In a week that has seen rumors that Takara-Tomy will be globally unifying their brand in 2018 – whatever that means – we can report that for four toys at least, Takara will be taking some Hasbro molds and giving them a premium paint job. The four toys in question are the Knight Armor Changers in the Transformers: The Last Knight toyline. The four are Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Megatron and Grimlock. All four are coming out in Japan next February, with screen-accurate paints and different treatments for the flip out knight helmets. Check out images of the quartet of figures attached to this post.
Type-R
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Type-R
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Purple Heart
Theres where your Legends paint deco money went folks. Chromed 1-steps.
Daimao
Should have known Takara would chrome the whole mask, they love chrome
Type-R
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Inikalord
Well of course.
The real icing on the cake would be them paying the customer to take it instead of buying it.
Shepard Prime
Yup. I loved me some Star Wars as a kid but the figures eventually took a backseat to the Joes fairly quickly specifically because they were poseable. Heck, the Bandai Macross figures got more love than Star Wars toys from me because they had the GIJoe rubberband waist and double arm articulation (arm swivel and elbow joint). If htey'd made the SW figures like the Joes, I likely never would've stopped buying them as a kid.
That said, I still think that kids like what they like and it's putting personal bias into it to say kids can't enjoy these for what they are.
Daimao
Why are you shocked that something made for kids is profitable when sold to kids?
TransGoJoBot
Seriously, Why are you arguing about this? In the post you quoted me saying "I’m shocked that the lines are popular enough to be profitable and worth continuing for each new line." That isn't disagreeing with you, I just said I'm shocked by it? What is your problem with me and my opinion? This is my final post on this topic, you can have the last word if you like. (Sorry to everyone else having to read this exchange)
Louise Belcher
Yeah…but they don't, they make hollow unpainted cheap chunk of plastic for 10$.
Chaos Muffin
I think kids prefer more poseability myself. They're usually smart & know what they want.
It's mostly their parents buying these up.
It was the big flaw in toys when I was a kid. Star Wars & HeMan figures only moved their arms up & down.
When the 3.75 GI Joes hit ,kids were all over them because they could do actual action moves.
Shepard Prime
"I don't get it. They articulated all four fingers and gave them not just the knuckle but the two lower joints as well per finger. Why didn't they articulate the thumbs?! I mean, that's just lazy…"
Johan Koontz
I swear, you could make an all diecast, cartoon accurate MP 3 step optional battle damage quick changer with 50 points of articulation, premium paint and ankle pivots for $19 and people will still complain.
Sam’s_Bee
There cheap and I'm on a tight collecting budget. So these give me a chance to own the core characters from the film. Plus they take up minimal space, which is once again another win.
Daimao
NO, you missed the point of my post: they're profitable because they're popular with kids.
TransGoJoBot
Obviously they are for kids! You missed the point of my post completely. I’m shocked that the lines are popular enough to be profitable and worth continuing for each new line. And clearly there are collectors such as yourself that like aspects of the item and want to purchase it, which is fine. Sheesh!
TransGoJoBot
And your point is? I was commenting that I can’t see how the line is PROFITABLE and worth continuing, not that no person could ever want them. I’m sure there are people on these boards that buy them simply because it’s an official TF Product, which is totally cool. I’m talking about how it shocks me that they are able to justify the same type of lines year after year.
AOEGalvatronRox
I can’t help but feel a little disappointed that Takara is willing to dedicate time and money to give these figures better paint applications, yet they weren’t willing to do the same for the Premier Line.
Type-R
Series product page on the official TakaraTomy TF site and series logo.
tf.takaratomy.co.jp/products/tf_tc
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It's weird how much effort they seem to be putting into simple figures like these. Especially when the movie hype has already died down.
Gaokaiser
Takaratomy is always skillful