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

[GoktimusPrime]

For me, I use the original as a measuring standard when judging reissues. To me a reissue ought to be on par with the original to pass my definition of "perfect."

I consider reissues like Encore Bruticus and Devastator to be less-than-perfect because they suffer various problems that don't exist in the originals. I can forgive Bruticus more because the mould was overused during RiD... Devastator... can't think of a reason why that set has several QA issues. But for whatever reason, the fact is that they do suffer from certain defects that the originals don't have.

So for me, when I get a reissue I compare it with the original and if it's just as good then it passes as a "perfect" reissue to me. Now I think that using the originals as a minimum standard is reasonably objective measure of a reissue; reissues like God Ginrai, Sixshot, Hound, Perceptor, Skids, Ratchet, Ironhide etc., often where it's really hard to distinguish the reissues from the originals (often only the copyright stamp gives them away). I think in these cases - where the reissues are near-perfect replicas of the original toys, then these are pretty much "perfect" reissues.

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Okay, onto something more subjective: what about reissues that are different from the originals, but not in any way to do with QA? (often the changes are intentional) For me, it depends on what the difference are and whether or not I consider them to make the toy better or worse.

Examples of reissues that - QA-wise are fine, but have changes I don't like include:
+ Reissue Sixwing (WHY couldn't they have reissued him in colours approximating his G1 counterpart? Or at least made him a freakin' Autobot... *sigh*)
+ Any Hasbro reissue with elongated missiles (looks so stupid)
+ Hasbro's first reissue Soundwave. Blue Soundblaster =/= Soundwave
+ Encore Trailbreaker. The blue eye looks crap. I wish it were red like the G1 toy.
+ Any Hasbro reissue stripped of chrome (although Hasbro reissue Jazz did fix the problem with the rear roof that the previous Takara reissue had - but both reissues still have the problem of carrying over G2 Jazz's "poop-eating grin" - I've heard that Encore Jazz has a resculpted face with a more G1-accurate mouth and also with Hasbro Jazz's fixed rear roof thingy)
+ Hasbro reissue Dinobot (colours are neither accurate to the original toy or the cartoon... what's the point??)

Examples of reissues that have intentional changes that I do like and consider to improve the toy:
+ Encore Sky Lynx. The painted mouth interior and blue eyes on the "Lynx" component looks muchly cooler than G1 Sky Lynx.
+ TFC Wheelie. Still a crap toy, but the colours look nicer.
+ eHobby Astrotrain. What's not to like?
+ Star Convoy. The silvers look much nicer than the whites on the original IMHO.
+ Landcross. I like how they all have individual Autobot logos tampographed on them, and I also like the different face colours and painted eyes, although it does make them look less like the cartoon (which is more G1 toy accurate in colours). I know some people don't like how Tackle changed from vermilion to orange, but I don't mind the orange - looks more show-like too IMO (which is probably the reason why they did it).
+ Reissue G2 Battle Convoy (Laser Prime)
+ Telemocha Dinobot
+ Telemocha Blackarachnia
+ Reissue Waspinator

Examples of reissues with changes that I consider are neither here nor there (i.e. don't make the toys necessarily much better or worse than their originals):
+ Micromaster gestalts (except Sixwing). Some of the colour changes are quite different, but I don't think they look any worse. I do really like how they have individual Autobot logos tampographed on though.
+ Encore Omega Supreme's face. A big load of "meh."
+ The second Predaking reissue (i.e. "goldie"). See my reaction to Omega Supreme's face
+ Blue eyes on TFC Sideswipe
+ Blue eyes on New Year Special Convoy -- actually, I do think this looks inferior to the yellow eyes on the original and other reissues (yellow eyes tend to offset much better against the blue head wheres blue eyes - even a lighter shade - looks too bland), but it's not what I would consider bad enough to put on my "bad" list.
+ TFC Starscream. Yeah, I know lovers of show likeness may love this toy, but I don't really give a hoot about show likeness (the toy came first!)... the colours aren't bad... but I don't think they enhance the toy (not to me anyway).
+ Hasbro reissue Cheetor and Rhinox. So they glitter. Meh.

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So for me, a reissue doesn't need to be an exact replica of the original per se, but for me to consider it to be an ideal reissue then it ought to be of comparable quality to the original -- and I can accept changes that either don't detract from the toy or enhance it.

[LordCyrusOmega]

I missed out on a lot of G1 toys for various reasons so If I'm going to buy a reissue I want something that is exacly the same as the original. If not exact then the changes must be something that makes the mould better.
I'm going to play with it so I expect it to be sturdy enough not to break the first time I touch it.

[Jinto]

I picked 'Other',
My perfect reissue would have quality on par with the original, and no decorative changes except where it made the figurine more show accurate. For example the original Beast Wars Tarantulas and Waspinator moulds had those horrible grey heads. The reissues had decorative changes but it made them way better.

[Verno]

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!!!

[liegeprime]

I agree with LCO,
G1 originals will of course be the benchmark but if the little changes are like easter eggs or aesthetically pleasing even by a small percent then Im ok with it, plus Im more likely to play with the reissue than the originals due to (hopefully) the recent figure more resistant to damage being newer ( less brittle and all that.

I choose Others, Perfect for me is if the figures indeed are sturdier, may or may not have added improvements - aesthetics wise ( gold plastic predaking, face on omega, new face mold) as long as it is sturdy enopugh to withstand play, and doesnt easily chip break or came out already bent, it's perfect for me. One thing I cant consider perfect though is if the reissue has defects ( even though sturdy) in the mold - like that of the nosecones of the seekers, just looks bad... the original nosecones are just more "perfect". Also price range - the reissues (encores) have been pretty much cheaper and hence affordable to get than originals or much earlier reissues) - which is one detraction ( although I have the figure) from E-hobby Astrotrain. Yes it has the show accurate ( or near to it) color scheme but the price is just off putting...

[GoktimusPrime]

One thing I cant consider perfect though is if the reissue has defects ( even though sturdy) in the mold - like that of the nosecones of the seekers, just looks bad... the original nosecones are just more "perfect".

I agree. Hence I find it a peculiar claim that Encore Devastator could be considered "perfect" when it has numerous flaws/defects in its design/manufacture.

Also price range - the reissues (encores) have been pretty much cheaper and hence affordable to get than originals or much earlier reissues) - which is one detraction ( although I have the figure) from E-hobby Astrotrain. Yes it has the show accurate ( or near to it) color scheme but the price is just off putting...

To be fair, you're talking about inflated aftermarket prices. eHobby Astrotrain originally sold for 3000JPY ($38). I find aftermarket prices to be off-putting in general for any toy... but yeah, limited exclusive toys like eHobby Astrotrain would be more prohibitive than others on the aftermarket. But it doesn't mean that the toy was overpriced to begin with.

[5FDP]

The majority of people I speak to who buy reissues did not have / own the originals and therefore are unable to make comparisons noting any changes in plastic or other materials used.

This does not make them wrong in holding the opinion that reissues are 'perfect', because as was stated in the first post, everyone has their own definition of the word and standards to match.

Don't forget, even the original releases back in the 80's were rampant with QC issues.

[kup]

The way I see it, a reissue is a re-release of the original toy. Therefore it should be as close as possible to the original. Naturally it cannot be an exact recreation so some differences will be present but regardless, the attempt should be to make it as close as possible to the original release.

Personally, I don't agree when people call a new re-color of a vintage toy as a re-issue. These includes E-hobby exclusives like Gadep, Sunstorm, the millions of G1 Prime repaints and the TF Club Piranacon. Sorry but to me those are new repaints, not re-issues. There was never a vintage toy sporting those colors so it's a new release altogether not a re-release (reissue) of a previous toy.

To illustrate my point further, the latest 'gold' Predaking is not a reissue to me but rather repaint. The previous Takara reissue to that which was faithful to the original toy colors is the proper reissue.

Just to be clear, I am not against repainted releases of vintage molds that aim to bring something new (like Sunstorm) or show accuracy (Like Ehobby Astrotrain or Telemocha Dinobot). I very much love those repaints and I think they are awesome but I would not call them re-issues.

[GoktimusPrime]

This does not make them wrong in holding the opinion that reissues are 'perfect', because as was stated in the first post, everyone has their own definition of the word and standards to match.

Oh absolutely. We all have different standards which determine what we think is good, bad, perfect etc. I don't mind if people want to claim that a toy is "perfect," but I'm curious to know what criteria they used to determine their rating of "perfect." My criteria is based on comparison with the originals, but of course this is just my own personal standards.

Don't forget, even the original releases back in the 80's were rampant with QC issues.

True. So even if a reissue is the same quality as the original, and say I rate it 100%... what happens to a reissue that's better than the original? Do I rate it 110%? That's impossible! It's probably more accurate for me to say that a reissue that equals the quality of the original completely fulfills my expectations for that toy. A reissue that improves over the original exceeds my expectations for that toy! And indeed, sometimes I will only get a reissue if it - to me - shows a substantial improvement over the original, like reissue Waspinator and Dinobot.

I wish they'd reissue GPS toys without the crappy gold plastic!

[5FDP]

Oh absolutely. We all have different standards which determine what we think is good, bad, perfect etc. I don't mind if people want to claim that a toy is "perfect," but I'm curious to know what criteria they used to determine their rating of "perfect." My criteria is based on comparison with the originals, but of course this is just my own personal standards.

I think the word 'perfect' in some cases may just be a throwaway term and not meant to be taken literally or measured against varying degrees of perfection. It's quite possible that when someone refers to a reissue as being perfect, they are just merely expressing their love / joy in owning a character that they have been longing for. This is the first time we've seen Devastator reissued in 18 years so I can understand why someone would be overjoyed (myself included )