I was thinking of getting this one next and I already have the Masterpiece Sideswipe and Prowl KO versions and I'm very happy with them. I just reviewed Prowl a few days ago and I actually mentioned you in the review. ;) Great review, man and keep up the great work! ^_^
Yeah I heard my name I was like cool lol, you should look into MP10 KO, that is cool because its a KO creation in the sense that it is not a faithful copy. They invented their own box, made mold changes and added paint apps. They broke the mold so to speak with KO manufacturing. Hopefully they do more of that instead of straight up copies. It would be like a nice compromise in a sense.
Yeah, I've seen your review for the KO MP-10 and honestly, I think the KO looks better than the original! I have it on my radar to buy in the future and had I not picked up the Year of the Horse Optimus, I probably already would've. (For some reason, that YOTH version is pretty cool. haha!) If I get a original colours MP Optimus, I will be getting the KO. I like it that much more. ;)
Cool review! After seeing this, I am now going to go out & buy myself 1. I was holding off on buying the original because I wasn’t sure if they were going to release a KO of Alert. So thank you! Oh! By the way, all those different bits are pile drivers that Sideswipe had throughout the series. In the plot, Swipe’s drivers were flat, but got triangular as time went on. So that is where that comes from!
The molds are almost identical...the parts that arent are where the injections that create the flash are. Its hard to explain. Some really teeny details are not identical, basically stuff an average person would never bother to look at. If not the same mold, definitely done off the same specs submitted by Takara to contracted factory
+RocketPunchArmy it's actually the masterpiece figure. Watched your vids and everything seems like its the genuine version. I got it for £50 in the uk. Just like to be 100% that's all. It's so hard to tell, but the Nissan logo seems like the genuine version as pointed out in your vid. Just can't be sure. Thanks for getting back to me.
Great review, although the packaging is copied apparently the figures themselves aren't actually knock offs but factory seconds hence the minor paint issues but generally excellent build quality..,
I've just received my KO MP-12T TIGERTRACK. Although the box is beat up, the contents are fine. btw, the Lamborghini Countach that's printed on the back of the car is spelled correctly, well, at least on my KO MP-12T.
Sheese h... second time I hear that...thats cheap as hell for what you get! I havent picked up Uranos. If I get a promotion at work soon and the increase is significant I can continue getting some more non-priority third party stuff but I am highly prioritizingmy purchases
Got mine on ebay for $39 including shipping, took about a week to ship to the US from China. Here are my observations: It is NOT as good as the video might have suggested. The imperfections include: 1. It doesn't roll very well. Each wheel rolls okay independently, but the car as a whole doesn't roll well. 2. In car mode, the two pieces of the "rear wing" had different texture. One is glossy and the other is matte. Very strange. Also the two pieces won't clip into one another. Obviously the paint made the tabs too big. I used Xacto knife to fix that. 3. During transformation, you will notice a black plastic piece behind his chest assembly is not fitting quite well. It prevents his chest from going all the way to the final position. Again, Xacto comes in handy. 4. In robot mode, at first I couldn't put his should cannon into the hole on the right hand side. Then I realized there was an extra piece of plastic stuck in the hole. Xacto again. Once I cut up the extra piece, the hole is actually a bit too loose for the shoulder cannon. Both sides are the same. 5. The gun fits loosely in the hands. The peg on the gun handle is too small. 6. His knees are on the loose side. He is still able to stand, but don't expect to pose the same way you can with the legit copy. 7. The cardboard box was a dead give away that this is a KO. The cardboard isn't of the same quality, and the edges aren't folded nicely as the legit versions. It seems that these KO versions had casts made from the legit versions, and then were casted off of the illegitimate casts, thus you have these "almost right but just a bit off" pegs everywhere. I have all the MP figures, and this is the only KO I am adding to the mix to complete the "gang." So I think I can overlook the flaws based on the discounted price. If this is only MP toy you are going to own, I'd go for the legit Takara copy. Bc this truly does not represent the quality of the MP line.
Wow, that sucks. Looks like you got a crappy one. I only have this one and I dont have nearly any of those problems. I can say for sure that mine is not made from legit casts, there are many small variaitons that prove this, but maybe yours is from legit casts that were rejected, hence the problems. My Takara one doesnt roll well either so its hard to mark that as a negative for the KO. I will say however that the tampo printing on my KO is superior to my Takara. KOs are hit and miss because there might be several factories making these and some could just be legit rejects lik some of the Tigertracks that were available before the true KO. According to the person who Ive gotten KOs from, he assures me that they are full blown KO and not rejects as far as mine are concerned although some do come from the same companies probably using their own tooling
I agree with Riceboi on most of his issues on a brief glance, At 10:42 you see that RPAs KO had loose legs as well. I think RPA's is the exception. This mold is definitely from a different mold. I think its a mold of a mold.
pleased with KOs unfortunately. Had to come back and watch a couple of these again. Someone on ebay is selling three different of these KOs for 19.99 each shipped....the same guy I bought my 4 different ones back in December...I had a hard time resisting for that 20 bucks to have 2 of some of the ones I have already...one left in the box just to do it (?) I do with many of my originals, so maybe out of habit. And one to play with... for that price, why not.
kool review! i have all three KO versions my originals i keep in car mode and my ko's i keep in robot mode in my display cabinet i think tigertrack came out the best from the kos
Last year, I bought the original Takara Tomy MP-12 LAMBOR, and now I want the Amazon limited pile drivers. Here it's selling for NT$300 (US $10) for a pair, so I opted to buy instead a KO MP-12 that includes the chrome plated pile drivers. I also want the KO MP-14 ALERT, but it's sold out.
I wont judge but if you dont ever plan on paying the price for the regular one then you never meant to buy one so regardless of whether or not you buy a KO one, Takara wont be getting your money. However buying it is putting money in the pocket of the KO people which in turn funds/motivates future KO releases. I collect both the legit and KO so Im not exactly innocent either, I just like comparing and enjoying the fact that these exist.
had to watch again...your awesome. I'm glad to hear about these being decent-good quality. I thinking I'm going to buy like 4 of these KO....after buying two of the Takara Prowls (because I'm big fan) but can't spend the doe on all the others...really want wheeljack...when??. Appreciate the review...obviously will have fun with the KO, having them out playing with them rather than keeping the originals in the box (cause of price). thanks again.
My friend from elementary school now lives in China teaching English and I was asking him about the KO's of the Masterpiece figures and how they are made so well. According to him, once the numbers Takara asks for have been made, the companies that they outsources the real work of manufacturing them keep producing them which they then sell to the "bootlegger's" for more than they were making from selling them to Takara but still low enough to where we can get them for about $40 here in the states.
RowdyRodimus thanks. I do get curious about these things....being so close in quality/detail, I always wonder if there is some connection...small or not. thanks again for the info
I ordered from amazon and it looks like it'll be a whole month before I get to see mine. Shipped from overseas. I've never ordered out of country before.
I only notice the hood symbol not being as bright. this time not one but both hips are a bit loose. so only light and eye liner and wording. I guess its over for Red Alert. I mean I have KO seekers and just cuz they do their part I dont even need originals.
I got a new theory on these knockoffs; I bet Tomy pulled sort of a 'generic-ing' of the figure. Like when, say Frito-lay makes chips to be put under a store-brand at a lower price, to get those people who only buy off-brands. I think Tomy could have some small offshoot company kicking these out.
Are the knee joints loose on yours? I bought a KO on ebay (though the seller had it listed as Takara) and the leg joints are super loose so I can't really pose the legs.
my Tigertrack has loose legs but I dotn pose it crazy. Usually that is an easy fix unless it uses a pin. I would google for ways to fix this, its usually an easy fix.
I've just recently started collecting the Transformers Masterpiece line (not G1), and I'm noticing a huge influx of KO versions them. I'm looking at getting a MP-13 Soundwave (w Condor) from an online store, however I'm afraid its gonna be a KO one:( Is there already a KO version of it in the market? Should I be worried? Somebody please advise!
I got the K.O. version and I think it's great. One exception. 'His' right shoulder won't swivel out-words. (To make a 'T' pose) Any suggestions on how to get it to loses up or something?
Thats what I heard as well and I have the 5 MP KO's and they are great quality. If anyone wants to get the good ones order from bababobo00712 on eBay. I ordered Bluestreak first just to see how good the quality was and have since gotten Prowl, Sideswipe, Red Alert and Smokescreen. I bought them 2 at a time for $65 shipped from him.
I don't know what happened between now and then.The ko that I recieved, has some differences, the chest logo is done better and the back wording is also done better. It's great.
Hi, I've been watching a lot of your vids more specifically the KO vs takara. The main reason being that I've bought a couple of masterpiece figures off eBay that claim to be genuine. This might have been brought up by someone else but, surly the genuine would have the company stamp and date moulded into the plastic but the KO would not. Probably a silly question but wonder if this could be cleared up for me as worried i may have paid for something i haven't got. Thanks a lot.
Chris Duckett The video should really help you spot the fake, the fake has stamps on it also. If you paid less than $40 each on ebay, expect them to be fake unless you got them from a crackhead. Does print on box look a bit contrasty/pixely?
probably bad luck. My KO Takasa RA had pink lights on the top instead of red, his left foot was melted in half and his chest won't tab in. However my Takasa Smokescreen was pretty much perfect. It's a lottery with these KOs.
got my ko today, head gap there is none just push it together, and mine didnt come with power red accessories the seller took them out so just beware of this. A must get for any transformer collector.
I just got my KO and I have to agree with many of the reviews I have seen on youtube. I got this because I wanted a Red Alert without paying full price. I got it for 45 Canadian. The car doesnt roll well, paint apps are meh, there is bubbling all over the back and there are many areas that have bleeding, the siren pops out, the shoulder canon pops out, the gun is loose in the hand and the knee joints are loose. But overall I would say the quality is 7-8/10. I also didnt get the square pile drivers and the triangular ones were from the MP12J. However, for other viewers I would NOT recommend buying one to replace an item you really want.
wow, you got a dud, sorry to hear that. I wouldnt expect a KO to have the same QC as their Takara counterparts, but for the most part, they are very well made. I have only had one dud out of literally several KO MP's and was offered a replacement. In fact some of my KO's have fared better than my Takara's which is when I get angry because if I pay top dollar It darn well better be higher quality. Bottom line, always buy real and if you want a KO, have at it, but never buy it as a replacement. My KO are for messing around with so I dont mess up my Taks
RocketPunchArmy I totally agree, I didnt want red alert initially because I dont like buying the same mold but red alert was a show character so I had average expectations and I wasnt dissapointed for my expectations. But definitely not a replacement for a toy I really want. Do you know anything about the G1 sixshot voyager sized KO? I ordered one for 31 bucks CDN and I have no idea what I am getting. The seller assured me its good quality. Btw I love your reviews.
Because the whole toy is the same as the original. Just the names "Lamborghini and Cauntach" is spelled wrong! Or the Lambo trademark is not as good as the "original". Even if you weight them , they will have the same weight. Maybe a difference of one gram, which is nothing. If these KO's were fakes , they would weight much less. The plastic quality is the same wich means, they came from the same factory. So Takara gives alway these for staff maybe...
I would have to disagree on this one. IMO these are more "replicates" than "rejects." BC the fit and finish is a bit off throughout, from the car mode to the robot mode, from the actual figure to the accessories to even the box. No factory would go thru the effort to put all "rejects" parts together and put into a "reject" packaging and give these out. With that said, this is a KO as it clearly states, albeit a quite good KO. Nothing less, nothing more.
Exactly as riceboi2004 states, they are full blown KO. I dont know the situation for these TF KO, but some KO toy companies are legitimate toy manufacturers who are contracted by lets say, Takara Tomy who provides them with the specs for creating the tooling. They build the tooling to make the toy parts which are later assembled. Those same specs can be also used by the same company to create their own tooling. Small adjustments can be made to create minute almost indiscernable differences. The factory will have access to the same plastics since they are the manufacturer but may tint it different. This way they dont use the real Takara commisioned tooling to make KOs. They take Takara's research and development, make tooling and spit out the same type of toy albeit slightly less careful QC and sell it cheap. Unless Takara has corporate visitors audit the factory, they wont know what goes on at that factory especially if they are using their own tooling. Remember, the factories making these nice KO's are not people with masks in basements, they are full blown toy/product manufacturers who just happen to stay open after hours to make some money on the side. Counterfeiting is a multi billion dollar "business"
Despise KOs. It's fundamentally bad that they try to fool people into buying something it's not. Please don't support this practice by buying this stuff, it just makes the problem worse. There are tonnes of horrible KOs out there.
Here my take on this situation. Most, not all sellers, sell these as KO, not to fool people. However not everyone is nice. These shady characters will try and pass it off as real and then when questioned say they were told it was real etc. Because there is a very small percentage of sellers not listing these as KO, this would mean that the remaining seller's purpose is to offer a copy of something at a lower price just like when you go to chinatown and they always have the back room full of purses. You know its fake, they know its fake so they sell it cheap. Then theres people who try and pass it off as real and charge real prices...hence getting ripped offMy reason for the videos is so that people trying to avoid paying full price for a KO know what to look for. Also for people trying to avoid KO altogether. Lastly, for those interested in buying a KO and wanting to know how it holds up. I dont judge people but I always say it is important to support the orginal company who provides these in the first place. KO will always be around, however the original companies may not be since their investment is huge.My reason for buying KO initially was for the novelty and curiousity and downright mystery behind them. Now that I have my own channel, I can provide information for the viewer to make their own decision. I am not here to judge or to talk about what is morally correct. There is also always the subject of the original company losing money. Yes this is very true.* If person A has $100 in their pocket ready to buy an original and then decides to pay $40 for a KO and pockets the rest, then the company lost money. * If person B has $200 to buy two originals and instead decides to buy one original and one KO and pocket the leftover, the company loses money on one.* if person C has $150 and buys an original, then decides to ALSO buy a KO because it's cheaper, then did the company lose money if his plan was only to ever buy one original?* if person D has $50 and doesn't want to even buy an original because it's out of budget, but decides $40 is within limit of what he will/can spend, did the company lose money if he was never willing/able to pay the prices for original?There are variations to this but in the end, yes, KO hurt any company because it tempts people to buy higher priced items at a lower cost or to be able to display status symbols/own things which would otherwise be difficult/impossible to have.Everyone has their reasons for buying KO or not buying it. EVERY single person out there has to decide not to for it to have effect on the KO market...and that's never going to happen because there are low income countries everywhere that love buying KO. I don't condone it nor will I say don't do it. But we are lucky enough to be able to make that choice for ourselves. So I try and make my videos cater to any category of collector. And yes you are right there are tons of horrible KO out there but this isnt one of them, they are getting damn good at this
RocketPunchArmy The main issue is that when a person buys a KO knowingly or not, and then resells it MISB as original because the packaging is almost identical... You can get a KO while trying to get an original, and the seller may not even know that they have a fake either. It becomes virtually impossible to sort the two out in the post-retail market, which basically has killed any remaining hope I had for acquiring such things on ebay. You usually can't tell for sure it's original until you actually have it in your hands, and then you are stuck for double shipping fees if you want to return it (unless you claim with ebay and they side with you , which is a stressful, time-consuming process). You could quiz the seller about how glossy or crappy the printing is, which way certain packaging lines go, but those are subjective issues and hard to iron out absolutely, or are seen as trivial claims by ebay officials. Putting KOs into virtually identical packaging is shameless. I've also inadvertently gotten bad fakes put back into previously opened genuine packaging. It is just a bunch of amoral activity that makes it hard to obtain legit releases post-retail. The whole thing is annoying and should stop but obviously won't because people are sketchbags.
Thanks man great good review! I just want to make a statement. So is this figure is so close in quality as the Takara units. Wow! We are basically dumb asses by paying double the price just because it says Takara in the box. I mean is retarded to pay such a premium because there is no real quality difference between them. I just got the MP-10 Optimus Prime KO - it is better than any "original" release in every way and way cheaper. I insist that people look at everything so backwards trying to defend companies that own the rights so they can rip us all off with in may cases really shitty products we are obliged to buy because is morally righteous??! Are you kidding me ?? (Not asking you Charles - I am just telling the world) I will buy the best product base on quality and will pay the premium only if deserved. It is not righteous the lack of competition base on the licensing of the product. These companies like Takara Tommy etc just take advantage of a situation they created to monopolize the market with junk at high prices. The KOs just show us how much money are making off you and me - I mean they KO cos. sell these at $35 and still make money can you imagine the profit for Takara? Holly mother!... 100 plus percent profit great deal. For them. Knock Off is good business for the people !! We must admit without Ko companies I can't imagine the quality we could be getting from Takara. They need to get their act together. Peace
Jav Xor I dont necessarily want to defend anyone, but I can understand where the extra money goes with Takara products. You have to factor in paying the engineers, R&D, tooling, prototyping, CAD design, test shots, Auto Manufacturer licensing (which isnt cheap) graphic design etc etc. The reason KO are so cheap is because they skip all that. They just copy it, skip over all the hard work and sell at half the price (and they are making a killing at half price) In the end it could potentially hurt Takara if people flat out stop buying original. Takara would have to mark up cost to keep profitable with less units being sold. Then eventually that would hurt the KO business because there is less to KO. Its quite a delicate balance really but if you set all that aside, its hard to argue against paying less for something thats just as good or in some cases better. Thanks for your input on the subject and thanks for watching
Thanks for the response! Looking forward to TT KO review
I was thinking of getting this one next and I already have
the Masterpiece Sideswipe and Prowl KO versions and I'm
very happy with them. I just reviewed Prowl a few days ago
and I actually mentioned you in the review. ;)
Great review, man and keep up the great work! ^_^
Yeah I heard my name I was like cool lol, you should look into MP10 KO, that is cool because its a KO creation in the sense that it is not a faithful copy. They invented their own box, made mold changes and added paint apps. They broke the mold so to speak with KO manufacturing. Hopefully they do more of that instead of straight up copies. It would be like a nice compromise in a sense.
Yeah, I've seen your review for the KO MP-10 and honestly, I think the KO looks better than the original! I have it on my radar to buy in the future and had I not picked up the Year of the Horse Optimus, I probably already would've. (For some reason, that YOTH version is pretty cool. haha!) If I get a original colours MP Optimus, I will be getting the KO. I like it that much more. ;)
I heard that too, just recently started seeing pics of prototype MP-10 Optimus parts
These are really useful videos! Always use them when I buy/trade a figure just to make sure no one has pulled a fast one on me :)
Star to Star Toys I'm glad I could help out!
Very helpful comparison video. Appreciate it
Cool review! After seeing this, I am now going to go out & buy myself 1. I was holding off on buying the original because I wasn’t sure if they were going to release a KO of Alert. So thank you! Oh! By the way, all those different bits are pile drivers that Sideswipe had throughout the series. In the plot, Swipe’s drivers were flat, but got triangular as time went on. So that is where that comes from!
Thanks, glad you like em
The difference between KO & Original is a very tiny detail !!!
2 are very well, but the price is better for KO, with it more the bonus arms.
It does look like it but its def the same size, good eye
The black outline thing on the FD is called "Trapping"
I hope that if they do a KO soundwave, he comes with all 6 cassettes!
The molds are almost identical...the parts that arent are where the injections that create the flash are. Its hard to explain. Some really teeny details are not identical, basically stuff an average person would never bother to look at. If not the same mold, definitely done off the same specs submitted by Takara to contracted factory
I ordered a ko of this, looking forward to it now having seen this review
You should be happy, you wont get a better Transformer for the price really if you got it cheap
this is nice...very nice review...i heard that there will be soundwave KO....
You should let us know what you think of them
Cool review. . I always enjoy your videos
+RocketPunchArmy it's actually the masterpiece figure. Watched your vids and everything seems like its the genuine version. I got it for £50 in the uk. Just like to be 100% that's all. It's so hard to tell, but the Nissan logo seems like the genuine version as pointed out in your vid. Just can't be sure. Thanks for getting back to me.
Chris Duckett Glad I could help!
When a ko has things better paint apps than the more expensive legit one makes me sad
Thanks for the review. Saw them 66$ for both figures . Did you pick up tfc uranos?
Like you said!, no brainer!. I was going to pass on the Red Alert, just wanted Sideswipe. But now i'm getting Red Alert!...Great Review! keept it up!
Great review, although the packaging is copied apparently the figures themselves aren't actually knock offs but factory seconds hence the minor paint issues but generally excellent build quality..,
Coming up soon, first TT got lost in transit, second is delayed :(
I've just received my KO MP-12T TIGERTRACK. Although the box is beat up, the contents are fine. btw, the Lamborghini Countach that's printed on the back of the car is spelled correctly, well, at least on my KO MP-12T.
hell yeah man I will get that freaking KO man thanks for that man and very cool review remember me the KO's from macros are very good KO's
OK you talked me into it, bought them both!
Sheese
h... second time I hear that...thats cheap as hell for what you get! I havent picked up Uranos. If I get a promotion at work soon and the increase is significant I can continue getting some more non-priority third party stuff but I am highly prioritizingmy purchases
Got mine on ebay for $39 including shipping, took about a week to ship to the US from China.
Here are my observations: It is NOT as good as the video might have suggested.
The imperfections include:
1. It doesn't roll very well. Each wheel rolls okay independently, but the car as a whole doesn't roll well.
2. In car mode, the two pieces of the "rear wing" had different texture. One is glossy and the other is matte. Very strange. Also the two pieces won't clip into one another. Obviously the paint made the tabs too big. I used Xacto knife to fix that.
3. During transformation, you will notice a black plastic piece behind his chest assembly is not fitting quite well. It prevents his chest from going all the way to the final position. Again, Xacto comes in handy.
4. In robot mode, at first I couldn't put his should cannon into the hole on the right hand side. Then I realized there was an extra piece of plastic stuck in the hole. Xacto again. Once I cut up the extra piece, the hole is actually a bit too loose for the shoulder cannon. Both sides are the same.
5. The gun fits loosely in the hands. The peg on the gun handle is too small.
6. His knees are on the loose side. He is still able to stand, but don't expect to pose the same way you can with the legit copy.
7. The cardboard box was a dead give away that this is a KO. The cardboard isn't of the same quality, and the edges aren't folded nicely as the legit versions.
It seems that these KO versions had casts made from the legit versions, and then were casted off of the illegitimate casts, thus you have these "almost right but just a bit off" pegs everywhere.
I have all the MP figures, and this is the only KO I am adding to the mix to complete the "gang." So I think I can overlook the flaws based on the discounted price. If this is only MP toy you are going to own, I'd go for the legit Takara copy. Bc this truly does not represent the quality of the MP line.
Wow, that sucks. Looks like you got a crappy one. I only have this one and I dont have nearly any of those problems. I can say for sure that mine is not made from legit casts, there are many small variaitons that prove this, but maybe yours is from legit casts that were rejected, hence the problems. My Takara one doesnt roll well either so its hard to mark that as a negative for the KO. I will say however that the tampo printing on my KO is superior to my Takara.
KOs are hit and miss because there might be several factories making these and some could just be legit rejects lik some of the Tigertracks that were available before the true KO.
According to the person who Ive gotten KOs from, he assures me that they are full blown KO and not rejects as far as mine are concerned although some do come from the same companies probably using their own tooling
I agree with Riceboi on most of his issues on a brief glance, At 10:42 you see that RPAs KO had loose legs as well. I think RPA's is the exception. This mold is definitely from a different mold. I think its a mold of a mold.
Same here, my box was beat up but car is fine. The Tigertrack seems to be the only one with correct spelling.
Nice
pleased with KOs unfortunately. Had to come back and watch a couple of these again. Someone on ebay is selling three different of these KOs for 19.99 each shipped....the same guy I bought my 4 different ones back in December...I had a hard time resisting for that 20 bucks to have 2 of some of the ones I have already...one left in the box just to do it (?) I do with many of my originals, so maybe out of habit. And one to play with... for that price, why not.
miragexl007 why not is right!
kool review! i have all three KO versions my originals i keep in car mode and my ko's i keep in robot mode in my display cabinet i think tigertrack came out the best from the kos
Last year, I bought the original Takara Tomy MP-12 LAMBOR, and now I want the Amazon limited pile drivers. Here it's selling for NT$300 (US $10) for a pair, so I opted to buy instead a KO MP-12 that includes the chrome plated pile drivers. I also want the KO MP-14 ALERT, but it's sold out.
I wont judge but if you dont ever plan on paying the price for the regular one then you never meant to buy one so regardless of whether or not you buy a KO one, Takara wont be getting your money. However buying it is putting money in the pocket of the KO people which in turn funds/motivates future KO releases. I collect both the legit and KO so Im not exactly innocent either, I just like comparing and enjoying the fact that these exist.
had to watch again...your awesome. I'm glad to hear about these being decent-good quality. I thinking I'm going to buy like 4 of these KO....after buying two of the Takara Prowls (because I'm big fan) but can't spend the doe on all the others...really want wheeljack...when??. Appreciate the review...obviously will have fun with the KO, having them out playing with them rather than keeping the originals in the box (cause of price). thanks again.
miragexl007 Understandable, you will enjoy these very much. Wheeljack is slated for this month but I think Jan/Feb, stay tuned for that review
My friend from elementary school now lives in China teaching English and I was asking him about the KO's of the Masterpiece figures and how they are made so well. According to him, once the numbers Takara asks for have been made, the companies that they outsources the real work of manufacturing them keep producing them which they then sell to the "bootlegger's" for more than they were making from selling them to Takara but still low enough to where we can get them for about $40 here in the states.
RowdyRodimus
thanks. I do get curious about these things....being so close in quality/detail, I always wonder if there is some connection...small or not. thanks again for the info
Any video review coming on ko mp12t Tigertracks? Is the ko wirth getting?
Is the Tigertrack really a KO? or factory "reject"?
Thanks for this very informative video. I ordered it online after watching your video. It's selling here for NT$799 (US$27).
Aaah i remember these many years ago my 1st experience of a KO was a mp tigertracks . What a load of crap it was
Just look to everyones favorite auction site
thanks god for these great quality ko's a whole lot cheaper and in my opinion better quality than the original
where are you guys ordering these from. I want a KO version. please post link to the website? PLZz
Well the reviews seem good, so why not. I just ordered Sideswipe :)
I ordered from amazon and it looks like it'll be a whole month before I get to see mine. Shipped from overseas. I've never ordered out of country before.
It takes about 12 to 15 day to delivery. They also have too do insection and all that!
I only notice the hood symbol not being as bright. this time not one but both hips are a bit loose. so only light and eye liner and wording. I guess its over for Red Alert. I mean I have KO seekers and just cuz they do their part I dont even need originals.
Thanks, enjoy your red alert!
Coming across this late, but thanks for the review. Where are getting your ko's from?
castrobabble I get all my KO from TF-Direct.com, use code rpa5 for $5 off on order total, thanks for watching!
I got a new theory on these knockoffs; I bet Tomy pulled sort of a 'generic-ing' of the figure. Like when, say Frito-lay makes chips to be put under a store-brand at a lower price, to get those people who only buy off-brands. I think Tomy could have some small offshoot company kicking these out.
I went back to the ebay site and I was incorrect about the price. Mp12+14 price is 61.80$ and18$ shipping.
Very good quality by the KO, it is not justified to pay a high price for such a difference so minimal ...
BTW, where are they $66?
Are the knee joints loose on yours? I bought a KO on ebay (though the seller had it listed as Takara) and the leg joints are super loose so I can't really pose the legs.
my Tigertrack has loose legs but I dotn pose it crazy. Usually that is an easy fix unless it uses a pin. I would google for ways to fix this, its usually an easy fix.
I've just recently started collecting the Transformers Masterpiece line (not G1), and I'm noticing a huge influx of KO versions them.
I'm looking at getting a MP-13 Soundwave (w Condor) from an online store, however I'm afraid its gonna be a KO one:(
Is there already a KO version of it in the market? Should I be worried?
Somebody please advise!
+Junde Edwin Neo
So far as I know, there is no KO for the MP-13 yet.
just waiting for the prowl bluestreak and smokescreen ko's to come out for half the price!
I got the K.O. version and I think it's great. One exception. 'His' right shoulder won't swivel out-words. (To make a 'T' pose)
Any suggestions on how to get it to loses up or something?
I just found out that these "KO`s" aren`t fakes! They are the exactly same toys, but rejected by Takara because quality factory condition!
Where did you find that out?
Definitely from a different mold.
Thats what I heard as well and I have the 5 MP KO's and they are great quality. If anyone wants to get the good ones order from bababobo00712 on eBay. I ordered Bluestreak first just to see how good the quality was and have since gotten Prowl, Sideswipe, Red Alert and Smokescreen. I bought them 2 at a time for $65 shipped from him.
I don't know what happened between now and then.The ko that I recieved, has some differences, the chest logo is done better and the back wording is also done better. It's great.
+cbrut79 The factory is probably not as rushed, or process has been improved
Hi, I've been watching a lot of your vids more specifically the KO vs takara. The main reason being that I've bought a couple of masterpiece figures off eBay that claim to be genuine. This might have been brought up by someone else but, surly the genuine would have the company stamp and date moulded into the plastic but the KO would not. Probably a silly question but wonder if this could be cleared up for me as worried i may have paid for something i haven't got. Thanks a lot.
Chris Duckett The video should really help you spot the fake, the fake has stamps on it also. If you paid less than $40 each on ebay, expect them to be fake unless you got them from a crackhead. Does print on box look a bit contrasty/pixely?
No original booox?.... jeeez & u still make the vid daaaang!
yeah the KO MP-12 will have the correct name. So far only MP-12 and 14 are wrong
Should I buy this? I really don't want to spend like £100 on the Takara version.
I paid $50 for mine, and sanded the extra plastic on the head. I cannot complain for the price I paid.
probably bad luck. My KO Takasa RA had pink lights on the top instead of red, his left foot was melted in half and his chest won't tab in. However my Takasa Smokescreen was pretty much perfect. It's a lottery with these KOs.
will be doing upscale Grimlock MP review soon
got my ko today, head gap there is none just push it together, and mine didnt come with power red accessories the seller took them out so just beware of this. A must get for any transformer collector.
Razorclaw Predaking From my sources, the cannons are actually gifts and not guaranteed to be included with the set, where did you order yours?
How do you know the KO isn't just an inferior quality real product?
oh ok, still good price
the chest on the k.o lookssightly longer makin his chest lower than the one on takara might be my eyes tho lol
The KO is selling for $35.56 shipped from China on eBay. I wanna get it but I'd feel guilty deep deep inside xD
Is it just me, or is there something about the Lambo Countach that makes me jizz my pants?
SLG Lambos tend to do that
I just ordered the KO version. lol
have you managed to close the gap on the head?
tohneyteoh I havent even bothered with it to be honest. I just keep it on display. It seems to be staying for now
I just got my KO and I have to agree with many of the reviews I have seen on youtube. I got this because I wanted a Red Alert without paying full price. I got it for 45 Canadian. The car doesnt roll well, paint apps are meh, there is bubbling all over the back and there are many areas that have bleeding, the siren pops out, the shoulder canon pops out, the gun is loose in the hand and the knee joints are loose. But overall I would say the quality is 7-8/10. I also didnt get the square pile drivers and the triangular ones were from the MP12J. However, for other viewers I would NOT recommend buying one to replace an item you really want.
wow, you got a dud, sorry to hear that. I wouldnt expect a KO to have the same QC as their Takara counterparts, but for the most part, they are very well made. I have only had one dud out of literally several KO MP's and was offered a replacement. In fact some of my KO's have fared better than my Takara's which is when I get angry because if I pay top dollar It darn well better be higher quality. Bottom line, always buy real and if you want a KO, have at it, but never buy it as a replacement. My KO are for messing around with so I dont mess up my Taks
RocketPunchArmy I totally agree, I didnt want red alert initially because I dont like buying the same mold but red alert was a show character so I had average expectations and I wasnt dissapointed for my expectations. But definitely not a replacement for a toy I really want. Do you know anything about the G1 sixshot voyager sized KO? I ordered one for 31 bucks CDN and I have no idea what I am getting. The seller assured me its good quality. Btw I love your reviews.
Satan's Bible? haha that a bit harsh but it all depends on who you talk to.
Because the whole toy is the same as the original. Just the names "Lamborghini and Cauntach" is spelled wrong! Or the Lambo trademark is not as good as the "original". Even if you weight them , they will have the same weight. Maybe a difference of one gram, which is nothing. If these KO's were fakes , they would weight much less. The plastic quality is the same wich means, they came from the same factory. So Takara gives alway these for staff maybe...
I would have to disagree on this one. IMO these are more "replicates" than "rejects." BC the fit and finish is a bit off throughout, from the car mode to the robot mode, from the actual figure to the accessories to even the box. No factory would go thru the effort to put all "rejects" parts together and put into a "reject" packaging and give these out. With that said, this is a KO as it clearly states, albeit a quite good KO. Nothing less, nothing more.
Exactly as riceboi2004 states, they are full blown KO. I dont know the situation for these TF KO, but some KO toy companies are legitimate toy manufacturers who are contracted by lets say, Takara Tomy who provides them with the specs for creating the tooling. They build the tooling to make the toy parts which are later assembled. Those same specs can be also used by the same company to create their own tooling. Small adjustments can be made to create minute almost indiscernable differences. The factory will have access to the same plastics since they are the manufacturer but may tint it different. This way they dont use the real Takara commisioned tooling to make KOs. They take Takara's research and development, make tooling and spit out the same type of toy albeit slightly less careful QC and sell it cheap. Unless Takara has corporate visitors audit the factory, they wont know what goes on at that factory especially if they are using their own tooling. Remember, the factories making these nice KO's are not people with masks in basements, they are full blown toy/product manufacturers who just happen to stay open after hours to make some money on the side. Counterfeiting is a multi billion dollar "business"
tfdirect... takes a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time to ship!!!!!
Jimmy Yuhas Have you communicated with them as to why? They are usually on the ball with their orders.
Great review. Though I hate the fact that there are KO Masterpieces. It's like carrying around Satan's bible.
Despise KOs. It's fundamentally bad that they try to fool people into buying something it's not. Please don't support this practice by buying this stuff, it just makes the problem worse. There are tonnes of horrible KOs out there.
Here my take on this situation. Most, not all sellers, sell these as KO, not to fool people. However not everyone is nice. These shady characters will try and pass it off as real and then when questioned say they were told it was real etc. Because there is a very small percentage of sellers not listing these as KO, this would mean that the remaining seller's purpose is to offer a copy of something at a lower price just like when you go to chinatown and they always have the back room full of purses. You know its fake, they know its fake so they sell it cheap. Then theres people who try and pass it off as real and charge real prices...hence getting ripped offMy reason for the videos is so that people trying to avoid paying full price for a KO know what to look for. Also for people trying to avoid KO altogether. Lastly, for those interested in buying a KO and wanting to know how it holds up. I dont judge people but I always say it is important to support the orginal company who provides these in the first place. KO will always be around, however the original companies may not be since their investment is huge.My reason for buying KO initially was for the novelty and curiousity and downright mystery behind them. Now that I have my own channel, I can provide information for the viewer to make their own decision. I am not here to judge or to talk about what is morally correct. There is also always the subject of the original company losing money. Yes this is very true.* If person A has $100 in their pocket ready to buy an original and then decides to pay $40 for a KO and pockets the rest, then the company lost money. * If person B has $200 to buy two originals and instead decides to buy one original and one KO and pocket the leftover, the company loses money on one.* if person C has $150 and buys an original, then decides to ALSO buy a KO because it's cheaper, then did the company lose money if his plan was only to ever buy one original?* if person D has $50 and doesn't want to even buy an original because it's out of budget, but decides $40 is within limit of what he will/can spend, did the company lose money if he was never willing/able to pay the prices for original?There are variations to this but in the end, yes, KO hurt any company because it tempts people to buy higher priced items at a lower cost or to be able to display status symbols/own things which would otherwise be difficult/impossible to have.Everyone has their reasons for buying KO or not buying it. EVERY single person out there has to decide not to for it to have effect on the KO market...and that's never going to happen because there are low income countries everywhere that love buying KO. I don't condone it nor will I say don't do it. But we are lucky enough to be able to make that choice for ourselves. So I try and make my videos cater to any category of collector. And yes you are right there are tons of horrible KO out there but this isnt one of them, they are getting damn good at this
RocketPunchArmy The main issue is that when a person buys a KO knowingly or not, and then resells it MISB as original because the packaging is almost identical... You can get a KO while trying to get an original, and the seller may not even know that they have a fake either. It becomes virtually impossible to sort the two out in the post-retail market, which basically has killed any remaining hope I had for acquiring such things on ebay. You usually can't tell for sure it's original until you actually have it in your hands, and then you are stuck for double shipping fees if you want to return it (unless you claim with ebay and they side with you , which is a stressful, time-consuming process). You could quiz the seller about how glossy or crappy the printing is, which way certain packaging lines go, but those are subjective issues and hard to iron out absolutely, or are seen as trivial claims by ebay officials. Putting KOs into virtually identical packaging is shameless. I've also inadvertently gotten bad fakes put back into previously opened genuine packaging. It is just a bunch of amoral activity that makes it hard to obtain legit releases post-retail. The whole thing is annoying and should stop but obviously won't because people are sketchbags.
Thanks man great good review!
I just want to make a statement.
So is this figure is so close in quality as the Takara units. Wow! We are basically dumb asses by paying double the price just because it says Takara in the box. I mean is retarded to pay such a premium because there is no real quality difference between them.
I just got the MP-10 Optimus Prime KO - it is better than any "original" release in every way and way cheaper.
I insist that people look at everything so backwards trying to defend companies that own the rights so they can rip us all off with in may cases really shitty products we are obliged to buy because is morally righteous??! Are you kidding me ?? (Not asking you Charles - I am just telling the world)
I will buy the best product base on quality and will pay the premium only if deserved. It is not righteous the lack of competition base on the licensing of the product. These companies like Takara Tommy etc just take advantage of a situation they created to monopolize the market with junk at high prices.
The KOs just show us how much money are making off you and me - I mean they KO cos. sell these at $35 and still make money can you imagine the profit for Takara? Holly mother!... 100 plus percent profit great deal. For them.
Knock Off is good business for the people !! We must admit without Ko companies I can't imagine the quality we could be getting from Takara. They need to get their act together.
Peace
Jav Xor I dont necessarily want to defend anyone, but I can understand where the extra money goes with Takara products. You have to factor in paying the engineers, R&D, tooling, prototyping, CAD design, test shots, Auto Manufacturer licensing (which isnt cheap) graphic design etc etc. The reason KO are so cheap is because they skip all that. They just copy it, skip over all the hard work and sell at half the price (and they are making a killing at half price) In the end it could potentially hurt Takara if people flat out stop buying original. Takara would have to mark up cost to keep profitable with less units being sold. Then eventually that would hurt the KO business because there is less to KO. Its quite a delicate balance really but if you set all that aside, its hard to argue against paying less for something thats just as good or in some cases better. Thanks for your input on the subject and thanks for watching
Mediocres buying 💩💩!