European vs USA figures

[phantomfish]

This might come off as a bit of a rant but thats not the way it is intended.

 It is kind of annoying to see all of these European figures being added to the database when the European figures are essentially no different to the US release of the figures. This dilutes the database as the packaging is exactly the same as the US version (with the minor exception of multi-lingual descriptions) the figure and contents are no different.  I doubt that collectors buy both the European and US versions of figures just to say I own both types of packaging. If the figure is released under a different name or completely different packaging then that is acceptable. If a figure was released in Australia for example it would not be added to the database as an Australian item as well.

I am in the UK and collect figures from all around the world and I just don't feel that the 'European' duplicates should be allowed to be on the database. Surely the easiest option is just to select the US figure and put what you paid for it in £GBP.

This is just my two pennies worth on the subject.

[shmax]

the packaging is exactly the same as the US version (with the minor exception of multi-lingual descriptions)

Well, if they have multi-lingual descriptions, then that's pretty different, isn't it? We're aware that the contents are the same (with the exception of the instruction booklets), which is why we just link the same figures and parts to both types of packaging.

Our goal is for www.shmax.com to be a complete record of Transformers distribution around the world, in all its many variants. I don't understand why you find this annoying; if you own the US version of a toy, then add the US version. If you own the UK version, then add that. What's the problem? Is it that you're trying to "complete" your collection, and feel like the scope of the task is getting away from you? If it makes you feel any better, we calculate collector "rank" by the number of figures you own, not the number of packaging variants.

Surely the easiest option is just to select the US figure and put what you paid for it in £GBP.

How is that easier? Why would you want to pollute your collection data with incorrect information?

Transformers are distributed all over the world, and often, yes, the chief differences in their presentation is generally manifested in the packaging. For example, our Canadian cousins to the north get the same toys in tri-lingual packaging. There are plenty of other Transformers websites out there that don't acknowledge the world outside of the US and Japan, but we have chosen to take a very objective view of the problem, and to faithfully record every type of release we learn of, regardless of how closely it resembles the US release. As far as I know we have the most complete set of this data in the world, and your rant notwithstanding, I think it's what sets us above and apart from all those other sites.

I think your frustration is tied to the collection system--would you still be annoyed by all those European releases in the db if we didn't have the collection system at all?

[tusko]

Hi!
New to this site.  Very cool listing and distribution.  A ton of work has been done here and I appreciate it.

I'm curious:
The bulk of my toys were bought at retail in Canada.
I first checked off the Canadian regional toy lists to be the same as my inventory.
This list was incomplete, however.  So I then repeated the available list for the US releases.
Now there is some duplication in my personal inventory.

So what should I do?  Start adding the Canadian stuff to the Canadian release section of the database.  I'm not sure if its different.

Thank you kindly.

[Tripredacus]

I think I understand what you are essentially trying to say here, and its something I may have noticed myself. However since I've had a hiatus in the hobby for quite a while, I cannot actually prove this since I'm not actively buying foreign release toys yet. This conversation may also be related to my Portugese toy which was "denied" (joking hee hee) an additional listing because it was essentially the same. So let's run this down instead of me just rambling on here.

There are distinct differences out there for sure. G1 Canada had bilingual packages, BW and BM had Tri-Logo packages.

Japan releases US toys in Japan as "USA Edition" which are the exact same as the US toy except it has a sticker on it. In some cases they do not say USA Edition but may have a TRU sticker instead, but it is just a US toy. Then I have my Portugese Wideload that is just a UK Classic Throttlebot with a Portugal sticker on it. But it is just the UK toy.

So the real question is why is there US editions of toys being listed as foreign editions? Are these newer toys exactly the same as the US version or is there a sticker on there? If the box is exactly the same, but the contents of the box are different (even the instruction book) I can see a need for a new entry.

Yes, incomplete idea, i forgot where I was going with this. Maybe you get the idea?

[engledogg]

So what should I do? Start adding the Canadian stuff to the Canadian release section of the database. I'm not sure if its different.

Yes, feel free to add those missing packages.  But, you must also make sure that anything you add is simply not a U.S./Canada shared-toy.  Something like this would be a shared U.S./Canada toy:

http://www.shmax.com/product_details/5948/insecticons

No change in packaging, no change in instructions...it's essentially the U.S. version that was available in most of Canada with no changes.

Something that would qualify for the site, for Canada, anyway, would be something like Tripredacus described above, either bi-, tri-, or multilingual and differing from the U.S. packaging.

MIKE
engledogg

[shmax]

So the real question is why is there US editions of toys being listed as foreign editions?

Unless I'm mistaken, they have Japanese instructions, which in our current model warrants a new entry.

[Tripredacus]

There are differences in the packaging for CA vs UK vs US toys, at least I've found in Animated so far. I'm thinking of making a little guide to help with that, but you'll have to decide whether you want to use it too. Its too bad Fred's page is basically gone nowadays, it was a great reference for these types of things.