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Post by The Doctor on Jun 1, 2023 8:42:42 GMT
FIRING
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Post by The Doctor on Jun 1, 2023 8:42:59 GMT
MISSILES.
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Post by Pinwig on Jun 1, 2023 8:46:14 GMT
I'm really intrigued as to why Takara have been allowed to make their own toys again. What's going on there? That isn't a design I recognise from any of the other apes we've seen.
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Post by The Doctor on Jun 1, 2023 12:14:40 GMT
There's nothing stopping Tomy Takara making what they want, such as the MP trainbots or this.
-Ralph
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Post by legios on Jun 1, 2023 21:49:11 GMT
I'm really intrigued as to why Takara have been allowed to make their own toys again. What's going on there? That isn't a design I recognise from any of the other apes we've seen. They haven't. Takara doesn't make anything anymore, due to non-existence. They were absorbed into Tomy, which uses their name as a tradename in certain overseas markets. :-) Karl |
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Post by Llama God on Jun 2, 2023 8:39:29 GMT
I'm guessing it was a combination of Hasbro pleading to Takara Tomy to stop embarassing them by putting out better versions of the toys, and those toys also just not selling as well in Japan, which is why they agreed to a "unified" front. But I'm also guessing that with the film coming out they could risk investing in their own, special Primal to tie in with that. You might have expected them to do a Masterpiece version of Primal, as they did with Bumblebee when his film came out, but again, I'm not sure how well those sold. So maybe this "alternative Voyager" (or whatever class it is, I have no idea) is their compromise. Better looks and engineering than the standard mainline toys, but not as expensive to make or buy as a Masterpiece...
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Post by The Doctor on Jun 2, 2023 11:05:13 GMT
The market may have contracted in Japan, so it may not have been viable for them to keep doing so many of their own versions of toys?
Or they may be able to do some items that don't fit US price-points.
-Ralph
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jun 2, 2023 15:44:12 GMT
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Post by The Doctor on Jun 2, 2023 16:11:03 GMT
Nice!
Now if only an online store could sell the Primal Battle Master, that would be lovely.
-Ralph
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jun 2, 2023 16:34:33 GMT
IDToys had them for a while earlier in the week, not on import, don't think they'll be a problem down the line
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Post by The Doctor on Jun 2, 2023 17:38:14 GMT
AAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH.
-Ralph
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Post by Toph on Jun 2, 2023 18:32:56 GMT
I guess I'm the only one who's not so terribly impressed with takara's ultimate optimus primal.
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Post by Benn on Jun 2, 2023 22:49:53 GMT
Yeah, but firing missiles.
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Post by The Doctor on Jun 3, 2023 4:42:22 GMT
FIRING MISSILES.
-Ralph
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Post by Llama God on Jun 3, 2023 8:14:25 GMT
IDToys had them for a while earlier in the week, not on import, don't think they'll be a problem down the line I wish I had your confidence - I can't help but recall some of the many times that we've not had decent distribution past wave 1 of a line... |
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Post by The Doctor on Jun 3, 2023 9:44:21 GMT
Game shows the Primal Battle Master on their site...but individual Battle Masters cannot be ordered...
-Ralph
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Post by Llama God on Jun 4, 2023 8:57:03 GMT
"One supplied. Styles may vary." Never were more potent words uttered than in the laminated book of dreams...
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Post by The Doctor on Jun 4, 2023 9:33:29 GMT
I thought these days had passed...
-Ralph
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The Huff
Thunderjet
Hufferlover
Posts: 4,243
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Post by The Huff on Jun 5, 2023 5:41:56 GMT
Remembering the days of Argos where the brand new Transmetals 2's were in the catalogue but you got an old dusty Clawjaw...
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Post by Pinwig on Jun 5, 2023 20:34:36 GMT
Those were the days. The timid request to see the available selection for a catalogue number. The anticipation as items took an age to come down the conveyor. And then the inevitable disappointment that the one figure you wanted wasn't among the ones that appeared.
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Post by Toph on Jun 5, 2023 20:36:33 GMT
What the hell?
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Post by Pinwig on Jun 5, 2023 20:45:17 GMT
Ah. Do you have catalogue shops over there? Where the shop floor is just lots of catalogues, then you pick what you want, pay at the desk and then in the warehouse out the back, or in many cases the floor upstairs, they send down what you ordered on a little conveyor belt?
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Post by Pinwig on Jun 5, 2023 20:48:47 GMT
The problem with the system for the likes of us was that usually one catalogue number would cover an assortment, so you might think you were buying Sideswipe, but when the toy came down the ramp it would be Ratchet or Wheeljack. So you'd ask them to send down everything they had for the number so you could see what they had. This would invariably annoy the assistants, who'd then have to send them all back up again.
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Post by The Doctor on Jun 5, 2023 20:56:50 GMT
Being able to order a specific TF was a game changer.
-Ralph
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Post by Toph on Jun 6, 2023 6:04:03 GMT
Ah. Do you have catalogue shops over there? Where the shop floor is just lots of catalogues, then you pick what you want, pay at the desk and then in the warehouse out the back, or in many cases the floor upstairs, they send down what you ordered on a little conveyor belt? ...no?!? |
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Post by The Doctor on Jun 6, 2023 7:33:56 GMT
The wait was always very tense. What would come down the conveyor belt?
-Ralph
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Rich
Protoform
Posts: 880
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Post by Rich on Jun 6, 2023 17:51:58 GMT
Literally never bought a transformer from Argos unless I knew the product for certain because I didn't want to bother the staff. Rather pathetic but also a good way of saving money!
If you want nostalgia, though, it's all about Littlewoods.
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Post by Pinwig on Jun 6, 2023 18:32:48 GMT
Oh wow. This is what an Argos shop looks like these days:  It's just a room with touch screen catalogues. Back in the day, the catalogues were like telephone directories. You'd write the product code number of what you want on a little bit of paper (they even supplied tiny pencils to write with), pay for it, and it would appear mysteriously from the warehouse room. In time, they added a screen so you could can see your order number and how close it is to appearing. The problem was with listings like this one:  'characters may vary' and 'styles may vary' tells you that you may well order an Animated Deluxe, but it was totally pot luck which one would appear from out the back. So you had to ask them to send all of them out just so you knew what they had. |
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Post by The Doctor on Jun 6, 2023 18:48:22 GMT
My first job was in an Argos store but I had to quit as the deputy manager had wandering hands.
-Ralph
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Post by Llama God on Jun 7, 2023 7:23:38 GMT
Yikes.
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