Help - G1 Megatron nabbed by customs

[Jetfire in the sky]

Hey I'm not saying it's good that people may use replica's to hold someone up, if you knew my background then you would know I am more than well aware of the mental anguish of the threat of death perceived or real from any means.
I'm more pointing out the fact that customs are great at stopping toys and/or replicas which honest people will post through the mail, but not so good when it comes to stopping the real thing that is constantly used in Sydney, Gold Coast and Melbourne to kill people. God relax guys. Megatron was available all around Australia over the counter for years.

[griffin]

Hey I'm not saying it's good that people may use replica's to hold someone up, if you knew my background then you would know I am more than well aware of the mental anguish of the threat of death perceived or real from any means.
I'm more pointing out the fact that customs are great at stopping toys and/or replicas which honest people will post through the mail, but not so good when it comes to stopping the real thing that is constantly used in Sydney, Gold Coast and Melbourne to kill people. God relax guys. Megatron was available all around Australia over the counter for years.

I knew that you weren't suggesting it to be good, which is why my post was general to everyone. (you were having a dig at the real guns entering the country)

Now, to be fair to Customs, they probably stop a lot of real guns too, and if it seems like a lot are still making it into the country, it would be because more real guns are being imported than toy guns. Plus, it would be inaccurate to assume that they are stopping more replicas, just because we hear more of them on this toys board. There are probably other websites that document seizures of real guns, that outweigh the number of reports of toy gun seizures. The "statistical filter" here affects the end results.
(a bit like using a phone-poll to gather data on demographics... which ends up preventing access to demographics that are too poor to have phones or homes)

[Jetfire in the sky]

I knew that you weren't suggesting it to be good, which is why my post was general to everyone. (you were having a dig at the real guns entering the country)

Now, to be fair to Customs, they probably stop a lot of real guns too, and if it seems like a lot are still making it into the country, it would be because more real guns are being imported than toy guns. Plus, it would be inaccurate to assume that they are stopping more replicas, just because we hear more of them on this toys board. There are probably other websites that document seizures of real guns, that outweigh the number of reports of toy gun seizures. The "statistical filter" here affects the end results.
(a bit like using a phone-poll to gather data on demographics... which ends up preventing access to demographics that are too poor to have phones or homes)

Agreed

[UltraMarginal]

6 offences in 19 years. Yep, a real threat to our safety.
How many people were slashed with a knife? or a glass bottle?
Yet those actual weapons are legal.

It's unfortunate that people have used that in the past as an excuse to claim that replica weapons shouldn't be restricted or prohibited... without understanding how replica weapons are still able to achieve the same result of a real weapon in burglaries and muggings. (as a trained criminologist, I know that you need to be mindful of the mentality of an offender, to realise that a perceived threat can be just as effective as a legitimate threat)
Despite people not using them to kill or wound, the robberies they make possible leave people traumatised and often out-of-pocket of whatever was stolen. The ability to commit a serious offence, with or without violence, makes owning a replica weapon (toy or not) a big responsibility.

How would people here feel, if their Gen1 Megatron was stolen and you found out it was used to rob someone. What if that person died of a heart attack from the fright, or they were on a tight budget and couldn't afford to have money or possessions taken off them.
We may laugh at the thought of a Gen1 Megatron fooling anyone (in a well lit collection room), but when you are looking down the barrel of something that looks like a gun, in the dark, you don't ask if it is a real weapon or if it is loaded.
A replica weapon is the same as an unloaded real weapon - they still achieve the same result in a burglary/mugging as a loaded real weapon.

Doesn't matter. My wife works with someone that used to be a bank teller. The bank was robbed one day, they held a gun to her head, actually put the gun against her head! And demanded the money from the desk. While they were doing this, they were taunting her, calling her fat and saying that they'd be doing the world a favor if they shot her. These people were never caught.

After the police reviewed the footage they said that the gun put to her head was probably a replica. Do you think that matters to her? The trauma that she went through and nightmares and therapy sessions (which she still attends, a good 17 years after the event) should just magically have vanished with the realization that it was probably a replica?? Do you think I should tell her to get over it so you can get a Megatron toy a bit easier?

No. We have these laws for a reason. Yes, that reason is the f$&@%d up minority that ruin it for people like us. But to say that because it won't kill or wound anyone, therefore should be legal, is a rather narrow minded and selfish view.

This type of legislation is very frustrating for legit collectors, of toys or actual replica firearms. it's unfortunate that there are so many more gun related incidents occurring in recent months than I recall in the past.
The sad fact is that people importing illegal firearms aren't going to try doing it through legitimate channels like a collector would. and like mentioned above, they are more difficult to catch as a result.

This of course, makes the control of firearms replicas even more important given the increase of gun related Crime. As a replica becomes even more believable at a glance as a real gun if there are more actual shootings occurring.
My frustration is how toy guns are still available for sale in toy shops, especially cheap $2 stores. This negates any effectivity of stopping individual imports of "replica" firearms.

I hope you can work things out with your G1 Megs Oilspill, fortunately you live in WA so you probably have the least amount of red tape to sort through.

[snaketales]

Somehow I managed to get a G1 Megs posted to me from China.
It was part of the DOTM Transformers Chronicles box set that also had a DOTM Megatron and packaged the G1 Megs in robot mode - maybe both of those factors helped?

[GoktimusPrime]

A simple solution - G1 Megs could be held to be the approximate size of a small Barbie doll (perhaps shorter and fatter) - next time get him in robot mode, bung a dress on him, blue-tack some blond hair on his bonce and chuck him in an old Barbie box. Shove a fake sticker on the front saying 'Barbie/Transformers Crossover' and away ya go! Unless the customs guy wants to check under his dress to look at the size of his barrel it should all be golden

99% of guys have looked up a Barbie's skirt. 1% of blokes are liars.

Somehow I managed to get a G1 Megs posted to me from China.
It was part of the DOTM Transformers Chronicles box set that also had a DOTM Megatron and packaged the G1 Megs in robot mode - maybe both of those factors helped?

I'd say you got lucky, considering that Customs have known how to spot Megatron in robot mode since 2007. I personally wouldn't recommend using the old "send it in robot mode" method anymore. Best bet (for those of us living outside WA and SA) is either to acquire a permit, or if you live in a state where the toy is still illegal, contact your state's Police Ministry.

[Bidoofdude]

What about the other 1% of blokes?
If 1% are liars, then that makes them part of the 99%, since they still have regardless.