[ComicGuy89]

I agree with all your sentiments about Japanese versus American toys, but my reasons may differ slightly.

Articulation and accessories are not as appealing for me. I'm not really good at posing and I often worry about losing accessories. Instead, I want my toys to be durable, solid and most importantly, playable. I'm not so sure I can explain it right. For example, attractive as the SRC Sentai bots are, I still prefer the DX figures because of transformation, ratcheting joints and stability. Limited articulation? I don't mind as there are less joints to worry about wearing out. I also enjoy fancy but non-intrusive electronics and gimmicks. I guess you can say I like my toys to be more...toy-like.

In the past, Transformers has largely fulfilled this role. Excellent engineering with decent production values at killer prices made them very attractive. However in recent times, I have been more often disappointed with Transformers than pleased. Figures with loose joints right out of the package, cheap and brittle plastic and transformations that don't lock in tight, Transformers had become steadily boring, which troubled me greatly.

I used to justify my Transformers purchases by saying that they were cheap, which was true. But when I looked at my filled shelves of figures I barely play with or look at, I start to wonder if it was worth it even if they were cheap. I wanted to buy less, but I wanted more substantial toys. In the end, I realized that Super Sentai DX toys currently fulfill this role. As for Transformers, I'll discriminate more, even at their cheap prices.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shin Densetsu

I think what appeals to us is the engineering and quality involved. For example you mentioned Lego. I very vasually have collected Lego since 06 and something I've noticed is a cponstant push to progress the engineering for better models. For example, Lego is now on its 3rd take on a mini-figure compatible X-Wing and the newest one looks like it could smoke the previous one, and definitely outdoes the original. It's that stride that Lego has, which many manufacturers seem to lack. Megablocks doesn't seem to have the innovation Lego does.

I guess it's important to note that Lego is not American, but Danish and serves a larger international market. As such, they are not quite as reliant on cutting costs, which may be why Lego is so expensive.