What are your standards when it comes to the "perfect" reissue?

[GoktimusPrime]

I can't remember exactly, but I think I read it off a Japanese TF board about 10 years (Naito Naonori's Transformers Net??? Can't remember (either way that board has been defunct for years now)...

Anyway, TFwiki only says that it's rumoured as a lost mould... but the fact that TOMY have reissued Encore Devastator now should disprove that rumour - because Takara/TOMY have never reissued a toy from a completely lost/destroyed/damaged mould before. The most extensively damaged mould that had to be repaired for a reissue was Optimus Prime -- it's obvious from the reissue's body that it was cast from G2 Optimus Prime and not G1, but even Takara admitted that the moulds for the arms had been destroyed/lost and they had to spend truckloads (sic) of money to build new moulds for Convoy's arms. Takara said that it was a big expensive for them but they figured that it must have been worth it because Convoy/Optimus Prime is arguably the single most popular/iconic character in the TF franchise. And we've certainly seen HasTak milk that mould something chronic -- it would have to be the single most reissued Transformer toy out there!

I'd say that the existence of Encore Devastator probably disproves any theory/rumour that Takara had ever lost the Devastator mould. They may have lost parts of it -- like maybe the moulds for Scavenger's legs/feet?? But that would surprise me, considering how much Takara harped on about how much they shelled out to reconstruct Optimus Prime's arms, I'm surprised TOMY hasn't said boo about the cost of reconstructing the Constructicons. So odds are the mould was never lost ... at least not entirely.

[5FDP]

Anyway, TFwiki only says that it's rumoured as a lost mould... but the fact that TOMY have reissued Encore Devastator now should disprove that rumour - because Takara/TOMY have never reissued a toy from a completely lost/destroyed/damaged mould before.

Which only adds further credence to the rumour as we have never seen Sunstreaker reissued either.

I'd say that the existence of Encore Devastator probably disproves any theory/rumour that Takara had ever lost the Devastator mould.

Possibly, but as I mentioned I heard that they (Takara/Tomy) recently reacquired the mould for Devastator from one of the KO makers who held the mould since the factory that manufactured them shut down explaining why we haven't seen a reissue in the last 18 years and why we haven't had any official confirmation explaining why.

[liegeprime]

Isnt it amazing and also irritating, that, the KO makers CAN spend XXX amount of money so they can manufacture KOs of offical toys - i.e. Sunstreaker... and yet the official toy makers themselves couldnt be bothered or takes years just to do so for their OWN PRODUCT at that? what? do they have to save in pennies and dimes just to come out with the cash for the said lost moulds? Pretty lame excuse considering they ARE THE company who owns the offical toyline.

[Hursticon]

I'm with Jinto on this one. The figures have to be made to more closely represent their show incarnations.

Hasbro were on drugs when they picked the colors of their 10th anniversary versions of the BW figures, but Takara got them basically spot on.

And bring on more of them I say! 15th Anniversary Scorponok, Terrorsaur Inferno, Rattrap and Airazor!!!

Hell yeah man!

I basically agree with everything these blokes have said, though I do rather like both the Reissue of Sixwing and 'Goldie' Predaking - I can't stand the blue eyes of the other G1 Reissues that had that done to them, it just really irks and annoys me; Yellow eyes or nothing IMO.

[GoktimusPrime]

From the Fortress Maximus Appreciation thread:

With collectables, most people want the original. A re print of action comics one may be superior in every way but it's not an action one, you couldn't fairly say you own one. If it's what you want and the price is right, that's the main thing. People will continue to pay stupid money for original things (like me )

For me personally, if I want a toy I'll buy it from the shops while it's current rather than buying it off the secondary market at inflated prices. It's always been the way that I've collected Transformers... I don't see any reason to change my collecting habit.

Quality wise, ive had quite a few problems with reissues. Take Hoist for instance, he's stuck in vehicle mode permanently because his wrist sockets are too small to fit anything. Grapple feels brittle compared to my '85 Inferno.
And the list goes on...

Odd... I never had that issue with my reissue Hoist (did you consider bringing it back for a refund/exchange at the time?). He's pretty much the same quality as my G1 Hoist, except for the chromeless hook (I have the Hasbro reissue - the Takara reissue has a chromed hook, but is much rarer).

The vast majority of my reissues have been of top quality. The only issues I've experienced have been:
+ TFC Meister - the rear car windows drop low in vehicle mode. Hasbro later fixed this with their Commemorative Series reissue. Both reissues feature Jazz's G2 "sh!t-eating grin" face. This was corrected by TakaraTOMY in the Encore reissue.
+ Encore Bruticus - the mould has clearly been overused and wasn't repaired sufficiently for the Encore reissue.
+ Encore Devastator - mould appears to have deteriorated and again, insufficient restoration was done. Inferior plastic quality also added to making this set feel KOish.
Other than that, every reissue I've seen has been just as good or better than the original in terms of core quality. I'm not including "cosmetic" issues like chrome lackage or overlengthened missiles on some Hasbro reissues. I'm also not including some Hasbro reissues where the missile launchers have been rendered inoperable for child safety reasons. These are intentional design changes (even if they're not ideal - I personally can't stand it) rather than actual production flaws.

The reissue Fort isnt made to the exact specifications of the original. Most of the reissues aren't, be it screws that they use, assembly or paint apps etc. As close as they may appear to be, they're not the Real McCoy. i still collect reissues though to fill any gaps in my collection that i may not be able to afford otherwise.

Yeah, but let's face it -- the differences are pretty negligible and in no way affects the performance or quality of the toy itself. So a toy has a different copyright stamp... so what? What I first saw the Classic reissues come out in 1990, I thought they were the same as the original G1 toys but in new current style packaging. At that time (and young age) I didn't think to even look at the copyright stamp. And most of my friends whom I used to play TFs with in the 80s had decided to give up on Transformers and had gotten rid of their toys (either by selling off or giving away)... so I didn't even know any other collectors for me to go and make side by side comparisons with. It wasn't until 1998 that I started making comparisons and realised that they were actually reissues.

But so what? One of the first toys I compared was my Classic Prowl with someone else's G1 Prowl. The only real difference we spotted was the copyright stampage on the bottom of his feet. Other than that, the toys are the same as far as we could tell. I personally don't feel the compulsion to go hunt down an original G1 Prowl and pay a fortune for a variation of the same toy that I already own purely for the novelty that it's an original.

A person who doesn't currently own a Fortress Maximus but would like one has two choices:
+ Pay approx. $300 for a MISB reissue
+ Pay over $1000 for a loose original
...in short, paying an additional $700+ for the novelty of having an original. I don't mean for this to sound derisive or anything like that -- clearly for some people the novelty is a big deal and they're willing to shell out a lot more for it. I guess it all comes down to what's more important for the individual collector; some insist on owning an original and see reissues as "authorised duplicates" (for lack of a better term), whereas I just get what I like from the current market.