Takara shorts everyone on MP Soundwaves

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Clay
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Takara shorts everyone on MP Soundwaves

Post by Clay »

http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-new ... ay-177160/

Goes a long way to explain why it's out of stock everywhere.
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Denyer
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Post by Denyer »

Keep in mind there is a limit on how far back we can issue refunds to a credit card or via paypal, if your payment date exceeds that time limit and want to cancel it's no longer possible for us to issue a refund. Only store credit will be offered if this time frame is exceeded.
I doubt that's going to end well for them.
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Knightdramon
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Post by Knightdramon »

Not just Soundwave.

The damn cassetes as well. My preorders at HLJ are NOT filled. MP15 was preordered 6 days after their page went live, MP16 was cancelled and re-ordered on January.

Not entirely sure what's going on, or if TRU Soundwave's production is so close by that they had to cut down production on MP13, 15 and 16, but it's reached a point where EVEN takara die-hards say "f*ck it" and wait for the hasbro version.

Takara really messed up this time. MP10 [Takara] was available and instock on most sites from October to late February, the damn cassetes aren't available for more than 1 minute?
Few stuff in the UK to trade/sell. Measly sales thread.
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numbat
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Post by numbat »

I've just e-mailed Robotkingdom regarding my pre-order of the cassetes to see what's going on there, as they're very late now (they usually ship very quickly). Hope they come through ok!

I feel very lucky to have MP Soundwave now, and very sorry for those who've been stung by this. Seems really odd, given how obviously popular the figure is.

New sale thread added with a range of Transformers including Masterpiece, Botcon, CHUG, RID, Movies etc.

Looking for MP-11T Thundercracker and MP-9 Rodimus v2 (Takara version with as few QC issues as possible).


Check out my new sale thread now!

Also items on eBay.
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Knightdramon
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Post by Knightdramon »

RK has had restocks of Frenzy and Buzzsaw; 2 or 1 so far.

Not sure how much longer I'll keep Soundwave due to this; a big part of his playability comes from his cassetes, and I've only got one due to this hacking of orders.
Few stuff in the UK to trade/sell. Measly sales thread.
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Summerhayes
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Post by Summerhayes »

Its stories like this that make me glad I'm not really super into getting toys as they come out. I thought it was frustrating waiting a few days for a comic subscription to arrive!
I like bears.
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Skyquake87
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Post by Skyquake87 »

Summerhayes wrote:Its stories like this that make me glad I'm not really super into getting toys as they come out. I thought it was frustrating waiting a few days for a comic subscription to arrive!
Funnily enough, I was thinking about this the other day. I spent most of last year very frustrated that I couldn't find a Prime Vehicon anywhere at UK retail. During 2012, we had waves 1 & 2 on sale everywhere for most of the year and then around Xmas we got wave 4 appearing and now... everywhere has a full compliment of western Prime stock (I've since snagged a couple of extra Vehicons). And we've had a similar pattern with other recent TF releases, now I come to think about it (well, except where stuff fails miserably and gets dumped at Home Bargains and B&M).

Which just made me wonder if maybe its not distribution per se, but the global release schedules that cause these problems. The internet and avaialbility of information really does create an urgency and expectancy for everything which perhaps companies' distribution networks and planned release dates (which are probably in flux depending on sales anyway) cannot keep up with.

...Probably stating the blinglingly obvious, but its nice to have a moment of clarity every now and then :)

As for MPs, I'll just sit and wait and see what Hasbro bring us. These sorts of products (and toys in general) I like to see in person before buying. The current Hasbro MP Prime I found an easy pass. It just didn't do anything for me. The chunky lower legs, oddly small head with sticky-out ear bits and blue eyes that look wrong on the toy, not to mention how portly Roller has got over the intervening years, it just doesn't evoke the same feelings for me as the old school toy, and some fancy engineering isn't enough for me to shell out £100. Especially as the original has most of the bases covered : die-cast / rubber tyres/ chrome / fun.

Looking again at MP 'Swipe, I can't get over how broad his chest looks and how small that makes his head appear. He just doesn't seem as well proportioned and good looking as his original toy. And against the comparrison pics with Binaltech Smokescreen he seems like a poor relation to something that arguably did the same job but better and without the crazy price tag.

I will be interested to see how Prowl looks in the flesh. Him and Soundwave are the only ones I'm really interested in.
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Knightdramon
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Post by Knightdramon »

Well, part of the problem is that people are so, so, so damn impatient. I notice that trend in sightings and whatnot in tfw forums. A new case pops up in nowhersvile, texas, and folks over at alaska cry out that they're screwed by hasbro that the case isn't out at their place 2 minutes later.

European distribution is even poorer, to be honest. Hasbro's distribution panels should have a much better communication method with advertisement and marketing. A character is "hot" for a certain amount of time around their appearance on the show, and then it slowly fades away. If season 3 is airing in the UK as well right now, and Airrachnid is just starting to hit shelves, well, they killed off her sales.

As for the MPs, I respectfully disagree. Prime and Sideswipe are two of the funnest figures I've picked since 2004. The fact that never, ever, since I was a little child, had I found "base" modes interesting but I keep playing with MP10's trailer is a testament to how good the figure is for me. The fact that they're expanding the car subline makes the 6 year old inside me not want to miss ANY of them!!
Few stuff in the UK to trade/sell. Measly sales thread.
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The Big Ragebowski
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Post by The Big Ragebowski »

I agree with the Knight on this one. MP Sideswipe and Prime are awesome! Soundwave does look absolutely amazing with the 5 cassettes too!

Really looking forward to Prowl, Bluestreak and Smokescreen MP's this year and filling in the gaps of my MP collection. Actually looking forward to MP Acid Storm and Tiger Tracks too even though they weren't really a character from the original series! :) got my fingers crossed for Clampdown and Deepcover too as I foolishly sold my ehobby version about 4 years ago :(

Just hope we get the full first series of cars, for me it won't be complete without Hound, Wheeljack, Mirage and Jazz as an MP :)
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Knightdramon
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Post by Knightdramon »

Let me make one small note on what I said above...Sideswipe [and by extension, Red Alert] are totally worth it when they're priced around their original retail [anything from 50 to 70 USD, max 80]. Anything over that, and especially the late 160 USD auctions I see, yeah, definitely not worth the fuss.
Few stuff in the UK to trade/sell. Measly sales thread.
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Skyquake87
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Post by Skyquake87 »

I think thats what puts me off the MPs - certainly the Takara versions. You have to gamble on a pre-order and hope Takara's QC doesn't leave you with an expensive mistake. If they do turn out okay, stock sells out quickly and then you're stuck with the aftermarket. You mentioned some examples of 'swipe have some paint blemishes and some consumers aren't happy with this. Whilst they may be exaggerating, these are high ticket items, so you expect the quality to match the price tag. Too often, that doesn't seem to be the case.

I'm glad they scratch an itch for you guys, but they don't always do that for me. It also depends on the investment in the character, too. Optimus (for example) has never been on my list of favourites, so if a particular version isn't up to my expectations then I don't feel bad if i have to pass on him.
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Knightdramon
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Post by Knightdramon »

Definitely agree with you; Optimus is pretty low on my list of must haves in fiction and toys. Sideswipe and Prowl are more iconic to me, toy-wise, than the big red truck ever was. Probably because there was Ginrai, Laser 2 Optimus and so on. The truck never stopped coming out, the contach and the datsun did stop.

Which is even further testament to how great I believe MP Optimus is; I don't like the character that much and I was never hot on playsets\bases. Yet I can't put mine down.

As for the Takara versions, in my opinion the biggest flop of recent years is Rodimus v1, where some truly bad decisions and fit turned a good toy to below bad. Prime MP10, MP11 Starscream, Soundwave, Red Alert and the cassetes did not have any widespread issues, and I do believe Sideswipe's issues were magnified from mouth to mouth.

The main problem is, like this thread mentions, takara shorthanding nearly everybody. The figures are still available, but under so many mark ups even I don't think they're worth it. There's a certain threshold in which a toy can go from GREAT GET IT NOW to meh when it comes to prices. Best example? MP Soundwave. His tapes were so under produced it's not even funny. Each set costs about 60-90 USD on the aftermarket, a month\two months after release. The USA release will cost about 100 USD with all five cassettes. At that point you sort of question where's the point in that...:lol:
Few stuff in the UK to trade/sell. Measly sales thread.
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numbat
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Post by numbat »

I finally got my Masterpiece cassette sets - they arrived in the UK on 18th March, but customs seemed to have a hissy-fit or misplaced them - they only cleared customs yesterday!

I was terrified at first I had lost out due to the supply issues, and when I found they'd been in customs for a month thought they may have been lost... So I drove down to the depot and picked them up today, to avoid any more stress! I am shocked that I got charged a customs bill of 75% of the combined cost of the sets though - how do they calculate these things?!?!?

Anyway, I have them now. Sadly Frenzy has a paint error on his face. The rest are all fine. Frenzy and Rumble are fun, but I actually prefer the United versions (they are better proportioned and the weapons and piledrivers are part of the transformation, and not just random accessories). In fact, given how well designed Laserbeak/Buzzsaw and Ravage are with their weapons folding away into the cassette mode, I don't know why they couldn't have designed the humanoid cassettes to store their guns too - they're much simpler designs than the animals.

Ravage is really awesome - I'd recommend trying to pick him up. Robotkingdom have restocked on them at $59.90 USD: http://www.robotkingdom.com/services/es ... CatID=1_42

Now, why do I bother preordering? Well, the prices are way lower and you're more likely to avoid supply issues. I mean, I bought the cassette sets at $35 USD - now if you're lucky to find them the price is around $60 USD. I bought MP-12 Sideswipe at $70 USD, and now he goes for $150 USD or more if you can find him. And let's not even bother talking about Soundwave!

So, I'd say the 'gamble' pays off.

:)

New sale thread added with a range of Transformers including Masterpiece, Botcon, CHUG, RID, Movies etc.

Looking for MP-11T Thundercracker and MP-9 Rodimus v2 (Takara version with as few QC issues as possible).


Check out my new sale thread now!

Also items on eBay.
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