United Rumble & Frenzy, NOW IN STOCK @ BBTS Rating Options

[videriant]

The first movie had real gears instead of scouts and all the cybertron and energon scouts were repainted and released as Target exclusives.

[Kevin S]

According to a Japanese dealer I know and trust, this batch being sold by BBTS was produced under the table by the factory in China and wasn't done for the Japanese market, it was done for dealers in Hong Kong and Asia. So while it uses the exact same molds and packaging as the official release, it's not exactly official and likely none of the money paid for them will be going to Takara or Hasbro. They may also have a higher defect rate, not sure. This has happened a few times in the past with figures like MP Megatron and Henkei Hound.

Well I hope it isn't as bad as it sounds. I doubt we'll ever know, but I wonder what he thinks of Botcon runs. From what I understand, Botcon exclusives tend to be the same sort of thing, where Funpub mostly deals directly with the factory. Sure, they have Hasbro's blessing, but from the way I understood it, Funpub deals with Factory more on these things. Or maybe I'm wrong.

I'd at least like to think BBTS went to Takara to see if more could be made, the being directed to deal with the factory directly. I could see your contact misinterpreting that sort of transaction, at least.

[Buster Darkwings]

He does business in Hong Kong and Asia himself. I'd assume it's fairly easy to find out what's not meant for Japan, like if solicitations for a re-release of JP market product show up in Hong Kong but not Japan.

I don't take issue with his knowing that it is being released in Hong Kong instead of Japan. What I'm trying to understand is how he would know that they were not ordered by Hasbro HK...

He'll probably be at the next BotCon, feel free to as him then.

[mx-01 archon]

I'll be happy with my smaller gun versions. They're more in scale with Cybertron Soundwave whom I have holding them.

Ditto.

They mount pretty well on his wingtips in jet mode as well.

I'd buy these if I found them at $10 (CDN pricetag) at retail. But I'm not paying $75 for two "mass-produced" Scouts.

This post has been edited by mx-01 archon: Aug 26 2011, 07:03 PM

[Might Gaine]

He does business in Hong Kong and Asia himself. I'd assume it's fairly easy to find out what's not meant for Japan, like if solicitations for a re-release of JP market product show up in Hong Kong but not Japan.

I don't take issue with his knowing that it is being released in Hong Kong instead of Japan. What I'm trying to understand is how he would know that they were not ordered by Hasbro HK...

He'll probably be at the next BotCon, feel free to as him then.

Could you ask him instead? 8 months is a long time to wait for an answer and I may not even be going to Botcon next year.

[Buster Darkwings]

Well I hope it isn't as bad as it sounds. I doubt we'll ever know, but I wonder what he thinks of Botcon runs. From what I understand, Botcon exclusives tend to be the same sort of thing, where Funpub mostly deals directly with the factory. Sure, they have Hasbro's blessing, but from the way I understood it, Funpub deals with Factory more on these things. Or maybe I'm wrong.

It wouldn't surprise me if the same people are having BotCon exclusives produced under the table. I haven't been paying much attention to auctions lately, but I saw a LOT of BotCon G2 Sideswipes on Yahoo Japan last year, possibly more than there actually were at the customizing classes.

[Cat]

He does business in Hong Kong and Asia himself. I'd assume it's fairly easy to find out what's not meant for Japan, like if solicitations for a re-release of JP market product show up in Hong Kong but not Japan.

I don't take issue with his knowing that it is being released in Hong Kong instead of Japan. What I'm trying to understand is how he would know that they were not ordered by Hasbro HK...

Indeed. How does he know that they are illegitimate and not officially made product if they are coming 'from the same molds, in the same packaging' which would also mean 'from the same factory' since while Hasbro owns the molds it is the factory that holds onto them and they aren't just going to be moved around freely.

There is precedent.

This happened with SOTA's Streetfighter figures. I believe it was the first wave only (not 100% on that though).

There was a dispute with the factory, so well after the official release, the factory started selling the figures on their own, without SOTA's approval or input, and without SOTA seeing any of the revenue.

[G.B.Blackrock]

When we get another set along the lines of 'Battle in Space' maybe I'd consider this a possibility, but one two-pack does not a precedent make.

I'm not entirely sure what you're getting at. We've had two-packs before. Packs with comic books, no less. "Battle in Space" was hardly the first.

I meant exclusive multi-packs for Classics/Universe/Generations molds, instead of whatever current movie/tv-show it's tied to.

Last things I remember were the Titanium two-pack and Ultra Magnus/Skywarp, and those were years ago.

The Target comic two-packs, as Blackrock was alluding to I think. Springer/Ratbat, Dirge/Roadbuster.

Indeed I was, although I was intentionally vague.

[Buster Darkwings]

He does business in Hong Kong and Asia himself. I'd assume it's fairly easy to find out what's not meant for Japan, like if solicitations for a re-release of JP market product show up in Hong Kong but not Japan.

I don't take issue with his knowing that it is being released in Hong Kong instead of Japan. What I'm trying to understand is how he would know that they were not ordered by Hasbro HK...

He'll probably be at the next BotCon, feel free to as him then.

Could you ask him instead? 8 months is a long time to wait for an answer and I may not even be going to Botcon next year.

Not sure if I'll see or talk to him anytime soon.

Don't official Hasbro HK releases have stickers on the packaging somewhere? If so, that might be a giveaway.

[Might Gaine]

He does business in Hong Kong and Asia himself. I'd assume it's fairly easy to find out what's not meant for Japan, like if solicitations for a re-release of JP market product show up in Hong Kong but not Japan.

I don't take issue with his knowing that it is being released in Hong Kong instead of Japan. What I'm trying to understand is how he would know that they were not ordered by Hasbro HK...

He'll probably be at the next BotCon, feel free to as him then.

Could you ask him instead? 8 months is a long time to wait for an answer and I may not even be going to Botcon next year.

Not sure if I'll see or talk to him anytime soon.

Don't official Hasbro HK releases have stickers on the packaging somewhere? If so, that might be a giveaway.

No, they have no stickers on the packaging last I checked....

I think that if you don't know why he thinks they're not official, it might be best to take his observation with a grain of salt. He could be right, but even good sources give bad info sometimes, and a factory doing this over and over without Takaratomy noticing and doing something about it just doesn't seem very likely to me.

This post has been edited by Might Gaine: Aug 27 2011, 08:44 AM

[Buster Darkwings]

I actually asked him about that when he first told me this, and he specifically said they didn't know about it because they're stupid (baka). And he personally has known a lot of people at Takara for decades.

It probably doesn't make much difference if people believe it or not since there's plenty of buyers out there regardless, but there's obviously other underhanded deals going on in Asia, so I at least don't find it an unlikely story. But I already try to not to give resellers much of my business as it is.

[RCX]

Only 2 left @ BBTS.

[videriant]

According to a Japanese dealer I know and trust, this batch being sold by BBTS was produced under the table by the factory in China and wasn't done for the Japanese market, it was done for dealers in Hong Kong and Asia. So while it uses the exact same molds and packaging as the official release, it's not exactly official and likely none of the money paid for them will be going to Takara or Hasbro. They may also have a higher defect rate, not sure. This has happened a few times in the past with figures like MP Megatron and Henkei Hound.

Well I hope it isn't as bad as it sounds. I doubt we'll ever know, but I wonder what he thinks of Botcon runs. From what I understand, Botcon exclusives tend to be the same sort of thing, where Funpub mostly deals directly with the factory. Sure, they have Hasbro's blessing, but from the way I understood it, Funpub deals with Factory more on these things. Or maybe I'm wrong.

I'd at least like to think BBTS went to Takara to see if more could be made, the being directed to deal with the factory directly. I could see your contact misinterpreting that sort of transaction, at least.

According to Botcon, they have to go through Hasbro who has to go through Takara to talk to the factory. That's why the Club exclusives are such a pain. Actually surprised that not a lot of samples of the Botcon figures were leaked this year.

[NightViper]

According to a Japanese dealer I know and trust, this batch being sold by BBTS was produced under the table by the factory in China and wasn't done for the Japanese market, it was done for dealers in Hong Kong and Asia. So while it uses the exact same molds and packaging as the official release, it's not exactly official and likely none of the money paid for them will be going to Takara or Hasbro. They may also have a higher defect rate, not sure. This has happened a few times in the past with figures like MP Megatron and Henkei Hound.

Well I hope it isn't as bad as it sounds. I doubt we'll ever know, but I wonder what he thinks of Botcon runs. From what I understand, Botcon exclusives tend to be the same sort of thing, where Funpub mostly deals directly with the factory. Sure, they have Hasbro's blessing, but from the way I understood it, Funpub deals with Factory more on these things. Or maybe I'm wrong.

I'd at least like to think BBTS went to Takara to see if more could be made, the being directed to deal with the factory directly. I could see your contact misinterpreting that sort of transaction, at least.

According to Botcon, they have to go through Hasbro who has to go through Takara to talk to the factory. That's why the Club exclusives are such a pain. Actually surprised that not a lot of samples of the Botcon figures were leaked this year.

FunPubs deals directly with the factory when it comes to Joes. But only Joes.

For Transformers, videriant has it right.

[BB Shockwave]

I wonder if, similar to the Cyclonus vs. Hot Rod two-pack, Hasbro could release Rumble and Frenzy as some Target/Walmart/etc. exclusive. (With bios that do not indicate which one is which... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-fire.gif) ) Maybe add Windcharger to make a three-pack.

It seems odd, but not without precedent (Animated Blackout, I am looking at you) that Hasbro goes to all the trouble of creating a new mold and then not releasing it to the mass market (Japan is a much smaller market then the rest of the world, afterall). One would think that's a money loss, no matter how we see it.

I'm also bummed that the lack of a scout class means we'll never see any Windcharger remolds/repaints... I would have liked a Tailgate, Wipe-Out, maybe even Scram.