crasis Posted March 12, 2008 Posted March 12, 2008 Damn it all!! You guys just made me spend more money this year. I'm actually hoping the $150+ price tag is accurate, so I will truly feel like I'm getting a deal with BBTS at $80. Usually those guys are pretty expensive, so this is justice, somehow. Thing is, now I need an Alpha. D'oh.
eugimon Posted March 12, 2008 Posted March 12, 2008 argh, pre-order placed. I can't believe I'm pre-ordering a toynami toy. I hope I don't regret this.
jenius Posted March 12, 2008 Posted March 12, 2008 I spoke with the guys at CollectionDX after they met with George Sohn at Toy Fair last month. He confirmed that Aoshima is not co-producing the Beta. It's not in their article but you can post in the comments section and ask about it. I really wouldn't mind if that were true... that's 3x $80 less I'd have to spend (or ALMOST enough money to buy a CMs Legioss Tread). Even if Aoshima isn't coproducing I wouldn't be too terribly surprised if some day some deal gets worked out for repaints. It makes too much sense for everyone involved especially if they learn what NOT to do the first time around.
Roy's Blues Posted March 12, 2008 Posted March 12, 2008 (edited) Can someone post pics of a side by side shot of a Blue MPC Alpha and a Aoshima Blue. I read somewhere(probably here) that the colors were a little different. Do you guys think Toynami is going to re-release the MPC ALPHA? I bet Toynami is going to re-release an updated version with the shoulder missile thingy. I pre-ordered a beta from BBTS, and now I need an Alpha. I really wish I had not sold mine last year. I thought for sure the BETA was vaporware. EDIT found a comparison pic on Jenius' KICK @$$ website Thanks!!!!! Edited March 12, 2008 by Roy's Blues
Magnus Posted March 12, 2008 Posted March 12, 2008 (edited) Would Marcus's Blue Alpha Fighter connect to this Beta? I also wonder if the colour scheme's would complement each other, it looks like they might. Anyone know? Agh, I sold off my original Scott Bernard, and am now regretting it. They also have a fully plastic MPC Voltron figure going for 45 dollars. I can't believe these prices. Edited March 12, 2008 by Magnus
jenius Posted March 12, 2008 Posted March 12, 2008 (edited) Do you guys think Toynami is going to re-release the MPC ALPHA? I bet Toynami is going to re-release an updated version with the shoulder missile thingy. . I imagine something will be done to meet the need of the many people in your boat. Toynami would be a fool not to have something to be able to sell you at some point. Still, it takes them forever to put out anything so you might be Alpha-less for like a year. ... there still might be more blue Alphas in their warehouse somewhere just waiting for a Beta release... Edited March 12, 2008 by jenius
eriku Posted March 12, 2008 Posted March 12, 2008 IF Toynami ever re-releases the Alpha, and IF it has all of the problems fixed and gets good reviews, then I'll buy one and a Beta to go along with it (if the Beta also gets good reviews). As it is now, I have no interest in Toynami's Beta because I have no Alpha to go along with it and I'm not about to go round 3 on the Toynami/Aoshima Alpha/Legioss roulette wheel.
konimon Posted March 12, 2008 Posted March 12, 2008 IF Toynami ever re-releases the Alpha, and IF it has all of the problems fixed and gets good reviews, then I'll buy one and a Beta to go along with it (if the Beta also gets good reviews). As it is now, I have no interest in Toynami's Beta because I have no Alpha to go along with it and I'm not about to go round 3 on the Toynami/Aoshima Alpha/Legioss roulette wheel. I do own a blue Alpha, but I still need to get another due to it's poor condition. Toynami should re-release Alphas or make Beta's color variants to go with their Chronicles Shadow Alphas.
baronv Posted March 12, 2008 Posted March 12, 2008 How did the Toynami Beta go from a toy that was earlier priced at around $200 by the Toynami and Robotech officials during the convention rounds drop to $80? Especially when Aoshima looks like to have dropped from co-producing it.
mechaninac Posted March 12, 2008 Posted March 12, 2008 If I could hazard a guess I'd say their earlier statements regarding price were mere trial balloons intended to gauge customer reaction and interest, as well as sheer over estimation. As large as the Beta is at 1/55 (not nearly as large as the Koenig Monster) it is mostly comprised of empty space, and hopefully Toynami has limited die cast to areas where it actually makes sense instead of how they did on the Alphas.
Alpha OTS Posted March 12, 2008 Posted March 12, 2008 How did the Toynami Beta go from a toy that was earlier priced at around $200 by the Toynami and Robotech officials during the convention rounds drop to $80? Especially when Aoshima looks like to have dropped from co-producing it. My guess is the Shadow Chronicles might have entered into the decision somehow. Maybe sales of it were high enough that they think the interest's there to recoup the costs and still be profitable? Although there's probably much more to it than that. But it wouldn't surprise me too if a tiny part of the reason it's that much is that they lowered it to entice the people who felt cheated by the subpar QC of the earlier Alpha waves. It's a niche enough market as it is even with whoever the Shadow Chronicles pulled in, so they essentially need to be able to re-sell to the same people. Looking at the number of people in this thread that have said they pre-ordered already, $80 is definitely the magic number. I really hope they'll reissue the blue alpha with better qc. Although I'd probably even settle for one of those rumored first wave extras in that warehouse wherever waiting for the Beta release. With the news of the Beta coming, the already insane evilBay prices for a blue alpha are going to climb even more.
jenius Posted March 12, 2008 Posted March 12, 2008 You gotta also figure that Toynami did make some money off Aoshima even if Aoshima isn't sticking around for a Tread. That money reinvested into the Beta project might have helped drop prices lower. Their initial price point always seemed more like an excuse for why things were taking so long rather than a truthful estimate of cost.
UN Army Posted March 12, 2008 Posted March 12, 2008 (edited) I went and looked at BBTS site and they have volume two up, but no pic. I assume that this is the Houquet et Rose/Rook Bartley/Red Beta? Edited March 12, 2008 by UN Army
Hikaru's VF-1S Posted March 12, 2008 Posted March 12, 2008 i hope the vol. 2 is the green beta =P i really hope they are going to rerelease the old alphas, cuz that blue beta is going to look lonely by itself... or attach it to a green alpha for those brief moments it was attached to it.
jenius Posted March 12, 2008 Posted March 12, 2008 (edited) Well we know they're not going to make more than 15K of the MPCs... what we don't know is how many MPCs they've already sold. It's been so long since they were issued though... My old theory was that Toynami held onto like 5K of each one and would only offer them as giftsets with the MPCs and then there'd be another number of MPC betas that were sold separately for people who already owned one of the first 10K Alphas that got sold. If I were Toynami, that's how I would have done it (or some number variation there of). EDIT- IIRC someone said they had an alpha in the 11K region though so if Toynami has more it'd probably be only like 3K more (again IIRC). Something else to consider, and something someone else brought up before, Scott shows up in TSC with his blue Alpha which means we might see a Blue Alpha TSC MPC at some point (with Aoshima improvements I'd presume sans shoulder missile). If it were the exact same blue paint scheme though that might irk a lot of people... Edited March 12, 2008 by jenius
Save Posted March 13, 2008 Posted March 13, 2008 (edited) If it were the exact same blue paint scheme though that might irk a lot of people... After the aoshima debacle I picked up a Scott MPC here in Akihabara that was dirt cheap. I have to say though it's fragile it does look nice. Then about two weeks ago I found another one cheap and picked that up. When I compared the two I noticed they are both two different shades of blue and even the chest intakes were two different shades of color than the other.　The first one I bought was in the 14000 and the second was in the XX400, so depending on what blue shade color Beta I get will determine which one I will be linking to it. That being said I'm sure there will be allot of people with link ups that have noticeable color differences, which I'm sure will irk them even more. Edited March 13, 2008 by SaveRobotech
jenius Posted March 13, 2008 Posted March 13, 2008 SR, your Blue MPC is number 14K?? That blows my "hidden inventory" theory out of the water! Also note, the first 3K of Scott's MPC are different from the last 12K. As you noticed, the biggest difference is the color of the chest intakes.
Alpha OTS Posted March 13, 2008 Posted March 13, 2008 After the aoshima debacle I picked up a Scott MPC here in Akihabara that was dirt cheap. I have to say though it's fragile it does look nice. Then about two weeks ago I found another one cheap and picked that up. When I compared the two I noticed they are both two different shades of blue and even the chest intakes were two different shades of color than the other.　The first one I bought was in the 14000 and the second was in the XX400, so depending on what blue shade color Beta I get will determine which one I will be linking to it. That being said I'm sure there will be allot of people with link ups that have noticeable color differences, which I'm sure will irk them even more. Ok, this is bringing back a vague memory about the Scott MPC. Wasn't there two runs of this thing, and that accounts for the color differences that SaveRobotech mentioned?
Kyp Durron Posted March 13, 2008 Posted March 13, 2008 Damn...if his was 14K, then it looks like it's time to bend over and grab my ankles if I ever want to get a Scott MPC. I hope that since Scott's Alpha was in TSC, then maybe that will give Toynami the loophole they need to make more. -Kyp
Save Posted March 13, 2008 Posted March 13, 2008 SR, your Blue MPC is number 14K?? That blows my "hidden inventory" theory out of the water! Also note, the first 3K of Scott's MPC are different from the last 12K. As you noticed, the biggest difference is the color of the chest intakes. After work I will double check the issue numbers I might have a digit off on the higher number one, keep your fingers crossed.
nukatsuka Posted March 13, 2008 Posted March 13, 2008 Unless they released the higher digit ones in the foreign countries. I handled at least 75 mpcs and I never found anything pass 10k for the alphas. Im not even sure if I found anything near that. I think theres a hidden inventory somewhere of these things. After work I will double check the issue numbers I might have a digit off on the higher number one, keep your fingers crossed.
Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0 Posted March 13, 2008 Posted March 13, 2008 Since the MPC Beta will be $80 at BBTS, any future Alphas should cost much less. If the Beta turns out well I may purchase it. I am astounded to see prices like this from Toynami, I hope this is a sign of things to come, as their products have been overpriced since they started.
jenius Posted March 13, 2008 Posted March 13, 2008 Why would future Alphas cost less? I think Toynami is just sticking to their normal pricing structure. We've just been all so beaten up by Yamato's and CMs pricing structures it seems like a miracle. All MPCs so far have been $79.99... this is just the first one we think might be worth it! That said, the MPC Alphas have been retailing for $59.99 in most places for a long time now so I wouldn't be too shocked if that becomes the norm.
EXO Posted March 13, 2008 Posted March 13, 2008 well they developed a lesser price voltron... I think that if Toynami would go that route, they can rerelease the same alpha with less die cast and not make it part of the "masterpiece line" therefore releasing them from the "limited" number that they promised the collectors. It would probably end up to be a better toy. The die cast in the arms are totally useless and makes them totally impossible to pose. I think Shin is on to something. If they did that they should fix the fit though.
Shun Posted March 13, 2008 Posted March 13, 2008 After the aoshima debacle I picked up a Scott MPC here in Akihabara that was dirt cheap. I have to say though it's fragile it does look nice. Then about two weeks ago I found another one cheap and picked that up. When I compared the two I noticed they are both two different shades of blue and even the chest intakes were two different shades of color than the other.　The first one I bought was in the 14000 and the second was in the XX400, so depending on what blue shade color Beta I get will determine which one I will be linking to it. That being said I'm sure there will be allot of people with link ups that have noticeable color differences, which I'm sure will irk them even more. the mismatch in color is definitely expected. unless Toynami makes another batch of alphas along with this batch of beta. and i hope they really do that. with some aoshima 'upgrades' esp the thighs and legs area - those ugly seam lines on the toynami is what irks me. BTW, did anyone pre-order vol 2 beta?
Sam Posted March 13, 2008 Posted March 13, 2008 yeppo even though i only have a broken MPC scott version, both on pre order in the hope of greatness. BTW, has anyone got a reliable way of getting replacement parts for these? I managed to break the wing beside the cockpit at the peg! ( as well as crumbly hands.....) but to my dismay, 3 emails and no replies asking politly for help got me no where....
Fort Max Posted March 13, 2008 Posted March 13, 2008 Add me to those hoping for a re-issue of Scott's Alpha. *crosses fingers* The Beta will look nice nough on it's own if they don't though, I suppose....
eyesonme78 Posted March 13, 2008 Posted March 13, 2008 I just gave in and pre-order the Beta from tmpanime.. hahah think i will have a big credit card bill at Q3 this year hahaha.. gotta save up more now.. man i hate these things.. Anyways i think it's really not bad.. and i have made plans to get one scott bernard from japan.. since i will be in japan.. and megahouse cyclones i think i have a problem.. cause due to license issues.. i might have to get from japan in the end.. talk abt issues with license..
jwinges Posted March 13, 2008 Posted March 13, 2008 Add me to those hoping for a re-issue of Scott's Alpha. *crosses fingers* The Beta will look nice nough on it's own if they don't though, I suppose.... Here's a current listing for a Rook MPC on ebay. Opening bid $202 http://cgi.ebay.com/Robotech-Next-Generati...1QQcmdZViewItem Thats rediculous
Save Posted March 13, 2008 Posted March 13, 2008 (edited) SR, your Blue MPC is number 14K?? That blows my "hidden inventory" theory out of the water! Also note, the first 3K of Scott's MPC are different from the last 12K. As you noticed, the biggest difference is the color of the chest intakes. I was way off on my issue numbers I have a XX424 and X6628 so your theory has hope. The only down side to it is if they keep some tucked away they will be plagued with the same issue I've read about though the two I picked up seem to be okay. Edited March 13, 2008 by SaveRobotech
hutch Posted March 13, 2008 Posted March 13, 2008 Here's a current listing for a Rook MPC on ebay. Opening bid $202 http://cgi.ebay.com/Robotech-Next-Generati...1QQcmdZViewItem Thats rediculous Ummmm...why would you do that when you can buy it off Robotech.com for $60?
Hikaru's VF-1S Posted March 13, 2008 Posted March 13, 2008 seems twin moon anime site has the betas and other figures up for the same price, but has free shipping =] wondering if i should change my preorder from bbt to twanime... do they have a easy cancellation policy at twanime? btw, how much is usually shipping on robotech.com? im interested in getting a alpha there for backup if they dont re-release any.
Chet Posted March 13, 2008 Posted March 13, 2008 I'm guessing Toynami will reissue the anime color Alphas only as part of a combo set with similarly colored Beta's. Since there will be affordable Beta's available singly for people who already have Alpha's, this route may serve as a loophole to the "limited edition" limitation or at least keep buyers of the original from complaining too much.
Alpha OTS Posted March 13, 2008 Posted March 13, 2008 btw, how much is usually shipping on robotech.com? im interested in getting a alpha there for backup if they dont re-release any. It's not obscene. I think it was $10 to have one shipped when I ordered my last one from there. It's heavy and the box is pretty big. That ebay auction is insane. There must be people out there unaware of the robotech.com store. Robotech.com has Rook, Lancer, and the Shadow Sue Graham all for $59.99 a piece. With news of the Beta, it wouldn't surprise me to see these dwindle too.
protostar8 Posted March 13, 2008 Posted March 13, 2008 (edited) seems twin moon anime site has the betas and other figures up for the same price, but has free shipping =] wondering if i should change my preorder from bbt to twanime... do they have a easy cancellation policy at twanime? btw, how much is usually shipping on robotech.com? im interested in getting a alpha there for backup if they dont re-release any. I want to know this too (the Twin Moons Anime part)! Edited March 14, 2008 by protostar8
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