Titans Return Trypticon First Size Comparison Picture With Metroplex

[GotBot]

I think the eyes here are a different colour and MAYBE a few stickers.
Odd, I have heard 2 measurements. The 45 cms ( or 17 and 3/4 inches) and the 50 or so cms ( or 20 inxhes). I figure the slight height difference relates to the need to include a tail and the extra body bulk. That eats up some of the plastic usage costs. Still, in combat won't they both be a little crouched? Bah, lol, you'll never notice. The pic does make me more excited for him though for sure. Bring on the last 2 - Omega Supreme and Scorponok. I mean, after that there is nothing really left to make any sense at the size scale.

[Longshot]

SAWEEeeeettt!!! So delicious. My body is ready for Trypticon.

[WereDragon EX]

While Trypticon is shorter than Metroplex, perhaps he might be wider and thus use roughly the same amount of plastic as Metroplex? Not to mention that he has that big tail than Metroplex doesn't, so I guess some of the plastic budget went into it and as a result, he wound up consequently shorter than Metroplex.

[Chigimus]

Originally Posted by GotBot

I think the eyes here are a different colour and MAYBE a few stickers.
Odd, I have heard 2 measurements. The 45 cms ( or 17 and 3/4 inches) and the 50 or so cms ( or 20 inxhes). I figure the slight height difference relates to the need to include a tail and the extra body bulk. That eats up some of the plastic usage costs. Still, in combat won't they both be a little crouched? Bah, lol, you'll never notice. The pic does make me more excited for him though for sure. Bring on the last 2 - Omega Supreme and Scorponok. I mean, after that there is nothing really left to make any sense at the size scale.

I hadn't read about the possible 17.75" measurement, but either this or the 20" reading is too short. Sunbow holy grail has Metroplex's visor line up with the snout on Tryppy. The opening theme of G1 Season 3 has them lining up against each other almost eye to eye with the exception of some frames where Metroplex has his legs bent leaning forward into Trypticon to grapple him. The point is, Trypticon is supposed to be AT LEAST as tall as Metro, not shorter. I'm still going to get him, but that is one disappointing mark against him for what is otherwise a much anticipated item.

And while Scorponok and Omega Supreme would make up the rest of the mainline titans, we could still see Takara repaints in Brave Maxmius and/or Metrotitan. Occasionally, Hasbro has also done some fan service by giving us an IDW design. so as slim as the odds are, it would be nice to have some hope for other Titans like Caminus or Carcer. Those giant alt modes would make kick-ass battlecruisers, lol.

[GotBot]

Originally Posted by Chigimus

I hadn't read about the possible 17.75" measurement, but either this or the 20" reading is too short. Sunbow holy grail has Metroplex's visor line up with the snout on Tryppy. The opening theme of G1 Season 3 has them lining up against each other almost eye to eye with the exception of some frames where Metroplex has his legs bent leaning forward into Trypticon to grapple him. The point is, Trypticon is supposed to be AT LEAST as tall as Metro, not shorter. I'm still going to get him, but that is one disappointing mark against him for what is otherwise a much anticipated item.

And while Scorponok and Omega Supreme would make up the rest of the mainline titans, we could still see Takara repaints in Brave Maxmius and/or Metrotitan. Occasionally, Hasbro has also done some fan service by giving us an IDW design. so as slim as the odds are, it would be nice to have some hope for other Titans like Caminus or Carcer. Those giant alt modes would make kick-ass battlecruisers, lol.

I totally agree that he SHOULD be a bit larger. However, let's not also forget that if that happened, then to stay proportional, the legs would need to be larger to support the extra weight, the tail and body would also need to be widened a little to keep the look correct, instead of coming off as looking slightly too lanky. In other words, the plastic usage cost would need to be upped and therefore the retail cost would also go up. That might be a tough pill for a figure that will already cost as much as Fort Max was. Truth is, that surprised me. I already expected him to cost more because, unlike Fort Max, this is also a completely new mold. Therefore you had to also factor in engineering and production costs for that. I kinda see the slight scale variance as a necessary evil of doing business. That's unfortunate but true.

And, again, agreed, they could do a Metrotitan maybe. BUT, I think that would only really carry more weight if Zone had been more than one episode, therefore giving him a true G1 origin, rather than simply appearing in the story pages.

Of course, he has had a larger role, from my limited understanding, in the IDW universe, I think (?). I also agree that you sure could do, say, Carcer and Caminus. BUT, again, unless you are really familiar with IDW then where is the draw and link for most people? I mean, they would be very expensive figures and I wonder how big of a market there would really be for characters that aren't widely known, well, not widely known at least as they relate to the more familiar Metroplex, Trypticon and so on. I can equally see an argument for Brave Maximus, but that really depends on how popular people think RiD/Car Robots was. I actually liked the series, but, in general, it doesn't tend to get too much modern love. I can ALSO see the argument for Grand Maximus, but isn't he actually much, much smaller than Fort Max (?) or am I mistaken about that? If he is, because I feel like I saw or read that he was only a little bigger than Ginrai, then my question is - would a titan class figure actually match the character? That might just be personal choice.

My point is this, from a collector's stand point, I totally and completely agree with you that, yes, these would and could be great extra entries in the titan class line for sure. From a business stand point, I think the question becomes, as production and plastic costs rise, which inevitably will make retail costs rise, would it make economic sense to do these other lesser known titans? Is there actually a wide enough market? And, would people be willing and interested in shelling out 200-300 or more dollars over time for these characters, not to mention space and storage issues. There is a lot to consider. Naturally, I can only speak for me personally, but after getting the main six I dunno if I would be interested in characters I don't really have a connection with. Plus, as it stands now, displaying three titans, with a fourth on the horizon is a challenge in and of itself,lol.

[Deception]

Man i cant wait. It is perfect. I just hope he fits in a detolf

[Chigimus]

Originally Posted by GotBot

My point is this, from a collector's stand point, I totally and completely agree with you that, yes, these would and could be great extra entries in the titan class line for sure. From a business stand point, I think the question becomes, as production and plastic costs rise, which inevitably will make retail costs rise, would it make economic sense to do these other lesser known titans? Is there actually a wide enough market? And, would people be willing and interested in shelling out 200-300 or more dollars over time for these characters, not to mention space and storage issues. There is a lot to consider. Naturally, I can only speak for me personally, but after getting the main six I dunno if I would be interested in characters I don't really have a connection with. Plus, as it stands now, displaying three titans, with a fourth on the horizon is a challenge in and of itself,lol.

I totally understand your point and agree that more plastic needed to make the figure the right size would result in a larger price, but nothing's really stopping Hasbro from jacking up the price tag they think they can get for them anyway.

When Generations Metroplex was released, his tag was $140 CAD. Fort Max was $230 on release. That's about a 64% increase in under 2 years, from one titan to the next. And for what? Fort Max used essentially the same arms and legs from Metroplex, so the extra $90 went into re-designing a new torso, head gimmick, and a comparatively inferior audio chip. How did sales go? Early adopters will always be there, sure, but aside from the odd sale or two (or that TRU sale in conjunction with a discount coupon), Fort Max didn't really move off of the shelves that much at that price even throughout this past Christmas and only really started flying off when it went clearance for around the $150/160 range.

I was expecting Hasbro to bump the price bar again to at least $250 and as high as $300, so why not make it the proper size anyway? Sure, it won't sell as well until it goes on sale or on clearance, but my point is they've jacked the bar by $90 from one titan to the next, so what's another $50. They're already trying to rob us by pitching their new TLK Optimus helmet at a whopping $130 which was like $50 or $60 when the first one came out 10 years ago and hasn't been radically improved that much since then.

And as far as lesser well-known characters are concerned, we've already seen some fan service for niche characters going into mass production like Chromia, Jhiaxus, Sky Shadow, Darkmount (Straxus), the combiner wars set we got for Liokaiser, etc. The recent revival of the Jumpstarter brothers! None of these were expected and have been welcomed surprises. So while I understand that you personally may not have interest in characters you don't have a connection with, it's not the first time they've mass produced figures for less popular characters.

[GotBot]

Originally Posted by Deception

Man i cant wait. It is perfect. I just hope he fits in a detolf

Totally agree!

Originally Posted by Chigimus

I totally understand your point and agree that more plastic needed to make the figure the right size would result in a larger price, but nothing's really stopping Hasbro from jacking up the price tag they think they can get for them anyway.

When Generations Metroplex was released, his tag was $140 CAD. Fort Max was $230 on release. That's about a 64% increase in under 2 years, from one titan to the next. And for what? Fort Max used essentially the same arms and legs from Metroplex, so the extra $90 went into re-designing a new torso, head gimmick, and a comparatively inferior audio chip. How did sales go? Early adopters will always be there, sure, but aside from the odd sale or two (or that TRU sale in conjunction with a discount coupon), Fort Max didn't really move off of the shelves that much at that price even throughout this past Christmas and only really started flying off when it went clearance for around the $150/160 range.

I was expecting Hasbro to bump the price bar again to at least $250 and as high as $300, so why not make it the proper size anyway? Sure, it won't sell as well until it goes on sale or on clearance, but my point is they've jacked the bar by $90 from one titan to the next, so what's another $50. They're already trying to rob us by pitching their new TLK Optimus helmet at a whopping $130 which was like $50 or $60 when the first one came out 10 years ago and hasn't been radically improved that much since then.

And as far as lesser well-known characters are concerned, we've already seen some fan service for niche characters going into mass production like Chromia, Jhiaxus, Sky Shadow, Darkmount (Straxus), the combiner wars set we got for Liokaiser, etc. The recent revival of the Jumpstarter brothers! None of these were expected and have been welcomed surprises. So while I understand that you personally may not have interest in characters you don't have a connection with, it's not the first time they've mass produced figures for less popular characters.

Some very good points. I assume the cost hike happened because of four things. 1. Simple inflation 2. As you said, the redesigned torso. 3. The fact that Metroplex sold well so they expected Fort max to as well. 4. They were testing the waters with what people were willing to pay. I think they got that answer. I also expected a bump here but glad we didn't get one.
Haha, that helmet is ridiculous, isn't it? I see them going like the Ironman one and that cap shield. TRU here hadn't sold even one of them yet. This will be no better.
I also agree about the niche characters we have gotten, and glad we have them. So, you might have a point, but it is a big difference to retail a lesser figure for 20-30 bucks and 230. Does that risk outweigh the reward or not?