Stop. Hate.

More talk to follow.

Where. Here.

to be continued...

Marvelee Avengerses 2 Age of Ultron Titan Hero Tech

Marvelee? Avengerses?  They are not the usual typographical errors you encounter in this blog. It's a way around copyright laws, I guess. Some countries have their own versions of copyright laws and I guess in some country they only cover names but not the design. They can copy a design but not the name, I guess. I guess a lot, don't I? I just don't get why they have to change the "Avengers" to "Avengerses" when they kept using the word "Avengers" all throughout the box. I also find it funny and cute how they "translate" Hasbro in Chinese. Harharhar.

front and back of knock off Titan Hero Tech Hulk Buster box

I forgot to take pictures of the earlier 3 Titan Hero Tech knock offs in their boxes before I gave them away. Knock offs need to be documented as well, as a validation of their existence. I have these two left to be given away later on so I decided to document them.

front and back of knock off Titan Hero Tech Thor box

The three earlier characters came in a box similar to the Hulk Buster box above. The back of Thor's box is different. One thing lacking about clones and knock off's is the consistency. It could be because a number of manufacturers are copying the same products and they each have their own recipe. Since they are copying the same product, they generally look the same but some details vary with each copy.

When one buys knock offs, limitations are to be expected. For one, the recorded sounds are not appropriate for the characters. They are actually from a Transformers movie. For Thor, the hip joint is done away with. The metallic plates on his chest doesn't look metal. Mjolnir also has a different color from the original. 

The Hulk Buster on the other hand is too short. The size of the box is totally misleading. It has the biggest box but it has the shortest figure inside! The steel parts which are supposed to be in silver are in plastic gold.  The hands are in gold instead of red. The punching action from the original is not copied. The sculpt is also different from the back, with some details removed. (I forgot to take a picture of that.)

With those limitations, one has to weigh things if these toys are worth getting. Personal criteria may vary but after some thought, I personally think that they are worth the price and is still a better alternative than the original. The intended kids who will play with this don't understand English very well, so the recorded voices will be alien to them. They don't understand what they are saying. The removal of some features (the hip joint and  the punching action) is okay. I've seen how the kids play with these toys and those features adds little value. We don't buy these toys for their articulation or life-like action, right? Moving parts tend to break easily as well so less moving parts, less breakage. As for the different colors in some details, I honestly didn't realized them until I nitpick. The size of the Hulk Buster is a let down but it still is a big figure that looks like a match for Hulk.

The original Titan Hero Tech Hulk Buster retails for about PhP1200+, while the knock off is just PhP350. That is less than a third of the price. The knock off Thor is even lower at PhP250. Original regular (not Tech series) Titan Hero (comics version) are priced at PhP600+. The sculpt on these knock offs are good enough. Personally, I like the sculpt of the knock off  Hulk better than the original. For the price of these knock offs, I can get the original 2.5-inch figures at their current discounted rate but those small toys can easily be lost by the kids I intended to give them to.  Plus, buying these knock offs feels a lot better especially for someone who has been disappointed by Hasbro a number of times.

comparison with Ken doll

Titan Knock Off

I understand the need for less articulation.

I have two nephews. While one can properly play with brick sets, the younger one (age: 3) tends to "ruin" those and lose some parts. It's a good thing that I didn't spend a fortune on their toys. I know sooner or later the toys will be lost or destroyed.

Instead of toy bricks, I wanted to give them something more durable and big, so it won't easily get lost. The Hasbro's Titan Heroes action dolls seems to satisfy all that but they are priced unreasonably. Good thing, there are knock offs!

They cost about a third or less the of original's price. With that, expect the quality to be lower. I picked the Titan Tech Heroes knock offs because they are based on the movie version. Regular Titan Heroes are based on comics version. The "tech" part refers to the light and sound effects. There is a button on the chest and a pre-recorded sound is played as the chest lights up. The recorded sounds do not match the characters on these knock off dolls, though. They also don't have the hip joints and the hollowed plastic is visible from under the feet. Despite all that the kids loved it.

They loved it more than the 12-inch articulated Spider-Man I gave them. They find it difficult to make Spider-Man stand. When kids simulate a fight scene, they don't pose the dolls in different fighting poses. They try to smash the toys together. The jointed body of Spider-Man leaves him posed like a broken doll, looking like he's defeated. The knock offs, without hip joints, retains their strong stance after the "fight", looking very much like a winner.

So having less articulation has it's benefits especially for kids. The same goes for fashion dolls. How often do our dolls need to do yoga poses? Even with higher articulation, have you seen how many people still pose their dolls like the  model muse bodies with one or both hands on the waist? It's like the articulation is wasted.

Looking Forward

During the every of the year a few years back, I was looking forward to the upcoming doll releases. Once it was the Barbie Basics, then the Fashionistas and so on. This year there are a few dolls I'm looking forward to get but not with much eagerness I used to.

If you noticed, I don't blog about upcoming releases. It's a way to control my desire to get the new dolls. If there is one thing I've learned from collecting dolls, it's to not get too emotional.

There is little logic used in collecting toys. A lot has to do with sentiments and emotions in deciding what to buy or dispose. The way we value dolls does not depend on need nor functionality. Emotionally healthy adults can live without dolls. 

I have been too excited about some toys. It wasn't pretty. It was crass actually! I hunted like crazy for the toy everywhere--every physical toy stores and online. When I can't get the toy, I feel sad and then mad at the people who made it impossible for me to get them. Imagine all that energy wasted just to get a desired toy. And for what, a few hours of enjoyment? After which you find another toy to desire so the cycle continues.

When I started to write this entry, I wanted to discuss how not buying any Barbie Look doll could be my greatest hobby-related accomplishment this year. I realized that there is a bigger accomplishment. It's the certain maturity. It's the realization that whether or not you get the toy you desire, things will be fine.

I still look forward to buying new dolls but I look forward to being okay even if I can't have it. I don't want the emotional baggage of wanting something bad. I look forward to not be emotionally manipulated by ads and promotions. I want this hobby to be stress-free.

----
update:
It's like the recent Ms Universe pageant result. I was fine with Pia not taking home the crown but I 'm okay with her winning. No matter what the outcome, I'll be fine.