KOToys- FORT,BRAVE,GRAND Max KOS

[GoktimusPrime]

But a Fortress Maximus at a $300 price point, well that could seriously jeopardise sales of what might be eventually released. That seems a real moral dillemma that might not be present with say a Constructicons release or Dinobots since TT clearly doesn't have the molds.

I don't know if TakaraTOMY have lost the moulds for the Constructicons -- about 10 years ago they released a statement saying that the reason they didn't want to release reissue Devastator was because by that time it was already being heavily KOed and Takara said that they simply did not want to compete against bootleggers.

I don't have Omega Supreme. And I didn't have Metroplex so I bought the reissue. I don't even have a dog.

I had Omega Supreme and Metroplex, so I skipped Encore Omega Supreme (but I did get GADEP) and I got Encore Metroplex cos that way I could get the little missiles and Scamper's gun, plus the fact that the reissue has chrome thighs and rubber tyres (whereas my G1 has chrome-stickered thighs and plastic tyres).

I'm not a dog person.

Unfortunately, their research was probably gauged by how many fans said they wanted one, but then most couldn't cough up the big bucks when the time came, which IMO, is exactly what will happen with Fort Max. Sure, everyone says they want it, but when it's money-time, many will run away.

Yeah, I'd agree with this.

As to KO Mfg's being deceptive, I've found that occurring less and less (CHMS anyone?), and the same goes for KO retailers (uh, kotoys.com). While KOs are undoubtedly on the rise, deception, at least in my peripheral vision, seems to be on the way down.

The toys are designed to be deceptive insofar as being imitations of the originals, right down to the packaging. There's nothing on the packaging that seems to indicate that it's a knock off. With legitimate reissues, there are variations in packaging that tells you it's a reissue, for example the Encores all have the Encore logo (and the TOMY logo is different from the Takara logo on the originals). And of course, there's differences in copyright stampage on the toys.

Some more honest sellers will tell people that their products are KOs, but unfortunately there are a lot of dishonest sellers that try to palm off KOs as legits. And you have collectors like kup who end up getting stung paying for a toy that they believe is legit, but turns out to me a fake.

What KO makers could do if they cared about giving consumers the opportunity to make an informed purchase choice, is to make some kind of small variation to the toy and packaging to let people know. e.g. a minor change to the packaging or toy (e.g. stampage). There are often minor differences, but I don't think that was done intentionally (and even then, they're not easy to spot and not obvious to anyone who doesn't know what to look for). Just something like "Not a licensed product" or "Unlicensed" (or maybe the Jolly Roger )