Takara Masterpiece and Fans Toys are all I need!

Hi again, I wanted to carry on from one of my previous posts talking about how I started collecting and go into a bit more detail of what i collect. I need to correct my last post on how I started, my first purchase was MP-08 Grimlock and not MP-10, Prime was my second so I managed to get that wrong. Anyway, I had no idea these sorts of toys/figures were being made and I loved the fact these toys and characters from my childhood we being recreated so wonderfully! Knowing for well I had started down a rabbit hole I would probably never get out of I started looking and researching more about this toy line.

So yes MP-10 was my next purchase, this also started my long standing relationship with Kapow Toys who I can safely say have had most of my spare money over the last 5 years or so, all well worth it though!! Sideswipe, Soundwave followed very quickly and so did pretty much every Masterpiece release from them on.

While buying and enjoying these figures I was starting to become aware and learn about what we know as ‘3rd party’ companies. My first encounter of such company was Fans Toys and Scoria. I’m so glad I found that when I did. I researched the company a loy before buying because I didn’t know anything about these 3rd party companies and wasn’t sure on quality and reliability, especially with the cost associated to it. Once I had Scoria in hand I was a Fans Toys fanboy right there, no question and something I’m not ashamed to say lol. I can safely say I will pretty much decide on buying a Fans Toys figure as soon as I see a render.

I have kept my collection pretty much exclusively to Takara and Fans Toys. The only exceptions so far are MMC’s Sphinx, Jaguar and Make Toys Despotron. I really like these three figures but it does take a lot for me to sway away from the other two companies. For me Takara is still the bench mark because they are the official product and I am a sucker for an official product, what ever it may be. But, running along side that i think Fans Toys have not only provided figures that Takara have stayed away from they have absolutely nailed the look of their figures. For me though the reason they are at the top of the tree is their quality. I think it’s miles ahead of anything else and I include Takara in that. When I opened Sovereign I held it along with Takara’s Shockwave, which I really really like. There was absolutely no comparison, Sovereign made Shockwave feel cheap. I think Takara’s figures have slowly lowered in the quality of materials, especially from the MP-10 and Soundwave figures. The designs, engineering and paintwork are still among the best but the choice of materials really let them down in my eyes. Tracks is the best example of this, from a distance it looks good but when in hand it’s an absolute shocking attempt for a Masterpiece figure. Inferno is a fantastic figure, the finish and transformation are stunning but it still lacks a bit of a wow factor when held in hand. I think this is down to the new simply designs they are producing. Saying that i will still buy the Takara products because I think if you’re a Masterpiece style collector you need to include the official products in that collection.

I’m not going to sit here and say everything Fans Toys have produced are perfect because they’re not. Lupus feels great but is a bit of a let down, Spotter does a god job of the character but I can’t to excited about it. But when they get it right which is most of the time they knock it out of the park. The Bugs are pretty much perfect to me, the Dinobots are works of art, Stomp being a literal masterpiece. I was dubious about Grinder but now am very much looking forward to completing the set. I literally cannot wait for Pheonix to get here, he’s one of my all time favourite characters so I hope he turns out well.

I know it could be thought I am being a bit narrow minded to only really consider a few companies for this collection but I guess you have to stick with what you know and like. This has been discussed on the Enter the Realm show where Pnkr10 shares the same sort of collecting ideas when it comes to Transformers and the Shattered Cast guys briefly talked about it on their last show. It does take longer to get the figures when you’re waiting on fewer companies but then it does help to save money in between I always look at and investigate new figures by other companies but eventually i think ah I’ll wait for Takara or Fans Toys, Downbeat being the latest example.

Anyways I wanted to share a few of my thoughts on my collecting habits and hope you have enjoyed it. Be great to hear your thoughts on your collections and what companies you like and dislike.

My list of figures so far:

Takara Masterpiece

MP-5 Megatron, MP-6 Skywarp, MP-7 Thundercracker, MP-8 Grimlock, MP-10 Convoy, MP-11 Starscream, MP-12 Lambor, MP-14 Alert, MP-13 Soundwave (with Condor), MP-15 Rumble & Jaguar, MP-16 Frenzy & Buzzsaw, MP-17 Prowl, MP-18 Streak, MP-19 Smokescreen, MP-20 Wheeljack, MP-21 Bumble (with Daniel Witwicky), MP-22 Ultra Magnus, MP-25 Tracks, MP-27 Ironhide, MP-28 Hot Rod, MP-29 Destron Laserwave, MP-30 Ratchet, MP-33 Inferno

Fans Toys

FT-04 Scoria, FT-05 Soar, FT-06 Sever, FT-09 Tesla, FT-12T Grenadier, FT-11 Spotter, FT-13 Mercenary, FT-07 Stomp, FT-14 Forager, FT-15 Willis, FT-16 Sovereign, FT-18 Lupus

MMC

Sphinx, Jaguar

Make Toys

Despotron

Take care and thanks for reading.

Sam

Instagram: Samsformers

Twitter: @66SamThompson