cars. Companies that make aftermarket products for cars don't make their own cars that are rip-offs of Corvettes, Town and Countries, Thunderbirds, Challengers, Lamborghinis, VW Bugs, etc. If there was a clear-cut way to support the products that require the official Transformers products but not support the products that you can by-pass Hasbro and Takara's products, I would be onboard, but it's too difficult to support one without supporting the other so it's just easier to take a stance against all of it for the time being.
You would've continued your support of 3rd party... I'll address that below in a moment. As for this next part, it pertains to the line I bolded in your response.
There are many items that 3rd party produces that require the HasTak original item in a clear-cut manner. The DMY Pharonic kit for PRID Megatron, for example. It's a bunch of pieces in a box, those pieces clearly need the Hasbro figure for them to work.
The Perfect Effect Menasor and Superion add-on kits, you absolutely need the Hasbro product to make these pieces work. They're useless otherwise. As I said, that set is getting me to consider buying Hasbro's Menasor, and I already have a great Menasor (FP's) in my collection.
Those are just two very good examples and proof that you can support 3rd party without hurting Hasbro's bottom line and not be a traitor. Reprolabels prints out sticker sheets with official Hasbro logos slapped all over them, all the time and nobody bats an eye. That bugs me because it's incredibly hypocritical. I'm glad Reprolabels is in business, don't get me wrong, but to support them when they technically fall into knock off territory and ignore and hate 3rd party which doesn't knock items off in a lot of their offerings just makes no sense to me and people who sit there on their high horse and tell me about myself just anger me to no end. Such as below in the next segment.
Before we get to that next segment...
You can pick and choose what you consider legit 3rd party, such as accessories and what you don't consider legit, such as full figures that are an "homage" of a character. That's basically throwing the baby out with the bathwater, it's extremism that isn't needed.
Oh and it could be argued that City Commander will cut into Hasbro's profits for the upcoming Combiner Wars Ultra Magnus. Some collectors will say they find FP's version to be far superior, some (like me) don't like the Minimus Ambus aspect of it (fortunately, he's not required to make it work) and some will say "Eh, I have this one already, I ain't spendin' another $50.00 on the same guy. Nah." It's an accessory, sure, but it takes one figure and entirely makes another, which technically renders CW UM moot for some.
Can't have both your cake and eat it too, with that argument.
Seibertron wrote:It's sad to see so many fans staunchly defending 3rd party products. What's even more bizarre to me is that many of you think you have a right to those products. It's odd that it's so black and white to myself and to others yet so muddied for everyone else. The "as long as I get what I want to get regardless of how I get it" attitude that is so prevalent amongst 3rd party collectors baffles me.
You know what baffles me? That you (and others who share your opinion) feel you have the right to judge your fellow fans and collectors because they do things differently from you. It's sad to see a fan decry 3rd party, and stop promoting it, but continues to keep the galleries of past 3rd party products alive. I'd think if one were to truly take a stand against 3rd parties, they'd do it in whole, not just part of the way. Let me make it clear: This is not a dig, this is not an attack, it's pointing out a hypocrisy that makes zero sense and has frustrated me and many (I do mean many) others.
Yet, you and others of the same mindset can sit there and call what we do sad and bizarre and entitled. We're all sad, bizarre and entitled, even you. The majority of us are adults either living with a significant other, or a family member and we have more toys than most stores. We watch cartoons, we watch movies based on cartoons, we read comics based on toys and cartoons. We even wear apparel and modify our bodies to show that we do just that. But, instead of trying to make others feel bad about this, why not embrace it? The world *IS* weird and we're a part of this world. We should embrace our weirdness, follow what makes us happy. And we should do it without judgment of any kind.
Seibertron wrote:I'll continue fighting the fight on my end and doing my part behind the scenes because I feel that's right. Something positive might be coming out of my anti-3rd party stance for Seibertron.com
...
someone on an official level acknowledged Seibertron.com's stance and what doors it might open for Seibertron.com. It felt wonderful to finally have someone on an official level acknowledge that they had taken note of this.
It is frustrating fighting this fight when so many of you seem unconcerned by the ill effects of 3rd party products on the Transformers brand.
Now, we're at the part I wanted to address earlier. You said you would've continued your support of 3rd party if they had done this or done that or stuck to this or stuck to that, but here in this final segment, you made the statements I bolded above.
First bolded part: If you're going to continue fighting it on your end and you feel it's right, why would you have even supported it to begin with? Why would you even entertain the idea with your words, if that's how you feel? That confuses me and others as well.
Second bolded part: That's what it's really all about. Official recognition by Hasbro and/or Takara. It's not about a love for the hobby, it's not about your fellow collector and fan, it's about what doors it might open for you and Seibertron.com, which is an extension of you. I really do think it's great that someone in an official capacity took notice, that's awesome, it really is, but it alienates some of the fans.
It's a fight you chose to take up, out of the blue, all of a sudden after promoting 3rd party for so long. Now, we know why, official recognition, but you chose this. Since it's your choice, why does it give you the right to judge any of us? We don't have the right to judge you, so why's it fair in reverse?
SkyWarpt wrote:Have to agree on this one, as the proof is there. Go back and look through the comments of MP Magnus before his release. There were many people deciding whether to put their money towards the Stacks or official release Magnus. It's highly likely purchases that would have been in Takara's hand went to KFC instead, which lowers the success of the Official Masterpiece line as a whole. Personally, I can't help but think Shockwave and Dinobots MP releases may be stiffled a bit by the release of third party products. I kinda wish some of those 3rd parties went through the proper channels and got hired or contracted as engineers so they would be official products furthering the success of the brand rather than taking away from it.
Plenty of people ditched their Citizen Stack once MP Magnus came along. Check eBay, check the current prices over at BBTS and TFSource. They're all on clearance because people just aren't buying them. I see more people talk about the MP Magnus they just bought than the Citizen Stack they just sold or outright ignored. The number of 3rd party purists you believe to be out there is much, much smaller than you even know. As I said above, their piddling contribution of income to the fan world is so small it doesn't even register as a blip on Hasbro's radar. They're doing just fine without the proceeds of those fans.
And let's not forget... Hasbro, in the past, has told us time and again that we, the fans, are not their main focus and never have been. That we make up barely 10% of their sales (I had once heard it was closer to 7, maybe 8%) and when you keep hearing that, you can't help but take it as "Oh...okay. Well, alright then." 3rd parties come along and say they'll take our business, well of course a fan wants to hear that. Are they using that to get to our wallets? Sure, but the 3rd parties never promised otherwise, either. They never claimed they were doing it out of the goodness of their hearts.
Meanwhile, Hasbro has been officially licensing BotCon to put on conventions for the fans and give us panels to yell at with nothing really gained. It was at one of those panels that we heard our contribution is a drop in the bucket compared to their other sales numbers. A lot of fans are grateful and enjoy the conventions, they do, but there are a lot of fans that can't stand them either. Usually due to bad practices, ridiculously exorbitant prices and customer service that makes you want to claw your own skin off. 3rd party will actually listen to the fans. Where'd we get our first G1 Arcee? Impossible Toys. Sure, it wasn't the best quality, but they did try. Hasbro? ...28 years. Twenty. Eight. Years. Nearly THREE decades to do what should've been done long ago.
This is why 3rd party is so prevalent. This is why people keep giving them their money. Hasbro's finally listening, we're finally getting some really killer product worth buying. Combiner Wars? Heck yeah, GOOD stuff. Latest Generations? Rock solid. Why did it take decades to make it happen, though? Why did some of the best stuff have to have it's origins based in a filler line back in 2006? I realize the movies and shows take precedence over the fan oriented stuff, I do, but why not make a show or movie that helps sell the CHUG stuff so it doesn't have to be a filler line anymore?
It's decisions like those that make 3rd parties work. People are saying Hasbro shouldn't have to compete. I say, why not? In the 1980's, Go-Bots were their direct competition and Transformers beat them, but at least it was open and fair. Hasbro then went and bought up everything Go-Bots and repurposed it to their whims. That's fine, they have that legal right, they own it lock, stock and barrel. (I know the toys are owned by Bandai, I'm talking about the names, locations and fiction.) It also took their competition off the market.
Power Rangers is remotely their only real competition and for many years it beat Transformers with one hand tied behind it's back. I'd love to see Hasbro try and buy that up so they have no competition there. (It'll never happen. lol) 3rd parties are doing what Tonka and Bandai have/are doing. Competing. The competition wouldn't even be there if Hasbro would address what the fans have wanted all this time.
Now, if they had and the 3rd parties still came up with their versions of these items, that would be one thing. I'd be all "OMGWTFBBQ GUYZ?" because then people would have a solidly legitimate complaint. As it is, this all started as accessories and grew into more because Hasbro wouldn't address big, gaping holes in their lineups.
I must give Hasbro props, though... Roadbuster? That's an out of nowhere release and it was cool of them to take the risk. Turned out to be a nice figure, I thought. Bought it instead of the $90.00 FP guy.
sol magnus wrote:I didn't know you had a bias against 3P figures until a few posts ago! That's interesting to say the least.
Thank you for bringing that to our attention, we should make it far more clear than we do. That's something that needs to be addressed.
sol magnus wrote:For my part, here is my feeling on it. There isn't a 3rd party figure made that if HasTak produces one better than the one that extists, I wouldn't pay for it. Examples - I own a City Commander set and Target Ultra Magnus. When I sold off my CHUG figures, I kept two out of all of them. Ultra Magnus and Springer. Springer is important because I owned (and sold off) the Warbot Defender they made when there wasn't an acceptable Hasbro alternative. Magnus and City Commander I will probably never get rid of, because Ultra Magnus is my favorite character. Although I am "strictly" a MP collector now, dollars to donuts I will purchase the Leader Ultra Magnus when it comes out. Up til Apollyon and Brawny, I stayed away from 3P Masterpiece, but I have gotten (or pre-ordered) those two, and I'm strongly considering Spinout (Sunstreaker) because HasTak doesn't seem to have any immediate plans to add them to the line. However, if and when they do, I would gladly spend the money to buy an official HasTak product to go with what I own.
And this is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. Fans, especially long time ones, want what they want and if official sources won't produce it, but others will, well other will get the proceeds. I collect CHUG, show/movie bots and Masterpiece. If it's official or 3rd party, I'll buy it. I have no problem supporting Hasbro, I also have no problem supporting 3rd party. Springer's an excellent example. I owned Warbot Defender and as soon as Springer was in my hands, I sold off WD, seeing as I don't need TWO of the same character and when one of those is superior for a LOT less money. Chances are, I'll probably get rid of my D.I.A. Clone Commander when Leader Class Ultra Magnus comes out. In fact, I'm 99% sure of it.
I have no problem replacing 3rd party stuff with official, if it fits my needs and makes me happy. As of late, official stuff has been winning over 3rd party. CW Superion is a fantastic combiner and gives me zero need to have TFC's Uranos. (I'm speaking for me, not anyone else, so please people, don't jump on here and get after me about Uranos and his value and all that jazz.)
sol magnus wrote:In my case (and I'm sure others), Hasbro isn't losing one cent they aren't already getting from me. It suppliments a collection that cost a considerable amount of money to acquire and will continue to add up as time goes on. The 3P guys are getting paid, too because I'm not taking away money from HasTak to buy their product. Like Megatronus, I'm not infringing on anyone else's beliefs with what I am doing with my collecting habits, but it can be construed the other way around. For me, it's black and white...not muddied at all.
Exactly. In the end, I'm not bothering anyone, nor am I keeping the world from spinning. One day when we grow old and stop collecting, we'll look back on all of this and say "You know what? It was pretty crappy to judge that dude over some toys. We need help." It bothers me to be judged, when no one has that right, no one.
sol magnus wrote:I enjoy the official coverage I get here at Seibertron.com, but I think it would be a sadder collecting world without 3P products to fill the gaps while I wait for official ones.
Absolutely agree.
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665671)
Posted by Seibertron on March 22nd, 2015 @ 10:45pm CDT
Posted by Seibertron on March 22nd, 2015 @ 10:45pm CDT
Jefferey, you put way too much effort into analyzing a few paragraphs that I said.
I said very clearly where the line in the sand is drawn for me on this topic. Aftermarket accessories for cars are OK. Aftermarket companies making their own cars is not OK. Had these companies continued making aftermarket accessories for Transformers but never dove into the shady world of making their own Transformers, all would be fine.
ReproLabels provides a service to restore Transformers toys. Using the automotive comparison, they are making parts to restore vintage products or they are making accessories to enhance the official product that you have. The Hasbro employees I have had conversations with about 3rd party stuff also seem to agree with where the line is drawn.
There are 3,574 galleries on this site currently. A whopping 43 (FORTY THREE) galleries fall into 3rd party and KO galleries. Those galleries, like the previous news stories on Seibertron.com about 3rd party products as well as the forum topics, continue to stay here on Seibertron.com for historical purposes because they served a purpose at one time. It's silly and a waste of time to purge content that was already made for this site because life changed. Products such as BotCon 2004 Action Master G2 Breakdown and the BotCon/Unicron.com Vector Sigma kit also fall into the category of times gone by. Times change, there's no need to hide the past because opinions change.
I said very clearly where the line in the sand is drawn for me on this topic. Aftermarket accessories for cars are OK. Aftermarket companies making their own cars is not OK. Had these companies continued making aftermarket accessories for Transformers but never dove into the shady world of making their own Transformers, all would be fine.
ReproLabels provides a service to restore Transformers toys. Using the automotive comparison, they are making parts to restore vintage products or they are making accessories to enhance the official product that you have. The Hasbro employees I have had conversations with about 3rd party stuff also seem to agree with where the line is drawn.
There are 3,574 galleries on this site currently. A whopping 43 (FORTY THREE) galleries fall into 3rd party and KO galleries. Those galleries, like the previous news stories on Seibertron.com about 3rd party products as well as the forum topics, continue to stay here on Seibertron.com for historical purposes because they served a purpose at one time. It's silly and a waste of time to purge content that was already made for this site because life changed. Products such as BotCon 2004 Action Master G2 Breakdown and the BotCon/Unicron.com Vector Sigma kit also fall into the category of times gone by. Times change, there's no need to hide the past because opinions change.
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665676)
Posted by Seibertron on March 22nd, 2015 @ 10:52pm CDT
When Hasbro was marketing the products for the Transformers 2007 film, their sales brochures said fans at that time made up 15% of their sales which is still a significant number of fans. Anyone who says the number was significantly less than that is playing the old phone game where information is being told incorrectly. Keep in mind that those brochures were written before the Classics line launched. All you have to do is look at what Hasbro is doing with Generations and Combiner Wars, and Takara with Masterpiece, to realize that we must be a greater number than that now, not to mention the sheer number of collector oriented products that have come out from Hasbro in the past 8 years since that 15% number was shared publicly.
Posted by Seibertron on March 22nd, 2015 @ 10:52pm CDT
Autobot032 wrote:And let's not forget... Hasbro, in the past, has told us time and again that we, the fans, are not their main focus and never have been. That we make up barely 10% of their sales (I had once heard it was closer to 7, maybe 8%) and when you keep hearing that, you can't help but take it as "Oh...okay. Well, alright then." 3rd parties come along and say they'll take our business, well of course a fan wants to hear that. Are they using that to get to our wallets? Sure, but the 3rd parties never promised otherwise, either. They never claimed they were doing it out of the goodness of their hearts.
When Hasbro was marketing the products for the Transformers 2007 film, their sales brochures said fans at that time made up 15% of their sales which is still a significant number of fans. Anyone who says the number was significantly less than that is playing the old phone game where information is being told incorrectly. Keep in mind that those brochures were written before the Classics line launched. All you have to do is look at what Hasbro is doing with Generations and Combiner Wars, and Takara with Masterpiece, to realize that we must be a greater number than that now, not to mention the sheer number of collector oriented products that have come out from Hasbro in the past 8 years since that 15% number was shared publicly.
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665682)
Posted by Seibertron on March 22nd, 2015 @ 11:07pm CDT
It seems what I wrote didn't convey my thoughts properly as what I wrote appears to have been misconstrued. My usage of the word "sad" was used as a synonym for "depressing" or "a bummer" or "disappointing" ... not as a sarcastic, demeaning or angry term. After reading your reaction, I should have wrote "It's disappointing to see so many fans staunchly defending 3rd party products." instead of with the word sad. I wasn't judging anyone, nor was I making any statement about anyone being weird.
Posted by Seibertron on March 22nd, 2015 @ 11:07pm CDT
Autobot032 wrote:Seibertron wrote:It's sad to see so many fans staunchly defending 3rd party products. What's even more bizarre to me is that many of you think you have a right to those products. It's odd that it's so black and white to myself and to others yet so muddied for everyone else. The "as long as I get what I want to get regardless of how I get it" attitude that is so prevalent amongst 3rd party collectors baffles me.
You know what baffles me? That you (and others who share your opinion) feel you have the right to judge your fellow fans and collectors because they do things differently from you. It's sad to see a fan decry 3rd party, and stop promoting it, but continues to keep the galleries of past 3rd party products alive. I'd think if one were to truly take a stand against 3rd parties, they'd do it in whole, not just part of the way. Let me make it clear: This is not a dig, this is not an attack, it's pointing out a hypocrisy that makes zero sense and has frustrated me and many (I do mean many) others.
Yet, you and others of the same mindset can sit there and call what we do sad and bizarre and entitled. We're all sad, bizarre and entitled, even you. The majority of us are adults either living with a significant other, or a family member and we have more toys than most stores. We watch cartoons, we watch movies based on cartoons, we read comics based on toys and cartoons. We even wear apparel and modify our bodies to show that we do just that. But, instead of trying to make others feel bad about this, why not embrace it? The world *IS* weird and we're a part of this world. We should embrace our weirdness, follow what makes us happy. And we should do it without judgment of any kind.
It seems what I wrote didn't convey my thoughts properly as what I wrote appears to have been misconstrued. My usage of the word "sad" was used as a synonym for "depressing" or "a bummer" or "disappointing" ... not as a sarcastic, demeaning or angry term. After reading your reaction, I should have wrote "It's disappointing to see so many fans staunchly defending 3rd party products." instead of with the word sad. I wasn't judging anyone, nor was I making any statement about anyone being weird.
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665687)
Posted by fenrir72 on March 22nd, 2015 @ 11:33pm CDT
Posted by fenrir72 on March 22nd, 2015 @ 11:33pm CDT
That's one long response. 3rd parties have their purpose. Answer the fans needs that Hasbro won't make. I'd prefer first party but on certain occassions, I'd bite.
Props indeed for RB and Whirl. Saved me a lot over the 3r party version of the former. Btw, also purchased myself a not Broadside. But if a cheaper first party alternative is available, I'll go for 1st party. KOs, now that's a different animal.
But shouldn't this be about Exhaust and flabbergasted the fans in the continental United States are becaus eof this very asinine ruling?
Props indeed for RB and Whirl. Saved me a lot over the 3r party version of the former. Btw, also purchased myself a not Broadside. But if a cheaper first party alternative is available, I'll go for 1st party. KOs, now that's a different animal.
But shouldn't this be about Exhaust and flabbergasted the fans in the continental United States are becaus eof this very asinine ruling?
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665691)
Posted by sol magnus on March 23rd, 2015 @ 12:03am CDT
It should, but it started from a comment from Seibertron regarding PM's lawyers gaining near-instant compliance and a parallel to Hasbro's lawyers doing the same to 3P companies.
Posted by sol magnus on March 23rd, 2015 @ 12:03am CDT
fenrir72 wrote:But shouldn't this be about Exhaust and flabbergasted the fans in the continental United States are becaus eof this very asinine ruling?
It should, but it started from a comment from Seibertron regarding PM's lawyers gaining near-instant compliance and a parallel to Hasbro's lawyers doing the same to 3P companies.
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665694)
Posted by SkyWarpt on March 23rd, 2015 @ 12:09am CDT
Posted by SkyWarpt on March 23rd, 2015 @ 12:09am CDT
I'm not going to quote and waste space. I don't judge, I just don't agree and choose to vote with my dollar. In order for Stacks to be ditched it had to be purchased again, still taking away purchases from the IP holder. The concept is very well protected in video media.
I agree with PM and Has/Tak decision to clean their hands on this. PM did Has/Tak a favor, albeit protecting themselves at the same time. This is no different than us having to wait years for a VW Bumblebee. Proper licensing was not obtained, nor was it legal in the first place. The Marlboro usage flew back in the diaclone days, but that was a different time. I'm not against 3rd party add ons, reprolabels are a great answer to the whole Exhaust issue. Furthermore, I do hope to see an MP Jazz and would rather create or purchase Martini labels and apply myself than Has/Tak go through this again...it wasn't a problem with binaltech.
I agree with PM and Has/Tak decision to clean their hands on this. PM did Has/Tak a favor, albeit protecting themselves at the same time. This is no different than us having to wait years for a VW Bumblebee. Proper licensing was not obtained, nor was it legal in the first place. The Marlboro usage flew back in the diaclone days, but that was a different time. I'm not against 3rd party add ons, reprolabels are a great answer to the whole Exhaust issue. Furthermore, I do hope to see an MP Jazz and would rather create or purchase Martini labels and apply myself than Has/Tak go through this again...it wasn't a problem with binaltech.
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665696)
Posted by Flashwave on March 23rd, 2015 @ 12:13am CDT
Doesn't matter that there are plenty of Accesory packs out there. Because of how close to Hasbro Seibertron.com has gotten, The Website cannot risk an illusion of 3P support lest it undermines Seib.com's reputation with Hasbro. Their unnofical Press people now, and Cherrypicking does not fly, in the same way that Hasbro can't simply let some trademark infringements or Intellectual Property infringements get past them and pursue others, because in a legality sense, it creates a weakness in the defense. (Plus Seib's personal bias.)
It bugs me, cause I'm not on any other Transformers fansites, but because of the stance that Seibertron has to/chooses to, I do miss out on the fun add-ons like Combiner accesories, or Generations Hoist's wings. But that's the neatur eof the game and I don't see why its always such a drawn out topic?
And personally, the 3P figs are all way outpriced to what I want to spend, so unless its a fig I now for sure I won't get from Hasbro, such as a good Omega Supreme (and evenethen I passed beacause of Price) I avoid the full on figures. Wth one exception, I might talk myself into the 3P Groove that turns into a Didge Tomahawk, because that's a personal favorite motorcycle: Here, let's strap two wheels and a seat to a VIPER ENGINE. This cylinder is for the weight of the bike, this cylinder is for the weight fo the rider. Those other 8 cylinders? That's because YEHAW!
Posted by Flashwave on March 23rd, 2015 @ 12:13am CDT
Autobot032 wrote:
There are many items that 3rd party produces that require the HasTak original item in a clear-cut manner. The DMY Pharonic kit for PRID Megatron, for example. It's a bunch of pieces in a box, those pieces clearly need the Hasbro figure for them to work.
The Perfect Effect Menasor and Superion add-on kits, you absolutely need the Hasbro product to make these pieces work. They're useless otherwise. As I said, that set is getting me to consider buying Hasbro's Menasor, and I already have a great Menasor (FP's) in my collection.
Those are just two very good examples and proof that you can support 3rd party without hurting Hasbro's bottom line and not be a traitor. Reprolabels prints out sticker sheets with official Hasbro logos slapped all over them, all the time and nobody bats an eye.
Doesn't matter that there are plenty of Accesory packs out there. Because of how close to Hasbro Seibertron.com has gotten, The Website cannot risk an illusion of 3P support lest it undermines Seib.com's reputation with Hasbro. Their unnofical Press people now, and Cherrypicking does not fly, in the same way that Hasbro can't simply let some trademark infringements or Intellectual Property infringements get past them and pursue others, because in a legality sense, it creates a weakness in the defense. (Plus Seib's personal bias.)
It bugs me, cause I'm not on any other Transformers fansites, but because of the stance that Seibertron has to/chooses to, I do miss out on the fun add-ons like Combiner accesories, or Generations Hoist's wings. But that's the neatur eof the game and I don't see why its always such a drawn out topic?
And personally, the 3P figs are all way outpriced to what I want to spend, so unless its a fig I now for sure I won't get from Hasbro, such as a good Omega Supreme (and evenethen I passed beacause of Price) I avoid the full on figures. Wth one exception, I might talk myself into the 3P Groove that turns into a Didge Tomahawk, because that's a personal favorite motorcycle: Here, let's strap two wheels and a seat to a VIPER ENGINE. This cylinder is for the weight of the bike, this cylinder is for the weight fo the rider. Those other 8 cylinders? That's because YEHAW!
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665702)
Posted by fenrir72 on March 23rd, 2015 @ 12:34am CDT
Reprolabels isn't touching Exhaust SW. You'll need to try your luck with the so called Asian "official" franchised Wheeljack version 2 decal set.
Posted by fenrir72 on March 23rd, 2015 @ 12:34am CDT
SkyWarpt wrote:I'm not going to quote and waste space. I don't judge, I just don't agree and choose to vote with my dollar. In order for Stacks to be ditched it had to be purchased again, still taking away purchases from the IP holder. The concept is very well protected in video media.
I agree with PM and Has/Tak decision to clean their hands on this. PM did Has/Tak a favor, albeit protecting themselves at the same time. This is no different than us having to wait years for a VW Bumblebee. Proper licensing was not obtained, nor was it legal in the first place. The Marlboro usage flew back in the diaclone days, but that was a different time. I'm not against 3rd party add ons, reprolabels are a great answer to the whole Exhaust issue. Furthermore, I do hope to see an MP Jazz and would rather create or purchase Martini labels and apply myself than Has/Tak go through this again...it wasn't a problem with binaltech.
Reprolabels isn't touching Exhaust SW. You'll need to try your luck with the so called Asian "official" franchised Wheeljack version 2 decal set.
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665708)
Posted by chuckdawg1999 on March 23rd, 2015 @ 1:00am CDT
"It's A Kind Of Magic"
Posted by chuckdawg1999 on March 23rd, 2015 @ 1:00am CDT
shajaki wrote:How do you reveiw stuff still in the box?chuckdawg1999 wrote:With Exhaust being released I guess I should get around to opening Wheeljack...
"It's A Kind Of Magic"
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665712)
Posted by Autobot032 on March 23rd, 2015 @ 1:12am CDT
Highlander reference ftw!
Posted by Autobot032 on March 23rd, 2015 @ 1:12am CDT
chuckdawg1999 wrote:shajaki wrote:How do you reveiw stuff still in the box?chuckdawg1999 wrote:With Exhaust being released I guess I should get around to opening Wheeljack...
"It's A Kind Of Magic"
Highlander reference ftw!
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665716)
Posted by Burn on March 23rd, 2015 @ 1:32am CDT
Why are you missing out? We still have the 3P forums for those things to be discussed, they just don't get newsed.
Posted by Burn on March 23rd, 2015 @ 1:32am CDT
Flashwave wrote:It bugs me, cause I'm not on any other Transformers fansites, but because of the stance that Seibertron has to/chooses to, I do miss out on the fun add-ons like Combiner accesories, or Generations Hoist's wings. But that's the neatur eof the game and I don't see why its always such a drawn out topic?
Why are you missing out? We still have the 3P forums for those things to be discussed, they just don't get newsed.
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665718)
Posted by chuckdawg1999 on March 23rd, 2015 @ 1:44am CDT
Well it was more a Queen reference at the time... I gotta say seeing Exhaust in hand it really looks good, although I'm concerned that I saw blue tinted, clear plastic in the foot joints that have to bend at two points. Those might break over time.
Posted by chuckdawg1999 on March 23rd, 2015 @ 1:44am CDT
Autobot032 wrote:chuckdawg1999 wrote:shajaki wrote:How do you reveiw stuff still in the box?chuckdawg1999 wrote:With Exhaust being released I guess I should get around to opening Wheeljack...
"It's A Kind Of Magic"
Highlander reference ftw!
Well it was more a Queen reference at the time... I gotta say seeing Exhaust in hand it really looks good, although I'm concerned that I saw blue tinted, clear plastic in the foot joints that have to bend at two points. Those might break over time.
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665723)
Posted by Autobot032 on March 23rd, 2015 @ 2:17am CDT
Yeeeeeuck... I hate it when they use translucent plastic on joints.
Posted by Autobot032 on March 23rd, 2015 @ 2:17am CDT
chuckdawg1999 wrote:Autobot032 wrote:chuckdawg1999 wrote:shajaki wrote:How do you reveiw stuff still in the box?chuckdawg1999 wrote:With Exhaust being released I guess I should get around to opening Wheeljack...
"It's A Kind Of Magic"
Highlander reference ftw!
Well it was more a Queen reference at the time... I gotta say seeing Exhaust in hand it really looks good, although I'm concerned that I saw blue tinted, clear plastic in the foot joints that have to bend at two points. Those might break over time.
Yeeeeeuck... I hate it when they use translucent plastic on joints.
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665751)
Posted by LOST Cybertronian on March 23rd, 2015 @ 5:28am CDT
Posted by LOST Cybertronian on March 23rd, 2015 @ 5:28am CDT
Got an email this morning from Nippon-Yasan saying that exhaust was available for the bargain basement price of 16,000 yen .
.
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665763)
Posted by fenrir72 on March 23rd, 2015 @ 6:32am CDT
I saw that too! Btw, they just posted the font "Masterpiece" and no picture. Retailing at the equivalent $ 130 +
Posted by fenrir72 on March 23rd, 2015 @ 6:32am CDT
LOST Cybertronian wrote:Got an email this morning from Nippon-Yasan saying that exhaust was available for the bargain basement price of 16,000 yen
I saw that too! Btw, they just posted the font "Masterpiece" and no picture. Retailing at the equivalent $ 130 +
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665775)
Posted by Autobot032 on March 23rd, 2015 @ 7:24am CDT
Dey out dey minez...
Seriously though, that's a ridiculous price and they know it. I can foresee Exhaust becoming one very expensive MP grail for a lot of collectors. I'll bet he'll be worth half a grand a few years down the road.
Posted by Autobot032 on March 23rd, 2015 @ 7:24am CDT
fenrir72 wrote:LOST Cybertronian wrote:Got an email this morning from Nippon-Yasan saying that exhaust was available for the bargain basement price of 16,000 yen
I saw that too! Btw, they just posted the font "Masterpiece" and no picture. Retailing at the equivalent $ 130 +
Dey out dey minez...
Seriously though, that's a ridiculous price and they know it. I can foresee Exhaust becoming one very expensive MP grail for a lot of collectors. I'll bet he'll be worth half a grand a few years down the road.
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665776)
Posted by sol magnus on March 23rd, 2015 @ 7:31am CDT
I almost feel like I should have bought two, just to store one away for that sort of thing. But I just don't want to be a neckbeard.
Posted by sol magnus on March 23rd, 2015 @ 7:31am CDT
Autobot032 wrote:fenrir72 wrote:LOST Cybertronian wrote:Got an email this morning from Nippon-Yasan saying that exhaust was available for the bargain basement price of 16,000 yen
I saw that too! Btw, they just posted the font "Masterpiece" and no picture. Retailing at the equivalent $ 130 +
Dey out dey minez...
Seriously though, that's a ridiculous price and they know it. I can foresee Exhaust becoming one very expensive MP grail for a lot of collectors. I'll bet he'll be worth half a grand a few years down the road.
I almost feel like I should have bought two, just to store one away for that sort of thing. But I just don't want to be a neckbeard.
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665795)
Posted by fenrir72 on March 23rd, 2015 @ 8:46am CDT
Neckbeard? To paraphrase Scourge..........."No need to be insulting"
Posted by fenrir72 on March 23rd, 2015 @ 8:46am CDT
sol magnus wrote:Autobot032 wrote:fenrir72 wrote:LOST Cybertronian wrote:Got an email this morning from Nippon-Yasan saying that exhaust was available for the bargain basement price of 16,000 yen
I saw that too! Btw, they just posted the font "Masterpiece" and no picture. Retailing at the equivalent $ 130 +
Dey out dey minez...
Seriously though, that's a ridiculous price and they know it. I can foresee Exhaust becoming one very expensive MP grail for a lot of collectors. I'll bet he'll be worth half a grand a few years down the road.
I almost feel like I should have bought two, just to store one away for that sort of thing. But I just don't want to be a neckbeard.
Neckbeard? To paraphrase Scourge..........."No need to be insulting"
Re: Masterpiece MP-23 Exhaust Cheeky Bio Revealed (1665866)
Posted by megatronus on March 23rd, 2015 @ 10:56am CDT
Ha, indeed. Guess that makes me a neckbeard.
I buy two of every MP release (and in the case of Takara MP10, it may end up being 3), for a couple reasons:
1. I think it will be more expensive down the road to backtrack should one break, experience significant wear, or sun damage, etc., and I like to have a replacement at the ready should I need it.
2. I'm also a MISB collector, and it gives me a (false) sense of security to have a pristine one stored away, untouched by human hands.
This is by no means sustainable for most, or for me for that matter. All it means is that I'm a crazy person, and apparently, a neckbeard.
That all said, I'm a bit anxious since I was only able to put in an order for 1 Exhaust before preorders were removed (I normally try and a get a 'Mint Box' grade one from American retailers when these things go on sale).
Posted by megatronus on March 23rd, 2015 @ 10:56am CDT
fenrir72 wrote:sol magnus wrote:Autobot032 wrote:fenrir72 wrote:LOST Cybertronian wrote:Got an email this morning from Nippon-Yasan saying that exhaust was available for the bargain basement price of 16,000 yen
I saw that too! Btw, they just posted the font "Masterpiece" and no picture. Retailing at the equivalent $ 130 +
Dey out dey minez...
Seriously though, that's a ridiculous price and they know it. I can foresee Exhaust becoming one very expensive MP grail for a lot of collectors. I'll bet he'll be worth half a grand a few years down the road.
I almost feel like I should have bought two, just to store one away for that sort of thing. But I just don't want to be a neckbeard.
Neckbeard? To paraphrase Scourge..........."No need to be insulting"
Ha, indeed. Guess that makes me a neckbeard.
I buy two of every MP release (and in the case of Takara MP10, it may end up being 3), for a couple reasons:
1. I think it will be more expensive down the road to backtrack should one break, experience significant wear, or sun damage, etc., and I like to have a replacement at the ready should I need it.
2. I'm also a MISB collector, and it gives me a (false) sense of security to have a pristine one stored away, untouched by human hands.
This is by no means sustainable for most, or for me for that matter. All it means is that I'm a crazy person, and apparently, a neckbeard.
That all said, I'm a bit anxious since I was only able to put in an order for 1 Exhaust before preorders were removed (I normally try and a get a 'Mint Box' grade one from American retailers when these things go on sale).
