third party newbie - where do i start?

[Melike]

So I've been looking around at some of these third party Transformers and they've been blowing my mind. BUt its also a lot of info to absorb with the multiple versions (predaking) coming out and all the different companies working on stuff.

Can anyone give me a quick and easy intro to the wonderful world of third party transfomers - which are the good companies, the not so good, the best toys to get (Quakewave will be my first I think but all the combiners are making me drool) and most of all - where you guys get these from?

Any help would be truly appreciated.

[Trent]

So I've been looking around at some of these third party Transformers and they've been blowing my mind. BUt its also a lot of info to absorb with the multiple versions (predaking) coming out and all the different companies working on stuff.

Can anyone give me a quick and easy intro to the wonderful world of third party transfomers - which are the good companies, the not so good, the best toys to get (Quakewave will be my first I think but all the combiners are making me drool) and most of all - where you guys get these from?

Any help would be truly appreciated.

Quakewave is the best 3P product made so far. It is awesome.

It really depends on your taste as to what to get. Each company has their own style and likes to put their own spin on their renditions. Most of the big ones are good QC-wise these days and they have no more issues then an equivalent HasTak toy, albiet they cost significantly more.

I collect a bit of everything and have several 3P combiners and I think they are all great. My favourite is easily Green Giant, he is so well built and solid and also looks tough. I also have Perseus which is the SG recolour of Hercules and while he as a few faults, he is still very cool.

As for which Predaking to get, whichever one you like the best. I'm going for Feral Rex personally as I have Hexatron and he is wicked. Plus MMCs Predaking looks awesome.

As for which companies are rubbish, if you can stand the drivel (and there is heaps of it), the TFW 3P serction is very good for getting an idea of whether a product is worth the cash. Also watch lots of reviews on youtube. Kalel on this forum does a few and Peaugh over on TFW does good ones to.

Hope this helps :)

[Melike]

Thanks for the info - ive been trying to absorb it all but theres a lot to absorb. Which is good. Where do you all get them from? Is there any proven local sites at all? I got an order from BBTS and the shipping was insane, the tracking info was wrong, the courier only attempted delivery once and i had to drive an hour to go pick it up myself (I was hoping for some kind of reaction on BBTS side but they didnt care).

So yeah, good alternatives to BBTS?

[Hursticon]

So yeah, good alternatives to BBTS?

TFSource (http://tfsource.com/) (US)
RobotKingdom (http://www.robotkingdom.com/services/eshop/main.php?lang=us) (HK)
UpgradeCommander (http://www.upgradecommander.com/) (JP)
FansProjectCore (https://www.fpcore.com/) (Exclusives Only) (CA)
Chimungmung (http://chimungmung.com/) (HK)

[llamatron]

TFW's 3rd party forum seems to be the best English language place on the interwebs to get this sort of information.

If you're looking for a good entry figure into 3rd party stuff, I recommend Mech Ideas Apex + Gemini. They're relatively cheap and very good.

[Melike]

Thanks for the info guys. I guess ill look at th e various websites and see which has the best shipping.

And llamatron - ill look into it. Not familiar with that one. Cheers.

[kaiden]

it really depends on what you want.

first there's the upgrade kits
- FP released some for henkei/classics hot rod, ultra magnus.
they also made a trailer for Optimus that included a few chrome weapons for mirage, hound etc.
the upgrade set for Bruticus is really good too.
-igear's kup head is a much nicer head sculpt with cigar.
-Maketoys Battle Tanker.
-Dr Wu make some really good accessories

stand alone figures
-FP Insecticons, Headmasters (Function X)
-MMC everything but knightmorpher commander.
-Maketoys Nova Prime.

combiners
-depends on what you want, there's only been a few so far. Maketoys seems pretty good and we're all waiting for MMC's Predaking to finish.

I guess the best place to start would be with Fansproject - most of us probably started buying their stuff as they were innovative and of high quality.

[Melike]

Def stand alone figures. Dont think im too worried about the add on kits.
There's a lot of websites posted up there. Does anyone have a favourite?

Thanks for all the help everyone btw, it's appreciated.

As for the combiners, can you really afford to wait until they're all finished. Then Wouldnt it be hard to find the initial figures released? Of course, if you don't wait how reliable are these companies that they're going t see it through and you're left with an arm missing or something :p

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Def stand alone figures. Dont think im too worried about the add on kits.Just a suggestion, but maybe don't rule out add-on kits just yet. The difference a good upgrade kit can make to an official HTT toy is amazing. I've only got City Commander (which was crazy expensive but so worth it, even despite its age), HeadRobots Blood, and that Beelzeboss United Bumblebee Goldbug kit from a while back, but they're some of my favourite pieces in my collection. A decent upgrade kit can turn a decent TF into a really good TF, and a great TF into an amazing one.

More importantly, you seem to be sort of going about this the wrong way, hey. There's a lot of great 3P stuff out there, as well as a lot of mediocre stuff as well. The best starting point is to ask yourself what characters you're interested in, especially those that HasTakTom hasn't done and/or done to your satisfaction, and what 3P stuff appeals to you personally. After that, do some research, weigh up the value VS cost ('cos 3P stuff is expensive), and see what ends up making the cut for you.
It's really all about what you yourself want from your collection - if you see something you like, look into it, and if it seems worth it, then get it.

[liegeprime]

BBTS would be too expensive... get it from Chimungmung, they've got their 3P items in a per company itemization. as everyone has said the tfw 3P thread is where you can get product descriptions , company reviews and other statistics , then when you've decided which ones to get, definitely from Chimungmung.

Of course a lot of these are quite pricy nowadays especially the older ones. The thing is, 3P are always going to be pricy even on first release. So, best to scan thru the latest ones, and pick out which you want and buy them while their available. Coz, when these ran out, usually the second runs are more expensive...

Some recommended figures - all of which are available at Chimungmung.

1. Maketoys Giant ( not devastator)
2. Fans Project (FP) Causality not stunticons
3. Fanstoys QuakeWave - not shockwave
4. Fansproject Function X1 - not Chromedome
5. MMC Hexatron - not Sixshot
6. Mech Ideas - Apex and Gemini - not Twintwist, Topspin
7. Igear for minibots and Generations Kup alternate head
8. Maketoys Battle tanker add on,
9. Dr Wu for accessory weapons

[Cat]

Are there any particular characters you were hoping for?

[kaiden]

Def stand alone figures. Dont think im too worried about the add on kits.
There's a lot of websites posted up there. Does anyone have a favourite?

Thanks for all the help everyone btw, it's appreciated.

As for the combiners, can you really afford to wait until they're all finished. Then Wouldnt it be hard to find the initial figures released? Of course, if you don't wait how reliable are these companies that they're going t see it through and you're left with an arm missing or something :p

For me this year i've only had problems with RK.

as for combiners, i meant as in there's only a few out at the moment that its hard to purely judge which is better.

FP has the stunticons which is still missing motor master
Maketoys has Devastator
TFC has Devastator and Superion.

for the most part their best feature has been the gestalt mode - its the individual robot modes that tend to suffer. but MMC's Predaking looks to be the best of both.

[Melike]

Are there any particular characters you were hoping for?

Thanks for the comments guys, taking them all in.

I grew up with g1 so I'm more interested in that but I'm not adverse to anyone if they look neat ;)

And I def will choose what I think is best for me ..just curious to hear if there are any favourites among the community.

[kup]

Thanks for the comments guys, taking them all in.

I grew up with g1 so I'm more interested in that but I'm not adverse to anyone if they look neat ;)

And I def will choose what I think is best for me ..just curious to hear if there are any favourites among the community.

The rule is basically 'whoever makes the best toy for me'. I don't know of anyone here or in the international boards who is completely for any particular 3rd party company.

You see something you like, then do your research (youtube videos, photos, etc) and then make your call if you want to buy it.

I am pretty sure the companies you hear praise for the most often is mostly because they have produced good quality toys. If one of the 'second tiers' start producing better toys, you would hear praise for them too. I am sure that the opposite would happen if one of the better companies begins to make crap toys. It all depends.

[Cat]

Thanks for the comments guys, taking them all in.

I grew up with g1 so I'm more interested in that but I'm not adverse to anyone if they look neat ;)

And I def will choose what I think is best for me ..just curious to hear if there are any favourites among the community.

Okay, can you narrow that down a bit? We're still talking hundreds of different characters.

Specific years, or sub-lines, or gimmicks?

Example answer 'I liked the first year Autobot cars, love the Stunticons, and quite liked the Headmasters gimmick and would love to see it used again.'

Stuff like that, so we can taylor your shopping closer to the things you're most likely to be interested in.

[Gofigure]

Good thread

I'm in the same boat as you mate....only discovered 3rd party stuff 6 months ago and there can be some wonderful figures. I too was (am) a bit overwhelmed by the choices. I just continue to do research read reviews etc.

The hard part is the lack of actual names due to copyright :)

Mech ideas jumpstarters are great and I love my fansproject non wreckers....was taken back by the quality and feel. Very detailed and very serious toys hehe

I too am looking for direction and help from members here on what to purchase

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

As Cat said, if you tell us a bit about what you like TF-wise that'd help narrow it down a bit.:)

The pieces I have that I'd recommend include HeadRobots Blood, Beelzeboss Growing Pains (if you can find a reasonably priced United Bumblebee), and City Commander. PE Scouting Force/not-Reflector are good, but they're really small for the prices they go for. I have a few more 3PP items I haven't opened yet, so I can't really offer advice on them yet. I'd suggest waiting on City Commander, and possibly skipping it entirely, since TakaraTomy are doing an MP Ultra Magnus, and possibly skipping on the not-Goldbug kit since TakTom are doing an MP Bumblebee too and I'd be surprised if there isn't a Goldbug retool (which should drive the price down a little) at some point.
I've heard good things about MakeToys Green Giant and MMCs Bovis (which bodes well for their full Feral Rex set), but I don't have either yet. I am planning on picking up the MMC Feral Rex crew, but I'm holding off for now in the hopes of a box set of all 5 Feralcons at once. If that happens it'll probably be cheaper and hopefully have whatever QC issues turn up sorted out by then, if not then I'll probably just have to pay more for them than I would have if I got them as they come out. Apparently Toyword's Hegemon is pretty decent too, as is Fanstoys Quakewave, but I'm not really interested in either for my collection so I can't speak from personal experience.

If you're after a 3P Bruticus, I'd suggest waiting until the upcoming Warbotron release comes out - even if you choose to go the FansProject route it'll probably be cheaper to get a pre-owned set compared to now. Probably ditto for City Commander once the MP Ultra Magnus is out.

Without knowing what you're into, all I can really give advice-wise is that older stuff tends to stay about the same price unless there's a competing product (either from HasTakTom or another 3rd Party group), while newer stuff tends to go up in price and then plateau (unless it's crap in which case prices go down slightly), so if there's a new piece you're interested in then grab it when it comes out, whereas if it's older then look out for the occasional bargain and/or wait for competing new versions of said character.

[Melike]

Phew - lots of comments. I'll read through em all when I get a chance.

Just wanted to establish a few things. I'm not looking for anyone to find me something to buy - the purpose for this thread was to dip my toes into the third party waters. Find out if there were good companies/bad companies - find out if there were any fan favourite figures that everyone was raving about..that sort of thing.As many of you have done.

But yeah, not after anything in particular at the moment - just keen to start getting into this territory and curious about what I was getting myself into.

[spiderken17]

I've only just started adding 3rd party stuff to my collection as well. Its a bit overwhelming at first but its fun to learn.
One thing I did was read the 3rd party acquisitions thread. It shows you what is available and you can get a good idea on what the quality of them are like.
One thing is for sure. Be prepared to spend some coin. They are hideously expensive for what is essentially a CHUG figure.
I mainly go for ones that have not been done by Hasbro/TakTom and are in scale with other ones in my collection. A few good 3rd party choices add a bit of variety to the collection

[Cat]

There's plenty of great quality figures to choose from.

So what you're asking, based on the info given, is hard to provide an answer for.

If you can throw out some characters you may be interested in (eg. Devastator, Ironhide, anyone from first year G1) and/or styles (eg figures that fit into Classics displays, figures that fit in with MP displays) we'll be able to start giving you some actual opinions with some weight behind them.