[CUSTOM] not-Hasbro

I don't understand the iGear Coneheads... are they conversion kits, or full figures?

Introducing Prometheus Rising Studio.
[prometheusrising.net]
I make 3D printed mecha action figures.

Prometheum5 Wrote:
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> I don't understand the iGear Coneheads... are they
> conversion kits, or full figures?

They will be full figures based off customs.

So they're recasting the basic Masterpiece Seeker mold? Or are these the half-size like the Prime. They look good, but either way, this seems much more 'crook-ey' than Fansprojects making 100% original figures or add on sets that make you still need to buy a legit figure legitimately.

Introducing Prometheus Rising Studio.
[prometheusrising.net]
I make 3D printed mecha action figures.

Prometheum5 Wrote:
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> So they're recasting the basic Masterpiece Seeker
> mold? Or are these the half-size like the Prime.
> They look good, but either way, this seems much
> more 'crook-ey' than Fansprojects making 100%
> original figures or add on sets that make you
> still need to buy a legit figure legitimately

They are recasts of the basic Masterpiece Seeker mold (which is the same height as their half-size Prime).

Hmmm.. that sounds a little more scummy. They look good, but that's pretty close to just bootlegging.

Introducing Prometheus Rising Studio.
[prometheusrising.net]
I make 3D printed mecha action figures.

Stolen IP = bootleg. It's no better or worse to come up with an all-new mold for Springer and call him "Warbot". It's still someone else's IP.

It's certainly more creative, though!

Sanjeev Wrote:
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> Stolen IP = bootleg. It's no better or worse to
> come up with an all-new mold for Springer and call
> him "Warbot". It's still someone else's IP.
>
> It's certainly more creative, though!

Warbot Defender seems like a bad example of IP infringement. Other than the palette, it bears literally no resemblance to Springer, not even the head or face. The colors aren't even used in the same spots as the cartoon or toy. It would be more accurate to say it evokes Springer or is an homage to the Springer-style triple changer. Also, other than the coloring, the City Commander armor doesn't bear much resemblance to the cartoon or toy versions of Ultra Magnus' armor. For IP infringement, the mini Masterpiece toys and Dinobots definitely fit the bill, though.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/02/2010 07:03PM by Scopedog.

That's totally what I was thinking.

Introducing Prometheus Rising Studio.
[prometheusrising.net]
I make 3D printed mecha action figures.

If Hasbro or Takara decided to pursue this in court, Fansproject would be taken to the cleaners.

You can put lipstick on a pig, but y--wait--that's not the right expression...fucking politicians.

Anyway, I don't think *anyone* out there is even remotely under any impression that Warbot is anything other than Springer, let alone some sort of original character. They copied Hasbro's sculpt aesthetic (from the Classics line), and the basic pattern and color palette of the character Springer. It's public knowledge that *is* supposed to be Springer.

That's more than enough for a cease & desist.

Don't get me wrong--I hope it never happens. I fucking love this shit, and I hope we continue to see great stuff like this in the future. But don't get it twisted...just because one bootlegger is more creative than another, doesn't make it any less illegal/unethical/whatever.

Hasbro's clearly got a fairly liberal policy on this for a variety of reasons. No doubt they'd prefer it was not going on just to keep things simple, but it's not like it's biting into their profit margin much, if at all. It can't possibly be worth them paying lawyers to pursue these companies, especially as they are generally overseas groups. If anything, it's driving sales of some of the more obscure toy releases in a way. Now for the collectors out there, you'd better snatch up any of the TF releases because who knows what Fansproject or some other small manufacturer will do to enhance them? Have you seen what the aftermarket price of Classics Ultra Magnus got up to at one point (big thanks to Sanjeev for his part in me reacquiring mine) or the "proper" toys for the Crossover set? It does Hasbro's reputation (or the brand's) no good to hammer on these little companies. They help enhance the environment of the fandom in general, with a minor infringement to IP, and help ensure continued purchasing of the official thing.Hasbro's not going after Reprolabels either you notice, and they're the ones actually making truly trademarked goods...

More serious than thou

i agree with Fujikuro.

Back in the day I bought the target exclusive Ultra Magnus/ Sky Warp just for the Skywarp and put UM in the closet. When the FP set came out I was glad to have the Target exclusive. I didn't but the Bruticus for the same reason. They also did a repaint and called it Springer. Looked terrible in my opinion.

It didn't look like Bruticus. Now thanks to FP I'm having to find one on the (lot more expensive) secondary market. Speaking what are the difference between the Target version and others. Is the target version the best one to get?

Warbot IS and is MEANT to be Springer. They could just as easily made it some other color and a different head and called it Warbot. Go on Ebay and it is always listed as Transformers Fansproject springer/Warbot.

Just put everything together for the Crossfire stuff, and it still looks pretty good on mine. Now, I did buy a used version of the helicopter Swindle, so I have two tan vehicles on mine, rather than the nice gray/blue version that the helicopter really ought to be. Still, it looks pretty good overall. If I could get my hands on the full set I would since this is clearly designed color-wise to go with that set.

More serious than thou

Sanjeev Wrote:
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> If Hasbro or Takara decided to pursue this in
> court, Fansproject would be taken to the cleaners.
>
> It's public knowledge that *is* supposed
> to be Springer.
>
> That's more than enough for a cease & desist.

I wish we had someone here familiar with IP law. I'm not convinced that Hasbro would have a case against Fansproject. The reason cease & desists usually work is because the target of the c&d can't afford to litigate. I don't know if Fansproject could afford to fight back, but I don't think its safe to bet that they would lose. I'm pretty sure IP law is complex and rife with as much arcane and esoteric minuteae (perhaps more) than any other type of law. I think what Fansproject does is awesome just like everybody else. However, I don't really care if they're breaking the law or not so I'm not actually defending their practices. My argument is purely abstract. In my opinion, if you compare Warbot Defender to the cartoon and toy versions of Springer, there is only slight resemblance. On the other hand, if you compare Warbot Defender to your mental image of Springer, they are, of course, indistinguishable.

You're right: I'm *far* from an expert in IP law, but I've seen plenty of corporations defend their PI and win over far less than the Warbot. Scope, you're familiar with WH40k, right? GW is apparently the 3rd Reich when it comes to their IP and they've gotten tons of customizers shut down in the past.

Oh, and Lucasfilms...yeesh!

I think Hasbro/Takara just go with it because for the most part they won't make these items themselves plus they don't want to piss off Transformers fans. I highly doubt Hasbro would make the trailer/armor for Maguns and I highly doubt Takara was gonna release the Coneheads or a smaller Prime. Sure it's IP infringement but it is helping the market that other companies are making these while still attracting fans to the Masterpiece and Classics line. Is it a little underhanded? Well yeah but it's also saving R&D money for Hasbro/Takara for items which would probably not sell in huge numbers. Now I'm not talking about straight up copies like the Dinobots or Metroplex but items that compliment "legitimate" toylines like Classics or Masterpieces. Although I'm not sure about Fansproject, I know for certain iGear states that they are only the "distributors" and not the producers of their versions of the Masterpieces so this could be a way to protect their asses. I also don't know anything about International Law so I don't know if Hasbro or Takara could do anything about a company that's based in China.

But I will say this, I ordered a mini Prime from iGear's second run and will probably get the Coneheads so I guess I'm contributing to IP infringement but unless Hasbro/Takara release a "official" product I really don't have much of a choice and honestly I really don't have much of a problem with it either.

I'd love to get my hands on that Faith Leader toy myself. As I said, I feel like MP Convoy is just too damn big, and I'd love to have one in proper scale with Grimlock. Has anyone picked up Faith Leader so far?

More serious than thou



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/03/2010 10:54PM by fujikuro.

"Old" news, but still pretty cool.

TFX-04B Shadow Scyther (Shattered Glass Hot Rod)

[www.fansproject.com]

Pre-order $94.99, Dec. 2010 release.

More preorders...

Looks like Protector get's a handy roller too! And there's a target master.

Oh man, with the Targetmaster and everything, I'm sold. Now to find a Hot Rod >.>

EDIT: Hmmm... Sidearm is a separately sold part. Maybe I should just grab him for my reissue HR!

Introducing Prometheus Rising Studio.
[prometheusrising.net]
I make 3D printed mecha action figures.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/09/2010 05:25PM by Prometheum5.

I love that Rodimus gets his own roller! The targetmaster is pure genius, and I may have to get a couple of them. At $10 each, it's not a high price to pay for such a figure.

More serious than thou

Yeah, $10 isn't bad considering Side Arm includes chrome wing extensions and a chrome spoiler fin. I guess that means I'll have "left over" non-chromed wing extensions from the Protector set.

Even at the size that Sidearm likely is - I'd guess at about an inch and a half tall maybe - the inclusion of the extra bits really adds to the package. I'm almost more excited about the FP combined sets here than I am about MP Rodimus.

More serious than thou

fujikuro Wrote:
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> I'm almost more excited about the FP
> combined sets here than I am about MP Rodimus.


I'm way more excited about the FP set: it just looks so much more imposing. I think I can wait for a Hasbro release of the MP Roddy.

Best, Ken-A

In living color

[tformers.com]

FP website seems to be down right now...

Pretty cool...but what's with that weird blue shit the truck appears to be taking???

Also, his face is kinda...not even close. I mean, I get that they're not supposed to be exact G1 matches...but the Ultra Magnus armor *looks* like what Ultra Magnus would look like if Hasbro had done him in the Classics line. It totally has the UM feel. This Rodimus, though, doesn't look quite right to me...

Gods...no pleasing me, huh? :P

That squared-off head and the overall angular lines seem to flirt a bit with Studio Ox's design:



I'm certainly glad something like this is being made, but I'll stick with the canonical version coming out later in the year.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/20/2010 02:01PM by gingaio.

Sanjeev Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Pretty cool...but what's with that weird blue shit
> the truck appears to be taking???
>
> Also, his face is kinda...not even close. I mean,
> I get that they're not supposed to be exact G1
> matches...but the Ultra Magnus armor *looks* like
> what Ultra Magnus would look like if Hasbro had
> done him in the Classics line. It totally has the
> UM feel. This Rodimus, though, doesn't look quite
> right to me...
>
> Gods...no pleasing me, huh? :P


Never much cared for the G1 Rodimus Prime face (thought it should've looked more, I dunno, Optimus-y). I like the FP Roddy because it looks like the G1 could have been, somehow -- like the Ultra Magnus face on the City Commander set.

Best, Ken-A

Agreeing with Ken-A on this one. There's only one or two small details of this set that I find mildly unappealing and they all deal with the trailer. I'd want it to be a tad bit more Winnebago, if you know what I mean. Less mechanical, but that's part of the updating process with these, I guess.

More serious than thou

Sanjeev Wrote:
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> Pretty cool...but what's with that weird blue shit
> the truck appears to be taking???

Can't tell if you're joking here...that's the blue flame/missile/effect part that comes with Classics Hot Rod. Yeah, it looks kind of odd given the boxy shape of the trailer.

> Also, his face is kinda...not even close.

I guess it can't be considered a bootleg no more ;)

fujikuro Wrote:
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I'd want it to be a tad bit more
> Winnebago...

That's a tough one, between the winnebago and this box with flames. Both are a little aesthetically lacking. Then again, the whole "robots in disguise" theme implies that the alt/vehicle modes look like family vans and VW bugs, not alien war machines.

Got a e-mail from iGear stating that they will be releasing two more variants of their Prime, a white Ultra Magnus and a Shattered Glass version which is basically a black and purple Prime, no surprises here. But the big surprise is that they will be releasing a trailer for Magnus and they confirmed it on their Facebook profile that it will transform into his armor.

Now if only they do Diaclone colors!

-Ginrai
Golden Gate Riot on dead trees at: [www.destroyallcomics.com]

My PP-01 should be arriving with-in the next week or so also iGear has pre-orders up for the Coneheads, pre-order price is $114 then regular price is $130. I also ordered the Ultra Magnus version since iGear has confirmed that they will release a transformable trailer for Magnus. But the biggest surprise is that iGear will be releasing their version of the original three Seekers without the hip kibble and with arm monitors like MP Prime. I'll pass on these since I already own six versions of the Takara/Hasbro ones but if you missed out on the official releases these could be for you.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/22/2010 04:39PM by chen.

So they resolved the hip kibble issue by keeping that stuff permanently attached to the lower legs (like the G1 design)? Neat. Do their Coneheads feature that? Or is it just the original three they're re-doing?

Any news on their Predaking?

Call me crazy, but I LIKE the hip kibble. I think it makes it look like a samurai kinda, and that is cool to me.

-Ginrai
Golden Gate Riot on dead trees at: [www.destroyallcomics.com]

I don't mind the hip kibble, or kibble in general. But it just seems odd to me when that same stuff on the Seekers could easily have been designed to be fused with the lower leg (as it sorta OUGHT to be based on the animation/original toy design). Not only would it have been righter, but it would have helped simplify a pretty annoyingly complex toy...

I didn't particularly care about it looking like the animation model, but I know I am in the minority.

-Ginrai
Golden Gate Riot on dead trees at: [www.destroyallcomics.com]

Nah, I don't really care about the animation model either...but it's a consideration some may legitimately care about. My personal bottom line is simplicity: having that gear fused to the lower legs means less stuff flopping about. Robust designs are #1 in my book.

I don't mind it and since I already bought six versions of the "official" versions I don't feel like buying three more versions just for the sake of the lack of hip kibble which you can just remove, plus I think another third party is making covers if you want to cover up that ball joint. The Coneheads don't have this but that's mainly due to the fact that only Thrust has any kind of tail fins while the others just have wings. The good thing though if they do move the tail fins to the legs is that it would probably help balance them since the Seekers do tend to be top heavy and trying o get them stand in any kind of action pose is a chore.

[shop.igeartoys.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/23/2010 10:04AM by chen.

Damn, Ramjet looks so fucking good...

Awesome.

[tformers.com]