KO ACOUSTIC WAVE RP-46 AND QUIETUS MH-01B COMPARED TO ORIGINALS AND DISCUSSION

[@Scro10m]

You’re 100% incorrect about how Fanstoys prices their figures: 1. FT Has to pay their design team and engineers as well as box artists. 2. A huge part of their process which is consistently overlooked is their QC department which is vital to their quality of product and in turn, their reputation. 3. These KO companies are able to sell their product at a lower price because because examples 1&2 are NOT a part of their process.

[@thisistruxtc]

Finally, an honest assessment of 3P business. I’m tired I’m hearing people ask ridiculous questions like “why can’t so and so charge what KO companies charge”.

[@GibDozer1]

Wait, I thought these KOs were the result of Fanstoys not doing #1 on your list.

[@tydiriumhanger1320]

Good points here but why does Fanstoys charge more for a reissue than the original when the most expensive parts are already covered? No tooling, designer, R&D for a reissue but they have been upping the price each time

[@Scro10m]

@@tydiriumhanger1320 FT was in huge demand in recent years, they most likely had to increase their staff and production numbers, also I’d imagine QC checking all 100+ moving parts on an MP takes time. Most high end product assembly plants have entire QC departments, I know for a fact other companies like XTB have a smaller less effective QC department and/or processes than FT, based on track records. Which to most FT collectors warrants the higher price. At the plant I work at, we have departments that do QC checks on only a certain percentage of the entire inventory. So depending on the value of the product, certain items had 10% of their entire inventory checked and other had higher percentages. This takes up production hours.

[@GibDozer1]

@@Scro10m Why would it take up "production hours" if you have an entire department that does QC? Are you saying people stop assembling to run over and do QC? Remember years ago the video of them smashing Quake waves? They aren't stopping production to run QC tests. If that's how they do it where you work, you might wanna update your resume. Sucessful manufacturing doesn't work that way. You make a bunch of product then throw out the ones that don't meet your quality standards after the fact.

[@GibDozer1]

I bought the Cyclonus KO. I wouldn't mind getting Sovereign again if they KO that. Most of these characters aren't worth the $ of a Fanstoys release to me. Cyclonus was just over 100$ and that's about my max for an MP of him. No interest in the other 2 KOs they've released. I don't like the hyper toon aesthetic of Soundwave and the tapes sure wouldn't replace MMC on my shelf. Astrotrain I don't care enough about him to do MP. I'm glad Fanstoys is getting KOed. Happy more fans will get their hands on toys they want. I have official, 3P, and KO in my collection. I do not distinguish between 3P and KO. Theft is theft and I happily endorse it all, they're all just toys to me. If it puts good ones in the hands of people like me great. I care more about the interests of my fellow enthusiasts than any corporations profits.

[@tydiriumhanger1320]

I would love a Sovereign 1st version and yes 3P and KO operate in that grey area

[@josephmonroy3865]

I've always been on the fence when it came to KOs. When I first started, I purchased almost all the KO takara car-bots. They were super inexpensive. Years later, I've been swapping out to non KO, where available. Anyway, these are excellent for people who want the FTs look and experience. Plus this may ultimately affect the pricing and reissues in favor of the collector.

[@tydiriumhanger1320]

Yes I do hope these keep Fanstoys price in check and we go back to the good ole days of pricing

[@rip2779]

I think if you able to afford buying fans toys I don't think many of those buyers would switch to buying the ko version instead. For me the ko version is nice for people who can't really afford to buy fans toys. I'm sticking with the official and its nice that these ko's coming are making fans toys re-issue older figures, I missed out on acoustic wave first run so I've got him pre ordered for the 2nd run now 👌

[@AirTechReviews]

Yeah I agree. I only want the KO Acoustic wave because I collect soundwaves so I kinda want to get it and paint the whites silver. As nice as it is to have a cheaper option for Fans toys, I'm personally sticking to official

[@rdsaplala]

Same here, I managed to get the FT Quietus reissue without costing an arm and a leg, all thanks to these KOs. Before the KOs, the scalpers here charge almost 700 dollars for an MISB Quietus but now that it is reissued at retail price, I could almost hear the oh so sweet sweet cries of those same scalpers LOL.

[@QuanPham-uq7ml]

Fans toys is over rated

[@tydiriumhanger1320]

That is another bypruduct of these KOs with Fanstoys reissuing figures that would have taken them years to put back out

[@saysoun752]

@@QuanPham-uq7ml To me, they're the Ferrari of Transformers as they're expensive but, they're really nice once you get them. I have 8 official Fans Toys Transformers and other than maybe Kup, I'm very happy with my purchases.

[@rickytoddbotelho9555]

Ko's nowadays are fantastic⚡

[@tydiriumhanger1320]

Yep I would be happy with these and super happy to get an armada for Cy-Clown_us

[@paulsantos914]

I got Quietus KO last December. I must say i am deeply impressed with its aesthetics...Just waiting for my Acoutic Wave KO soon.

[@hakescrew646]

They didn't possibly happen to make the KO Acoustic Wave tape door larger, did they? That was my one gripe with RP. Couldn't hold all G1 and TT MP tapes.

[@InfinityCartier]

No, they didn't. The KO comes with 3 tapes though, so that kinda makes up for it, especially for $130.

[@GibDozer1]

Got my Cyclonus KO today. A very impressive KO. Was really surprised by how much die-cast this guy has. Wouldn't have bothered me if it had none, but yeah quite a lot. Joints are toleranced perfectly on my copy. Mine did not have red swords, so whatever version that is. Box has images of Galvatron, Scourge, and Trypticon. Fingers crossed we at least see Galvy and Sweeps at this price.

[@alannixable]

OMG how do you not notice the upside down/backwards back feet on ravage. Easy fix since the screws are right there and it is the feet, just unscrew turn right side up screw back in. Mine were the same.

[@RoaddogRoaddog]

Awesome, if I didn’t have the FT I would definitely pick these up, waayyy cheaper. Prices are coming down for FT, I honestly think it’s just the distributors doing the insane price mark up. TF source is marking stuff down almost to original retail on some of the old releases and Showz, which is awesome, is keeping pricing relatively the same as original US retail pricing from like 4 yrs ago. Great strategy btw from Showz 😁

[@Ansem458]

The acoustic wave is having reports of massive paint chipping and chrome chipping

[@tydiriumhanger1320]

That is why I have been talking about ShowZ so much they have great prices and great service

[@tydiriumhanger1320]

@@Ansem458 There will be some with issues but mine is solid aside from the Lazerbeak. I heard there are pictures that were fabricated to deter KO purchases but that is also hearsay

[@RoaddogRoaddog]

@@tydiriumhanger1320 wish I would have started ordering from them when I first joined ur channel, would have saved a bunch of money 💰

[@saysoun752]

TFSource is terrible as they're so expensive compared to both ShowZstore or BBTS. They're also slow when it comes to getting stuff in and shipping them out.

[@brianpavlina8638]

Oh and of course, thanks for the review Mike.

[@tydiriumhanger1320]

Glad you enjoyed! I have fun comparing KOs

[@SpeckyNation]

His cassette deck scratches them? Damn, I'm going to get the ToyHax stickers then. Originally was going to display with a tape, but not if he ruins them...

[@Okabe009]

Hey do you know if the studio series cassettes are around the same size as the acoustic wave cassettes?

[@lionel9731]

Believe it or not,ft or robot paradise could have sold their designs to other companies to make so called KOs. Lots of third party companies do this so they can maximise their profit.

[@GibDozer1]

I thought the story was Fanstoys stiffed their designers. Who then took the designs to KO. I guess no one will ever know for sure, but if that's the case I'm glad to be supporting the artists over the company. If that's not what really happened I'm still glad to get Cyclonus for 100$. Honestly that's about the max the character was worth to me so anyway I look at it everyone wins. Well, I win at least, so everyone I care about in this scenario wins.

[@tydiriumhanger1320]

That makes sense also and aligns with the theory of Takara selling older designs to KO to get extra $$$$. See there are only KOs of sold out figures

[@DarthVaderdyd]

the die-cast parts on RP-46 are the same of the fans toys version?

[@The_Bulette]

I have the official and KO, and my KO has identical pins, no screws. So def a 2.0 of the KO out there now. ...an sadly the ONLY thing I can tell now is that one has a "slightly" smaller push pin head disc. An I do mean ever so slightly. It's JUST noticeable... sad part is I don't know which is official an which is the KO now, as both are such high quality, lol.

[@reymed1670]

Ko rules told you!

[@tydiriumhanger1320]

Great prices on these

[@carlosgranah]

Does the Acoustic Wave have problems holding his gun? I bought the MP-13 KO and Soundwaves gun slot in his hand his really loose.

[@tmoney9127]

Is the ko cyclonous shorter

[@tommygeorgejr2931]

Good morning everyone

[@RoaddogRoaddog]

Morning

[@tydiriumhanger1320]

Happy Friday!

[@DragoonMS]

Sooo...the Astrotrain "Thomas" KO is still the best of the three that came out? (Cyclonus, Astrotrain, and now Soundwave)

[@tydiriumhanger1320]

Yes He seems to have high quality, and little to no paint chipping.

[@RID01S]

That Astrotrain Ko is the best straight up copy of a figure I’ve ever owned

[@Rangatology]

The originals vs KO debate comes down to a couple of factors for me. 1. Price 2. Availability 3. How badly do I want it based upon the first 2 points. I have the 13” KOs of Optimus & Megatron because of how big the price difference was, & I wanted the 2 leaders to stand out from the others. KOs have come a long way, especially if your like me where you focus more on the display than the transformation. That being said, I do have more Masterpiece (Takara, X-Transbots, ) than KOs (which include 3 x Deformation Space Seekers), but only just. Now, if Fans Toys & everyone else who released reissues did so at a lower price, I would definitely consider getting them. Plus, is it true, the masterpiece companies sell their designs to the KO companies because there’s a good chance the KO is coming ?

[@GibDozer1]

I don't think anyone knows for sure how the designs change hands. The whole business is pretty shady, and we all know that for certain. I'm all for KOs even though the only one even worth KO price to me is Cyclonus. There are only a couple Fanstoys figures I'll buy even at KO prices. Most I've either already got a representation, or the character doesn't matter enough to warrant a 100+$ purchase. If they are selling the designs I think that's good business. If they really cheated their designers and this is fallout, that's hilarious! Either way if it gets fans toys they wouldn't have otherwise had, then it's a Win.

[@BobbyLips]

RP-46 just arrived and I'm more than satisfied. I have a good amount of the FT's figures and I don't think this one fairs any different from the rest, but again I don't have Acoustic Wave to do the comparison. I tightened up the legs on Frenzy and will probably do the same to Sound Waves waist. The left knee on mine doesn't rachet either, but the right one does. The left one isn't floppy but who knows if it will stand the test of time. I have a hard time paying around a hundred bucks for a KO but I guess that depends on what the original one cost. I missed out on FT's release and the cost of their tapes alone is the same price as RP-46 with 3 tapes. If anything, I feel like some karma is involved having to wait for DeadEnd along with the artifical scarcity and huge price increases. In the end missing out on the Takara release, I would have to spend the same amount to get the Takara KO with the KO tapes as I did with RP-46. Factoring in the the total of cost of RP-01 with RP-01B and it was an easy choice. BTW...I have no idea how anyone is confident of buying the real thing if late to the party with a KO in the wild.

[@brianpavlina8638]

I don’t care whether there are KOs of FTs or not. I already have the official FT figs of these characters.

[@tydiriumhanger1320]

True and you have a superior version. These KOs are good and near FT so they may convert those collectors who have been deterred from the super high prices of FT since 2020

[@ryanem49]

Busting out 9 new molds in 2022 isn’t cheap. If they charged KO prices we wouldn’t be getting a release a month

[@tydiriumhanger1320]

True they probably made a decent profit on every figures and deserve that! These KOs will force FT to correct pricing back to pre Pan-overpricing

[@kirbymarchbarcena]

If Robosen was able to do their Optimus Prime, I hope they (or other hi-tech companies) could make a Soundwave or Blaster figure that could really play digital music with their cassettes

[@tydiriumhanger1320]

There is a soundwave that plays mp3s music label version but it does not look very G1

[@kirbymarchbarcena]

@@tydiriumhanger1320 Aawwww!!!

[@jon-580]

IMO the KO company missed the opportunity to replace the gold foil paint with a more toon-accurate yellow paint. The shiny gold is the only problem I have with my official FT/RP Soundwave.

[@punaforager]

Nice comparison. I really appreciate the KO VS Official reviews only because Im curious about KO’S , but I’ve only bought one so far - and I WAS pleased. I think i would pass on this one, however, but future FT KO releases I would possibly consider. Like if they do fortress Maximus!!!!! Lol, not holding my breath.

[@tydiriumhanger1320]

This will be interesting to see what comes next but where is LUPUS KO or official?

[@paperstrawmedia]

Regarding price, you still have to consider that FT shouldered the cost of R&D for the figure. In all honesty, I wouldn't mind the KOs existing, but if it affects the longevity and profitability of the brand they're copying from, then that would either mean it's the end of their FT KOs, or they find some other brand to copy.

[@GibDozer1]

Hasbro nurtured "the brand" for 4 decades, shouldering the cost of keeping the fiction/character relevant. Fanstoys stole it from them, so I'm fine with another company taking their work. Hasbro survived it, Fanstoys is just getting a dose of their own medicine. Imagine if Hasbro had refused to support any retailer that carried 3P. The fandom would be furious, but somehow Fanstoys still has deFANders.

[@paperstrawmedia]

​ @GibDozer1 Nurtured? As in offered overpriced waffles over the course of more than 2 decades now? The only reason why Hasbro is a thing is because people back then don't have an alternative. Even Takara is equally guilty. Do you understand that since 2003, since MP-01... there has only been approximately 24 unique MP molds, with 6 of those being from Beatwars. There are now almost 80 MPs released by Takara with almost the difference being just retools and repaints. Nurtured? WTH are you smoking?

[@RoaddogRoaddog]

Yeah, hasbro is cool but without 3rd party like FT, I would have stopped collecting a long time ago. Much better quality with FT, if not the best out there hands down.

[@GibDozer1]

@@paperstrawmedia Multiple toy lines, cartoons, video games, comics, and live action movies. They did all the heavy lifting to keep the Transformers brand relevant and expand the fan base. To believe anything else is to believe a lie. It wasn't Fanstoys or anyone else that kept the brand alive, that was all Hasbro. You may not like what they did, He11 I don't like a lot of it, that doesn't change the facts. If 3P could stand on it's own Merits they wouldn't look like Hasbros Characters. You didn't buy FT Sovereign because of the engineering, paint, articulation. You bought it because it's Galvatron! If it was an original character you wouldn't have bought it and you know it.

[@paperstrawmedia]

@@GibDozer1 You do understand that these were Diaclone and Micro Change first before reaching the US, right? It already stood on its own... just not in your preferred country. Also, I would have still bought Sovereign just for the quality and build alone. A lot of people in the West bought the Moon Studios Trainbots even though they have no clue who they are, but they look and are built better than what HasTak is offering. The one doing the heavy lifting isn't Hasbro. It's the copium-filled consumers of the franchise who are hoping the next line, next series, next movies won't be as shitty as the last one. They're doing the heavy lifting. I love how you keep on reminding me why I switched away from mainline and into 3P. Thank you for that! Edit: Kinda funny how this devolved into a 3P vs HasTak thing when my initial comment was just about the consequences of having 3P's original engineering designs KOed, citing FT as it is the topic of the video. But some people just can't help themselves. Again, thank you for reminding me why I switched to 3P.

[@aarongrove4744]

As far as soundwave goes you may as well just buy a statue because that thing is not transforming the tolerances are too loose. They must have just taken apart a fanstoys and then scan the parts.. Sound wave was a dumb one to try to copy because its tolerances are so tight.. there's just looks like a mess at the end.

[@tydiriumhanger1320]

I saw Windcharger and his Soundwave transformed but was not as tight in alt mode

[@thugg4lif]

Mike make them KO bandit!

[@tydiriumhanger1320]

That would be cool since he comes with the combiner parts

[@recklessninja4419]

At the end of the day...

[@brianpavlina8638]

Wow. Those red swords are different for Cyclonus. Or should we say blood 🩸 coated swords? Lol

[@tydiriumhanger1320]

That point of view makes them sound cool! The blood of energon from Ultra Magnus

[@THEWATCHERISLOOKING]

I’m not sure I would buy a KO FT. Unless the Quality goes to hell. Takara and Hasbro I never thought they were that great especially after Tracks. With prices today. Just buying plastic with no diecast is not worth past 100 bucks.

[@Superdimensional]

You can literally watch the KO’s flopping all over the place. You: “tHe Ko Is PrEtTy gOoD” 🥴

[@Ansem458]

Seriously, I’ve seen reports of paint being absolutely shit

[@Scro10m]

He’s starting to look like a 🤡

[@tydiriumhanger1320]

The KO is looser than the original and the FT is better but not $100 better. Paint was good on all these aside from Lazerbeak and there have been report that some pics are fabricated

[@Superdimensional]

@@tydiriumhanger1320 lol fabricated 🤣👌

[@GibDozer1]

He says the KOs are not toleranced quite as well overall. I don't see anything flopping around but the tapes. I've seen the Fanstoys tapes pretty floppy in other reviews too. Look like solid enough toys to me, I'm only getting Cyclonus. I'll be perfectly happy if the joints hold as well as his do in the video.