Matty Collector

[kup]

If they had a collector-exclusive site, then I fear the cost of those toys for non-American collectors may be prohibitively expensive. (-_-)
Perhaps it would be better if they were like Diamond Select and distributed the toys to places like retailers like Comic Kingdom, Kings Comics, Phantom Comics, Kinokuniya, Comics R Us etc. - i.e. retailers that directly cater for collectors instead of "general consumer" retailers like Kmart, Target etc.

What about Matty's model? They only charge $10 a figure for international shipping and you save more when you combine. One of the good things about Matty collector is that they are very fair when it comes to international shipping unlike the FunPub store which barely acknowledges that people live outside the US. Selling it to local collector retailers is not much of an option as it would only result in massively inflated prices . It is far too often that it's much cheaper to import something than to buy it at a local collector store and too unworkable as they only deal in tiny numbers per store. An online shop can have as many figures in stock as they deem fit for the market, all from a single source.

And I think this is a really good thing. One thing that sometimes concerns me when manufacturers start making toys for adult collectors is that you can end up with really boring toys (re: inferior play value) - what Kevin Smith shamelessly calls "Inaction Figures." Having said that, most collector-centric Transformer toys thankfully retain good play value.

As you mentioned, a collector toy does not have to be deprived of play value. MOTUC have a lot of it, arguably more than several Hasbro retail toys despite a lack of 'Action gimmicks' yet it's a collector exclusive line.

Regarding the toy designers, didn't one of the Takara designers say that some of the great obstacles to making a good toy was Hasbro always trying to cost cut or forcing a stupid gimmick onto it? In a collector only line, those things would not be as much of a factor as Walmart and their silly 'sale gimmick' demands would not factor in and prices can be reasonably higher than US retail (still cheaper by our local standards) with the difference that you get more bang for your buck.

[GoktimusPrime]

What about Matty's model? They only charge $10 a figure for international shipping and you save more when you combine. One of the good things about Matty collector is that they are very fair when it comes to international shipping unlike the FunPub store which barely acknowledges that people live outside the US. Selling it to local collector retailers is not much of an option as it would only result in massively inflated prices . It is far too often that it's much cheaper to import something than to buy it at a local collector store and too unworkable as they only deal in tiny numbers per store. An online shop can have as many figures in stock as they deem fit for the market, all from a single source.

The Official Transformers Club seems to barely acknowledge the existence of collector outside North America too... so I'm not eager to trust that if Hasbro did set up a collector's store that they'd change this outlook. Given their track record, odds are Hasbro will charge rip off prices for collectors outside the USA. I'm not saying it's not possible (from what you've told me about Matty Collector it definitely seems possible)... but I wouldn't hold my breath for Hasbro to make the effort to cater for international fans.

As you mentioned, a collector toy does not have to be deprived of play value. MOTUC have a lot of it, arguably more than several Hasbro retail toys despite a lack of 'Action gimmicks' yet it's a collector exclusive line.

Yeah, I had a fiddle with Hursticon's Skeletor at the Parra Fair, and I must say I was quite impressed.

Regarding the toy designers, didn't one of the Takara designers say that some of the great obstacles to making a good toy was Hasbro always trying to cost cut or forcing a stupid gimmick onto it? In a collector only line, those things would not be as much of a factor as Walmart and their silly 'sale gimmick' demands would not factor in and prices can be reasonably higher than US retail (still cheaper by our local standards) with the difference that you get more bang for your buck.

Well yeah, Transformers are often crap when their engineering is compromised for sales gimmicks to appeal to retailers. But again, that's the problem when they make toys to appeal to retailers instead of children. Kids don't like toys that are compromised by their gimmick (e.g. G1 Battlechargers, Firecons etc.)

[FFN]

As you mentioned, a collector toy does not have to be deprived of play value. MOTUC have a lot of it, arguably more than several Hasbro retail toys despite a lack of 'Action gimmicks' yet it's a collector exclusive line.

That's an entirely subjective viewpoint.

Regarding the toy designers, didn't one of the Takara designers say that some of the great obstacles to making a good toy was Hasbro always trying to cost cut or forcing a stupid gimmick onto it? In a collector only line, those things would not be as much of a factor as Walmart and their silly 'sale gimmick' demands would not factor in and prices can be reasonably higher than US retail (still cheaper by our local standards) with the difference that you get more bang for your buck.

To my knowledge, not exactly.

What both Shogo Hasui and Hirofumi Ichikawa said (separately) about Energon Wing Saber was that they had to design under Hasbro's strict requirements for plastic weight and dimensions for the Voyager price point, and that Hasbro couldn't just make the box larger for to accomodate a larger figure, and as a consequence, some minor features were eliminated. By comparison, due to (I assume) the Japanese industry and market's more flexible per-product budget and pricing, Takara, if they were designing a toy just for their own market, in theory could adjust the price to accommodate whatever the specific toy required. Hasui said that these restrictions are always with them.

(Superlink Wing Saber was priced a little more than the Energon version, but was functionally and aesthetically nearly identical.)

TakaraTomy Staff interview Translation - Mr. Starscream (can't link Ichikawa's comments because they were via email).

Hasui and Hisashi Yuki related Takashi Kunihiro's (designer of the leader class Movie Primes) troubles in designing Jetfire in having to accommodate the design of the movie model, make it a combiner, being able to fit the electronics and batteries into the toy (wishing batteries could "transform to a smaller size!"), and to fit the TRY ME! switch on the front of the figure.

TakaraTomy Staff interview; ROTF Human Alliance, Gravity Bots and more

[GoktimusPrime]

Hasui and Hisashi Yuki related Takashi Kunihiro's (designer of the leader class Movie Primes) troubles in designing Jetfire in having to accommodate the design of the movie model, make it a combiner, being able to fit the electronics and batteries into the toy (wishing batteries could "transform to a smaller size!"), and to fit the TRY ME! switch on the front of the figure.

Hence why I dislike:
+ Transformers designed as screen characters first before being designed as toys. I much prefer Transformers that are designed as toys first, then let comic/screen artists adapt them (then watch fans complain about lack of "screen accuracy" )
+ Electronic gimmicks, particularly sound gimmicks. We can provide our own sound effects and voices, thankyouverymuch. (-_-)

[FFN]

It should be noted that, to my knowledge, there's nothing to stop TakaraTomy from having all Movie toys with superior paint decos to their Hasbro counterparts, considering the higher retail price they are sold at (as well as the accompanying higher budgets). Hasbro paints the way they do because they need to sell it to retailers who sell them for $10-12USD. TakaraTomy's versions have a RRP that's twice as much, and have a per-figure paint budget that allows for considerably more paint to be used.

Also note that TakaraTomy toylines with better paint jobs (or simply more paint used, regardless of if its appropriate or not), tend to be non-movie lines, ie, Transformers lines without a big international movie to help sell toys.

I wonder, does TakaraTomy feel that because the big movie helps sell considerably more Transformers than they would normally sell (perhaps mainly to kids), that they don't need to "try as hard"? The movie toys with significantly different paint decos appear to be special collector-focused releases (like Buster Prime and the "Masterpiece" decos).

[kup]

It should be noted that, to my knowledge, there's nothing to stop TakaraTomy from having all Movie toys with superior paint decos to their Hasbro counterparts, considering the higher retail price they are sold at (as well as the accompanying higher budgets). Hasbro paints the way they do because they need to sell it to retailers who sell them for $10-12USD. TakaraTomy's versions have a RRP that's twice as much, and have a per-figure paint budget that allows for considerably more paint to be used.

Also note that TakaraTomy toylines with better paint jobs (or simply more paint used, regardless of if its appropriate or not), tend to be non-movie lines, ie, Transformers lines without a big international movie to help sell toys.

I wonder, does TakaraTomy feel that because the big movie helps sell considerably more Transformers than they would normally sell, that they don't need to "try as hard"?

This is a bit off topic but since it's your thread, let's roll with it.

With the exception of a few toys such as Buster Prime, Takara-Tomy hasn't really made much of an effort to improve on the Movie line but then again, Hasbro's movie toys have not exactly been cheap but made of pretty reasonable manufacturing materials with generally satisfying paint application.

It is also possible that this isn't logistically possible as Takara-Tomy and Hasbro seem to be using the same factory to do the production runs for both companies. Since the toys need to match or be close to the release date of the film, it may be simpler to make a single large production for both markets than two separate ones as it has been done for Henkei and United which may require one run to complete before the other can start.

[GoktimusPrime]

IMHO and generally speaking, TakaraTOMY doesn't try as hard as pre-TOMY Takara. (<_<)