New trends on figure collecting---pro or against? Opinions/discussion ;)

[Knightdramon]

Wait, you guys are talking about Prime BREAKDOWN all this time?

D@mn my financial difficulties two years ago...I think I sold mine for like 45 or so USD, loose complete.

D@mn man. D@mn

[Thunderwave]

Wait, you guys are talking about Prime BREAKDOWN all this time?

D@mn my financial difficulties two years ago...I think I sold mine for like 45 or so USD, loose complete.

D@mn man. D@mn

Haha. Yes Prime Breakdown. He's gotten expensive these past few years. The quality of the figure combined with the limited distribution and the fact he's a show character means he's worth some cash these days. Collectors like us are snapping him up and not letting him go.

[Warcry]

Again, any common quality control problems that I've experienced with third party figures have been followed up by replacement parts and fixes at no charge to me. If ever I buy a third party figure that has major problems that aren't subsequently addressed by its manufacturer, I won't buy from that company again, easy-peasy.

Some third party companies do a good job of after-sales service when engineering or QC issues come to light, though I'm leery of the practice of packing the replacement parts in with another figure. But they have way more issues per figure released than Hasbro does. Though Hasbro doesn't have the best track record for paint and tolerances, there's been scant few official TFs with crippling design flaws. MP Rodimus and Generations Blitzwing are the only two that I can think of right now, though I'm sure there's been a few more.

I'm pretty close to the sweet spot for classic/nostalgia purposes. I've already got most of the old-school characters I care about, so it's hard to convince me to get another.

I tend to agree...most of the '86 and earlier characters have gotten at least one really good update by now, and it some cases two or three or more all at different sizes. Even though newer releases of, say Cosmos or Wheelie or Cliffjumper might be incrementally better than what we had previously, it's getting to the point where they need to be way more than "incrementally" better to justify buying yet another toy of the character. And it's not just old-school guys that's happened to, either. A lot of the main characters from the new movies achieved that within a couple years' time.

In terms of Generations stuff, Beast Wars characters, Targetmasters, Headmasters and the like are way more exciting for me than yet another Bluestreak or Optimus or Starscream, simply because Rhinox, Scoop and Brainstorm haven't had new toys in so long. The combiners are refreshing too simply because there's so many interchangeable parts available, but...not really for me, I don't think.

Only Star Wars and WWE figures seem to be available in the traditional size classes. Action figures for DC and Marvel in the 6" scale now seem to be the exclusive preserve of Forbidden Planet on the high street over here and the prices on them are something of a premium too - most individual figures are around £16.99.

Really? Around here, the 6" Marvel Legends are practically the only thing you can find in that scale at retail anymore. Star Wars 6" stuff is pretty much extinct since every store was flooded with unwanted Greedos and Slave Leias for over a year, and I very rarely see anything in the WWE section anymore (though I don't really look either, admittedly).

The scale does seem to be dying out at the moment outside of comic shops, though.

Mmm. Don't know what the **** that's about or who might be buying them... there's a point at which too small is too small, or at least can't realistically be sold except in pound shops.

I suspect the glut of 1"-2" figures is probably related to the success of Lego Collectible Minifigs, single-packed Kreons and the like. Though I don't think they have the same appeal when they're not heavily stylized like those are.

Aye, the mainstream Generations line is actually doing a better job of representing "Obscure" fan favourite characters, even beyond the ones that have been picked because of a decent role in the recent comics. It's hard to imagine a third party company doing a Sky-Byte for example. Or even a Rattrap.

Sky-Byte snafu aside, I think you've got a good point. Third-party stuff initially started out as "stuff that Hasbro won't do" (or at least stuff it seemed at the time they'd never do), like a triplechanging Springer, an armoured Magnus, a giant Sixshot, etc. But over the last few years it's evolved in a much different direction, with a lot of companies doing stuff that the official producers would totally do but just haven't gotten around to yet. Now it feels more like a race to get your version of Swoop/Jazz/Mirage/Shockwave/whoever out before the official one hits and obliterates your target market. A handful of companies are still pumping out Headmasters or Ironfists or whatever, but they seem to have been pushed to the fringes.

I was farting around some random page looking at pictures of CW Ultra Magnus, and I was amazed at all the fan bitching. People were doing the obligatory "It's not Ultra Magnus unless he's a white Optimus Prime with armor!" It's like, "They just put one out. Why do you care? You've got what you want."

When did they do a Magnus as white Prime in armour? Both the MP and CW versions have integrated transformations with no separate cab robot.

[numbat]

God, Breakdown's just a little slice of fried gold, isn't he? That's one that my wife didn't really understand the cost of at first.

I picked up the black Silas Breakdown version recently, for about £35 GBP, MISB. Very neat mould - I do love him. Not as good as say FE Bulkhead though, but still very nifty.

I'd like to find Nemesis Prime and Nightmare Unicron at a reasonable price at a point I'm happy to pay, as well as that TFCC Rampage based on FE Megatron and some character based on the RiD Arcee mould, just to round off the moulds. And TFCC Barricade based on Deluxe Prowl would be great. But none of these are essentials.

Looks like the MMC Spartan is more than snazzy enough to fill the Impactor hole.

[Thunderwave]

and some character based on the RiD Arcee mould, just to round off the moulds.

Generations Chromia is a retooled version of that mold. I'm rather fond of her Tron light-cycle mode.

[numbat]

Generations Chromia is a retooled version of that mold. I'm rather fond of her Tron light-cycle mode.

She does look pretty neat, but doesn't quite fit the Prime aesthetic. I'd like one that would be at home on a shelf of Prime figures. Flamewar would be my preference but costs a small fortune...

[Dead Man Wade]

In terms of Generations stuff, Beast Wars characters, Targetmasters, Headmasters and the like are way more exciting for me than yet another Bluestreak or Optimus or Starscream...

Seconded.

That's why I'm generally excited about things now. I'd no sooner said that they needed to bring back the Head- and Targetmasters, and Scoop and Brainstorm get announced.

When did they do a Magnus as white Prime in armour? Both the MP and CW versions have integrated transformations with no separate cab robot.

Apologies, I'd been under the impression that MP Ultra Magnus was like the original toy. If that's not the case, then so be it.

However, he is the most accurate representation of the G1 character model that we've seen thus far, cab robot or no. CW Ultra Magnus is a different animal, and I think it should be treated as such.

[Thunderwave]

That's why I'm generally excited about things now. I'd no sooner said that they needed to bring back the Head- and Targetmasters, and Scoop and Brainstorm get announced.

You know what I'd like to see. A "minicon" pack that is Targetmasters for Blurr, Kup, Hot Rod, and Scourge. Maybe add a few more Targetmaster designs besides the pair that came with Scoop, Nightstick, and the PCC guys.

I'd love to see more Target/Headmasters running around. They are good, solid gimmicks from back in the day that I remember loving as a kid.

[Dead Man Wade]

I'm hoping that they'll do a Chromedome at some point in the future, given his role in the comics. The other Headmasters, I'm not holding my breath. Hardhead has featured in the comics, but it seems unlikely at this point, and Highbrow is a cipher. But man, I would buy the crap out of them.

[Unicron]

I've been hoping they'd give Powermasters another shot, especially since they've done the Head and Targetmaster updates. With his role in the comics in recent years, and lack of an American release before, you'd think Overlord would be a perfect choice to update the concept

[Dead Man Wade]

Good point, and one I forgot about in my previous post. Given Getaway's partnership with Skids, I keep waiting for them to do an updated toy of him. If nothing else, it's nice to see him doing something in the comics other than dying.

[Unicron]

Good point, and one I forgot about in my previous post. Given Getaway's partnership with Skids, I keep waiting for them to do an updated toy of him. If nothing else, it's nice to see him doing something in the comics other than dying.

If getting good featuring in the comic is a sign/cause of a new toy, then we should be hoping for a nice Ravage, Nautica, Rung, etc. too.

Just in case...

SPOILER! (select to read)

Well, if the solicitation for the next MTMTE issue is correct in predicting a death, perhaps Getaway will get to perform his oldest trick.