↑This so much.Originally Posted by Bidoofdude
What I love about CHUG and earlier MPs is how they were more focused on homaging the G1 cartoon aesthetics and design features rather than just trying to exactly emulate them. Homaging>fidelity.
But it is true that fans do keep on pining more and more for "show accuracy." Even before the internet existed. I remember even in the 80s listening to people talk about how they wanted their toys to look more like the cartoon. My G1 Trailbreaker and Skydasher, which I obtained second hand, had their eyes painted blue by their original owner (why Powerdasher? He never even appeared in the 'toon!). And one thing that Action Masters did was start introducing cartoon biases into the toys (e.g. Bumblebee's head etc.).
Granted that I haven't filled out a TakaraTOMY survey since 2017 (thank you, geoblocking), but the last time I checked Q14 asked why you like the toy, with one of the options being "G1 accuracy."
But the big indicator would be sales. How many people here started collecting MPs before or after their shift towards slavish screen accuracy (around 2015/16) vs those who started collecting before then? How many of us have proportionately more pre-2015 MPs vs post-2015 MPs, and to be fair, proportionate to the number of MPs produced in those periods? And the fact that TakaraTOMY are now pumping out more MPs than they did before indicates that the line has been a strong seller.
At the end of the day we all vote with our wallets. If people want to get an MP but circumvent the "vote," then just get the toys second hand. That way you're not adding money into TakaraTOMY's pockets -- that vote was already cast by the toy's original owner. Plus getting MPs LMIB even a few months after its release date is significantly cheaper (as Japanese fans prize sealed mintiness). Often these toys will have been opened but rarely handled if at all -- they're really loose mint. It's just that the sticky tape's been broken.
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