Quote Originally Posted by STL View Post
And that's what inspired the title of this Soapbox: "the Convenient Truth" b/c the reasons (excuses) levelled show a constant changing of goal posts by fans. Perhaps, as I propose, a better position is to realise we no longer occupy a tenable position and just ignore the issue altogether as otherwise we risk being hypocritical and coming up with convenient truths to justify why something is all so bad when something else is not.

You can't keep changing your goalposts. One moment its all about deception. The next moment its about engineering. The next moment its about Hasbro/Takara not wanting to do it anyway. The next moment its why should I pay so much for a toy when I can get a cheaper accessory set? It's as simple as the fact that we don't need convenient truths. Just accept the fact that we buy toys that impinge on IP and move on instead of trying to adopt some moral high ground.
I don't see the reason for making people feel bad about something Hasbro themselves show no interest in prohibiting (and have even stated at BotCon that they are happy with *small scale* fan-stuff). No one here is claiming that any unauthorised products, either replicating or inspired by the Transformers brand/likeness, are legal (and are therefore unethical to acquire). The focus has been on the level of legality of each of these concepts. It isn't valid to say that all things illegal, are equally illegal. If it were, we would have the same penalties for stealing a loaf of bread, as we would for killing someone.
When you try to make out that all things here are equally illegal, it's only natural that others are going to come back with a reason why they aren't, so that they aren't being put into the same category as Counterfeit toys (which is actually something Hasbro do have a problem with).
If Hasbro themselves don't see Fan-produced stuff as being as bad as Counterfeit TFs, then don't try to label people of both categories as being just as bad as each other. Until Hasbro actually cracks down on the fan-produced, non-replica stuff, that sort of 'convenience' is just going to stir up tensions among fans who are still collecting within the scope of Hasbro policy.