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Thread: Masterpieces - are we spoiled?

  1. #11
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    We are definitely spoiled in terms of sheer numbers. Here are the number of MPs released by both Takara and Hasbro since the beginning.

    2003/4 = 3
    2005 = 1
    2006 = 3
    2007 = 3
    2008 = 1
    2009 = 5
    2010 = 6
    2011 = 5
    2012 = 7
    2013 = 11
    2014 = 14
    2015 = 14
    2016 = 13
    2017 = 15
    2018 = 15
    2019 = 18

    So looking at 2003/4 to 2019 that's 16 years worth of MPs. If we look at the first half of this period, we can see that the average number of MPs released per year was 3.38. The average number of MPs released in the second half is 13.38! So we can see that the average number of MPs released per year is nearly quadruple (x3.95) the average annual release from the first half.

    That's a lot. So yeah, the early years of MPs may seem to have fewer QC issues but that's because there were fewer MPs being produced. And when I say that 2003/4 had 3 MPs, I mean that we had:
    * MP1 Convoy (Takara)
    * 20th Anniversary Optimus Prime (Hasbro)
    * Lucky Draw MP1 Convoy (Takara)
    Most collectors would've only gotten just one of these, so in reality most of us were probably collecting maybe 1 or 2 MPs per year during the early years. One reason why the number of MP QC reports may have risen may simply be due to there being more MPs existing these days. Even if you're an MP completist, if you're only collecting 3 MPs a year in the beginning, there's going to be fewer chances of encountering a dud MP. When you're collecting 13 MPs a year, then suddenly the odds of encountering a faulty toy has greatly increased. If you collected 18 MPs released in 2019 then that's 3.6 times more than the measly 5 MPs that you collected 10 years prior. The chances of you encountering a faulty MP is higher.

    What I'm curious to know is how many dud MPs people have encountered VS the number of MPs they collected in each of those years. For me it would look like this:
    [MP Year] = [No. w/ QC probs] / [No. of MPs acquired]
    2003/4 = 1/1 <---this means 1 out of 1 MPs that I collected had a QC issue. My MP1 came missing a panel.
    2005 = 0/0 <---I never got MP2 Ultra Magnus and thus never had one with a QC issue.
    2006 = 0/1 <---the only MP I got this year was MP3 and I had no QC issues with it.
    2007 = 1/3 <---I got all 3 MPs released in this year and one of the tiny panel tabs on my MP5 broke during first transformation.
    2008 = 0/1
    2009 = 1/1
    2010 = 1/1
    2011 = 0/2
    2012 = 0/4
    2013 = 1/7 <---my MP15 Rumble came w/ 2 of the same side piledriver arm.
    2014 = 0/4
    2015 = 0/7
    2016 = 0/9
    2017 = 0/5 (unless you count some minor paint chipping on MP36)
    2018 = 0/2
    2019 = 0/2
    ↑So that's how it works. Feel free to copy, paste and edit this for your own MP collection. But yeah, the only QC issues I've really had was with MP1 (missing panel), MP15 (missing 1 piledriver arm) and MP5 (snapped panel tab).

    Also note that I've counted the MPs the same way that tfwiki has, which is counting releases, not individual figures per se. So I've counted MP15 Rumble & Jaguar as one release, and the Hasbro release of MP Soundwave (with a whole bunch of cassettes) also counts as one release. It's counting releases, not figures... just for the purposes of this discussion - don't get your panties in a knot. And of course, if there are any years where you didn't get any MPs, then just submit 0/0 (as I did for 2005).

  2. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sinnertwin View Post
    I'm in the unsatisfied camp. My enthusiasm for the line is actually waning.

    Barring left field repaints ( Anime + / Diaclone ) and off chops exclusives (Atmos Lebron Screeching Duck MP10) TT have been moving at a glacial pace as far as core releases go over the last 17 years. You want to finish your '84 & '85 cast? Here, have another Optimus. Is your Grimlock feeling lonely? I've got a new Bumblebee that'll fix that etc etc
    You raise a valid point. The G1 characters have certainly slowed down and yes, we don't need 47 Optimus Prime MPs. I'd much rather an obscure character like Skids than 3 Optimus Primes...

    My pace of collecting has slowed, and really I'm only waiting for certain things I'm interested in (remaining cars & minibots, Astrotrain & Blitzwing - though any 1984-85 cartoon character I'll probably grab).

    Quote Originally Posted by DaptoDog View Post
    Fast forward to today and the line does not give me as much joy. Part of that is redoing characters that already had fine representations (Prime, Bumblebee etc) rather than tackling new characters. Part of that is the reduced number of G1 releases. Then you have more significant QC issues. And finally the prices have ramped up substantially, partly driven by the increased number of accessories that I don't have any interest for.
    Yes I'll admit the accessories don't interest me either. That said, I still feel a $200 Hound with a bunch of random accessory crap (maybe it appeals more to the Japanese collector mindset? I don't know?) is a better deal than ... well almost every Beast Machines toy back in that era. Very few of which satisfied me for the price I paid. Hound is expensive but I am satisfied. It's a poseable G1 Hound that appeals to the nostalgic in me.


    Eagerly waiting for Masterpiece Meister

  3. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime View Post
    We are definitely spoiled in terms of sheer numbers. Here are the number of MPs released by both Takara and Hasbro since the beginning.

    2003/4 = 3
    2005 = 1
    2006 = 3
    2007 = 3
    2008 = 1
    2009 = 5
    2010 = 6
    2011 = 5
    2012 = 7
    2013 = 11
    2014 = 14
    2015 = 14
    2016 = 13
    2017 = 15
    2018 = 15
    2019 = 18
    Those are indeed impressive numbers from an individual release point of view, but if we look at 2019 as an example for new moulds & unless I'm mistaken, there were only:

    5 TakaraTomy releases: Megatron/ Optimus/ Bumblebee/ Blackarachnia/ Hound
    2 Live Action Movie releases: Megatron/ Jazz

    2018 had:
    0 New moulds.
    3 Live Action Movie releases: Bumblebee/ Barricade/ Ironhide

    ETC ETC

    These are the sort of numbers that i like to take into consideration when deciding if I feel that we're being spoiled for choice

  4. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sinnertwin View Post
    Those are indeed impressive numbers from an individual release point of view, but if we look at 2019 as an example for new moulds & unless I'm mistaken, there were only:

    5 TakaraTomy releases: Megatron/ Optimus/ Bumblebee/ Blackarachnia/ Hound
    2 Live Action Movie releases: Megatron/ Jazz

    2018 had:
    0 New moulds.
    3 Live Action Movie releases: Bumblebee/ Barricade/ Ironhide

    ETC ETC

    These are the sort of numbers that i like to take into consideration when deciding if I feel that we're being spoiled for choice
    Exactly. Those numbers more recently look high, do they include reissues Gok?

  5. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sinnertwin View Post
    I'm in the unsatisfied camp. My enthusiasm for the line is actually waning.

    Barring left field repaints ( Anime + / Diaclone ) and off chops exclusives (Atmos Lebron Screeching Duck MP10) TT have been moving at a glacial pace as far as core releases go over the last 17 years. You want to finish your '84 & '85 cast? Here, have another Optimus. Is your Grimlock feeling lonely? I've got a new Bumblebee that'll fix that etc etc
    Agree. Definitely not spoilt. I would be 84 years old if was waiting for TT to release the full G1 cartoon cast in MP form. Thank goodness for 3P.

  6. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Omega Metro View Post
    I would be 84 years old if was waiting for TT to release the full G1 cartoon cast in MP form.
    That's one reason I switched to collecting G1 CHUG as my main thing over MP. About half the US G1 toyline is now represented in CHUG along with the odd cartoon only, comic only or JP only character getting toys.

  7. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by DaptoDog View Post
    Exactly. Those numbers more recently look high, do they include reissues Gok?
    No they do not. They're simply based on the MPs listed on the tfwiki page. So looking at just 2018, we had...
    + MP40 Targetmaster Hot Rodimus
    + MP41 Dinobot
    + MP42 Cordon
    + MP711 Convoy (7-Eleven)
    + MP34S Shadow Panther
    + MP10 Convoy (Golden Lagoon)
    + MP17+ Prowl
    + MP29+ Laserwave
    + MP36+ Megatron
    + MPM-5 Barricade (Hasbro)
    + MPM-5 Barricade (TakaraTOMY)
    + MPM-6 Ironhide (Hasbro)
    + MPM-6 Ironhide (TakaraTOMY)
    + MPM-7 Bumblebee (Hasbro)
    + MPM-7 Bumblebee (TakaraTOMY)
    Granted that if we remove redecos and retools, as well as mould repeats, we have just four our of the eighteen releases being new non-repeats, or 22%.

    But again, if we look at the early years of MP we see a lot of mould reuses too. In the first 8 years of MP we have only 6 new/original moulds, which are:
    + Convoy 1.0
    + Starscream
    + Megatron
    + Grimlock
    + Rodimus Convoy
    + Convoy 2.0
    That's it. Out of the 27 MP releases in the first half, only five of them are new moulds - in other words, only 19% of MPs released between 2003/4 to 2011 were new moulds. So 2018's 22% new mould rate is still doing better than the entire first eight years of MPs combined!

    P.S.
    This is what my MP collection looked like in mid-2011 (I hadn't acquired Rodimus Prime yet)

    And here's what it looked like in mid-2019 (I hadn't acquired Black Widow or Hound yet)

  8. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime View Post
    No they do not. They're simply based on the MPs listed on the tfwiki page. So looking at just 2018, we had...
    + MP40 Targetmaster Hot Rodimus
    + MP41 Dinobot
    + MP42 Cordon
    + MP711 Convoy (7-Eleven)
    + MP34S Shadow Panther
    + MP10 Convoy (Golden Lagoon)
    + MP17+ Prowl
    + MP29+ Laserwave
    + MP36+ Megatron
    + MPM-5 Barricade (Hasbro)
    + MPM-5 Barricade (TakaraTOMY)
    + MPM-6 Ironhide (Hasbro)
    + MPM-6 Ironhide (TakaraTOMY)
    + MPM-7 Bumblebee (Hasbro)
    + MPM-7 Bumblebee (TakaraTOMY)
    Granted that if we remove redecos and retools, as well as mould repeats, we have just four our of the eighteen releases being new non-repeats, or 22%.

    But again, if we look at the early years of MP we see a lot of mould reuses too. In the first 8 years of MP we have only 6 new/original moulds, which are:
    + Convoy 1.0
    + Starscream
    + Megatron
    + Grimlock
    + Rodimus Convoy
    + Convoy 2.0
    That's it. Out of the 27 MP releases in the first half, only five of them are new moulds - in other words, only 19% of MPs released between 2003/4 to 2011 were new moulds. So 2018's 22% new mould rate is still doing better than the entire first eight years of MPs combined!

    P.S.
    This is what my MP collection looked like in mid-2011 (I hadn't acquired Rodimus Prime yet)

    And here's what it looked like in mid-2019 (I hadn't acquired Black Widow or Hound yet)
    Ok well that explains it. There's really no point in double counting Hasbro and Takara releases when they have been identical in recent years. Also the 2019 list includes 5 atmos safari versions that were never released for sale. I'm going to redo your list with a chart and only include duplicate Hasbro/Takara releases where there were significant deco differences (eg Sunstorm). I think the numbers will look quite different on that basis.

  9. #19
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    Isn't data wonderful? You can manipulate it to suit any argument more often than not!

    Are we spoiled? Guess it depends in what way you ask. As has been pointed out, there are lots of releases and so many more accessories with continually improving engineering. Then again, prices as increasing significantly and actual new bots are few and far between compared to retools and repaints.

    I enjoy collecting MPs but do wish they would focus on more new characters from 84 and 85.

  10. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by Raider View Post
    I enjoy collecting MPs but do wish they would focus on more new characters from 84 and 85.
    That's what I'm in it for. I want the 84-85 cartoon guys. And while the pace is now fairly glacial, I'm aware that's partly because they did the Seekers, Datsuns & Lambor/Alert fairly early which bulked up the numbers. On the upside, that also ticked off a LOT of those characters.

    I get that it's much easier to recoup the R&D for Starscream than it is for Warpath. And I love that I have all 6 seekers as Masterpieces.

    But on the whole, I AM satisfied that the line has given us so many 84-85 characters. Even if there's about 2 dozen I'd love to buy; and 5 of those (Jazz, Mirage, Skids, Trailbreaker & Hoist) I REALLY want them to do.


    Eagerly waiting for Masterpiece Meister

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