TFC Toys Wings Of Uranos Combined Color Sample Teaser

[MikePrime]

 

I'm going to get this simply because it's a markedly better look for the combiner mode, but this will most likely be my last TFC purchase. I feel like they're taking advantage of the fan base by throwing on this add on for yet more cash. The price they charge for these figures should already have these added in.

 

I was thinking maybe there is a legal reason for this... I mean they are already in that gray area and if they release a new set with the new pieces it will shoot down my idea.

 

But what if the reason is because the original set didn't really look like Superion? The jets pretty much did but Hasbro doesn't own those designs. Then they can release the kit later which is really a stand alone product. IDK, just an idea.

 

 

Probably not. Hasbro certainly doesn't own the design of the jets that are used for the Aerialbots. TFC Hercules looked close enough to being G1 Devastator. In that case, the add-on kit wasn't really necessary, and I accept it as is. The guns even combined to form a gun that decent looking super-gun too. This one, on the other hand, is just TFC being greedy. They could've spared us the dopey looking missiles and fuel pods that come with the robots and given them the proper guns instead. The Superion gun and chest part could've, like it's G1 predecessor, come with Not-Silverbolt. These add-on parts make it a completely better looking Superion, unlike Hercules who didn't need an add-on kit to give a G1 vibe.

[AnimatedPlastic]

Well TFC scored some big points early with Hercules when they released Exgraver and he had a breakage issue. They included a New Shovel with Heavy Labor at no additional cost, which as Exvee mentioned earlier whether or not it was their intent, gave the fans a very positive impression that it wasn't always about the money. Fast forward to Uranos and what they did gives a negative reaction regardless of their intent.

 

I kind of have a feeling that they didn't think about the kit at the beginning, but with the complaints about the design they decided to go ahead to make it. Kind of like they thought that most everyone, like Hercules, would like the look of Uranos, so it wouldn't be as big of a deal to make the add-on kit. I think once they realized that it was a majority of people, they should have done something like they did with Exgraver which would allow for getting the set at no additional cost if you bought all 5 figures. (Not sure how they would work it out, but that isn't my problem) that would have re-enforced that they were really trying to please the fans and it wasn't always about the money. I think it was a lost opportunity and with so many new 3rd parties coming out....it may cost them dearly in the future.

 

Warbotron being TFC I don't know about, unless you have some facts on that to back it up, otherwise it seems like speculation to me. I honestly don't think they did the add-on kit to be greedy, but it sure as hell gives that impression whether you like it or not.

[MikePrime]

Imagine if TFC made their own G1, Voyager class Optimus Prime. Now, instead of giving him his iconic rifle, TFC decided to make guns out of his smokestacks. Why did TFC think that it was a good idea to give their Not-Aerialbots missiles and fuel pods as the weapons for the robot modes? They didn't do that with Hercules. Those guns weren't exactly like their G1 counterparts, but they worked and they combined into a satisfying weapon for Hercules.

[ExVee]

In a general sense I will not fault third companies for trying to reimagine things a bit and update ideas. Especially if the intent is adding to the array of Classics toys that are themselves typically modernized takes on their original selves, because when done well that helps the third party stuff fit in better. That doesn't mean that every attempt is gonna work out.

 

Meanwhile the Optimus with smokestack guns example is exactly what Classics Voyager Optimus was, y'know. :) Smokestack assault rifle and windvane cannon, but no "classic" Prime gun. In fact, Classics and Generations have done very little with that gun design. To my memory the first toy that used it was Orion Pax. Not even a proper Optimus Prime. That's weird now that I think about it.

[MikePrime]

In a general sense I will not fault third companies for trying to reimagine things a bit and update ideas. Especially if the intent is adding to the array of Classics toys that are themselves typically modernized takes on their original selves, because when done well that helps the third party stuff fit in better. That doesn't mean that every attempt is gonna work out.

 

Meanwhile the Optimus with smokestack guns example is exactly what Classics Voyager Optimus was, y'know. :) Smokestack assault rifle and windvane cannon, but no "classic" Prime gun. In fact, Classics and Generations have done very little with that gun design. To my memory the first toy that used it was Orion Pax. Not even a proper Optimus Prime. That's weird now that I think about it.

 

Oh yeah, but a lot of liberties were taken with the design of the smokestacks. No one's going to think that those are real.

 

Remember that movie 1 voyager class Prime that was sold at Target? That's was appropriate for a movie toy, but imagine TFC making a G1 Prime and then doing that. We like our Third Party Companies because they make what we want and what Hasbro won't. When they start getting lazy too and trying to get us to accept what they make, then it's time to reconsider them.

[ExVee]

I've blocked out most of the first movie's toys, but I get what you're saying. The upside is that third parties are still generally in a place where "voting with your wallet" is useful and the flow of opinion on the stuff largely flows in a similar direction across a swath of the customer base. This is a theory I've floated around for a little while, but I think we're getting ready to see a sharp contraction of the third party landscape and many of the companies will fall away, possibly being functionally absorbed by the better survivors. But regardless the field is going to get smaller and maybe a little more dialed in to the things that "work".