Masterpiece Movie Series MPM-15 Brawl

Given the number of Third Party Masterpiece-analogues I own, I have been fairly slow in getting into the official Movie Masterpiece line, largely because they've become so expensive since Barricade, Jazz and VW Bumblebee. Their size and requirement for shelf space has obviously played a role as well, given the limited space now available in my home but, in several cases, I've divested myself of older toys of a specific character to make space, because the Studio Series versions were better representations of the movie CGI, made to a more appropriate size, with vastly improved engineering and articulation.

Brawl, however, was one that I owned the Leader class toy from the original movie's toyline, and had been sufficiently pleased with it that the Voyager class Studio Series toy was surplus to my requirements. However, when the improved oversized KOs came out, I reconsidered and sold the Leader class toy to make space in my collection for a more accurate replacement (or tried to, at least: the courier lost it en route to its new owner, so I had to refund the buyer and then neither of us had the toy!). It was never an urgent purchase, though, particularly while I was only working intermittently as a freelancer, and the more I looked at the SS mold, and its oversized KOs, the more shortcomings I saw. In the end, it wasn't till last year - having started a new job - that I decided to shell out for the Masterpiece instead... and, even then, I only bought it because it had been discounted by about a third of the original UK RRP.

Given the lacklustre presentation of MPM Bonecrusher, my expectations for this figure were somewhat lower than they could have been for a Masterpiece figure. So, let's find out how this compares to the existing Masterpieces in my collection.

Classics/Masterpiece Starscream

Back when I wrote about Takara's MP03 Starscream, a whole fifteen years ago, I said I'd gladly acquire every iteration of this mold if I had the money and the space. While space is still something of an issue (I am in the process of thinning down my collection, but it's a slow process due to real life concerns), I happened to find this guy on eBay for a surprisingly reasonable price... When I later received a discounted offer from the seller, I just had to buy... Especially as I'd been having a rather trying time at home (due to redecoration work) and in the office, while Courtney was away travelling across Europe, and basically needed something cool to cheer me up.

Since MP03 emerged, I have to confess I've had a love/hate relationship with this iteration. Part of me feels the whole G1 colourscheme does the mold a disservice... but part of me thinks the mold transcends the ridiculously bright paint job, resulting in a truer interpretation of G1 Starscream.

So, let's take another look at this now 20-year-old mold, and see how it stands up to scrutiny in the year that is the 40th Anniversary of the original animated movie...

Masterpiece Movie Series MPM-14 Bonecrusher

Considering its humbly-priced and thoroughly impressive beginnings, the Masterpiece line has grown to become - in my opinion - one of the most egregiously overpriced lines in the TransFormers franchise. This is particularly notable in the Masterpiece Movie subline where, at first glance, many of the figures appear to be only small upgrades on the quality of Leader Class toys circa Revenge of the Fallen.

Such was my opinion, at least, when MPM-13 Blackout emerged four years after the excellent Studio Series figure looking similarly underpainted and, in some ways, substantially less accurate, while MPM-4 Optimus Prime, which appeared a full eight years after the Leader class RotF toy, was marred by ill-fitting parts that didn't sit flush until the improved knockoffs appeared some time later. Similarly, having bought Studio Series Bonecrusher, I sold off my original Deluxe class toy, and the prospect of what looked like a sorely underpainted 'Masterpiece' enlargement just didn't appeal.

So, why do I have this now? Well, there are two reasons. First and foremost, MPM-15 Brawl appeared, looking like a substantial improvement on the rather cool Leader class toy from 2007, which got lost by the courier when I tried to sell it on a few years ago, and I was keen to get some form of replacement for him (albeit possibly a KO because, however good it is, it ain't worth £165!), since that had been the only version of movie Brawl I'd bought. This was enough to somewhat rekindle my interest in MPM, generally. Secondly... Game started selling Bonecrusher at half price sometime last year, and still had it in stock when, having started a new full-time job toward the end of January, my first full-month's paycheck arrived in my bank account at the end of February.

So, does slashing the price by half make this a worthwhile purchase? Stick with me, gentle reader, and we'll find out.

Masterpiece On Clearance - AKA Not An Unboxing Post VII

I learned a few years back that Game carry TransFormers toys and then, toward the end of last year, that they'd reduced the price of MPM-14. In fact, they'd cut the price to half their original price, offering him for just £88.

By and large, I feel that the Masterpiece line has been egregiously overpriced for years now, and the reduced price still felt a little steep. I'm certainly not intending to pay full price for MPM Blackout or Brawl (and may in fact pick up a KO of one or the other... or both)... but I got back into gainful employment back in January, and felt the need to treat myself, so I ordered him on a bit of a whim.

I was at work when it was delivered, and Courtney messaged me to say it had arrived... and that it was a big box, but felt surprisingly light. That didn't bode well, but I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised when I got my hands on him.

Proper write-up to follow soon (hopefully), but here's the box and a meme, just for funsies.

JH-01 Rescue Pioneer (KO Masterpiece Movie MPM-11 Ratchet)

I've not delved into the Masterpiece lines a great deal, and have been particularly selective with the Masterpiece Movie branch, picking up only those characters whose mainline Deluxe class toys didn't quite deliver what I wanted. Consequently, I've not bothered picking up MPM Optimus Prime, 2007 Camaro Bumblebee or Ironhide, but snapped up Barricade and Jazz pretty swiftly (and MPM VW Bumblebee, but I've since sold him off), and the most recent two - Starscream and Ratchet - were on my want list. Even the MPM Megatron mold piqued my interest, being a surprisingly good, albeit still seriously flawed attempt to turn the bonkers movie CGI into plastic reality. However, the stock Hasbro/Takara Tomy paint jobs on all three of them ended up being utterly dire, making a complete mockery of the 'Masterpiece' concept and making some excellent new molds look cheap and unfinished.

Then, all of a sudden, and with very little fanfare, alongside the KO/upscaled versions of certain Studio Series toys, images emerged of KO versions of Megatron... then Starscream... then - seemingly just days after the official MPM toy was released - Ratchet. More fully painted, more elaborately decorated, more accurate to the movie in both vehicle and robot modes... more, generally. By comparison, what had been a slightly disappointing entry in the Masterpiece Movie line suddenly looked like an unpainted sample, despite being appreciably more expensive.

 

I had not, up until recently, even considered replacing my original movie Ratchet toy but, when something like this exists - at a fraction of the cost of the official Masterpiece - it's not hard to convince oneself to upgrade...

Masterpiece Movie Series MPM-9 Jazz

Jazz really must be the unluckiest character from the live action movie series. Fans expectations (mine included) were rocked by his choice of alternate mode - the Pontiac Solstic being a far cry from the Martini Racing-sponsored Porsche 935/76 of Generation 1, albeit for obvious legal reasons... He was introduced as a super-cool robot whose transformation looked like breakdancing, his movements were showy yet precise... but he barely had any dialogue, amassed just five minutes of screentime in a movie that exceeded two hours runtime, and was unceremoniously ripped in half during the final battle - a fact which received only a perfunctory acknowledgement from Optimus Prime.

Making matters worse for Jazz, all his toys - up until the 2010 Human Alliance figure - were basically shit. The original Deluxe class toy was poorly proportioned, yet it got about a billion reuses - including an insipid G1 repaint - alongside its battle-damaged variant, while the Legends class toy had the vehicle's front duplicated on its roof. The head sculpt of every single one of them seemed to have been either based on early, pre-production artwork, or just plain wrong, with the HA figure - which, let us not forget, was released as part of the second movie's toyline - being the first to get the details right.

But even that wasn't entirely right - just for starters, the arms were essentially reversed, while the legs were too long and very awkward-looking compared to the elegant CGI. So when a Masterpiece interpretation of Jazz was revealed, I hoped to finally add a decent representation of the on-screen character to my collection. Photos, videos and reviews from other collectors seemed roundly positive, so I ordered him late last year.

Let's find out what a twelve year wait yields for one on the more forgettable characters from the first movie.

Reflecting on 'Dark Portents'

A little over three years ago, I wrote an opinion piece - Dark Portents - reflecting of the TransFormers brand during Titans Return, just before the shift into Power of the Primes. It occurred to me to go back to that and consider how things actually transpired versus my dread pronouncements on the matter... and then opine a little further on what the future may bring.

Masterpiece Movie Series MPM-5 Barricade

The original plan was to have this posted ahead of La Hire but, for whatever reason, it didn't pan out that way... Nevertheless, I do think this is a decent comparison with that Third Party Masterpiece-analogue...

It might seem like a minor point in retrospect, but the fact that the first live action TransFormers movie had a character who turned into a police car, but was neither Prowl nor even an Autobot is both pretty significant and rather cool. Whenever a police car appears in TransFormers fiction, the automatic assumtion is that it'll be Prowl so, while Barricade was yet another new character created just for the film (who has nevertheless since been retconned into other continuities, by artists, the former Collectors' Club and, most recently, by Hasbro themselves), his presence subverted the expectations of the audience and the protagonist - Sam initially running away from Bumblebee and into the clutches of Barricade.

While he's had a few updated toys since the first movie's Deluxe class figure, the only other one I bought was the Human Alliance figure as none of the later Deluxes seemed like a significant improvement. When a Masterpiece version was announced, I was initially a little ambivalent because the HA version is almost a Masterpiece in and of itself... but when the first photos appeared online, I decided I'd give it a spin after all. It may not have a Frenzy figure, or an interior he could sit in, but is that really such a big deal?

Masterpiece Cassetticons: Rumble, Frenzy, Ravage & Laserbeak

Way back in July 2014, when I decided to write about the Masterpiece Soundwave set in three parts - based on the way he was packaged in G1 and according to the split Takara Tomy releases - I figured I was being terribly clever, and honestly thought I'd get to the remainder of the minions a bit sooner than this. Then again, there's not much to them, so they're fairly easily dismissed considering some of the drafts I've had lying around in Blogger for substantially longer.

Still, I figure it's about time to get on to them but, rather than split them into two further posts, I've decided to lump them all together in one, just for (my) convenience.

And, just so there are no surprises, the characters are named per their G1 toys rather than the G1 TV show, so Rumble is the red/black one. I don't care about the arguments - to me, the toyline (and Bob Budiansky's bios) are correctly assigned (though I concede that Sunstreaker and Sideswipe's bios were switched, most likely because their Diaclone colourschemes were switched). Others are free to name them as they see fit...

Masterpiece Movie Series MPM-7 Bumblebee

Considering the prevalence of Bumblebee figures in all the live action movies' toylines, I made a decision very early on - after Age of Extinction, in fact - to be very selective of my Bumblebee purchases. Thus, I bought the original Studio Series Bumblebee because I felt it was a good way to close of my collection of Michael Bay-era Bumblebees (until the WWII version was announced, at least), and decided to preorder the gold, 'Retro Pop Highway' version of the Studio Series Bumblebee movie figure simply because it was something different and special.

Around the same time, though, I caved in and decided that I did rather want a 'proper' version of the new yellow VW Beetle figure, and so ordered the Masterpiece version in the hope that it would serve as the definitive figure of the new CGI character, so I won't feel compelled to buy any others.

Masterpiece MP26 Road Rage

(Femme-Bot Friday #58)

I've more or less given up on the Masterpiece line, as it slips ever further down the slipperly slope of 'animation accuracy', but I'm still a huge fan of Generation 1 because of the range of cars it turned into awesome alien robots. While I only had a handful of the Diaclone-derived G1 Autobots at the time, I've filled in a few of the blanks over the years with both Hasbro and Takara/Takara Tomy's reissues, even managing to grab some of the e-HOBBY specials along the way.

One of my particular favourites was the Corvette Stingray and, while I own the Hasbro Commemorative Series version of Tracks, the Femme-Bot repaint released by e-HOBBY was never available at a price I was happy with... The Masterpiece version was available at TFNation this year, and, after much consideration, ended up being my final purchase of the show...

When Is a Knockoff Not a Knockoff?

Or "How to Make a Masterpiece"

The word 'knockoff' has traditionally had obvious and very negative connotations: this product is cheap, yet of such shockingly poor quality that it's still a waste of money. That started to change a good few years ago, with uncanny the arrival of 'knockoff' G1 toys that were functionally identical to the originals (Mirage being the only example I own thusfar). Since then, knockoffs of the shockingly poor variety have continued to arrive but, in more recent years, the knockoff merchants have upped their game in terms of product quality and a trend of upsizing toys has emerged. A quick look over at SirToys.com gives one an overview of the gamut of knockoffs, but there's one company that quickly seems to be climbing to the top of the food chain when it comes to upsized TransFormers toy knockoffs simply because they don't just upsize a mold, they're willing to improve it. That company is WeiJiang.

I've only recently become aware of them, largely thanks to a sudden glut of videos about their upsized MP10 (cunningly named MPP10), which then led me to discover M01 Commander, an upsized, part die-cast, premium painted version of Age of Extinction Evasion Mode Optimus Prime. If you look back at that write-up, you will see certain key phrases - not least "something approaching a Masterpiece at the Voyager price point" - that would lead to believe that I'm very fond of the mold... and you'd be right, but it's certainly not without its flaws. As with Dark of the Moon's Voyager class Megatron, I felt that Hasbro could have got away with enlarging the mold to Leader class size simply because they're both awesome figures which prove that all the lights-and-sounds gimmickery of previous movie Leaders are a hindrance to the quality of the toy. Pared down, yet just as complex in terms of molded detail and transformation, these two movie Voyagers have easily outclassed those that preceded them, and many that followed. Aside from their size, their only flaws were the miserly paint jobs they received.

WeiJiang, having already upsized and partially remolded AoE Bumbleblee (and Stinger), then decided to tackle a larger project and, while Bumblebee ended up slightly simplified (his battlemask no longer deploys), their take on Evasion Mode Optimus Prime ramps up the detail, adds a number of small yet significant improvements to both modes and has a paint job of a quality beyond even Takara Tomy's idea of 'premium'. I'll deal with it in detail in a separate post soon (camera battery is charging as I write and, while I'm dubious about the amount of good light I'll get this weekend, I do have some time off work later this month, so hopefully I really do mean 'soon') but, suffice it to say that, so far, this thing looks awesome.

Masterpiece Thundercracker

When Takara Tomy took a second look at the Masterpiece Seeker mold and released a new Starscream only four years after the divisive original, it was only natural for Hasbro to follow suit. MP03 is truly awesome, though not without its problems (many loathed the tail fins hanging off the hips, for example) and the remold seemed, on the surface, to fix all the major issues.

When Hasbro US released the new Seeker mold as Thundercracker, I had to consider carefully whether I wanted to pay secondary market prices for the original MP07 (currently between about £550-£800) or go for the cheaper, more convenient new mold. Toys'R'Us in the UK briefly had the new Masterpiece Thundercracker available to order online, but eventually dropped it in favour of Acid Storm... who isn't even a real G1 character. I could almost understand if Hasbro Europe released Sunstorm... but Acid Storm? Did he do anything other that warm the pegs and shelves as a Deluxe?

From that point on, the secondary market prices on the Hasbro US version started creeping up... so when I saw an eBay auction starting very much at the low end (£40 - amusingly still about double what I paid for Hasbro's MP Skywarp at Argos many years ago) I jumped right on it. Naturally, the price went up quickly, but I managed to win the auction at a price still nicely below the current average for a new, boxed one.

Masterpiece Soundwave (& Buzzsaw)

This is another one I teased ages ago, and meant to write about more fully soon after but, for whatever reason, didn't get round to. Part of that, I guess, was that it was a rather daunting prospect to write not only about Soundwave and his accessories, but all five of the cassettes packaged with him and all their accessories too.

I'm going to make life (slightly) easier on myself and deal here with Soundwave and Buzzsaw only, since they were packaged together in Generation 1. The remaining cassettes will be dealt with according to their G1 pairings as well: Rumble (red) & Ravage, Frenzy (blue) & Laserbeak.

Masterpiece Optimus Prime v2

When I finally got round to writing up the original Takara Tomy Masterpiece Convoy, I noted that it would be interesting to see the Masterpiece line revisit Optimus Prime after the live action movies, to see what improvements would be worked in. Little did I know (a) that they'd actually do that and (b) that, for the most part, the improvements would be very subtle - after all, when it comes to remaking G1 Optimus Prime, it's on a par with trying to reinvent the wheel.

When I first saw MP10, I wasn't especially impressed, and I certainly didn't rush to buy the Japanese version on import. Even when I learned that Hasbro would be releasing it - and particularly that it would be sold in the UK by Toys'R'Us - I just wasn't interested. I was perfectly happy with MP01, and the new version was smaller, lacking the extensive die-cast metal, and just didn't look as impressive overall.

However, regular readers of this blog will know that I make a habit of buying things I didn't expect - or indeed want - to buy. Seeing it in person, in one of my 'local' branches of Toys'R'Us caused me to throw caution to the wind and part with £100...

How big a mistake did I make..?

FYI

When Toys'R'Us UK finally got round to stocking Masterpiece Soundwave (and Acid Storm) about a month ago, they did so online only and, for a while, it seemed as though they might remain online only exclusives. However, after a swift jaunt to Brent Cross this morning, I can confirm that the two new Masterpieces now have a physical presence on the shelves.

On a related note, I can completely 100% understand Hasbro UK releasing Masterpiece Soundwave. It surprises me no end that they bothered, but I understand why they might - Soundwave is almost as safe a bet as Optimus Prime. What I don't understand is Acid Storm.

Masterpiece Grimlock

OK, let's get one thing out of the way, straight off the bat: I think the Dinobots were rubbish.

I mean, seriously, robots that transform into robot dinosaurs? And how many different nonsensical 'explanations' for this bizarre phenomenon? The whole idea was ridiculous, and probably one of the worst aspects of TransFormers being a toyline created out of several crossover brands, in this case Takara's Diaclone Dinosaur Robo line. Grimlock was supposedly a robotic Tyrannosaurus Rex, but his proportions were all wrong and the dinosaur legs were poorly positioned and just didn't look anything like those of a T-Rex, the head was too wide and too flat, the arms stuck out from the torso, with a fixed 90degree bend at the elbow... The whole thing was a catalogue of poor design, quite apart from the fact that it was a frikkin' robotic dinosaur. The Dinobots are why I was initially quite sceptical of Beast Wars.

Weirdly, and as mentioned in my write-up of Classics Grimlock, I bought a full set of Justitoys' World's Smallest Dinobots - at no small cost - because the idea of them appealed to me. Other than being scaled to the authentic Takara Tomy World's Smallest line (based on their comparative sizes on the TV show), they were functionally identical to the full-sized version in every detail. They were a curiosity and a massive aberration in my collection, picked up largely because they were made available as a complete set, whereas G1 Swoop was never released in the UK. As it turned out, they're not great quality, and part of me rather regrets buying them.

Still, something must have convinced me to buy this behemoth... Let's see if we can figure out what it was...

Masterpiece Skywarp

When it comes to TransFormers, there are a few things I cannot resist: I'm one of those collectors with the Seekers OCD, I like the 'black repaint' phenomemon... and I'll always pick up a bargain.

So when, by chance, I learned that Argos somehow wangled the official UK release of Masterpiece Skywarp (a feat similar to their coup of being the sole official UK distributor of Alternators Jaguar XK Ravage, and that they were selling him for a mere £20, I made plans to visit every single branch of Argos in London until he was in my grasp.

Thankfully, I got him at the first branch on the list.

Masterpiece Rodimus Prime (with Offshoot)

There was a lot of enthusiasm surrounding the announcement of a Masterpiece Rodimus Prime, and when the first photos turned up, the buzz remained positive. A decently Animated-Movie-accurate robot mode that could switch between Hot Rod and Rodimus Prime by some simple-but-clever cheating, and which had the ability to transform into Hot Rod's futuristic sports car and - with the addition of a trailer - also into Rodimus Prime's Space Winnebago? How could it go wrong?

Masterpiece MP05 Megatron

After doing the MP01 mold to death and only producing one new mold in two years, Takara Tomy had to do something particularly special with MP05 to get some credibility back into the so-called 'Masterpiece' brand. The announcement that the fifth release would be Megatron met with mixed response. The revelation that he would appear in his old Generation 1 alternate mode - a Walther P-38 handgun - hopes were both raised and dashed in equal measure