Thus revealed, the creature buried its nose in the tire-tilled soil...
August 29, 2019
Crowdfunding Unicron
Category: Toys

So it totally makes sense to me that individuals or even independent studios (like the Four Horsemen) would rely upon crowdfunding in order to realize their wares, but now even the major companies are crowdfunding certain products. And honestly? I'm not sure how I feel about that. In a way it makes sense, but I feel like Hasbro should have the resources to bring a product to market, and if they're not confident that said product will hit their minimum profit threshold then they just shouldn't make that product.

As it is, it creates this weird dynamic among fans and collectors where -- because the toy in question, Hasbro's massive and ambitious G1 Unicron, only gets made if 8000 people plunk down close to $600 to make it happen -- you've got some collectors actively criticizing and sniping and subtly digging at others for not helping to get Unicron made. You also have people who are in no way paying $600 for a goddamned toy -- and who don't particularly need or want a toy over two feet tall -- and so resent all parties for attempting to goad them into such a ridiculous purchase.

I'm in that latter camp, by the way. Incidentally, Unicron was one of my earliest Transformers purchases -- though I recall (and do admittedly regret) passing on both the Armada Unicron and its Energon recolor on very, very deep clearance -- the Unicron from the Cybertron line was among the first Transformers I ever owned. (I came to that particular dance very, very late.) And you know what? It's fine. It's well articulated, has a fun transformation, looks the part in both modes (despite being a tank rather than a planet in vehicle mode), and even came with an explanation for its smaller stature. (Since his larger body was destroyed, Unicron created a smaller body from serviceable bits of the wreckage and transplanted his consciousness into it.) Sure, it doesn't even remotely tower over the other figures the way Unicron *should*, and if I ever find/acquire/make the space to display my collection properly I'd ideally want something a little bigger (like the Armada/Energon mold) on my Transformers shelf/shelves. But if it comes down to paying gobs of money to own a new thing versus making do with the admittedly inferior thing I already own, I'll go the latter route every time. Not so if the new thing is relatively affordable -- which partly explains why I have so freaking many Spider-Man and Wolverine and Batman figures -- but a $600 toy is not even remotely tempting to me no matter how cool it looks.

Good luck to those of y'all who want it, though. 😛

-posted by Wes | 10:49 pm | Comments (0)
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