The Random Transformers Thoughts Thread

[Megatran]

It is a futile exercise debating the 'value for money' merits of a $2 toy.

[christalcase]

... I'm comparing two sets of $2 Happy Meal Toys. Both toys are aimed at the SAME target demographic and both cost the SAME price...

If they are the same price, then factoring 14 years of inflation, doesn't that mean the current toys are inherently cheaper than their Armada counterparts? I don't have the actual inflation figures but if you go for a conservative 2% inflation each year, you're comparing $2 Armada toys with $1.50 RiD Toys in 2003 dollars.

Surely that means you cannot expect the same level of engineering, we've seen price of plastic go up, labour go up etc, yet the toy remains the same price, something has to give. At the end of the day, they're $2 toys... it's impressive that you can even still buy a semi-decent toy for that price nowadays.

[BigTransformerTrev]

I've got most Maccas TF Happy Meal toys since they have been made. For what its worth I found the Armada ones - particularly Smokescreen and Hot Shot - absolutely bollocks in robot mode. Conversely the toys we've gotten with Prime and RID have great looking modes but then you only get one - they don't transform which sucks.

You want good Maccas TF Happy Meal toys? Go back to the Animated ones. They transformed and looked decent in both modes! Also my Energon Galvatron transformed, came with lights and a drone tank! That beats RID and Armada combined I reckon!

[Starscream77]

It is a futile exercise debating the 'value for money' merits of a $2 toy.

^ so much this!!!
I can't believe that much text was written about little plastic maccas toys

[SMHFConvoy]

I did a 4 day stint with a company that designed mchappy meals and if the tf toys on offer are $2 today are just static toys with little or no articulation and no transformation it means that it would cost more today to make that particular mchappy toy and the cost would be passed on to the consumer.

Things change, just deal with it.

[GoktimusPrime]

It's like comparing a G1 1984 transformer to an Action Master or Revoltech.

We all know what happened to G1 shortly after Action Masters came out.
I'm personally not a fan of Revoltech either - I've seen and handled a few IRL but never bought one.

It is a futile exercise debating the 'value for money' merits of a $2 toy.

I'm Asian. I'd debate the value of a $1 toy. #russellpeters
Seriously though, it's not so much about the amount but the principle of the matter. Imagine if Maccas started charging $1 for their soft serve cones. Heck, I remember when people whinged when they increased from 30c to 50c (60% price increase)

If they are the same price, then factoring 14 years of inflation, doesn't that mean the current toys are inherently cheaper than their Armada counterparts? (snip)

The mean price of Transformers toys hasn't really shifted much. For example the cost of a Deluxe figure (known as "Super-Cons" in Armada) is pretty much the same as what a Deluxe toy costs today. And if anything, I'd say that a Deluxe toy today is better than an Armada Super-Con, although much of that is because toys today aren't compromised by an overbearing Mini-Con activated "WhY mY sH0Uld3RS hUr7?" gimmick. As much as I'm not a fan of Titan Masters on non-Headmaster characters, it's a relatively non-invasive enough gimmick that I can overlook it.

Not everything appreciates at an equal rate under inflation... the cost of milk or petrol hasn't skyrocketed nearly as badly as say the cost of real estate! (thank goodness for small mercies)

Things change, just deal with it.

I wish that these toys would change, that's the problem!

[FatalityPitt]

Been re-reading some of Marvel's Generation 2 comics. Jhiaxus' alt-mode looks so similar to Scourge's (... and barely anything like his Generations Thrilling 30 toy). If Hasbro/Takara ever wanted to redeco/retool the TR Scourge toy, Jhiaxus is a potential.

[GoktimusPrime]

Yeah, but Jhiaxus' robot mode looks more like Starscream, and the Generations toy was a redeco of the Generations Armada Starscream figure. It would've looked a whole lot more accurate if Hasbro had bothered to use G2 accurate colours too. Jhiaxus is too lesser known a character to warrant a unique mould (that they wouldn't be able to redeco as another character), so he's always going to be a redeco of another toy. Either way, it's a MUCH better effort than Hasbro's first attempt at a Jhiaxus toy! And that was the only Jhiaxus toy that we had for 11 years until the Generations figure came along! I don't know about you, but I jumped at the chance to get Generations Jhiaxus, and it seems that 75% of respondents on the Gen. Jhiaxus review thread agree!

[FatalityPitt]

Yeah, but Jhiaxus' robot mode looks more like Starscream, and the Generations toy was a redeco of the Generations Armada Starscream figure. It would've looked a whole lot more accurate if Hasbro had bothered to use G2 accurate colours too. Jhiaxus is too lesser known a character to warrant a unique mould (that they wouldn't be able to redeco as another character), so he's always going to be a redeco of another toy. Either way, it's a MUCH better effort than Hasbro's first attempt at a Jhiaxus toy! And that was the only Jhiaxus toy that we had for 11 years until the Generations figure came along! I don't know about you, but I jumped at the chance to get Generations Jhiaxus, and it seems that 75% of respondents on the Gen. Jhiaxus review thread agree!

I've got the Thrilling 30 Jhiaxus too. I agree with the 75%, I think it's great. Even if it were bad, I still would have gotten it simply for being Jhiaxus

Until I re-read the Gen 2 comics recently, I never realised how similar Jhiaxus' classic alt-mode was to Scourge's.

Interestingly, there have been even lesser characters who got their own mould, like our good friend Straxus. I even thought the design was quite faithful to the comics. It got retooled into Skullgrin, and while that was a pretty cool toy, I didn't think it looked much like his original G1 self. Still a nice toy to have.

Speaking of, I wonder if the upcoming TR Seaspray will mean the possibility of an Octopunch or Submarauder retool.

[Sinnertwin]

If they are the same price, then factoring 14 years of inflation, doesn't that mean the current toys are inherently cheaper than their Armada counterparts? I don't have the actual inflation figures but if you go for a conservative 2% inflation each year, you're comparing $2 Armada toys with $1.50 RiD Toys in 2003 dollars.

Surely that means you cannot expect the same level of engineering, we've seen price of plastic go up, labour go up etc, yet the toy remains the same price, something has to give. At the end of the day, they're $2 toys... it's impressive that you can even still buy a semi-decent toy for that price nowadays.

That they are, which is why it's always important to be aware of the difference rather than compare $2 for $2 despite being 14 years apart.

That 2003 Armada Toy would cost you $2.76 todays in money.