I'm always following TFW2005's news but I'm losing track of things. There's just too many third party companies making stuff nowadays. And it's all kinds of items. Random misc crap that turned up in a single episode (you know, stuff we could get as a freebie with a relevant Masterpiece). New Headmasters or Targetmasters. New minibots. New cassettes. Addons to G1 or Energon combiners. At least two entire Devastator sets. New dinobots. WST versions of everything. Power-up armor for Rodimus and Optimus. Recolors of power-up armor. Optimus trailers for any Optimus that lacks one. MP ripoffs. MP resizes. Brand new MP style designs (Soundwave, Ironhide, Ratchet and Sixshot just from memory). And not one of these items under $20, with many over $80. And add to that some "bedroom" sellers that make fairly neat head replacements, reproductions of parts or labels, and more.

What happened? Did Takara loose a court battle that let everyone do as they please? Is it the new, relatively cheap 3D printers or printing services that lets anyone be a toy company? Sometimes I want this stuff (MP Dirge, Soundwave, Ratchet and Ironhide for example), but a) it's stupidly expensive most of the time, b) the legality is a little shady and c) you never know if the quality is okay until after release and by then everything is even more expensive anyway. Is there really a big enough audience of crazy collectors who will pay $200 to add a little articulation to a G1 brick or to have a specific object to recreate a specific G1 scene, or is everyone just jumping on the bandwagon, ready to fail spectacularly within a year?

It's especially fun to watch when some people complain loudly about the prices of deluxes going up to $12, only to turn around and proclaim a Devastator made of $80 deluxes to be a bargain.

What do you think?

When it comes to pricing so do I believe that some people will think that the expensive third party productions to be of a good quality. Like people who thinks that liver and other disgutins kind of food is good just because it's expensive. Or people drinking expensive champagne when it's scientifically proven that the cheapest ones is the best kind.

But in other hands so doesn't I trust these third party items, even if I am interested in the Shadow Commander armour for Universe Nemesis Prime (though they don't seem to be anywhere now a day, and there's a good reason why I didn't buy it when they were avialable).

I got no problem with it. You aren't forced to buy anything. I got the armor suits for Ultra Magnus and Rodimus which I think are awesome.. I also have a custom manufactured 120 limited piece MP-01 trailer in prober scale fully transformable. I got a 3rd party addon set for Predaking to make him look more menacing and I'm quite fond of that set.
If Has/Tak can't produce these kind of accessories or figures, I see no wrong in other doing it... making the accessories only makes more wanting the originals from Has/Tak to "suit 'em up"... In a way I think it's a "win-win" in most cases.

Indeed it's a win-win in most cases (as for examples the armour suits for Ultra Magnus, Nemesis and Optimus Prime, who looks awesome, and the armour suit for Superion Maximus looks awesome too).
But again third party toys that are just slightly remolded versions of already existing toys by Has/Tak is something you shouldn't care about the slightest.

I dont care, I am just luckey I dont collect new crap.

The pricetag on a lot of this stuff is the dealbreaker for me - that is, I won't be buying any of it. This especially goes for the combiner teams where every individual robot costs almost a hundred dollars - that's a lot of money if you want the whole combiner! And the individual robots themselves aren't all that impressive considering the pricetag.

I bought the Headrobots Blood addon kit since it was reasonably cheap and it was 100% worthwhile. Right now, the only "third part" item I have any interest in is that remake of Sixshot - he may cost upwards over 100 dollars, but considering how much the vintage toy (and I believe there was a reissue as well) cost these days...

I don't own any 3rd party stuff, though I've considered buying the add-on trailer-thing for RTS G2 Laser Optimus. On the other hand the price point is way too high for me. Yeah, it improves quite nice deluxe figure into awesomeness-level, but I can live without it when I get Prime voyager Prime.

Those Devastator-series and other stuff like that are indeed cool-looking, but again, the price point ruins my interest. And in addition to those larger and more expensive 3rd party figures, there's just so much "neat, but meh" -stuff around.

It's nice that there's something for those who want, but I could really say that there's too much third party things going on.

If there are cheap 3D printers, I'd like one. Homebrew Transformers is the way to go.

Seriously, I'm wondering whether it is the low production numbers or just plain greediness that makes some 3rd party products so outrageously expensive.

My take on it is similar to Sureshot's, don't like it, don't buy it.
I really don't understand how some people see this as a problem. Being offered something different from a 3rd party company is a bonus, not a threat. But some fans view it as their intelligence is insulted and feel the need to degrade 3rd party pieces.
Yup they're hugely more expensive, but seeing how much I 'save' on uninteresting Hasbro stuff recently, I'm not complaining.
For me, a lot of the recent 3rd party stuff is the new classics.

Here's something I think is wierd: There are 2 "devastators" comming out and addons for the g1 version. And we've gotten 2 addons for energon Superion and Bruticus...arent we missing something? Why isent there any addons for the energon Devastator? I think that would be awesome!
But sadly most 3rd party stuff cost to much for me...as long as they are not copies of official products that my only complaint.
I would like too see something more supprising in the future like maybe moonbase 1 and 2

Yes. There's not NEARLY enough Stunticon love.

Liver is expencive food?

I guess that some kind of liver is expensive to eat at fancy restaurants. But I'm not sure if it's expensive for the owner of the restaurant though.

Overall liver cost more then meat from the same animal due to lesser demand but goose liver is rather expensive because it's "fancy".

So the "Battle Tanker Add On Kit" is now aviable at BBTS at just over 100 USD. I sure it's not news to anybody, but DAMN does this look good!
link BBTS
It works so well with the truck mode and base mode looks awesome! The armor mode is very nice looking extra!
But it's such a shame it's so expensive, for 50 bucks I would absolutely get it! But over 100...

That is one sexy thang.

Since this seems to be current 3rd party topic, I could just add these pictures here. You got to see this unless you already have:

http://www.seibertron.com/images/toys/uplo...509380470_n.jpg

http://www.seibertron.com/images/toys/uplo...801674191_n.jpg

http://www.seibertron.com/images/toys/uplo...160264390_n.jpg

http://www.seibertron.com/images/toys/uplo...521151620_n.jpg


And back to the topic. I would say that if the quality of most of these items is something like that, then bring them on. Ok, we don't know the actual quality of that particular item, but it looks just awesome. As a collector, I don't really know any reason why I should not to buy this one (unless the actual final product would be somehow frakked up). I mean what is hasbro/takara offering? Flimsy MP Megatron with package full of flawns, or Classics Batman/Megatron with his silly wings and quite a off-puting paintjob.

Not saying that hastak can't do anything right, but some of those toys specially made for collectors have been often full of some kind of a issues. MP-10 Prime is actually really well made, but can't say same about the 1. version of Rodimus and Megatron.

I know that many regard these as just a copies and piracy, but I really don't see that it is the case with items like this. Some of those igear stuff have been just mini versions of takara mp toys, but all those cool upgrade sets and characters that hastak aren't most likely even doing, are just welcome on my behalf.

The only "third party" bot I'm interested in is the not-Sixshot that's still pending release.

Sure, he has superior articulation, but if HasTak actually bothers to reissue the original, it's always preferrable!

...assuming he wouldn't suffer from the abhorrent QC of the latest reissues that is.

I would love to get both this Megatron and Sixshot, they look simply amazing!

This blew my mind, a Powermaster upgrade set for Classics Prime that ALSO work for g1 PM Prime!!
Seibertron article
I could not believe that would work but I did managed to fit Classics Prime into the G1 trailer (not in a functional way) and it fits.

This looks amazing, I'll rather have this then any MP version myself but chances are it's going to be out of my price range.

The iGear Medic ("Ratchet") and Weapon Specialist ("Ironhide") figures will be out in April. They are quite similar to the characters we know and love from the Transformers universe, but they are also completely original toy designs for these two characters. So far we have seen these as unpainted prototypes, but I'm looking forward to seeing these with final paint scheme. HasTak have had the chance to make something equally good (face it, they are sitting on tons of intellectual property), but they are or have been creatively stuck in a rut. With Masterpiece Lambo Sideswipe on the way and a new MP coronation Starscream with new head/face (finally!) also incoming, hopefully we'll see some improvement from HasTak.

I do like the design from the waist up, but those legs are a bit too spindly for my liking. Also, is it just me, or does it look like they gave it God Ginrai style gauntlets? I'm going to go ahead and guess that they're planning a God Bomber add-on later, as to maximize the profits from the mold.

Even though I'm not going to buy it myself, I'm a bit curious as to how it's going to turn out. Xovergen, the group behind it, doesn't exactly have the best track record when it comes to quality. Their only previous product was the Grand Patriot based on a G.I.Joe crossover and from what I've heard was terrible in every way possible. Cheap plastic, poor construction, unfinished design etc. And their accessory pack projects for Generations WFC Optimus and Megatron seems to have died completely without as much as a word.
Obviously they could have improved by now though, but still. I wouldn't blindly sign up for any pre-orders for any of their stuff until some reviews appear.

Om nom nom, this crow sure is delicious.

I seem to be in a spending mood. I was looking at reviews of MP Sideswipe who does look good, but he was never a big favourite. Ratchet, on the other hand, is. I saw some pictures of Sideswipe and him with MP-10 and they just looked great. But still... if I'm paying top dollar for a third party Ratchet, I'd like to have a comic accurate head, and I'm not keen on repainting such an expensive figure.

And what do you know? Igear Ratchet DOES have a comic coloured head. So I just put in an order. Hopefully the real MP Ratchet is far away, but this guy will probably measure up really well once it arrives.

I also have some plans for some neat pictures with him, I just need to do some building...