I think price and difficulty of transformations also play a role. Some of these are ridiculously over engineered. BTW, Mike, I got an idea for a video talking about why certain characters have never been attempted by third party such as Ratchet, Ironhide and Bumblebee. Might make for an interesting discussion.
Yep why bother releasing a render of MARGH when XTB is putting out a good Ultra Magnus already just to confuse the market, deter collectors from buying and sit with no Magnus for 5 years
I think the major problem with Fanstoys, and with MP collecting in general, is that the majority of figures we're getting now are just small sidegrades to stuff we already have, and very expensive ones at that. It's hard to get excited when the hot new FT figure is a character you already have, and just a slightly prettier and heavier replacement for a perfectly decent figure.
I understand the frustration collectors are feeling but as someone who just started collecting this year I'm loving it. The reissues and replacement pieces, as you put it, like Powerglide have been my only opportunity at some characters that are just crazy expensive on the secondary market. I truly get long time collectors being displeased but for me, even with the sour economy (hope for 2024), it's a great time to be a collector.
Agreed…this is probably exactly the reason all of the companies are making more. There is a growing fan base for these items. Many didn’t know these were out there. People catching up. And looking forward to the new releases
This is a great time to collect MP because if you do not want to pay for the new replacement figure older versions are being sold for super cheap. Plus new characters like roller and Omnibots are coming
This is why I've learned to be patient. I'm just letting them release figures, and I'll get the best one. Which 99% of the time happens to be fanstoys. Soundwave, Blaster, Cliffjumper, Astrotrain... all needed updates. I've noticed the additional FT stock, but most of them are the color variants. You hit on the most notable factors, but at the end of the day, FT is just the superior product. Gears and powerglide look AWESOME.
I wouldn't say 99% as other companies make better Transformers, especially if you're going for toon accuracies. I'll say Xtransbots makes the best Springer, Inferno and Ultra Magnus. Then you've got Bulkhead, which uses the Inferno mold, and he's awesome. MMC makes the best all in one combiners, Tarn and Sky Lynx. Gigapower makes the best Dinobots. The only thing MMC does wrong is they don't release a lot of figures and X-transbots QC is suspect but, when they do it right, they get it right. Their Omni bots are great and the render for Minerva looks great as well, I've got 2 pre-ordered as I love Minerva. Gigapower, I think they only make the Dinobots. Then you've got Takara Tomy as their last several Masterpieces were great. The Skids mold is fantastic along with Skyfire and Trailbreaker. Sadly, they don't incorporate a lot of diecasts, if any at all, and no rubber tires. Trailbreaker looks fantastic but, the plastic is thin and while I think it's the best, I'm keeping my Fans Toys version of him as well as the build quality is so much better.
@saysoun752 I was kinda exaggerating, but yes. As I do have the giga dinobots. Zeta combiners and xtransbots menasor. We can't deny the build quality, though. I'm definitely a fan of toon, and ultimately, Fanstoys is the perfect mix. Adult toon. In my opinion.
@@saysoun752 XTB is like a stopped clock. They get it right 2 out of 24 times…. Maybe. No one as of yet has created a toon accurate set of Dino’s. Not the toon accuracy of today. Look no further than Newage Grimlock for what he’s supposed to look like. As far as quality, paint, materials, and accuracy goes, Fanstoys is by far the best. They beat out everyone. A great example of this is if you have a bunch of MMC, XTB, fanshoby on a shelf and add a Fanstoys figure, it will look fine, whereas if you have a shelf of Fanstoys and add an MMC, XTB, etc., it will stand out like a sore thumb. It’s ok to dislike Fanstoys, as they are expensive, prohibitively so in some cases, and T they’re Ella little easier to find nowadays than the past couple of years, but way more Fanstoys still sell out where most brands do not. They still have some of the higher secondary market value. People see them as higher end than the other brands.
@@MisterMeanerOU812 I stated Fans Toys has the best build and paint and nobody's going to beat them. However, they don't always make the best toys. I have a wide array of Transformers and I'll buy the version I like. For example, I have Fans Toys Skyfire, Springer and Trailbreaker but, I still bought Takara Tomy Skyfire and Trailbreaker and I bought X-transbots Springer. I sold my X-transbots Trailbreaker once I got Fans Toys version as I hated the shoulders but, I liked it better overall just absolutely hated the shoulders and since I display most of mine in robot mode, it was really bad. As for NewAge, I tend not to buy as I think they're way overpriced for the size that they are. I have their metallic Optimus Prime and 2 of Skyfire, regular and their take on Jetfire. I also have Jazz and he's super small for the price I paid for him. Same goes for Optimus Prime as that cost me $70 for a figure that 4.5". I paid $130 for Magic Square's take and he's a lot better for the money. As for price, I probably spend more money on my toys than some people spend on toys for the year as I'll spend anywhere between $400 - $500 a month, if not more, so price isn't a factor for me. I just bought the Spiderman PS5 and controller, $746 after tax, and I already have a PS5.
I just recently bought my first FansToys figures and while I like how solid they are with the diecast they put into them, the cost for the figures is high in comparison to some other 3rd party manufacturers. I'm not saying other manufacturers are cheap, but there can be a significant difference in the pricing. I also think some of their transformations can be seen as overly complex and that can turn people off from them.
The issue I have with FT (and also XTB, although I lean in favour of them) is both price, and over engineering. For a considerable amount of time, FT has been pricing their figures as though their product is the Nike of Transforming Robots, it's astounding that up until now, collectors have fallen for it, perhaps now that money is a little bit tighter world wide, people are realizing that these figures are not worth as much as FT thinks they can charge. Especially when out of the box your figure is broken, missing a screw, has incorrect tolerances, chipped paint etc. Over engineering is the second issue, these figures are not fun, they're statues, because going from mode to mode is a god damned nightmare, and it doesn't have to be. I have the same issues with XTB, and I own more of their figures, they look amazing, but as someone who always challenges myself to do the transformation blind with no instructions.. my god XTB Gravestone trailer was a living hell and took me 2 hours to get that thing transformed and combined into Menasor. FT needs to be smarter with their pricing strategy, and their design cues. Panel formers are vomit inducing now, no one wants to risk breaking a 200 dollar figure just because some self proclaimed genius designer decided to place 30 flimsy plastic panels in it that can barely scrape past one another without snapping off.
I recently got the Thomas reissue. It's just fine if anything. Has some lose elbow joints, and I had a random purple tab fall off that I can't for the life of me figure out where it came from. Everything still tabs in where it should when doing the transformations and there aren't any gap issues.
@@tydiriumhanger1320 it almost looks like a tab for a hand held item, bright purple paint but no bigger than a masterpiece style gun handle. But with more inspection there's no where I can see it tabbing into. Such a weird thing to find.
I had the same thing happen with this extra part. No idea what it was for but it fell out as soon as I opened it up. I had to return mine for a seperate reason though, his chest panels were horribly warped and so couldn't tab in right.
Some other brands look good enough for alot less money. Like DS Blaster, DX9 powerglide, Startoys blitzwing, TE Mirage. Those are the last versions of the characters at that scale i have bought and will ever buy.
I'm having buyers remorse after recently getting Iceman, Goose and Dracula, I would like it if Fanstoys invested in upgrade kits like Jinboa did with their Gravity Builder, to fix things like the limited elbow articulation, a solid head with a metal plug for the headmasters and start to get general replacement parts like hands, cause I am finding some of the recent releases need extra TLC when coming out of the box where it just might be easier to send it unassembled. After the recent X-Transbots Fioravanti, I am questioning the QC many of these companies have cause I don't want to wait for reissues and replacements.
What's wrong with Fioravanti? I've had no issues with mine. Although when it comes to QC issues, XTB is one of the more notorious 3Ps, mainly due to overengineering. Their customer service is remarkably excellent though.
If I learned anything from collecting, it’s that no product is perfect. I started with mainline retail figures and then started collecting NewAge legends scale. And no matter how expensive the figure, there’s a chance you’ll get one with a defect or quality issue. The big downside is that if you order 3rd party from China, replacement parts, or worse, RMAs, are going to take so long and require expensive return shipping that you just end up “eating it”. It’s a risk unless you’re buying domestic, and domestic means over-priced BBTS or retail quality from Target. What would be great is if Takara’s MP line was in domestic retail stores. You get good quality backed by store return policies in that scenario.
Fanstoys lost me in ‘21 when they re-released the insecticons for $450. These were $80 each upon initial release, and before anyone comes back with “muh-inflation”, I doubt that really had much to do with it. FT saw the secondary market and that they were losing money and they looked to cash in. I mean it’s our (collectors) fault with dummies paying like $900 for the 3 bugs. Can’t really blame them… The second issue was the pre-order scarcity, they’d put up figures in very limited numbers to drive up FOMO - I’m not sure what there strategy was here but now we have the last several releases melting on shelves so to speak. I mean you can go pretty much anywhere and pick up the last few years worth of releases at or below MSRP. Don’t even get me started on the stupid combiners… The thing is, these are well made figures with excellent paint and finish. They’re just not worth what they charge and I think we as collectors are over Fanstoys.
9:25 You don't need to "zoom in" Plastic white temp plates underneath the arm and underneath the front of the car. The model is made, but not transformable.
Honestly, with Fantoys and myself...its just the price of the figures that stops me. I would love to buy more of their stuff, I think they make an exceptional product, and I enjoy the highly complex transformations. But while transformers are what I mostly collect, they arent all I collect. So I have to split my funds between the 3 properties I'm into, and I have 6 kids. Lmao. Anyway due to the cost I usually find myself picking up the X-Transbots or MMC versions, which for the most part feed my need for the plastic crack.
@tydiriumhanger1320 They think so, and while their product seems to be better than the others, I'm not so sure they're worth twice as much. At 49 years old, I don't play with the toys. I might switch them back and forth a couple of times, but mostly, it's just for display. That being said, there's lots of cheaper options that still look good and mostly G1 accurate on the shelf.
Fanstoys used to be the only player on the field when it came to high quality figures. But now you have legends and even mainline in some instances. Plus the other options cost less and take up less space.
FT seem to be making more of the figures to combat the high after market prices, and as a result figures are available for longer. Ive not had any issues preordering anything due to stores limiting orders, which they didnt before.
also, Robot Paradise is FT. The only designs that where used by someone else was the KO of Thomas etc. So we shouldnt seen anything else effecting them now.
as for bandit, it was slated from the get go the last member of each team was getting the combiner parts with him, regardless of people wanting them or not. Likely so they make the same amount of Torso parts for enough thats been made. So we dont see a single bandit release. This makes more sense as a buisness as you can guage how many you need to make. Could be an issue for people buying later on though. To add also, the shot we seen of the combiner was a Prototype, its just missing paint. Can tell the difference between them and the old ones that where renders. The Motormaster Train Truck was a Render as well as been in base mode.
@@tydiriumhanger1320 agreed dude, I've just wanted to have a complete team of stunticons, there's been some want to make Menasore, but not as bad as just wanting that team shot.
Just jumping into this Mike midvideo Part of it I think is largely the economy. People keep forgetting that China for the last 6 years is not been on a manufacturing front, meaning consumer goods, but gearing up for war production. So I think it's a combination of the fact that the factories aren't producing things for consumers rather for war, and also people just don't have the money to buy things And what you're talking about with the base mode that you see with motormaster, that is a throwback that was initially developed in the second and third year for the combiners back in the G1 line that never quite took off here in the US. There were certain things about the G1 cartoon that were not popular in Japan that they redid, the Japanese headmasters cartoon was a good example of that, but all of the second and third wave combiners, at least the leaders would turn into a mobile command base. In this design harkens back to these misshaping monstrosities that they would transform into. So I think it's a cultural Divine that we don't quite get because we didn't see a marketing as much compared to the Asian market. That's where that comes from.
I have a love/ hate relationship with FT 😂. One the one hand, both modes are usually beautiful. On the other hand they have questionable design decisions… Parkours side panels pop off the ball joints every time I transform him. Jives fenders do not connect with the windshield when going into alt mode. Ankle tilt on Mirage sucks… etc. Fanstoys is supposed to be the ultimate in TFs, but they come up short on the simplest of things. Their QC is not the best as Ive had multiple sealed new figures missing parts and panels broken. I don’t think the combiners are worth the Money. WTH is up with shoehorning a base mode? I love my Atilla because it gave me what I wanted without the extra bs. And it’s Gorgeous in all modes. Ill take the long trailer over the double wagon btw… as you can tell, I really liked your talking points. 😂 Keep up the good work!!!
The problem with the combiner is you are going to have parts that are new and arm's or legs that are nearly 4 to 5 years old ie dusty, loose its not a good look you wouldn't buy a car with the back made in 2017 and the front made in 2024 it will not look or feel like a new complete car
I love the look of Fans Toys designs, but the price is a large deterrent. Because of that, my Masterpiece collection is (roughly 20-25%) equal parts Fans Toys, X-Transbots, Takara & 4th party KO’s. Would love Fans Toys to reissue the Dinobots & Insecticons at a more acceptable price. I believe other brands are stepping up their game, mixed with higher quality KOs that are having an affect on Fans Toys. Also, do you think the need to (re)release so many designs is placing pressure on the quality of their workmanship ? Nonetheless, the aesthetics & engineering is impressive & I would love to see how they visualise how to transform from one form to another
I would be happier with FT if they would just finish their stuntacons and Airealbots...I know we got the announcement but its been years. I got the Thomas reissue and one arm was so loose it wouldn't hold a pose but some finger nail polish solved it but still a qc issue on a 200 figure is annoying. Im just needing someone to make a new Windcharger, and maybe a Tracks, at this point. And FT to reissue Brawn, Beachcomber and Warpath.
For me Fans Toys fell from grace about a year or 2 ago. During the pandemic, their figures were impossible to buy for me and that was the last straw. Preorders sold out in minutes. The other straws being increasingly complex transformations and the toon aesthetic. Add on Takara's offerings getting worse and barely releasing anything. XTransbots quality is a coin toss each time. MMC is still great but only produce a couple figures a year. I didn't feel like masterpiece was offering much for me anymore. I couldn't even buy figures LOL. So I sold most of my masterpiece, not all, and now I'm deep into legends. Every couple months or so there is a legends figure I want and I can almost always buy them for $100 or less. Occasionally a NewAge is more expensive but it is nice to have a regular source of toys I enjoy for a reasonable price again. What I used to get out of FansToys specifically and masterpiece as a whole. Great video as always.
What are you talking about with this? Some of this is just blatantly false. What fans toys product came out during the pandemic that you couldn’t get? Yes, the pre-orders did sell out instantly. But you could then get in on the next run of preorders. And then once they were in stock. I bought everything they released in this timeframe. This is bs sorry
They did Jack up the price of the figures and some say it was not FT but the Distributors but that does not really matter to the consumers. The preorders selling out in minutes vs months was frustrating to many collectors
@@tjppop2192 LOL are you toy nerd raging at me because of what I experienced? You got really upset really fast snowflake. Just because it wasn't your experience doesn't mean it's BS. Maybe it means you can't understand something if it doesn't happen to you. Kind of dumb. And buying a re-release that comes out a year later is the real BS here, buddy. None of us want that and for a long time FansToys weren't doing re-releases. For years they said the wouldn't re-release. Maybe you are just a new collector and weren't around then. Because that was the norm for years. No one is going to sit around waiting for something that has never happened before and have no reason to suspect will happen in the future.
@@tydiriumhanger1320Yes. I agree. I’ve mentioned that frustration as well. The initial ones do seem to sellout instantly, but they do then add more later on that you can jump on from my recent experience. It’s much better than it used to be. I missed out on the initial launch on FT Blaster where it was $1 deposit then got it for the $20. I think paid same price as initial launch but could be wrong. I appreciate your being open to difference in opinions at time and taking it in stride. Unlike some douchebags that like to chime in from the peanut gallery. This is why stick with your channel even is don’t always agree with your take on things
i tried to transform my Fanstoys Recorder for the first time last week. He transforms into a box! What the hell was up with all the little panel bits in his legs? I was like, WTF? It was a whole lotta work for what is essentially not a whole lot of transformation. Also the incredibly tight tolerances on Parkour and Jive felt less fun and more like work. At times, it felt like they were 'flexing'' their 'incredibly smart engineering' rather than finding the most efficient way to turn a robot into a car or a robot into a box. I got the KO Thomas and he wasn't as bad as those three AND he's a triple changer! Maybe as time goes on, they're just going to get more and more arrogant both in their pricing and their engineering. I wonder if there will be a point in the future where people will drop them for their competitors because FT have strayed too far from 'toys' and their products become more like ' expensive art pieces'.
The problems with FansToys today are the same problems that I think they've had for many years now, but in the case of Berserk, that's a problem that's just becoming worse over time and quite ridiculous when you think about it. I always feel like I'm teetering on giving up collecting altogether, but there is usually a handful of big projects that keep me hanging on and for FansToys, it's their Ultra-Magnus and inevitable Optimus Prime, though the ongoing concern of Berserk makes me wonder if I'll have to wait 15 years before I see it.
I'm surprised that they didn't complete each triple changer combiner figure one at a time for sanity of themselves and their audience? But still amazing figures, like everything Takara should be doing.
This Bandit situation really ticks me off. I don't want the combiner! I just want to get a representative of Dead End, my favorite Stunticon. But I can only get him with what I assume will be a ridiculously expensive combiner skeleton? WTF, Fanstoys. That should be sold completely separately.
Personally Fanstoys make a quality product, however I feel they have gotten greedy and big headed, just compare the price of the KO's vs FT products, its often double, also, how they control the sales of product, and how they allegedly dictate stores, finally whole thing with Recorder chest is silly, nearly all other 3rd party companies include the part in the in the box, but FT sells it as (properly!) a $40 dollar add extra not even with the clear plastic insert.
For me its been coming down to i just dont need most of thereplacement figures or the reissues i have bought 3 fans toys figure this year and only 2 last year and while those were all replacement figures they were ones were i wasnt satisfied with the originals i had in my collection.
As mentioned by Trevortoonart... Price and transformation are definitly affecting sales! Most of my 3rd party collection is Fanshobby and Zeta (1 Fanstoys)... Any questions? Lol
This whole thing is leaving me to just wait on fans toys releases. I just snagged Tesla 2.0 on TFSafari for 140. Some releases though I am jumping on instantly. Fans toys is going through a strange patch
I think they're amazingly detailed figures, but the cost to acquire them is outrageous, especially when you can find suitable figures from other manufacturers that are sometimes equally good or, occasionally, better. If one of the full-sized figures was priced less than $150, I would consider getting a FansToys figure, but at $200+ for most of the full-sized figures, and even more on the secondary market, forget it!
I own 0 fanstoys but got the ko of the shattered glass cyclonus and mine is great was tight and not loose I had issues getting the 1 part out to make the tip of the plane that's how tight it was love it. That being said I'm in on the scrouge mode for fanstoys
Fanstoys has been listening to the community and working hard. Reissued 2/5 dinos, all the bugs, release after release for the last couple years, completed the long promised Trailbreaker and now we have news of their unfinished combiners. FT with their fragile, complicated engineering is still top of the food chain for MP. Maybe it's also people turning to legends which is an affordable growing alternative with a hype sustaining, busy release schedule.
I think people forget that this isn't some big, massive cooperate entity with 100K employees. It's a reletively small company that strives to make really good masterpiece bots in all modes and top shelf decos. There are going to be delays and problems. When this happens to hasbro, they push it out anyway and move on. I don't want hasbro quality, so I will wait patiently. I know this going in, so it's expected.
You hit the nail on the head, once all of us who grew up in the 80's/90's are gone...the era of big time toy sales are over. Kids today don't form the nostalgic attachments to toy properties the way we did. They'd rather play on their game system, phone, tablet...etc. All we had were cartoons, the toys they spawned, and outside. Lol
For me the price is a large part of it relative to how reviews. If multiple reviewers have the same type of experience regarding transformation and quality. And I've seen the same problems and criticisms over and over. They do not seem to grow and get better. X-Transbots has made a big turn around by taking criticism and improving, for instance. If FansToys did that maybe they wouldn't be losing fans and customers.
FT Superion body doubles as a flight stand for the jets. It's sad that they didn't do something similar for the FT Menasor body. A stand to recreate how they drove on earth for the first time in car mode like in the g1 cartoon.
I think price is what’s killing them and tfsource is going to feel that more than showz and other Chinese retailers. I have a decent size collection and when I look at acoustic wave and Thomas, they look great but I spent $250 on each of them. When I look at them next to zeta combiners that where 350, Gigapower dinos that were all sub 200, x-Transbots and even deformation space I begin to question the value of those two figures. I got Fanstoys perceptor and trailbreaker for 140 each because they weren’t selling and I feel better about them because I feel that price is closer to what they should be instead. I think perceptor was originally 200+ which was just insane.
Price exhaustion. That's my reason for buying lots less. I rarely feel like a purchase is a great value;, just an okay value. And that makes me less excited to buy things.
I think it’s several factors. The economy, product staleness, and prices. Just to name a few. Personally I’m getting to a spot with my collection where I’m content with it. Plus, TFs just aren’t exciting to me like they were in recent years. I’m a G1 kid, but even I’ve gotten burned out on that era of third party offerings. I salute Fans Hobby branching out to Armada characters and designs and I am looking forward to their Tidal Wave and Jetfire. Along with Cang Toys Dinobot combiner set. But, I’ve had more enjoyment rediscovering MOTU (being spurred by Revelation series despite it being a terrible series with great animation) and Thundercats. Transformers needs to stop with the three year cycle of rebooting the line. Stop relying on the movies to keep the line going because those are nothing but stale regurgitated MacGuffin hunt plots. And Fanstoys showing at TFCon Toronto was kinda a joke. Those were basically the same 3D renders that have been floating around for a few years now. I have two Xtb Menasor combiners (toon & toy) with upgraded 3D parts and I’m perfectly happy with them.
True it is good to get some joy from other franchises and take your mind off the Transformers. Then a new release comes along that gets your excited about TF again
They make great figures no doubt but they also screw up a lot. Remember that display stand? And delaying the release of the rest of their combiner teams. Their qc isn't always the best. I passed on Sheridan and Jabber because of that. I only get them when I can at a good price. My most recent FT pickup was an FT-10X Phoenix for $250 with an upgrade kit. The only thing missing was the box. I never thought I'd get the 10X for less than $300. I'm definitely interested in getting their Chomp and Dracula if I can find them at a good price.
IMO Fanstoys or any other 3d/4th party are probably holding on to the 💼 while the economy continues to tank. However, I myself will be still collecting and FT are my go to besides some KO and that haven’t been molded yet either by XTrans or FT. XTrans is my2nd choice as well. I’m really glad that they ARE doing the reissues only problems I see with that is the rate at which FT drops them. Like the FT-road king.. I wasn’t collecting back then and hate going to eBay to pay higher prices.. hopefully FT will reissue ALL previous versions.
I hate zeta toys actually I refuse to buy their superion. I was so disappointed when Silverbolt slid in I said screw it. I think when My mom dies & such. Collecting will wind down. So I decided to stick with fans toys. I am only getting the MMC protectobots. It seems that they are doing one a year for a protectobot. I do have both pre ordered the constructicons for fans toys. I did not need their soundwave cause I have MP soundwave, But would like to get the slugfest & Overkill.
I like what FT has been doing. They may have made some imperfect products but I think no one's come close to what they're doing with regards to G1 figures.
So for the people that complain about Fanstoys doing figures that already have a representation, Fanstoys is in it to win it. They don’t do characters based on what XTB, MMC, Badcube or Takara have done. Their goal is to make a representation that is more toon than anyone else. More premium than anyone else. They don’t care about accessories. They don’t care about making their products affordable. They want their releases to fit on a shelf with the other Fanstoys, not with MMC, XTB etc. I collect them BECAUSE they’re Fanstoys. Some are better than others, but they’re all better than everyone else.
@@chriscarpenter3370 I said that very same statement once. Thousands of dollars later, I am now an avid of not rabid Fanstoys (mostly) collector. Good luck keeping to just one.
True they usually do have the best representation. If they do not care what XTB or MMC does then why reveal a super early render of MARGH the week XTB releases their Magnus and their Seaspray 2.0 right after XTB dominated with Neptune? They see the competition and react
@@tydiriumhanger1320 I disagree regarding their competition reaction. I could see where the opposite is true where XTB or MMC get the inside scoop on Fanstoys and rush a design render out. Fanstoys is the one getting knocked off. I’d say the other are more interested in Fanstoys upcoming releases than Fanstoys would be interested in theirs.
The StarToy Blitzwing looks good and I have him on my shelf, but he's too big next to FT Thomas. His head is huge compared to the FT. Hopefully FT will make a properly scaled figure. Been waiting 7 years now so hopefully I won't be disappointed...
But we do know that Fanstoys Menasor is a physical prototype, because it is. If you zoom in and somehow conclude it's a render, I suggest to get your eyes checked. 😂
I assumed it was a prototype at first but many have said it is only a render. The alt mode is for sure a render but the other question is what year will this release? 2025?
@@tydiriumhanger1320 that's exactly why it should be pointed out. They were so great 2 to 3 years ago (think Galvatron) but they have been slipping. Can they ever recover?
Much of this isn’t a great way to determine the Fanstoys product longevity. Using inventory at BBTS and TFsource isn’t a great way to gauge. I think at this point most people know if you want the best price it’s not on those sites. Showz and other sites sell out on these very quickly still as mention in the video. Fanstoys by far still makes the best product. Do I have the gears and power glide currently on the market? Yes. Will fans toys probably be better. Also yes. I’ve waited since 1984 for this level of representation of these figures so I’m fine waiting and won’t bitch and complain. The same people bitching and moaning on the delay in the releases will be bitching 20 years down the road for the latest and greatest release at that point. Please
True there will always be complaints about every figure from usually the same collectors. FT should at least have some sorta prototype for combiners by now Right? Zeta took 14 months start to finish
@@tydiriumhanger1320 to your point I’m cool waiting for them to get it right. Not thrilled if they are adding the cost to combine to the final releases. That should be separate in my opinion
@@tydiriumhanger1320 zeta to what Fanstoys is doing is like comparing apples to oranges though in a way. Zeta great in combine mode but the other modes pretty much suck in comparison
Fans toys is mp they drive the mp market what happens to them happens to mp as a whole. there is a reason you do only fanstoys themed videos and not any other mp/3p company
FT is the most prestigious company in the 3P game and have built a great reputation. I want them to maintain what they have built and keep delivering. Have you seen my WHAT IS ON X-TRANSBOT'S PLATE video?
Dont get me wrong, I do like the headmaster series of bots, but Im not enough of a fan of them to pay the FT prices for them. And honestly the options out there for other companies, just aren't doing it for me. So for me with the HMs its either FT or nothing at this point. So the idea that there might be a 4th party KO of FTs headmasters does appeal to me. Their Acoustic Wave was one I was going to pass on, until the KO of it came out and was set to a price point that didn't make my wallet shriek in pain. FT is a great company that does good work. No one can argue against that. But the prices are daunting for a lot of us. Thankfully they space their releases out just enough to almost make it bearable for some of us. But given the state of economics lately, a lot of us have had to pick and choose wisely and have passed up on a lot of their more recent releases. I wont be purchasing their Scourge, because a year ago, I got a decent deal on XTBs and I dont see anything significantly better about FTs that makes me think I have to have it. So if FT is going to shoot for more market share, they will need to adjust their prices or space their releases out even further. Both of which I dont suspect they will consider, but here's hoping.
I think price and difficulty of transformations also play a role. Some of these are ridiculously over engineered. BTW, Mike, I got an idea for a video talking about why certain characters have never been attempted by third party such as Ratchet, Ironhide and Bumblebee. Might make for an interesting discussion.
Ratchet and Ironhide have. But Tracks, the Datsuns, and bumblebee for sure. Would be a good topic.
I would love to see their take on Ironhide! Great idea
One of my issues with FT is how they bully the other companies. And i do agree im perfectly fine with the powerglide i have i will not be changing out
Yep why bother releasing a render of MARGH when XTB is putting out a good Ultra Magnus already just to confuse the market, deter collectors from buying and sit with no Magnus for 5 years
I think the major problem with Fanstoys, and with MP collecting in general, is that the majority of figures we're getting now are just small sidegrades to stuff we already have, and very expensive ones at that. It's hard to get excited when the hot new FT figure is a character you already have, and just a slightly prettier and heavier replacement for a perfectly decent figure.
I understand the frustration collectors are feeling but as someone who just started collecting this year I'm loving it. The reissues and replacement pieces, as you put it, like Powerglide have been my only opportunity at some characters that are just crazy expensive on the secondary market. I truly get long time collectors being displeased but for me, even with the sour economy (hope for 2024), it's a great time to be a collector.
Agreed…this is probably exactly the reason all of the companies are making more. There is a growing fan base for these items. Many didn’t know these were out there. People catching up. And looking forward to the new releases
This is a great time to collect MP because if you do not want to pay for the new replacement figure older versions are being sold for super cheap. Plus new characters like roller and Omnibots are coming
This is why I've learned to be patient. I'm just letting them release figures, and I'll get the best one. Which 99% of the time happens to be fanstoys. Soundwave, Blaster, Cliffjumper, Astrotrain... all needed updates. I've noticed the additional FT stock, but most of them are the color variants. You hit on the most notable factors, but at the end of the day, FT is just the superior product. Gears and powerglide look AWESOME.
I wouldn't say 99% as other companies make better Transformers, especially if you're going for toon accuracies. I'll say Xtransbots makes the best Springer, Inferno and Ultra Magnus. Then you've got Bulkhead, which uses the Inferno mold, and he's awesome. MMC makes the best all in one combiners, Tarn and Sky Lynx. Gigapower makes the best Dinobots. The only thing MMC does wrong is they don't release a lot of figures and X-transbots QC is suspect but, when they do it right, they get it right. Their Omni bots are great and the render for Minerva looks great as well, I've got 2 pre-ordered as I love Minerva. Gigapower, I think they only make the Dinobots. Then you've got Takara Tomy as their last several Masterpieces were great. The Skids mold is fantastic along with Skyfire and Trailbreaker. Sadly, they don't incorporate a lot of diecasts, if any at all, and no rubber tires. Trailbreaker looks fantastic but, the plastic is thin and while I think it's the best, I'm keeping my Fans Toys version of him as well as the build quality is so much better.
@saysoun752 I was kinda exaggerating, but yes. As I do have the giga dinobots. Zeta combiners and xtransbots menasor. We can't deny the build quality, though. I'm definitely a fan of toon, and ultimately, Fanstoys is the perfect mix. Adult toon. In my opinion.
@@josephmonroy3865 Build and paint will always go to Fans Toys as they don't skimp out in this department.
@@saysoun752 XTB is like a stopped clock. They get it right 2 out of 24 times…. Maybe. No one as of yet has created a toon accurate set of Dino’s. Not the toon accuracy of today. Look no further than Newage Grimlock for what he’s supposed to look like. As far as quality, paint, materials, and accuracy goes, Fanstoys is by far the best. They beat out everyone. A great example of this is if you have a bunch of MMC, XTB, fanshoby on a shelf and add a Fanstoys figure, it will look fine, whereas if you have a shelf of Fanstoys and add an MMC, XTB, etc., it will stand out like a sore thumb. It’s ok to dislike Fanstoys, as they are expensive, prohibitively so in some cases, and T they’re Ella little easier to find nowadays than the past couple of years, but way more Fanstoys still sell out where most brands do not. They still have some of the higher secondary market value. People see them as higher end than the other brands.
@@MisterMeanerOU812 I stated Fans Toys has the best build and paint and nobody's going to beat them. However, they don't always make the best toys. I have a wide array of Transformers and I'll buy the version I like. For example, I have Fans Toys Skyfire, Springer and Trailbreaker but, I still bought Takara Tomy Skyfire and Trailbreaker and I bought X-transbots Springer. I sold my X-transbots Trailbreaker once I got Fans Toys version as I hated the shoulders but, I liked it better overall just absolutely hated the shoulders and since I display most of mine in robot mode, it was really bad. As for NewAge, I tend not to buy as I think they're way overpriced for the size that they are. I have their metallic Optimus Prime and 2 of Skyfire, regular and their take on Jetfire. I also have Jazz and he's super small for the price I paid for him. Same goes for Optimus Prime as that cost me $70 for a figure that 4.5". I paid $130 for Magic Square's take and he's a lot better for the money. As for price, I probably spend more money on my toys than some people spend on toys for the year as I'll spend anywhere between $400 - $500 a month, if not more, so price isn't a factor for me. I just bought the Spiderman PS5 and controller, $746 after tax, and I already have a PS5.
I just recently bought my first FansToys figures and while I like how solid they are with the diecast they put into them, the cost for the figures is high in comparison to some other 3rd party manufacturers. I'm not saying other manufacturers are cheap, but there can be a significant difference in the pricing. I also think some of their transformations can be seen as overly complex and that can turn people off from them.
The issue I have with FT (and also XTB, although I lean in favour of them) is both price, and over engineering. For a considerable amount of time, FT has been pricing their figures as though their product is the Nike of Transforming Robots, it's astounding that up until now, collectors have fallen for it, perhaps now that money is a little bit tighter world wide, people are realizing that these figures are not worth as much as FT thinks they can charge. Especially when out of the box your figure is broken, missing a screw, has incorrect tolerances, chipped paint etc. Over engineering is the second issue, these figures are not fun, they're statues, because going from mode to mode is a god damned nightmare, and it doesn't have to be. I have the same issues with XTB, and I own more of their figures, they look amazing, but as someone who always challenges myself to do the transformation blind with no instructions.. my god XTB Gravestone trailer was a living hell and took me 2 hours to get that thing transformed and combined into Menasor. FT needs to be smarter with their pricing strategy, and their design cues. Panel formers are vomit inducing now, no one wants to risk breaking a 200 dollar figure just because some self proclaimed genius designer decided to place 30 flimsy plastic panels in it that can barely scrape past one another without snapping off.
I still feel they are the best option in most cases. Great video thanks you for the entertainment
I recently got the Thomas reissue. It's just fine if anything. Has some lose elbow joints, and I had a random purple tab fall off that I can't for the life of me figure out where it came from. Everything still tabs in where it should when doing the transformations and there aren't any gap issues.
I have heard about that extra random part that fell off but does not appear to go anywhere. Is it a hip flap or something?
@@tydiriumhanger1320 it almost looks like a tab for a hand held item, bright purple paint but no bigger than a masterpiece style gun handle. But with more inspection there's no where I can see it tabbing into. Such a weird thing to find.
I had the same thing happen with this extra part. No idea what it was for but it fell out as soon as I opened it up. I had to return mine for a seperate reason though, his chest panels were horribly warped and so couldn't tab in right.
Some other brands look good enough
for alot less money.
Like DS Blaster, DX9 powerglide, Startoys blitzwing, TE Mirage.
Those are the last versions of the characters at that scale i have bought and will ever buy.
There are so many options today that it is getting harder to get collectors to swap out for a higher price
I think FansToys shud reissue sum of the Dinobots that everyone is waiting on. Plus the Omega and Guardian.
Yep they seem to know what the community demands for reissues but the glut on the market may keep them from doing a larger figure
Their prices are just insultingly high. Yes, they are probably the best, but their figures don't need to cost THAT much more.
That is why I like the other KO options for half the price
Im waiting patiently for the reissue of grimlock.if they ever do the sellers on eBay are going to lose their minds trying to sell him for 600 to 800
I'm having buyers remorse after recently getting Iceman, Goose and Dracula, I would like it if Fanstoys invested in upgrade kits like Jinboa did with their Gravity Builder, to fix things like the limited elbow articulation, a solid head with a metal plug for the headmasters and start to get general replacement parts like hands, cause I am finding some of the recent releases need extra TLC when coming out of the box where it just might be easier to send it unassembled. After the recent X-Transbots Fioravanti, I am questioning the QC many of these companies have cause I don't want to wait for reissues and replacements.
Yep waiting for replacement parts sucks but at least they send them out. It would be cool to see upgrades for older figures
What's wrong with Fioravanti? I've had no issues with mine.
Although when it comes to QC issues, XTB is one of the more notorious 3Ps, mainly due to overengineering. Their customer service is remarkably excellent though.
It’s not just FTs figures that are not selling, it’s all 3rd party that sales are down.
True but there was a time FT seemed immune to this
If I learned anything from collecting, it’s that no product is perfect. I started with mainline retail figures and then started collecting NewAge legends scale. And no matter how expensive the figure, there’s a chance you’ll get one with a defect or quality issue. The big downside is that if you order 3rd party from China, replacement parts, or worse, RMAs, are going to take so long and require expensive return shipping that you just end up “eating it”. It’s a risk unless you’re buying domestic, and domestic means over-priced BBTS or retail quality from Target.
What would be great is if Takara’s MP line was in domestic retail stores. You get good quality backed by store return policies in that scenario.
The problem with Takara/Hasbro MP at target is if you have a problem with a figure and return it there would not be another to repurchase
@@tydiriumhanger1320 that’s true, but at least it’s something in the first place. The risk of being out money is gone.
Fanstoys lost me in ‘21 when they re-released the insecticons for $450. These were $80 each upon initial release, and before anyone comes back with “muh-inflation”, I doubt that really had much to do with it. FT saw the secondary market and that they were losing money and they looked to cash in. I mean it’s our (collectors) fault with dummies paying like $900 for the 3 bugs. Can’t really blame them…
The second issue was the pre-order scarcity, they’d put up figures in very limited numbers to drive up FOMO - I’m not sure what there strategy was here but now we have the last several releases melting on shelves so to speak. I mean you can go pretty much anywhere and pick up the last few years worth of releases at or below MSRP. Don’t even get me started on the stupid combiners…
The thing is, these are well made figures with excellent paint and finish. They’re just not worth what they charge and I think we as collectors are over Fanstoys.
Many collectors also felt taken advantage of during that time
9:25
You don't need to "zoom in"
Plastic white temp plates underneath the arm and underneath the front of the car.
The model is made, but not transformable.
Honestly, with Fantoys and myself...its just the price of the figures that stops me. I would love to buy more of their stuff, I think they make an exceptional product, and I enjoy the highly complex transformations. But while transformers are what I mostly collect, they arent all I collect. So I have to split my funds between the 3 properties I'm into, and I have 6 kids. Lmao. Anyway due to the cost I usually find myself picking up the X-Transbots or MMC versions, which for the most part feed my need for the plastic crack.
Yep the cost is higher than other characters they are making to replace so they have to be the best. But are their figures worth twice the price?
@tydiriumhanger1320 They think so, and while their product seems to be better than the others, I'm not so sure they're worth twice as much. At 49 years old, I don't play with the toys. I might switch them back and forth a couple of times, but mostly, it's just for display. That being said, there's lots of cheaper options that still look good and mostly G1 accurate on the shelf.
Fanstoys used to be the only player on the field when it came to high quality figures. But now you have legends and even mainline in some instances. Plus the other options cost less and take up less space.
True other options have diluted the market
FT seem to be making more of the figures to combat the high after market prices, and as a result figures are available for longer. Ive not had any issues preordering anything due to stores limiting orders, which they didnt before.
also, Robot Paradise is FT. The only designs that where used by someone else was the KO of Thomas etc. So we shouldnt seen anything else effecting them now.
as for bandit, it was slated from the get go the last member of each team was getting the combiner parts with him, regardless of people wanting them or not. Likely so they make the same amount of Torso parts for enough thats been made. So we dont see a single bandit release. This makes more sense as a buisness as you can guage how many you need to make. Could be an issue for people buying later on though.
To add also, the shot we seen of the combiner was a Prototype, its just missing paint. Can tell the difference between them and the old ones that where renders. The Motormaster Train Truck was a Render as well as been in base mode.
I just received Thomas, solid re release.
The final stunticon announcement is a relief for myself and a lot of other collectors.
They should just put Bandit out and sell the trailer to those who want to combine
@@tydiriumhanger1320 agreed dude, I've just wanted to have a complete team of stunticons, there's been some want to make Menasore, but not as bad as just wanting that team shot.
Just jumping into this Mike midvideo
Part of it I think is largely the economy. People keep forgetting that China for the last 6 years is not been on a manufacturing front, meaning consumer goods, but gearing up for war production. So I think it's a combination of the fact that the factories aren't producing things for consumers rather for war, and also people just don't have the money to buy things
And what you're talking about with the base mode that you see with motormaster, that is a throwback that was initially developed in the second and third year for the combiners back in the G1 line that never quite took off here in the US. There were certain things about the G1 cartoon that were not popular in Japan that they redid, the Japanese headmasters cartoon was a good example of that, but all of the second and third wave combiners, at least the leaders would turn into a mobile command base. In this design harkens back to these misshaping monstrosities that they would transform into. So I think it's a cultural Divine that we don't quite get because we didn't see a marketing as much compared to the Asian market. That's where that comes from.
True the economy will be the demise of many toy makers in the coming years not to mention the distributors who get saddled with too much stock
I have a love/ hate relationship with FT 😂. One the one hand, both modes are usually beautiful. On the other hand they have questionable design decisions… Parkours side panels pop off the ball joints every time I transform him. Jives fenders do not connect with the windshield when going into alt mode. Ankle tilt on Mirage sucks… etc. Fanstoys is supposed to be the ultimate in TFs, but they come up short on the simplest of things. Their QC is not the best as Ive had multiple sealed new figures missing parts and panels broken. I don’t think the combiners are worth the Money. WTH is up with shoehorning a base mode? I love my Atilla because it gave me what I wanted without the extra bs. And it’s Gorgeous in all modes. Ill take the long trailer over the double wagon btw… as you can tell, I really liked your talking points. 😂 Keep up the good work!!!
Yep they look great but nothing is perfect. There are some odd choices
The problem with the combiner is you are going to have parts that are new and arm's or legs that are nearly 4 to 5 years old ie dusty, loose its not a good look you wouldn't buy a car with the back made in 2017 and the front made in 2024 it will not look or feel like a new complete car
True you will have a decade long figure in the making
Roadking came out in May of 2019. Think about that for a second
I love the look of Fans Toys designs, but the price is a large deterrent. Because of that, my Masterpiece collection is (roughly 20-25%) equal parts Fans Toys, X-Transbots, Takara & 4th party KO’s.
Would love Fans Toys to reissue the Dinobots & Insecticons at a more acceptable price.
I believe other brands are stepping up their game, mixed with higher quality KOs that are having an affect on Fans Toys.
Also, do you think the need to (re)release so many designs is placing pressure on the quality of their workmanship ?
Nonetheless, the aesthetics & engineering is impressive & I would love to see how they visualise how to transform from one form to another
Yep that is a big factor for many that get deterred by the price
I would be happier with FT if they would just finish their stuntacons and Airealbots...I know we got the announcement but its been years. I got the Thomas reissue and one arm was so loose it wouldn't hold a pose but some finger nail polish solved it but still a qc issue on a 200 figure is annoying. Im just needing someone to make a new Windcharger, and maybe a Tracks, at this point. And FT to reissue Brawn, Beachcomber and Warpath.
I know we pay a lot of $$$ for these but if the issue is minor I usually just deal with it and move along
@tydiriumhanger1320 oh i did, it was just annoying. But it's fixed and now it's all good.
Still an FT fanboy. However I do not feel their biggest releases, outside of Titan-tier, should exceed the $150 mark.
I feel their pricing will be correcting soon
For me Fans Toys fell from grace about a year or 2 ago. During the pandemic, their figures were impossible to buy for me and that was the last straw. Preorders sold out in minutes. The other straws being increasingly complex transformations and the toon aesthetic. Add on Takara's offerings getting worse and barely releasing anything. XTransbots quality is a coin toss each time. MMC is still great but only produce a couple figures a year. I didn't feel like masterpiece was offering much for me anymore. I couldn't even buy figures LOL.
So I sold most of my masterpiece, not all, and now I'm deep into legends. Every couple months or so there is a legends figure I want and I can almost always buy them for $100 or less. Occasionally a NewAge is more expensive but it is nice to have a regular source of toys I enjoy for a reasonable price again. What I used to get out of FansToys specifically and masterpiece as a whole.
Great video as always.
What are you talking about with this? Some of this is just blatantly false. What fans toys product came out during the pandemic that you couldn’t get? Yes, the pre-orders did sell out instantly. But you could then get in on the next run of preorders. And then once they were in stock. I bought everything they released in this timeframe. This is bs sorry
They did Jack up the price of the figures and some say it was not FT but the Distributors but that does not really matter to the consumers. The preorders selling out in minutes vs months was frustrating to many collectors
@@tjppop2192 LOL are you toy nerd raging at me because of what I experienced? You got really upset really fast snowflake. Just because it wasn't your experience doesn't mean it's BS. Maybe it means you can't understand something if it doesn't happen to you. Kind of dumb.
And buying a re-release that comes out a year later is the real BS here, buddy. None of us want that and for a long time FansToys weren't doing re-releases. For years they said the wouldn't re-release. Maybe you are just a new collector and weren't around then. Because that was the norm for years. No one is going to sit around waiting for something that has never happened before and have no reason to suspect will happen in the future.
@@tydiriumhanger1320Yes. I agree. I’ve mentioned that frustration as well. The initial ones do seem to sellout instantly, but they do then add more later on that you can jump on from my recent experience. It’s much better than it used to be. I missed out on the initial launch on FT Blaster where it was $1 deposit then got it for the $20. I think paid same price as initial launch but could be wrong. I appreciate your being open to difference in opinions at time and taking it in stride. Unlike some douchebags that like to chime in from the peanut gallery. This is why stick with your channel even is don’t always agree with your take on things
I really wish they had made an effort to complete their Fortress Maximus. 😢
That is looking more like a pipe dream
I'm still waiting on their version of gears and the second season minibots. Pipes, and swerve.
Minibots are the sweet spot. Cheaper to make, lower parts count and faster design process
i tried to transform my Fanstoys Recorder for the first time last week. He transforms into a box! What the hell was up with all the little panel bits in his legs? I was like, WTF? It was a whole lotta work for what is essentially not a whole lot of transformation. Also the incredibly tight tolerances on Parkour and Jive felt less fun and more like work. At times, it felt like they were 'flexing'' their 'incredibly smart engineering' rather than finding the most efficient way to turn a robot into a car or a robot into a box.
I got the KO Thomas and he wasn't as bad as those three AND he's a triple changer! Maybe as time goes on, they're just going to get more and more arrogant both in their pricing and their engineering. I wonder if there will be a point in the future where people will drop them for their competitors because FT have strayed too far from 'toys' and their products become more like ' expensive art pieces'.
Yes they do over engineer some figures and that can cause more issues than it solves
The biggest issue for me was their combiner balls up.
Yep it is the biggest FT hot button for collectors
The problems with FansToys today are the same problems that I think they've had for many years now, but in the case of Berserk, that's a problem that's just becoming worse over time and quite ridiculous when you think about it. I always feel like I'm teetering on giving up collecting altogether, but there is usually a handful of big projects that keep me hanging on and for FansToys, it's their Ultra-Magnus and inevitable Optimus Prime, though the ongoing concern of Berserk makes me wonder if I'll have to wait 15 years before I see it.
I'm surprised that they didn't complete each triple changer combiner figure one at a time for sanity of themselves and their audience? But still amazing figures, like everything Takara should be doing.
This Bandit situation really ticks me off. I don't want the combiner! I just want to get a representative of Dead End, my favorite Stunticon. But I can only get him with what I assume will be a ridiculously expensive combiner skeleton? WTF, Fanstoys. That should be sold completely separately.
Yep I agree to sell them separate
Personally Fanstoys make a quality product, however I feel they have gotten greedy and big headed, just compare the price of the KO's vs FT products, its often double, also, how they control the sales of product, and how they allegedly dictate stores, finally whole thing with Recorder chest is silly, nearly all other 3rd party companies include the part in the in the box, but FT sells it as (properly!) a $40 dollar add extra not even with the clear plastic insert.
Good point I forgot that chest needs the pin pulled
@@tydiriumhanger1320 made completely from die-cast I read today...
For me its been coming down to i just dont need most of thereplacement figures or the reissues i have bought 3 fans toys figure this year and only 2 last year and while those were all replacement figures they were ones were i wasnt satisfied with the originals i had in my collection.
The replacement figures are also good for new collectors starting out from scratch
@@tydiriumhanger1320 I 100% agree more new collectors the better i want everyone to be able to get the figures they want.
Do some cyberverse or animated. Beast machines on proper sizes, etc
Beast machines seems to be an era no company has covered and would be interesting to see how that goes. I would be in
As mentioned by Trevortoonart... Price and transformation are definitly affecting sales! Most of my 3rd party collection is Fanshobby and Zeta (1 Fanstoys)... Any questions? Lol
Price and availability as in the figures have already been made make those options more viable
This whole thing is leaving me to just wait on fans toys releases. I just snagged Tesla 2.0 on TFSafari for 140. Some releases though I am jumping on instantly. Fans toys is going through a strange patch
patience saves pockets but then there will be the occasional clearance chicken that gets lost
I think they're amazingly detailed figures, but the cost to acquire them is outrageous, especially when you can find suitable figures from other manufacturers that are sometimes equally good or, occasionally, better. If one of the full-sized figures was priced less than $150, I would consider getting a FansToys figure, but at $200+ for most of the full-sized figures, and even more on the secondary market, forget it!
So Mike,
I seriously feel like fantoys are kinda jacking the zeta superion & brutacus mole..thoughts?
They definitely have looked into how they made theirs work and use it for ideas. Could that torso hold the weight of FT limbs? Maybe
I own 0 fanstoys but got the ko of the shattered glass cyclonus and mine is great was tight and not loose I had issues getting the 1 part out to make the tip of the plane that's how tight it was love it. That being said I'm in on the scrouge mode for fanstoys
Where did you get that Shattered glass cyclonus
Fanstoys has been listening to the community and working hard. Reissued 2/5 dinos, all the bugs, release after release for the last couple years, completed the long promised Trailbreaker and now we have news of their unfinished combiners. FT with their fragile, complicated engineering is still top of the food chain for MP. Maybe it's also people turning to legends which is an affordable growing alternative with a hype sustaining, busy release schedule.
I am seeing many collectors switching to legends for space, price and simplicity so that is true
Isn't it ironic that the missing piece of Menasor is "dead end" and it feels like they've reached a dead end for this toy!
That is Just Poetic justice!
I think people forget that this isn't some big, massive cooperate entity with 100K employees. It's a reletively small company that strives to make really good masterpiece bots in all modes and top shelf decos. There are going to be delays and problems. When this happens to hasbro, they push it out anyway and move on. I don't want hasbro quality, so I will wait patiently. I know this going in, so it's expected.
True they take their time and do it right but why bother revealing stuff that is 7 years out. That was and still is their bully tactic
should make an Acoustic Wave Toon version w/ metallic blue
i sold & switched to chug but i’d buy that
Yep there are certain characters if done right would sell well
Let’s face it, In 20 years this collectables market is dead. Nobody is going to care about these characters after our generation retires.
You hit the nail on the head, once all of us who grew up in the 80's/90's are gone...the era of big time toy sales are over. Kids today don't form the nostalgic attachments to toy properties the way we did. They'd rather play on their game system, phone, tablet...etc. All we had were cartoons, the toys they spawned, and outside. Lol
Yep this hobby will change and ultimately some stuff will be worthless but collecting during retirement seems like more fun
Does this mean we're not getting FT40B anymore? 😪
That may have been a proof of concept but I hope we get it
For me the price is a large part of it relative to how reviews. If multiple reviewers have the same type of experience regarding transformation and quality. And I've seen the same problems and criticisms over and over. They do not seem to grow and get better. X-Transbots has made a big turn around by taking criticism and improving, for instance. If FansToys did that maybe they wouldn't be losing fans and customers.
True and FT has already set the bar high in the past so any slippage gets magnified more than other companies
FT Superion body doubles as a flight stand for the jets. It's sad that they didn't do something similar for the FT Menasor body. A stand to recreate how they drove on earth for the first time in car mode like in the g1 cartoon.
I forgot about that point with Superion. I guess if XTB did the G1 base mode FT must do the same
I think price is what’s killing them and tfsource is going to feel that more than showz and other Chinese retailers. I have a decent size collection and when I look at acoustic wave and Thomas, they look great but I spent $250 on each of them. When I look at them next to zeta combiners that where 350, Gigapower dinos that were all sub 200, x-Transbots and even deformation space I begin to question the value of those two figures. I got Fanstoys perceptor and trailbreaker for 140 each because they weren’t selling and I feel better about them because I feel that price is closer to what they should be instead. I think perceptor was originally 200+ which was just insane.
This down economy and excess product still on the market should help in the future pricing of FT figures
Price exhaustion. That's my reason for buying lots less. I rarely feel like a purchase is a great value;, just an okay value. And that makes me less excited to buy things.
True it does wear on you
I think it’s several factors. The economy, product staleness, and prices. Just to name a few.
Personally I’m getting to a spot with my collection where I’m content with it. Plus, TFs just aren’t exciting to me like they were in recent years. I’m a G1 kid, but even I’ve gotten burned out on that era of third party offerings. I salute Fans Hobby branching out to Armada characters and designs and I am looking forward to their Tidal Wave and Jetfire. Along with Cang Toys Dinobot combiner set.
But, I’ve had more enjoyment rediscovering MOTU (being spurred by Revelation series despite it being a terrible series with great animation) and Thundercats.
Transformers needs to stop with the three year cycle of rebooting the line. Stop relying on the movies to keep the line going because those are nothing but stale regurgitated MacGuffin hunt plots.
And Fanstoys showing at TFCon Toronto was kinda a joke. Those were basically the same 3D renders that have been floating around for a few years now. I have two Xtb Menasor combiners (toon & toy) with upgraded 3D parts and I’m perfectly happy with them.
True it is good to get some joy from other franchises and take your mind off the Transformers. Then a new release comes along that gets your excited about TF again
The bottom line is demand
And cost they charge what
they want for a plastic toy
Cause their are toms of TF
fans who will still buy them
regardless.
They make great figures no doubt but they also screw up a lot. Remember that display stand? And delaying the release of the rest of their combiner teams. Their qc isn't always the best. I passed on Sheridan and Jabber because of that. I only get them when I can at a good price. My most recent FT pickup was an FT-10X Phoenix for $250 with an upgrade kit. The only thing missing was the box. I never thought I'd get the 10X for less than $300. I'm definitely interested in getting their Chomp and Dracula if I can find them at a good price.
They do make great figures but there is no denying some of the issues
price, economy, a lot of people have certain characters already,
Not everyone is in on every character and the more obscure the more risk
Ft is overrated to me but I love their Jetfire and Thomas
Kinda done with Fans Toys, the prices are too crazy
I feel the prices will be more reasonable going forward
Heard from my Taobao seller that the Lupus KO is dead.... not happening.
What so what about preorders? Great heads up if that is true
@@tydiriumhanger1320 I got refunded for mine....
IMO Fanstoys or any other 3d/4th party are probably holding on to the 💼 while the economy continues to tank. However, I myself will be still collecting and FT are my go to besides some KO and that haven’t been molded yet either by XTrans or FT. XTrans is my2nd choice as well. I’m really glad that they ARE doing the reissues only problems I see with that is the rate at which FT drops them. Like the FT-road king.. I wasn’t collecting back then and hate going to eBay to pay higher prices.. hopefully FT will reissue ALL previous versions.
I will say FT is getting better at reissuing figures that are in higher demand so maybe they will do roadking in 2025 when they get bandit out
@@tydiriumhanger1320 keeping fingers crossed 🤞 cause I’m in on the dead end..
I hate zeta toys actually I refuse to buy their superion. I was so disappointed when Silverbolt slid in I said screw it. I think when My mom dies & such. Collecting will wind down. So I decided to stick with fans toys. I am only getting the MMC protectobots. It seems that they are doing one a year for a protectobot. I do have both pre ordered the constructicons for fans toys. I did not need their soundwave cause I have MP soundwave, But would like to get the slugfest & Overkill.
I like what FT has been doing. They may have made some imperfect products but I think no one's come close to what they're doing with regards to G1 figures.
There are several releases that XTB is neck and neck or even win but more wins go to FT
So for the people that complain about Fanstoys doing figures that already have a representation, Fanstoys is in it to win it. They don’t do characters based on what XTB, MMC, Badcube or Takara have done. Their goal is to make a representation that is more toon than anyone else. More premium than anyone else. They don’t care about accessories. They don’t care about making their products affordable. They want their releases to fit on a shelf with the other Fanstoys, not with MMC, XTB etc. I collect them BECAUSE they’re Fanstoys. Some are better than others, but they’re all better than everyone else.
I might get one figure from them.
@@chriscarpenter3370 I said that very same statement once. Thousands of dollars later, I am now an avid of not rabid Fanstoys (mostly) collector. Good luck keeping to just one.
@@MisterMeanerOU812 lol thanks
True they usually do have the best representation. If they do not care what XTB or MMC does then why reveal a super early render of MARGH the week XTB releases their Magnus and their Seaspray 2.0 right after XTB dominated with Neptune? They see the competition and react
@@tydiriumhanger1320 I disagree regarding their competition reaction. I could see where the opposite is true where XTB or MMC get the inside scoop on Fanstoys and rush a design render out. Fanstoys is the one getting knocked off. I’d say the other are more interested in Fanstoys upcoming releases than Fanstoys would be interested in theirs.
I think their headmasters are priced too high
True they can not over charge these days like they did in 2020
The StarToy Blitzwing looks good and I have him on my shelf, but he's too big next to FT Thomas. His head is huge compared to the FT. Hopefully FT will make a properly scaled figure. Been waiting 7 years now so hopefully I won't be disappointed...
Even if you do a swap with the FT blitzwing Star Toys is a great filler
I truly want fantoys to be the best, and to me they are the best..even if their transformation is difficult
Yes they can over complicate the transformation
Easy to to break and cracking. Loose arms and legs. Fanstoy suck never buy again
FT isnt going anywhere....who else does g1 as consistent as them....not xtransbots....
I keep forgetting they have never made a figure that is not G1. Great point
But we do know that Fanstoys Menasor is a physical prototype, because it is. If you zoom in and somehow conclude it's a render, I suggest to get your eyes checked. 😂
I assumed it was a prototype at first but many have said it is only a render. The alt mode is for sure a render but the other question is what year will this release? 2025?
The alt mode of Marauder is definitely a render. My eyes are fine.
@@UnChannelDuVulpineX the base mode is a render, yes. The Menasor mode is a physical prototype.
Ft quality has fallen over the last several years. Hope they don't turn into XTB.
I hope discussions like this get back to FT and they get back to their bar of quality they set to high over the years
@@tydiriumhanger1320 that's exactly why it should be pointed out. They were so great 2 to 3 years ago (think Galvatron) but they have been slipping. Can they ever recover?
Simply because Fanstoys increased supply.
I wonder if they actually produced more or we are losing collectors
Much of this isn’t a great way to determine the Fanstoys product longevity. Using inventory at BBTS and TFsource isn’t a great way to gauge. I think at this point most people know if you want the best price it’s not on those sites. Showz and other sites sell out on these very quickly still as mention in the video. Fanstoys by far still makes the best product. Do I have the gears and power glide currently on the market? Yes. Will fans toys probably be better. Also yes. I’ve waited since 1984 for this level of representation of these figures so I’m fine waiting and won’t bitch and complain. The same people bitching and moaning on the delay in the releases will be bitching 20 years down the road for the latest and greatest release at that point. Please
True there will always be complaints about every figure from usually the same collectors. FT should at least have some sorta prototype for combiners by now Right? Zeta took 14 months start to finish
@@tydiriumhanger1320 to your point I’m cool waiting for them to get it right. Not thrilled if they are adding the cost to combine to the final releases. That should be separate in my opinion
@@tydiriumhanger1320 zeta to what Fanstoys is doing is like comparing apples to oranges though in a way. Zeta great in combine mode but the other modes pretty much suck in comparison
Fans toys is mp they drive the mp market what happens to them happens to mp as a whole. there is a reason you do only fanstoys themed videos and not any other mp/3p company
FT is the most prestigious company in the 3P game and have built a great reputation. I want them to maintain what they have built and keep delivering. Have you seen my WHAT IS ON X-TRANSBOT'S PLATE video?
Dont get me wrong, I do like the headmaster series of bots, but Im not enough of a fan of them to pay the FT prices for them. And honestly the options out there for other companies, just aren't doing it for me. So for me with the HMs its either FT or nothing at this point. So the idea that there might be a 4th party KO of FTs headmasters does appeal to me. Their Acoustic Wave was one I was going to pass on, until the KO of it came out and was set to a price point that didn't make my wallet shriek in pain. FT is a great company that does good work. No one can argue against that. But the prices are daunting for a lot of us. Thankfully they space their releases out just enough to almost make it bearable for some of us. But given the state of economics lately, a lot of us have had to pick and choose wisely and have passed up on a lot of their more recent releases. I wont be purchasing their Scourge, because a year ago, I got a decent deal on XTBs and I dont see anything significantly better about FTs that makes me think I have to have it. So if FT is going to shoot for more market share, they will need to adjust their prices or space their releases out even further. Both of which I dont suspect they will consider, but here's hoping.
Again they could have put out Highbrow and Brainstorm to help the fans finish a team but no they make your rebuy what you have on your shelf first