TF Views

LET ME COUNT THE WAYS...

Starscream:
Classics, Universe 2.0, Henkei, Boxset

Thundercracker:
Henkei, Botcon, Generations, Boxset

Think they're still tied, unless Starscream had an exclusive or two in Japan. Was GhostScream an actual toy there, or was that only knockoffs?

Ah, you're right, Starscream is at least tied with him.

Still, my point stands: It's kinda funny that Thundercracker has so many toys out of this mold after all the bitching in 2007.

Ghostscream counts. I had one. And it was the most beautiful use of this mold so far. So yeah, 5 for Screamer, 4 for Cracker.

The only reason we have seen any TC figures after '07 is because of the (justified, though largely misdirected) complaints.


I really like this set. But, I am not sure that I want to pay what the rumoured prices is going to be. (To be honest, part of this is money. But, part of it is also a question of me liking Thundercracker's toy/comic colours better than his cartoon colours. If I liked Skywarp more as a character, I would likely be more interested in this set.)


Dom
-waffling on a couple of US exclusives, so this set right on the back-burner.

BBTS has them up for preorder, they're asking 159.99 for the set of three. Yeah, no. I think I'll stick with the US versions. Got Thundy for $10, I can get version 1 Screamer for $25 and if I can find a good deal on Skywarp, that would be a hell of a lot cheaper than this. Sure, this set has some nice decos, but they're so close to the Henkei ones that it really wouldn't justify paying the higher price.

and if I can find a good deal on Skywarp, that would be a hell of a lot cheaper than this.

You're not getting yours back!

Of course not. It would be kinda weird if we just kept trading the same figure back and forth.

BBTS.com has these things for $159. I speculate others have similar prices give or take a few tiny bucks here & there.

wow, $53 for each seeker,then add about $10 for shipping. makes buying these a scalper import ripp off. No thanks,I paid $11 for each seeker times Six. Classics 1.0 Skywarp & voyager ultra cost under $25 at Target Usa stores.

I don't like to feed nor support the Import scalpers. I hate paying for shipping fees on top of tripple inflated scalper prices.

This is not really scalping though.

Prices have increased ~50% in the last 5 years. The Starscream and Ramjet figures that cost between $10 and $12 at US retail in 2006 will now cost ~$15.

Imports simply cost more. Even assuming that the base retail price of a toy is about the same, (and currencty does not always converty favourably for the buyer), there are still additional shipping costs. (And, that assumes that the supply line involves the US dealer buying directly from Takara rather than from somebody who wiped out the stock of a TrU in Tokyo.)

An import generally costs 50% to 100% more than a "domestic" release. That boosts the price to $20 to $25.

Now, factor in whatever exclusivity the set will have in Japan *and* the fact that people like this mould.

At this point, ~$160 or so does not seem that bad. Granted, the moulding has not aged well in the last 6 years. But, people are still buying toys case from it. If I recall, "United" Stepper went for about $50. Artfire was $75.

My only gripe is that I have a hard time justifying that much money for same character recolours of toys that I already own.

I have 2 good Starscream figures (US 2009 and Henkei 2009), a good Thundercracker (US 2010), a middling to lousy Thundercracker (Henke 2009), and a Skywarp that I can live with (Henkei 2009).


Dom
-would likely feel differently if this set had Sunstorm or generic purple troopers.

To be fair, Dom, most of those older pressings can be unloaded for quite the nice sum--combined, one might be able to get ahold of this set for far less than the retail asking price. (After all, why else would you buy the set unless you wanted some uniform Seekers?)

Also, I contest that the mould hasn't aged well--unless you're talking about mould degration. The original Classics toys might be slightly less complex than some recent efforts but that doesn't mean much in the long run.

(Aside: I recently pulled them all out and ClaScream is the same height as FOC Shockwave, so.)