They have their place. I question not the buying of knockoffs but the shilling of currently nonexistent knockoffs of unreleased toys here when this dude has a thread about knockoffs in the 3P section
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Studio Series discussion
- Thread starter Paladin
- Start date
I mean, obviously you should take care of your basic needs first; Food, shelter, major reoccurring bills, etc. But you also shouldn't ignore mental health, and if buying little plastic doodads every now and then means you get a break from everything else, then its not a waste of money to do it.
I generally have no problem with knockoffs. I've definitely embraced getting them when they're the only game in town other than prohibitively expensive versions. The only way I have a Botcon 2008 SG Optimus Prime is by having the surprisingly high quality KO of it. But this isn't what's being voluntarily brought into the conversation.
Third-party stuff is by this point just a part of the collecting culture, and I can see even Hasbro just knows better than to waste resources trying to Tom and Jerry that out of existence. (This tolerance has led to some weirdos hatching conspiracy theories about Hasbro colluding with DNA and other upgrade kit manufacturers to make crappy toys so people would be forced to buy upgrade kits, but the business itself remains intact.) Knockoffs are just one thing under that umbrella, and by themselves aren't the problem in my eyes.
What I cannot stand is the people who get insufferable about buying them as if it were some moral victory against the evil toy company or some clever trick they pulled because they're too smart with their money to be duped. These people are in a Venn diagram that's a circle with the people who bring them into conversations that have nothing to do with them.
There's a thread for this stuff. Keep this stuff there.
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This resonates, and generally this is one of the easier ways I talk myself into stuff, lol. And thankfully the bills and such are covered. But there's also so much available and so much I need to catch up on that getting an improved thing I technically already have will have to go a few steps down the list of priorities.
Little plastic robots have been a part of my mental wellness routine as long as I can remember. There is nothing that "turns that frown upside down" for me like handling a Transformer. Well, that and prescription antidepressants. But I feel like Transformers does most of the heavy lifting.
“You have the touch, you have the flour”
I'll have to watch for sales/clearance.
Checked one Target for Starscream today. The young lady working said they only had 1 come in and it was in a repack box…..she didn’t really check her scanner very deeply. When I got to work it said they had 3 in stock. Ah well.
I checked another Target, said they had 6. Another young lady checked her scanner, showed they had them. Asked her team lead, young man explained they are about to redo the toys and they have a bunch of pallets in the back with toys. He went and checked, walked around them and didn’t see them. But he was cool and told me the aisle should be redone by Tuesday. Good news, I’m off on Tuesday! Take a shot then unless he becomes available online for delivery or pickup somewhere else.
I checked another Target, said they had 6. Another young lady checked her scanner, showed they had them. Asked her team lead, young man explained they are about to redo the toys and they have a bunch of pallets in the back with toys. He went and checked, walked around them and didn’t see them. But he was cool and told me the aisle should be redone by Tuesday. Good news, I’m off on Tuesday! Take a shot then unless he becomes available online for delivery or pickup somewhere else.
It's time for the pre-holiday reset. They're rebuilding half of the store. Give it time.
Man, I do not miss working those at all.....
Man, I do not miss working those at all.....
My Insecticon 3-pack arrived by shipping yesterday, but just got a notice this morning that Prowl and Starscream's estimated delivery got pushed back another week to August 4. Fingers crossed...
Hasbro panel recap
Energon Universe Shredhead is coming as Pulse exclusive
Showed off renders/previews of:
Deluxe-
G1 Red Alert (new sculpt, many uses probable)
86 Wheelie (Retro card redeco in toon colors)
86 Alicon (rerun from prior)
TFOne Shockwave
IDW Nautica (new mold, will include spanner, wave 2 2027)
Leaders-
G1 Swoop (package refresh)
TLK Megatron (new mold, features ability to turn into dragon mode from concept art)
Titan-
AOE Scorn
Indicated that 2028 is when Studio Series will be fully the “media line” with the Legacy side ”evolving”. Nate made a sly remark that non-G1, non-movie and more wider sources coming to Studio Series (as seen with Nautica…and leaked rumors).
Energon Universe Shredhead is coming as Pulse exclusive
Showed off renders/previews of:
Deluxe-
G1 Red Alert (new sculpt, many uses probable)
86 Wheelie (Retro card redeco in toon colors)
86 Alicon (rerun from prior)
TFOne Shockwave
IDW Nautica (new mold, will include spanner, wave 2 2027)
Leaders-
G1 Swoop (package refresh)
TLK Megatron (new mold, features ability to turn into dragon mode from concept art)
Titan-
AOE Scorn
Indicated that 2028 is when Studio Series will be fully the “media line” with the Legacy side ”evolving”. Nate made a sly remark that non-G1, non-movie and more wider sources coming to Studio Series (as seen with Nautica…and leaked rumors).
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I just cannot take her name seriously as something not related to polo shirts and boat shoes. It's like having Skullcruncher appear in modern media renamed as Lacoste or Nemesis Prime being renamed Hot Topic Convoy. Don't dislike the mold but I'm so over IDW at this point that I don't feel like starting another subcollection.
I like the new Red Alert mold. The old one was a bit awkward because the chest was chunky but everything else comparatively thinner. This is chunky all around, making it a lot more balanced. Might actually make for a better Sideswipe option if they don't eventually make one with a fake chest.
Yeah, I'll probably buy Wheelie.
Pass on everything else. Not invested into Energon Universe so its mascot doesn't appeal to me. Don't care about One or AOE/TLK and the rest is old stuff.
I like the new Red Alert mold. The old one was a bit awkward because the chest was chunky but everything else comparatively thinner. This is chunky all around, making it a lot more balanced. Might actually make for a better Sideswipe option if they don't eventually make one with a fake chest.
Yeah, I'll probably buy Wheelie.
Pass on everything else. Not invested into Energon Universe so its mascot doesn't appeal to me. Don't care about One or AOE/TLK and the rest is old stuff.
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I'm up for the Red Alert. Just looking good overall. The further away we get from just reskinning Siege for these the better. The WFC era mold was okay, but at deluxe prices I'm a bit more game to play the collection restart game for at least him and Sideswipe (and G2 Sideswipe). The rest of the Lambo Sentai team don't really need the upgrade, but we'll see.
Nautica I'm first in line for. She's oddly blobby in this, but I don't really care. I'm supporting them finally getting around to her.
Wheelie I skipped the Retro one for, so I'm interested.
I'm kind of into that Shockwave? Surprising myself a bit there. I wish he were a Voyager. I dig this take more than the Bumblebee movie one.
TLK Megs... I'm still good with the old Voyager I think.
Nautica I'm first in line for. She's oddly blobby in this, but I don't really care. I'm supporting them finally getting around to her.
Wheelie I skipped the Retro one for, so I'm interested.
I'm kind of into that Shockwave? Surprising myself a bit there. I wish he were a Voyager. I dig this take more than the Bumblebee movie one.
TLK Megs... I'm still good with the old Voyager I think.