Actually, I see a definitive pattern in their releases. Everything aside from the Galvatron in the current planned rollout are a type of car-bot with little to no direct market competition. They may have realized they can capitalize in their strength of highly detailed car modes that very well represent true vehicles. XTB is above the grade here in comparison to the others who are concentrating on cartoon accuracy while sacrificing alt mode. While there is a large market for toon look over anything else, a good number of us want the vehicles to be identical to their real world counterparts. Using highly detailed alt modes on characters that arent being utilized by anyone else is a solid strategy.
Realistic alt modes are definitely high on the priority list for me. I don't mind a stylised bot mode. I don't think of robots having completely smooth bodies. I also don't think of them having spiky bodies like Michael Bay does.
I think the "common thread" is -- for the most part -- tackling the characters nobody else is at that scale. The others -- Kup, Springer, Galvatron -- are figures that, for whatever reason, FT didn't fully hit out of the park that they think they can one-up and make the "best version of". If that Kup gets fixed, for instance, it's WAY better looking than FansToys'. Galvatron looks awesome and WAY better in cannon mode... like DX9 and FT at once. They're basically going for the gaps. The exception is the Protectobots, and even they have their own niche because MMC's only scale the same in individual modes. If we want a Defensor that can stand toe-to-toe with the available G1 Menasors, again, they have no competition. This is SMART on their part! This is good content, as usual. Thanks, man!
Springer, Galvatron, Kup, etc. all debuted in _The Transformers: The Movie_ which is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year. Whether or not it was intentional, the timing certainly works.
KFC went on hiatus because the designer quit. He didn't just quit KFC, he quit designing 3P stuff altogether, because of the Unrustables / Maas Toys fiasco. It's taken Keith some time to find a designer to pick those designs back up. That's why all the KFC stuff has gotten a huge delay (PMOP, Buster / Hydra, etc).
That Perceptor looks pretty good Jack! So good in fact, it will be my first Xtransbots purchase. For that price it's a no brainer. 🤞it won't have any issues.
I already paid for my Tesla 2.0, and I like Perceptor so much I think I'm gonna pick up Jannsen too! Yeah, they nailed the toon look for sure. To me, the XTB Perceptor looks like him when he's a little younger (season 2), and Fans Toys looks like he's older, like in the movie and season 3. If I get both XTB will be on my season 2 shelf (or in a dio), and FT will be with my movie bots. Stoked!
I'm from the future, and I've heard there are quite a lot of issues with one or the arms breaking. A real shame too because I think he looks sweet, and a lot of Fanstoys stuff is stupidly expensive at this point. :/
Phew, great video… def gives food 4 thought. I’m an xtransbots fan & it’s great 2c them going after some characters no 1 else is doing & that FTs hasn’t bn able to re-release yet, like Perceptor. Love what FTs has done but feel like after FTs dethroned Takara, they’ve become elite (ie rapid preorder sell outs, not enough inventory, increased cost & obviously being targeted now by scalpers) …which 4 a common guy like myself, is a dislike. Hope Xtranbots gets these figures out, w/o over complicated transformations & keeps FTs on their toes. For me I’m not putting all my eggs in one basket & it’s great 2c Xtranbots offering some variety.
And their "scatter-shot" approach to the teases: Notice they covered pretty much EVERY obscure character or line you and other fans have been "wishing" for, but never thought anyone would pick up?
That's what I was thinking-most of these figures are from more niche parts of the toy line-Omnibots from the mail order, P/CP that was only barely in Rebirth, Battlechargers, etc. While there are big name character in the works like Galvatron, I think they're targeting the figures everyone was interested in seeing/getting but not expecting for a long time. Plus outside a few of the bigger figures like Galvatron and Perceptor, it's NOT the fiftieth set of Constructicons or Dinobots, so just by being these smaller, more unsung characters they're drawing more attention to themselves as a company rather than say 'Hey, here's our take on Astrotrain'. which might not get as much attention despite being a higher profile character.
@@SuperFireDagwon runabout and runamuck have I think been on everyone's wish list for years now... It seems like xtb are more than any other company actually listening to the fans. I wish Bobby would have mentioned that, their fan Interaction has been second to none these last 12 months. It's just a shame Locke went the way it did
My guess for the Ramhorn/Steeljaw KFC branding is so that if you're not in the know about the XTransbots/KFC connection (read: me) but you DO own KFC Blaster, you'd know that these new offerings are compatible with your current figure - meaning they would fit in the chest. Whereas two XTransbots Autobot tapes might not even be a blip on your radar. I think it's a smart move.
I am pretty sure that new wave of junkions went up for preorder as x-transbots on one of the big vendor websites and then a day or two later it switched to KFC. I thought that was surprising... and then confusing.
Looks like a Hail Mary from X-Transbots...who knows, maybe they'll start producing figures that will warrant their aspirations to go toe to toe with Fans Toys.
Skully, their approach was making a bunch of shit that I am going to buy. Punch Counterpunch, Omnibots, and the Run Brothers are all needs in the 3P MP collection. We need a G1 set of Protectobots also, thought they have MMC to compete with. Galvy and Springer, Meh...
I think that XTB have realised that the 3P market is more open now than it has been for a while. FT prices are pushing away casual buyers, and other companies are pretty quiet. I also think that they are trying to drown out a few past 'less than perfect' issues, such as their Kup and Menasor/trailer issues. By doing this, they are changing the conversation, and keeping themselves in the public consciousness, getting people talking about them and looking forward to their next waves of stuff.
Shotgun/sniper shot analogy works really well here. You can spontaneously defend your house with a shotgun, but it takes a thoughtful plan and good positioning to snipe a target. I’m rolling the dice on Janssen!
Great SDS! Loved it. I think XTB/KFC took second place a while back. MMC really only has a few bots that have stood the test of time. They hit the MP line hard with Sphinx but their fallow ups kinda failed. Looking a Trailbreaker/Hoist. Their grapple/Inferno. They scored another win with 3 out 5 tapes. They then flopped with their bugs (which I own) and haven't really put out anything that has caught my dollars since. XTB have stuck with the original idea of MP having fantastic real world alt modes and consistently crush that. It is only when they go to fantasy alt modes that they struggle. If I look at my collection XTB has a lot of spots in it. More then MMC and on par with FT. Thanks again Mr. Skullface. I really appreciate these vids.
I’m gonna agree with what some people have said. It seems like they’re tackling some characters that haven’t had much (if any) spotlight in the MP scale. Seems ambitious, but if these figures are good, it puts them in a good position in the third party world. Seriously hoping that Perceptor is good because I’m thinking that’s the better option at the moment. Will be very interesting to see how this plays out for them.
What's Going On With X Transbots you say? They are doing what 3rd party should have done a long time ago, hitting those bots you need to complete a Masterpiece collection. Smart business.
Talk about 2017 prices, I can’t believe Takara is selling Skids (plus repaints) at $90. Personally I feel XTB prices are a bit high at $110 for most of those standard carbot sized figures. Especially their reputation for poor quality builds and messy transformations. Anyway, good video as always. Thanks Bobby.
Those repaints might be why the MP Skids mold is $90. Fans in Japan could have a strong nostalgia for Skids or its Diaclone predecessor. This is something special, as it doesn’t fit into the cartoon aesthetic for the MP right now. MP Skids looks more like that balance of cartoon and toy that Takara-Tomy used to do.
Price also an apology for the Menasor trailer price. Fans were almost done with Xtransbots cause of that. Or maybe an early apology for an upcoming Defensor trailer thing to combine the bots lol
God i hope not but im wondering if the price being so low means the quality of all of this will be low. I'm getting all their Protectobots. So I'm hoping to be wrong. Thanks for the video.
Greatest marketing scheme ever. Scatter the lines (season bots). From there it isn’t much competition. But let’s see what the others bring to the table before I make my judgment.
BS - I am calling BS on your statement at the beginning - 1:55 "It's just company greed, I can't express how wrong you are there" - You CONTRADICTED yourself & explained why it is in FACT pretty much COMPANY GREED - 9:30 (or so) - "I am not sure anything is in the $200 pocket....." - "but most of it seems to be around $100 - $150, which to me is kinda the sweet spot for this stuff honestly. It just doesn't seem like it was possible anymore or that there would be any reason for a company to partake anymore & people are willing to spend more....." I will understand completely when you ignore this, your own words, on the REASON it is in FACT COMPANY GREED. No one likes to be wrong, few will ever ADMIT they are in FACT WRONG. You said so yourself, that these prices are similar to 2017 pricing....... So How Can that be? If a company is in it to win it..... as in make MONEY, then how can they? In this case Xtransbots afford to have circa 2017 pricing??? Wouldn't that mean or at the very least indicate that they are LOSING $$$? Wouldn't they be OUT of BUSINESS at that Price Point??? Then you look at Faaaaaaaans Tooooooys, and see that their PRICING has skyrocketed....... why is that? Is their Engineering that much more costly? is their materials that much more expensive? Are their Factories costing them more to produce? So how does Xtransbots do it then??? What about Takara Tomy/Hasbro??? If XTB can produce a relatively HIGH Quality Figure at these LOW PRICE POINTS, & still be in business, then they must be turning a PROFIT. Sure you can say the it is a "Soft" apology for Kupp, sure you can speculate on a lot of things, but.... BUT you still can't get around the FACT that it's a significantly Lower Price Point. At the end of the day, it is supply and demand, & where there is a DEMAND there will be PRICE GOUGING. Keep bumping up the prices until you start to see a loss of market share, then retard said pricing back just enough to keep the demand high for your product. ex) Fuel (gas) prices - how can the Price per Barrel be approximately 50% of the High Water mark of $160 - $170 (June 2008 - $174) per barrel, yet we are witnessing early 2008 pricing at the pumps? It is called PROFITEERING my friend. it's Economics 101 & you just proved my point with your own words in your video. How can one company offer a comparable figure at roughly 50% of the Competitions Top Selling Brand? One reason & One reason only BS, its PRICE GOUGING aka COMPANY GREED. Great Video by the way - I really do enjoy your content - looking forward to your next - Have a great day
Tapes under KFC is to keep them associated with their Blaster, I’d say. And not sure they’d lower the prices for one bad figure. I think it’s to get all those fed up with FT to go to them. You did also elude to that. I’m in that camp!
I’m definitely excited about perceptor and galvatron. But not enough to cancel my fanstoys perceptor. Not until I see the quality And run amuck and runabout look solid. I think their car bots are much safer. Even if streetwise was over engineered up the wazoo, I still like him and I’m not scared he’ll break (which continues to shock me)
I think Xtransbots always had its eye close on the market and could see how the trends are, hence the prices. Having their own factory certainly helps, but in another way, this could be seen as cutting the knees of the competition. Remember when they had somebody steal their mold and their response was to make the original mold 50 dollars? That’s what I think. Quality has always been hit or miss, but their thinking could be “if we’re cheaper, we’ll have more people interested in us. “
Interesting that a few years ago, they provided a color teaser image of their Galvatron, then they put it in the back burner, and years later, are coming back to it, with a different design from that original color image.
I dunno i purchased there kup and it really did burn me on how i see xtransbot, it's gonna take a lot to win me back, i know this i will not buy another xtransbot product again until i have seen some reviews of it and just some general opinions, but it is nice to see some excitement back in the masterpiece game and competition though especially for the likes of fanstoys who to me have become very complacent and a little to big for there boots lately, so it's kinda nice to see
For the most part the train of thought is to fill in the holes. Most of their stuff is to help complete people’s collections. It’s not scatterbrained but well planned to satisfy many asks of the fans.
I honestly think that prices did go up, but fanstoys pricing is at a premium and has even gone down lately. Peceptor at tfsource went down to 219.99 when xtransbots version was released, and recently fanshobby armada megatron started at 219.99 and then went drastically down to 149.99. I do think there is a bit of price gouging going with the pandemic as an excuse.
I don't think there's been any attempt to 'distance themselves from KFC' due to some perceived bad reputation. I think a more reasonable speculation would be what the staffing composition of each company is/has been over the last few years. Addons, and recolored versions of earlier releases has been the common practice of KFC, with the occasional attempt at something that may or may not hit (samba vs kingzilla/rilla) "Why bring KFC back to the spotlight?" Spotlight is dictated by how well things are perceived/received, so I won't try to address that component; however KFC has continued to maintain their presence by releasing 8 junkions and then announcing 5 more (+ a cykill) on the horizon.
@Pumpkin Spice you know, it wasn't until your comment that I realized my initial statement was essentially an argument that KFC put out mostly junk for the last year, and they've revealed that most of their upcoming releases will be junk. When phrased that way, I suppose it seems more like a concession.
I agree with you, I think this is their way of apologizing for Locke. I don't agree that mmc is number 2 but that's me. I've actually enjoyed most of what they put out and I like their sculpts alot. I'd even say more than fanstoys. Speaking of which they better put out those combiner bots that are missing because I'm starting to feel like selling them for a xtb youth version which looks pretty awesome. This has gone on too long. Thanks for the video, I respect your opinions and appreciate your views.
Personally I feel like their approach makes more sense if you seperate the loadout into 2 halves -Delayed figures, mostly toys who were teased years ago only to have 5 alternate options hit the market at the same time. If you wait a couple of years you can make decent money of an oversaturated character like springer just from the interest factor, but if you go to war in the same 12 month period you have a higher chance of just flopping. You can even kinda fold Defensor into this, if XTB didn't spend 18 months reworking their trailer to be bigger I bet we start seeing them at least a year earlier -A new direction of tacking more niche characters where you are unlikely to see competition any time soon. Nobody is going to start an omni-bot war, so while they may not be hyper sellers like optimus prime, so long as they are good quality they should be able to walk away with a tasty profit
Good video Bobby. My opinion, I think they are ALREADY in second place! Every release of a figure is not going to be a homerun hitter. Fanstoys is at the top but even they have released some not so great figures and that Perceptor.... that figure is going to give FT a run for their money!
I'm just wondering how they aren't getting sued over their omnibots, those vehicle modes are like 98.5% accurate to the actual cars they turn into, the Rx-7, Ferrari, and celica supra
I have seen a lot of people saying they were going to drop the Tesla 2.0 for the XTB offering, so I don't think they have to worry much by making that figure. The price and amount of accessories is off the charts.
I have been leery of XTB/KFC for a while. All I have is Boost and Apollyon. But I have been also wanting more of their figures. Tempted by the Omnibots. Hopefully they get their qc and build issues in good order.
I pre-ordered the perceptor as soon as I found out about it. It looks great and while it may not be built as sturdily as the FT one will be, I love the face sculpt better, and I love the price point. Speaking with my wallet on this one.
I only had 1 xtransbots(their megatron) and it felt really cheap. Compared to the material quality of stuff like fanstoys, I don't think they can charge that kind of premium and get away with it. They may have improved since then, but I didn't want to take that chance
Am not gonna lie!! I thought it was Exciting!! Xtransbots is doing big things!! Can't wait!! They're the only one's in it to Win it!! Go Xtransbots!! Finally someone giving Fanstoys #overpriced #beautifulbricks. As always great video Bobby S. ♥️
I think they're just trying to release figures that fill in the gaps of collections. I also speculate that they are releasing the Autobot tapes under the KFC brand because that's the brand their Blaster was released under.
Whatever the reason for the price range, it really helps out alot of new serious end collectors out there that have been almost chasing myths in terms of figures released years ago. Building up that momentum is part of the magic of collecting at times so fair play to KFC/X-transbots
Announcing their own Perceptor was a brilliant(if not dickish) move on XTB's part. Not only is it on par with Tesla 2.0 visually, but it's also 80$ cheaper. That's not an insignificant margin. I'd love to know how many collectors canceled their FT preorders and crossed the aisle to XTB on that one. Again, it might be a bit dickish, but this is the kind of competition that will make these companies better and encourage lower price points in the future. As someone who's vowed that Berserk(Blitzwing) will be my last FT purchase thanks to their ridiculous prices, I'd be happy to change my mind if they were to hop on board. P.S. Please hop on board, FT.
Nice to know we can still get MP's at reasonable prices again. I missed out on the tesla 2.0. I was hesitant at the price anyway. Hopefully X-transbots perceptor does the job!
I don't think it's confusing that cassettes are being released under KFC brand, actually, I think they did that to avoid confusion, as this way people will automatically assume they are compatible with KFC Blaster.
XTB price points proves that it’s greed or assholiness from FT. Materials and scale between the two don’t match. I’m not talking about people’s preference of company. I’m talking two items constructed the same with different costs.
XTBs problem has been the same all along, consistency in quality and thier Kup has dropped them back into the meme category. We've seen it time and time again and they have everything to prove now. I'd like them to, MP with a strong XTB is a far more interesting place to be, I just don't know if they can.
Xtransbots preceptor has going to be perfect. They need it to be as they want to be considered a direct competitor to Fans toys. It's looks better, it's cheaper, and they need to do is it the quality to make their mark. If they fail, and with the strike they got with Kup, it will take a while for them to build that brand loyalty. 1.
I think the prices are meant to be competitive. I don’t have a lot of xtransbots but from what I do have I like a lot. I pre ordered the Fanstoys preceptor but that xtb one looks really good too. I’m really rooting for them
The discussion about X-transbots before was their Gravestone release, the separate trailer and its price AND the accessories package that many felt should have been included. Immediately after that was the Kup incident. Now all people can talk about are these new reveals and the seemingly low prices. It's a marketing gimmick to show something shiny and new and move the speculative discussion off some not-so-nice hard truths about their products and price ploys. BTW, fair warning about their seemingly low price, Menasor combiners of themselves seemed cheaper than the competition by a stretch but ended up being the most expensive of all released.
Rubbish. The trailer and gravestone are about the same price as the fanstoys. The 4 cars are half the price of fanstoys. And only the accessories are extra. But you can decide if you want them. The dx9 is cheaper but not better.
@@sw1000xg xtransbots gravestone and trailer runs at 120 +200 while roadking was 220; so not the same. Will Fanstoys jack up the price of their last combiner that's supposed to contain the motormaster price? I don't know. That low or half price you see in the beginning combiners are later on added to the last piece; that's what I learned from my experience with Xtransbots. If you're cool with the company, good for you. But I am most definitely, not.
@@amusedjester I got the trailer for £120. The accessories for £33. On a sale. And gravestone for £90. Just a touch more than ft by 30. But for me it's worth it. And 205 for the other cars.
Well, I got some good and some bad stuff from them, and though I don't own Kup (I have the FT version already) that release made me a bit hesistant to get future XTB figures (though I have a Springer preorder for ages now). Now that they really seem to try and improve Kup, plus the many reveals the got now, I'm pretty hyped up again. I'm in for most of those figures now.
Im all for XTB going all over the place! Especially as i was getting jack it seems in the last 24 months. Finally getting some ‘unloved’ bots. Hope they sell well, ill buy all Season 4 bots if they go hard in that direction and ‘lessor’ bots from previous seasons.
Obviously XTB's train of thought is "obscurity." They've just announced every obscure character that fans have said they want. Kind of smart since now XTB is the only name in the game unlike offering another Seeker or Prime. As far as KFCs new cassettes, well it makes sense because their Blaster is KFC branded and pretty well regarded. KFC also just announced a bunch of new Junkions.... for reasons. But Crashhog is still the ONLY MP style Wreck-Gar and still well regarded. I will say that XTBs Perceptor looks significantly nicer than Fanstoys Tesla 2.0. I think that the XTBs build quality will be worse, but IMO their sculpt and paint makes Fanstoys look a little rough. They are also selling for half of Fanstoys price which is sure to get at least a few people to cancel FT pre-orders. XTB is screwing with Fanstoys the way Fanstoys traditionally screws with other 3P companies.
I just wanted to comment on their releases. I don't think it's really all over the place I think they've been listening to the fandom and are going after all the holes in the masterpiece collection. No one has released masterpiece protectabots. No one has released masterpiece omnibots. No one has released masterpiece counterpunch and the other dude. Their galvatron is something they've already tooled for the most part and just never put it out, and so they're seeing that the fan toys one came out quite some time ago fans have amnesia and they just seeing maybe it's the best time for us to put ours out since we already had it toolled and made and planned on it. So as I look at it it just seems that they're they're seeking to fill holes and answer the call from the fandom of what's missing in a third party masterpiece or any masterpiece collection.
Bro we needed this episode. We can always rely on you to handle the high end issues that need to be discussed. Well done as usual. XTB been killing it with the announcements.
I don't see how XTB approach is seen as "messy". For one, they're not launching a line like say Hasbro were you would expect to see certain figures. Two, their approach is what many collectors have been wanting based on what I've read on many comments sections. Everyone's tired of the same tf characters or redoes I'm glad XTB is making those figures other companies passed on. Finally, I'm glad they were first to strike instead of catching up. Now it puts pressure on the other companies to do something special and finish some of their projects.
I wish I could tell you just how mistaken this is but I can not. So what I will say is your comment sections that your reading don’t seem to be indicative of the same people who are choosing to spend their money. But I wish xtb the best 🤞🤞
I think the KFC 2.0 tapes retained that name because they’re still trash. Hoping Bobby gets them just for a skit crying in the shower or explaining to Mrs Skullface that he likes them and they’re worth the cost lol lol
One more thing that I appreciated is: they have a plan in terms of scheduling. Each reveals has a precise ETA and they cover 2021 and 2022 in full, so that one can make his plans in regard on when he will be asked to pay. I appreciate this. Great video anyway, I hope that at least perceptor and the omnibots will be homeruns, while I'm not so sure about Defensor. Only time will tell!
Oh Bobby, I think xtransbots is already in second place and has been ever since monolith came out… I have an xtransbots combiner.. The only MMC figure I have is their Arcee, and she is good, really good, but she is also technically under the brand ocular Max… The last combiner they made had balance issues and was too small.. I think Mmc is in third place and have been for a while.
Actually, I see a definitive pattern in their releases. Everything aside from the Galvatron in the current planned rollout are a type of car-bot with little to no direct market competition. They may have realized they can capitalize in their strength of highly detailed car modes that very well represent true vehicles. XTB is above the grade here in comparison to the others who are concentrating on cartoon accuracy while sacrificing alt mode. While there is a large market for toon look over anything else, a good number of us want the vehicles to be identical to their real world counterparts. Using highly detailed alt modes on characters that arent being utilized by anyone else is a solid strategy.
Realistic alt modes are definitely high on the priority list for me. I don't mind a stylised bot mode. I don't think of robots having completely smooth bodies. I also don't think of them having spiky bodies like Michael Bay does.
That's a good point. Looking at some of the XTB figures I have (Boost, Savant, etc.), their alt modes are impeccable.
In fairness they do create some absolutely beautiful looking alt modes, it's easily their biggest strength.
Bobby Baron Zemo Jacket Face… a Turkish Delight.
That galvatron has got me insanely excited.
03:00 - And G2 Stunticon Motormaster and Trailer.
I think the "common thread" is -- for the most part -- tackling the characters nobody else is at that scale. The others -- Kup, Springer, Galvatron -- are figures that, for whatever reason, FT didn't fully hit out of the park that they think they can one-up and make the "best version of". If that Kup gets fixed, for instance, it's WAY better looking than FansToys'. Galvatron looks awesome and WAY better in cannon mode... like DX9 and FT at once. They're basically going for the gaps. The exception is the Protectobots, and even they have their own niche because MMC's only scale the same in individual modes. If we want a Defensor that can stand toe-to-toe with the available G1 Menasors, again, they have no competition. This is SMART on their part! This is good content, as usual. Thanks, man!
Springer, Galvatron, Kup, etc. all debuted in _The Transformers: The Movie_ which is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year. Whether or not it was intentional, the timing certainly works.
KFC went on hiatus because the designer quit. He didn't just quit KFC, he quit designing 3P stuff altogether, because of the Unrustables / Maas Toys fiasco. It's taken Keith some time to find a designer to pick those designs back up. That's why all the KFC stuff has gotten a huge delay (PMOP, Buster / Hydra, etc).
That Perceptor looks pretty good Jack! So good in fact, it will be my first Xtransbots purchase. For that price it's a no brainer. 🤞it won't have any issues.
I already paid for my Tesla 2.0, and I like Perceptor so much I think I'm gonna pick up Jannsen too! Yeah, they nailed the toon look for sure. To me, the XTB Perceptor looks like him when he's a little younger (season 2), and Fans Toys looks like he's older, like in the movie and season 3. If I get both XTB will be on my season 2 shelf (or in a dio), and FT will be with my movie bots. Stoked!
I'm from the future, and I've heard there are quite a lot of issues with one or the arms breaking.
A real shame too because I think he looks sweet, and a lot of Fanstoys stuff is stupidly expensive at this point. :/
Phew, great video… def gives food 4 thought. I’m an xtransbots fan & it’s great 2c them going after some characters no 1 else is doing & that FTs hasn’t bn able to re-release yet, like Perceptor. Love what FTs has done but feel like after FTs dethroned Takara, they’ve become elite (ie rapid preorder sell outs, not enough inventory, increased cost & obviously being targeted now by scalpers) …which 4 a common guy like myself, is a dislike. Hope Xtranbots gets these figures out, w/o over complicated transformations & keeps FTs on their toes. For me I’m not putting all my eggs in one basket & it’s great 2c Xtranbots offering some variety.
And their "scatter-shot" approach to the teases: Notice they covered pretty much EVERY obscure character or line you and other fans have been "wishing" for, but never thought anyone would pick up?
Yep, that's their approach. I was thinking the same thing.
That's what I was thinking-most of these figures are from more niche parts of the toy line-Omnibots from the mail order, P/CP that was only barely in Rebirth, Battlechargers, etc. While there are big name character in the works like Galvatron, I think they're targeting the figures everyone was interested in seeing/getting but not expecting for a long time.
Plus outside a few of the bigger figures like Galvatron and Perceptor, it's NOT the fiftieth set of Constructicons or Dinobots, so just by being these smaller, more unsung characters they're drawing more attention to themselves as a company rather than say 'Hey, here's our take on Astrotrain'. which might not get as much attention despite being a higher profile character.
@@SuperFireDagwon runabout and runamuck have I think been on everyone's wish list for years now... It seems like xtb are more than any other company actually listening to the fans. I wish Bobby would have mentioned that, their fan Interaction has been second to none these last 12 months. It's just a shame Locke went the way it did
I know, for the price point, I am willing to check these upcoming releases.
Thanks Bobby. My week is not complete without a Sit Down Saturday.
Isn’t kfc doing the power master prime?
My guess for the Ramhorn/Steeljaw KFC branding is so that if you're not in the know about the XTransbots/KFC connection (read: me) but you DO own KFC Blaster, you'd know that these new offerings are compatible with your current figure - meaning they would fit in the chest. Whereas two XTransbots Autobot tapes might not even be a blip on your radar. I think it's a smart move.
Great video."Nobody wants to be out of business so that you can ha e a happy shelf " is the quote of the week for me. It deserve to be on a t-shirt
I am pretty sure that new wave of junkions went up for preorder as x-transbots on one of the big vendor websites and then a day or two later it switched to KFC. I thought that was surprising... and then confusing.
Looks like a Hail Mary from X-Transbots...who knows, maybe they'll start producing figures that will warrant their aspirations to go toe to toe with Fans Toys.
As a collector that skips out on Fans Toys due to the price point, Xtransbots definitely got my attention with all of these announcements
Skully, their approach was making a bunch of shit that I am going to buy. Punch Counterpunch, Omnibots, and the Run Brothers are all needs in the 3P MP collection. We need a G1 set of Protectobots also, thought they have MMC to compete with. Galvy and Springer, Meh...
Yeah Bobby doesn't agree lol
Bobby let’s get a ranking of your excitement for their reveals as a sit down Saturday
Great video! I love hearing your speculation about this stuff! I hope you have an excellent weekend!
I think that XTB have realised that the 3P market is more open now than it has been for a while. FT prices are pushing away casual buyers, and other companies are pretty quiet. I also think that they are trying to drown out a few past 'less than perfect' issues, such as their Kup and Menasor/trailer issues. By doing this, they are changing the conversation, and keeping themselves in the public consciousness, getting people talking about them and looking forward to their next waves of stuff.
Need those Omnibots. Hopefully we don't have to wait a whole year for them like the G1s
We literally do - they're slated for release next summer.
I assumed the attitude was "where are the gaps, what are others NOT doing" as long as they don't hit lengthly delays, they might make some bunce
I still remember the Menasor debacle and it has made me wary of any combiners they are releasing.
Lower price is great news for customers, but my question is will they provide good enough quality and design also?
I also agree that is because of the Fu-Kupp with Locke.
Desperation to me. Went to their board and all agreed to release all their reveals to save face via Locke. Those suckers. Lol
KFC tape bots because the boxes will go along with their Transistor. A nod to the Collector's OCD?
Was going to suggest the same thing... Wanting to assure purchasers of compatibility
Shotgun/sniper shot analogy works really well here. You can spontaneously defend your house with a shotgun, but it takes a thoughtful plan and good positioning to snipe a target. I’m rolling the dice on Janssen!
Great SDS! Loved it. I think XTB/KFC took second place a while back. MMC really only has a few bots that have stood the test of time. They hit the MP line hard with Sphinx but their fallow ups kinda failed. Looking a Trailbreaker/Hoist. Their grapple/Inferno. They scored another win with 3 out 5 tapes. They then flopped with their bugs (which I own) and haven't really put out anything that has caught my dollars since. XTB have stuck with the original idea of MP having fantastic real world alt modes and consistently crush that. It is only when they go to fantasy alt modes that they struggle. If I look at my collection XTB has a lot of spots in it. More then MMC and on par with FT. Thanks again Mr. Skullface. I really appreciate these vids.
They could easily be #1 if (and that’s a big if) the quality is there and they are half the price as FT.
KFC means greasy, belly-ache, mud butt chicken in a bucket. I'd distance myself from that association, too.
I Cancelled my FT-Tesla in favor of this X-Transbots Perceptor. Price was the driving factor.
I’m gonna agree with what some people have said. It seems like they’re tackling some characters that haven’t had much (if any) spotlight in the MP scale. Seems ambitious, but if these figures are good, it puts them in a good position in the third party world. Seriously hoping that Perceptor is good because I’m thinking that’s the better option at the moment. Will be very interesting to see how this plays out for them.
What's Going On With X Transbots you say? They are doing what 3rd party should have done a long time ago, hitting those bots you need to complete a Masterpiece collection. Smart business.
💯
Instead of endless versions of the seekers, Prime, etc.
Hats off to them.
Talk about 2017 prices, I can’t believe Takara is selling Skids (plus repaints) at $90. Personally I feel XTB prices are a bit high at $110 for most of those standard carbot sized figures. Especially their reputation for poor quality builds and messy transformations. Anyway, good video as always. Thanks Bobby.
Those repaints might be why the MP Skids mold is $90. Fans in Japan could have a strong nostalgia for Skids or its Diaclone predecessor. This is something special, as it doesn’t fit into the cartoon aesthetic for the MP right now. MP Skids looks more like that balance of cartoon and toy that Takara-Tomy used to do.
U right about pricing. Straight 2017 with XTB while FT 🤦♂️ killing us with they prices.
Pretty much my thoughts exactly!
Deluxe Insecticons anyone?
Very well put. Great points.
Price also an apology for the Menasor trailer price. Fans were almost done with Xtransbots cause of that. Or maybe an early apology for an upcoming Defensor trailer thing to combine the bots lol
God i hope not but im wondering if the price being so low means the quality of all of this will be low. I'm getting all their Protectobots. So I'm hoping to be wrong. Thanks for the video.
Greatest marketing scheme ever. Scatter the lines (season bots). From there it isn’t much competition. But let’s see what the others bring to the table before I make my judgment.
BS - I am calling BS on your statement at the beginning - 1:55 "It's just company greed, I can't express how wrong you are there" - You CONTRADICTED yourself & explained why it is in FACT pretty much COMPANY GREED - 9:30 (or so) - "I am not sure anything is in the $200 pocket....." - "but most of it seems to be around $100 - $150, which to me is kinda the sweet spot for this stuff honestly. It just doesn't seem like it was possible anymore or that there would be any reason for a company to partake anymore & people are willing to spend more....."
I will understand completely when you ignore this, your own words, on the REASON it is in FACT COMPANY GREED. No one likes to be wrong, few will ever ADMIT they are in FACT WRONG.
You said so yourself, that these prices are similar to 2017 pricing....... So How Can that be? If a company is in it to win it..... as in make MONEY, then how can they? In this case Xtransbots afford to have circa 2017 pricing??? Wouldn't that mean or at the very least indicate that they are LOSING $$$? Wouldn't they be OUT of BUSINESS at that Price Point??? Then you look at Faaaaaaaans Tooooooys, and see that their PRICING has skyrocketed....... why is that? Is their Engineering that much more costly? is their materials that much more expensive? Are their Factories costing them more to produce? So how does Xtransbots do it then??? What about Takara Tomy/Hasbro??? If XTB can produce a relatively HIGH Quality Figure at these LOW PRICE POINTS, & still be in business, then they must be turning a PROFIT.
Sure you can say the it is a "Soft" apology for Kupp, sure you can speculate on a lot of things, but.... BUT you still can't get around the FACT that it's a significantly Lower Price Point.
At the end of the day, it is supply and demand, & where there is a DEMAND there will be PRICE GOUGING. Keep bumping up the prices until you start to see a loss of market share, then retard said pricing back just enough to keep the demand high for your product.
ex) Fuel (gas) prices - how can the Price per Barrel be approximately 50% of the High Water mark of $160 - $170 (June 2008 - $174) per barrel, yet we are witnessing early 2008 pricing at the pumps?
It is called PROFITEERING my friend. it's Economics 101 & you just proved my point with your own words in your video. How can one company offer a comparable figure at roughly 50% of the Competitions Top Selling Brand? One reason & One reason only BS, its PRICE GOUGING aka COMPANY GREED.
Great Video by the way - I really do enjoy your content - looking forward to your next - Have a great day
Tapes under KFC is to keep them associated with their Blaster, I’d say. And not sure they’d lower the prices for one bad figure. I think it’s to get all those fed up with FT to go to them. You did also elude to that. I’m in that camp!
I’m definitely excited about perceptor and galvatron. But not enough to cancel my fanstoys perceptor. Not until I see the quality
And run amuck and runabout look solid. I think their car bots are much safer. Even if streetwise was over engineered up the wazoo, I still like him and I’m not scared he’ll break (which continues to shock me)
I think Xtransbots always had its eye close on the market and could see how the trends are, hence the prices. Having their own factory certainly helps, but in another way, this could be seen as cutting the knees of the competition. Remember when they had somebody steal their mold and their response was to make the original mold 50 dollars?
That’s what I think. Quality has always been hit or miss, but their thinking could be “if we’re cheaper, we’ll have more people interested in us. “
We want all the g1 mp versions. All seasons make everyone happy.
Interesting that a few years ago, they provided a color teaser image of their Galvatron, then they put it in the back burner, and years later, are coming back to it, with a different design from that original color image.
I dunno i purchased there kup and it really did burn me on how i see xtransbot, it's gonna take a lot to win me back, i know this i will not buy another xtransbot product again until i have seen some reviews of it and just some general opinions, but it is nice to see some excitement back in the masterpiece game and competition though especially for the likes of fanstoys who to me have become very complacent and a little to big for there boots lately, so it's kinda nice to see
For the most part the train of thought is to fill in the holes. Most of their stuff is to help complete people’s collections. It’s not scatterbrained but well planned to satisfy many asks of the fans.
I honestly think that prices did go up, but fanstoys pricing is at a premium and has even gone down lately. Peceptor at tfsource went down to 219.99 when xtransbots version was released, and recently fanshobby armada megatron started at 219.99 and then went drastically down to 149.99. I do think there is a bit of price gouging going with the pandemic as an excuse.
It's just a theory...A BOT THEORY!!!
(Couldn't resist...)
spot on
I don't think there's been any attempt to 'distance themselves from KFC' due to some perceived bad reputation. I think a more reasonable speculation would be what the staffing composition of each company is/has been over the last few years.
Addons, and recolored versions of earlier releases has been the common practice of KFC, with the occasional attempt at something that may or may not hit (samba vs kingzilla/rilla)
"Why bring KFC back to the spotlight?" Spotlight is dictated by how well things are perceived/received, so I won't try to address that component; however KFC has continued to maintain their presence by releasing 8 junkions and then announcing 5 more (+ a cykill) on the horizon.
@Pumpkin Spice you know, it wasn't until your comment that I realized my initial statement was essentially an argument that KFC put out mostly junk for the last year, and they've revealed that most of their upcoming releases will be junk. When phrased that way, I suppose it seems more like a concession.
yeah..they've been second place for a while...a distant second mind you, but the gap is closing perhaps
Xtransbots taking the heat off of Fanstoys for the Takara radar win!
I agree with you, I think this is their way of apologizing for Locke. I don't agree that mmc is number 2 but that's me. I've actually enjoyed most of what they put out and I like their sculpts alot. I'd even say more than fanstoys. Speaking of which they better put out those combiner bots that are missing because I'm starting to feel like selling them for a xtb youth version which looks pretty awesome. This has gone on too long. Thanks for the video, I respect your opinions and appreciate your views.
Personally I feel like their approach makes more sense if you seperate the loadout into 2 halves
-Delayed figures, mostly toys who were teased years ago only to have 5 alternate options hit the market at the same time. If you wait a couple of years you can make decent money of an oversaturated character like springer just from the interest factor, but if you go to war in the same 12 month period you have a higher chance of just flopping. You can even kinda fold Defensor into this, if XTB didn't spend 18 months reworking their trailer to be bigger I bet we start seeing them at least a year earlier
-A new direction of tacking more niche characters where you are unlikely to see competition any time soon. Nobody is going to start an omni-bot war, so while they may not be hyper sellers like optimus prime, so long as they are good quality they should be able to walk away with a tasty profit
Eh.
Got that baron zemo vibe going on.
Good video Bobby. My opinion, I think they are ALREADY in second place! Every release of a figure is not going to be a homerun hitter. Fanstoys is at the top but even they have released some not so great figures and that Perceptor.... that figure is going to give FT a run for their money!
I'm just wondering how they aren't getting sued over their omnibots, those vehicle modes are like 98.5% accurate to the actual cars they turn into, the Rx-7, Ferrari, and celica supra
My top 3:
#1 Fanstoys
#2 Fanstoys
#3 Fanstoys
I may have to get those Omnibots
They look great
I have seen a lot of people saying they were going to drop the Tesla 2.0 for the XTB offering, so I don't think they have to worry much by making that figure. The price and amount of accessories is off the charts.
The Junkions are under KFC as well. So anything from those lines i think will be KFC.
I have been leery of XTB/KFC for a while. All I have is Boost and Apollyon. But I have been also wanting more of their figures. Tempted by the Omnibots. Hopefully they get their qc and build issues in good order.
I pre-ordered the perceptor as soon as I found out about it. It looks great and while it may not be built as sturdily as the FT one will be, I love the face sculpt better, and I love the price point. Speaking with my wallet on this one.
I only had 1 xtransbots(their megatron) and it felt really cheap. Compared to the material quality of stuff like fanstoys, I don't think they can charge that kind of premium and get away with it. They may have improved since then, but I didn't want to take that chance
Am not gonna lie!! I thought it was Exciting!! Xtransbots is doing big things!! Can't wait!! They're the only one's in it to Win it!! Go Xtransbots!! Finally someone giving Fanstoys #overpriced #beautifulbricks. As always great video Bobby S. ♥️
Those Locke reviews certainly didn’t help my confidence, nobody got that alt mode to hold together. But I own an equal number of XTB and FT stuff.
I think they're just trying to release figures that fill in the gaps of collections. I also speculate that they are releasing the Autobot tapes under the KFC brand because that's the brand their Blaster was released under.
I was getting priced out of the hobby. XTB might be keeping me in the MP game for a while longer.
Whatever the reason for the price range, it really helps out alot of new serious end collectors out there that have been almost chasing myths in terms of figures released years ago. Building up that momentum is part of the magic of collecting at times so fair play to KFC/X-transbots
Announcing their own Perceptor was a brilliant(if not dickish) move on XTB's part. Not only is it on par with Tesla 2.0 visually, but it's also 80$ cheaper. That's not an insignificant margin. I'd love to know how many collectors canceled their FT preorders and crossed the aisle to XTB on that one.
Again, it might be a bit dickish, but this is the kind of competition that will make these companies better and encourage lower price points in the future. As someone who's vowed that Berserk(Blitzwing) will be my last FT purchase thanks to their ridiculous prices, I'd be happy to change my mind if they were to hop on board.
P.S. Please hop on board, FT.
I’ll be buying none of it. I’m onto the OG Pinkerton Approach for quite some time now lol
Nice to know we can still get MP's at reasonable prices again. I missed out on the tesla 2.0. I was hesitant at the price anyway. Hopefully X-transbots perceptor does the job!
I don't think it's confusing that cassettes are being released under KFC brand, actually, I think they did that to avoid confusion, as this way people will automatically assume they are compatible with KFC Blaster.
XTB price points proves that it’s greed or assholiness from FT. Materials and scale between the two don’t match. I’m not talking about people’s preference of company. I’m talking two items constructed the same with different costs.
Yeaaaah I'm still waiting on the 'fixed' version of Locke before I pre-order anything from them.
XTBs problem has been the same all along, consistency in quality and thier Kup has dropped them back into the meme category. We've seen it time and time again and they have everything to prove now. I'd like them to, MP with a strong XTB is a far more interesting place to be, I just don't know if they can.
Could you put your hands on your jacket collars and say "I was born in it, molded by it..."?
Xtransbots preceptor has going to be perfect. They need it to be as they want to be considered a direct competitor to Fans toys. It's looks better, it's cheaper, and they need to do is it the quality to make their mark. If they fail, and with the strike they got with Kup, it will take a while for them to build that brand loyalty.
1.
I think the prices are meant to be competitive. I don’t have a lot of xtransbots but from what I do have I like a lot. I pre ordered the Fanstoys preceptor but that xtb one looks really good too. I’m really rooting for them
The discussion about X-transbots before was their Gravestone release, the separate trailer and its price AND the accessories package that many felt should have been included. Immediately after that was the Kup incident. Now all people can talk about are these new reveals and the seemingly low prices.
It's a marketing gimmick to show something shiny and new and move the speculative discussion off some not-so-nice hard truths about their products and price ploys. BTW, fair warning about their seemingly low price, Menasor combiners of themselves seemed cheaper than the competition by a stretch but ended up being the most expensive of all released.
Rubbish. The trailer and gravestone are about the same price as the fanstoys. The 4 cars are half the price of fanstoys. And only the accessories are extra. But you can decide if you want them. The dx9 is cheaper but not better.
@@sw1000xg xtransbots gravestone and trailer runs at 120 +200 while roadking was 220; so not the same. Will Fanstoys jack up the price of their last combiner that's supposed to contain the motormaster price? I don't know. That low or half price you see in the beginning combiners are later on added to the last piece; that's what I learned from my experience with Xtransbots. If you're cool with the company, good for you. But I am most definitely, not.
@@amusedjester I got the trailer for £120. The accessories for £33. On a sale. And gravestone for £90. Just a touch more than ft by 30. But for me it's worth it. And 205 for the other cars.
Well, I got some good and some bad stuff from them, and though I don't own Kup (I have the FT version already) that release made me a bit hesistant to get future XTB figures (though I have a Springer preorder for ages now). Now that they really seem to try and improve Kup, plus the many reveals the got now, I'm pretty hyped up again. I'm in for most of those figures now.
Sometimes it's best to turn your brain off and enjoy the show.
Im all for XTB going all over the place! Especially as i was getting jack it seems in the last 24 months.
Finally getting some ‘unloved’ bots. Hope they sell well, ill buy all Season 4 bots if they go hard in that direction and ‘lessor’ bots from previous seasons.
Obviously XTB's train of thought is "obscurity." They've just announced every obscure character that fans have said they want. Kind of smart since now XTB is the only name in the game unlike offering another Seeker or Prime.
As far as KFCs new cassettes, well it makes sense because their Blaster is KFC branded and pretty well regarded. KFC also just announced a bunch of new Junkions.... for reasons. But Crashhog is still the ONLY MP style Wreck-Gar and still well regarded.
I will say that XTBs Perceptor looks significantly nicer than Fanstoys Tesla 2.0. I think that the XTBs build quality will be worse, but IMO their sculpt and paint makes Fanstoys look a little rough. They are also selling for half of Fanstoys price which is sure to get at least a few people to cancel FT pre-orders.
XTB is screwing with Fanstoys the way Fanstoys traditionally screws with other 3P companies.
Thought you were wearing a fur coat for a minute there, Bobby!
I just wanted to comment on their releases. I don't think it's really all over the place I think they've been listening to the fandom and are going after all the holes in the masterpiece collection. No one has released masterpiece protectabots. No one has released masterpiece omnibots. No one has released masterpiece counterpunch and the other dude. Their galvatron is something they've already tooled for the most part and just never put it out, and so they're seeing that the fan toys one came out quite some time ago fans have amnesia and they just seeing maybe it's the best time for us to put ours out since we already had it toolled and made and planned on it. So as I look at it it just seems that they're they're seeking to fill holes and answer the call from the fandom of what's missing in a third party masterpiece or any masterpiece collection.
The new cassette bots are probably kfc because blaster is kfc, so people know that they match.
Bro we needed this episode. We can always rely on you to handle the high end issues that need to be discussed. Well done as usual. XTB been killing it with the announcements.
You think fans obsessed with fidelity to a forty year old cartoon have a short memory? 🤨
I don't see how XTB approach is seen as "messy". For one, they're not launching a line like say Hasbro were you would expect to see certain figures. Two, their approach is what many collectors have been wanting based on what I've read on many comments sections. Everyone's tired of the same tf characters or redoes I'm glad XTB is making those figures other companies passed on. Finally, I'm glad they were first to strike instead of catching up. Now it puts pressure on the other companies to do something special and finish some of their projects.
I wish I could tell you just how mistaken this is but I can not. So what I will say is your comment sections that your reading don’t seem to be indicative of the same people who are choosing to spend their money. But I wish xtb the best 🤞🤞
Thanks
It is still curious 🤨 why Bobby doesn’t have just as many subscribers as Emgo , Optibotimus or Jobby… anyway keep entertaining and commenting.
I think the KFC 2.0 tapes retained that name because they’re still trash. Hoping Bobby gets them just for a skit crying in the shower or explaining to Mrs Skullface that he likes them and they’re worth the cost lol lol
Ramhorn and steeljaw are released under KFC cuz their blaster is also under KFC
One more thing that I appreciated is: they have a plan in terms of scheduling. Each reveals has a precise ETA and they cover 2021 and 2022 in full, so that one can make his plans in regard on when he will be asked to pay. I appreciate this.
Great video anyway, I hope that at least perceptor and the omnibots will be homeruns, while I'm not so sure about Defensor. Only time will tell!
Oh Bobby, I think xtransbots is already in second place and has been ever since monolith came out… I have an xtransbots combiner.. The only MMC figure I have is their Arcee, and she is good, really good, but she is also technically under the brand ocular Max… The last combiner they made had balance issues and was too small.. I think Mmc is in third place and have been for a while.