The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next

[technoblue]

Great review, Gakken. Thank you for taking the time to put it together.

Your video reminded me that I needed to check the arms on my copy of MP-08X. Luckily, the assembly is okay. I do have a small smudge of red paint on Grimlock's right dino chest that I need to clean up and his plastic tray was warped in the sealed box. I don't know what happened to the tray. It's a shame that this release isn't up to the standards of the first. I would have also liked to see a return of that shiny metallic silver finish.

The chest and neck plate plastic seem to vary in quality from piece to piece. My copy is not as cloudy as yours, and the green tint is not as obvious. However, the lack of paint does make the details under the chest plate less defined when compared with the original.

Going forward, I'll be taking a closer look at the third party releases.

[Gakken85]

Thanks!

If the arm on mine had been a bit better I might not have been so annoyed. I guess in the end, it's a good standin for the original if you can't find one.

That said, I think if a company like Bandai re-issues a VF-25 and it was this sloppy or mismatched a lot of people would be pissed, especially if it was $50-100 dollars over the original price point.

I'm curious to see the KO of MP8x and see how similar it is to the official release haha

Edited September 5, 2014 by Gakken85

[mikeszekely]

Holy huge! MP Spacebrick should be about as tall as Ultra Magnus. Well, taller, really, since some of Magnus' height comes from his shoulder thingies. And his brick mode? About as long, maybe a little shorter, than the from the front of Magnus' cab to the back of his trailer.

[Gakken85]

Holy huge! MP Spacebrick should be about as tall as Ultra Magnus. Well, taller, really, since some of Magnus' height comes from his shoulder thingies. And his brick mode? About as long, maybe a little shorter, than the from the front of Magnus' cab to the back of his trailer.

10622701_743153325750610_6101060345315529965_n__scaled_600.jpg

So friggin sweet

[Gakken85]

So much awesome. Wheeljack. Marlboo jack, UM, and Space brick.

Edited September 6, 2014 by Gakken85

[xrentonx]

So that Marlboro Jack...anyplace I can get it yet that is NOT BBTS?

[Gakken85]

I think AE, and TFsource have it.

Nothing on HLJ that I know of.

Probably AA too

Folks over at TFW making hay that it's unpainted white plastic.

[Tober]

So that Marlboro Jack...anyplace I can get it yet that is NOT BBTS?

Yeah If there are any Amazon exclusives, coins etc Robot Kingdom will most probably them.

Anime Export probably has the cheapest price, but I don't go there anymore.

[anime52k8]

Folks over at TFW making hay that it's unpainted white plastic.

Because they loved it so much when sideswipe was entirely painted red... :rolleyes:

[xrentonx]

Ah, nice! Thanks guys

[David Hingtgen]

Because they loved it so much when sideswipe was entirely painted red... :rolleyes:

I wish my MP Sideswipe was molded in shiny red plastic, he'd look better...

[lechuck]

Wow, Star Saber looks so much more refined as a toy compared to Ultra Magnus (and not because of the lack of colours in that image).

Star Saber definitely stands a good chance of dethroning MP-10 as best MP yet.

[vlenhoff]

I still prefer UltraMagnus.... I hope it is fun to transform.

[mikeszekely]

Wow, Star Saber looks so much more refined as a toy compared to Ultra Magnus (and not because of the lack of colours in that image).

Star Saber definitely stands a good chance of dethroning MP-10 as best MP yet.

Could Spacebrick be better than Ultra Magnus? Almost certainly, because Ultra Magnus isn't looking all that hot.

Could Spacebrick, who maintains his brickish proportions despite improvements in articulation, who is colored like a cheap toy you'd find at a drug store or a Big Lots and who's a character most people outside of Japan have any connection to, dethrone MP-10, the greatest toy of one of the most iconic characters of a generation let alone the Transformers franchise? You might as well be wondering if Zima will dethrone beer.

[Gakken85]

He's colored like the cartoon, just like most takara releases. You might not like how it looks in the cartoon or on the toy, but that's how it is. Oh well.

Ultra magnus is a flawed design concept that two people had to put their hands into to finish, probably because the first guy wanted to spend more money that Takara would allow. It looks messy, full of kibble, and a pain in the ass to handle, but oh well.

Starsaber was designed by a guy who loved the show and loved the toy and he put a lot of love into it. Is it easier to design off a fake space ship? probably, but he still had constraints and gimmicks to incorporate.

It comes down to design vision and UM doesn't have it.

But yeah, I think it will be the best MP yet.

Edited September 7, 2014 by Gakken85

[Scyla]

For me personally Magnus will be the pinnacle of the Masterpiece line. With the sole reason being that it will be the first transforming toy of Magnus that looks the part. I've been waiting for this since I was a little child and read the transformers comic.

Spacebrick looks cool and I will most definitely getting one version of it but it won't have the same impact that Ultra Magnus will have. For me at least.

[anime52k8]

Could Spacebrick, who maintains his brickish proportions despite improvements in articulation, who is colored like a cheap toy you'd find at a drug store or a Big Lots and who's a character most people outside of Japan have any connection to, dethrone MP-10, the greatest toy of one of the most iconic characters of a generation let alone the Transformers franchise? You might as well be wondering if Zima will dethrone beer.

Also, MP-10 has already been beaten out by MP-13, because Soundwave=superior.

Edited September 7, 2014 by anime52k8

[lechuck]

Could Spacebrick be better than Ultra Magnus? Almost certainly, because Ultra Magnus isn't looking all that hot.

Could Spacebrick, who maintains his brickish proportions despite improvements in articulation, who is colored like a cheap toy you'd find at a drug store or a Big Lots and who's a character most people outside of Japan have any connection to, dethrone MP-10, the greatest toy of one of the most iconic characters of a generation let alone the Transformers franchise? You might as well be wondering if Zima will dethrone beer.

You do realise that Optimus Prime has the same "brickish proportions" too, just like in the cartoon. Optimus Prime is coloured - just like Star Saber - after the cartoon (see a pattern here).

Takara doesn't really care if people outside of Japan have any connection to Star Saber, the pole was not directed at Americans, Europeans or you or anyone else. And I fail to see what the iconic status has to do with the actual toy implementation? MP-10 might be "the greatest toy of one of the most iconic characters", that still doesn't garantee it to be the best toy of line.

If you like Star Saber, that's great. If you don't, that's perfectly fine too. But please stop spamming this thread with these childish denounceations and move on. The whole "spacebrick" thing was maybe funny ten pages ago, now it's just stupid and annoying.

Edited September 7, 2014 by lechuck

[Kanedas Bike]

So the only discussion concerning this particular Masterpiece release is about how awesome we think it is? Me thinks not, just like any other discussion thread across all of the internet you will have fans and detractors.

I will grant that the design of Star Saber seems to be very nice, especially if those in the know agree that the toy incorporates all of the cartoon design and gimmicks but to proclaim OR debate against it being the BESSSTTTT OF AAAALLLL TIIIMMMMEEE FORRREEEVVAAA is pointless, opinions are opinions are opinions and nothing more.

And yeah, 'Space Brick' because that's what it looks like, IMHO of course.

-b.

[vlenhoff]

I must add, I never had Optimus as a child. I only had UltraMagnus, and I loved-hated it. Now I have at least 8 different Optimus (optimy?) and UltraMagnus is finally his own ol' self. He looks like he should, and white Optimus doesn't have to be there for It all.

I'm very excited about this release.

This only is my humble, useless, and unnecessarily silly opinion, please don't shoot me.

Edited September 7, 2014 by vlenhoff

[mikeszekely]

You do realise that Optimus Prime has the same "brickish proportions" too, just like in the cartoon.

That's like saying that Bruce Lee and Arnold Schwarzenegger have the same muscular proportion. Do they both have bodies that are basically made out of rectangles? Yes. Are Prime's forearms twice the size of his head? No.

Optimus Prime is coloured - just like Star Saber - after the cartoon (see a pattern here).

Yeah, Gakken brought that up too, as if it refutes my point, when it really emphasizes it. Star Saber's design is inferior to Prime's, all the way back to the cartoon. MP whatever the heck number we're on may be the best Star Saber toy ever, super articulated and perfectly toon accurate in both modes, with a ton of gimmicks and what not, and it won't be better than MP-10 because Star Saber is not, and will never be, Optimus Prime. Hence the beer/Zima analogy... there are probably people out there who prefer Zima to beer. I could be one. I mean, I personally don't really care for beer, but I've never had a Zima. My personal preferences, however, are not going to make Zima "dethrone" beer any more than your (or Gakken's) preferences are going to make MP-SpaceBrick dethrone MP-10.

Takara doesn't really care if people outside of Japan have any connection to Star Saber, the pole was not directed at Americans, Europeans or you or anyone else.

And?

. And I fail to see what the iconic status has to do with the actual toy implementation? MP-10 might be "the greatest toy of one of the most iconic characters", that still doesn't garantee it to be the best toy of line.

Then what, in your mind, makes MP-SpaceBrick better than MP-10? Both are superbly-engineered, both are toon acurrate in both modes, both appear to be equally articulate, and both appear to have gimmicks in line with the original toys/characters. Is Star Saber supposed to be a better toy because he turns into a very large pointy thing instead of a truck? At this point, the differences between MP-10 and MP-SB come down which character was a better design, and while personal preferences will vary, I think Star Saber has a long way to go before overtaking Prime.

[xrentonx]

Also, MP-10 has already been beaten out by MP-13, because Soundwave=superior.

These guys are saying a lot of words when giant portable tapedeck trumps them all! It is written

Edited September 7, 2014 by xrentonx

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

ultra magnus is better than rodimus prime.

[Gakken85]

Lambor thinks you should all chill out.

Edited September 8, 2014 by Gakken85

[David Hingtgen]

You forgot part of his leg transformation.

::edit:: And his windows.

[Kanedas Bike]

ultra magnus is better than rodimus prime.

Honestly, with regards to television and movie personalities, presence and usefulness (or lack thereof) they both suck equally. That said I still like Hot Rod despite the fact he got Optimus killed.

Call it nostalgia and/or rule of cool - especially since Hot Rod got a theme song in "The Touch" and Magnus just got dismembered and glued back to together by a bunch of junk scrappers.

-b.

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

Honestly, with regards to television and movie personalities, presence and usefulness (or lack thereof) they both suck equally. That said I still like Hot Rod despite the fact he got Optimus killed.

Call it nostalgia and/or rule of cool - especially since Hot Rod got a theme song in "The Touch" and Magnus just got dismembered and glued back to together by a bunch of junk scrappers.

-b.

i kept thinking why didn't they use that glue to put back prime

Edited September 8, 2014 by davidwhangchoi

[anime52k8]

These guys are saying a lot of words when giant portable tapedeck trumps them all! It is written

Damn straight, giant 80's tape decks FTW!

[Kanedas Bike]

i kept thinking why didn't they use that glue to put back prime

Good point! Maybe it's because Prime turned colors to gray and they only had magic glue and no magic paint.

-b.

[JB0]

Ultra Magnus was disassembled. Prime suffered component damage.

It's the difference between popping a balljoint out and crushing the chestplate. You can repair one easily enough, but the other's usually a lost cause if you can't find a donor part.

JEEZ, PEOPLE.

I have to admit, Space Brick is growing on me. I think seeing the shots of the various different submodes did it. I respect the engineering to build all of that in. Especially once you get down to the little Brainmaster dude.

Now why doesn't Magnus get Albino Prime mode, other than he's already been released that way without the armor a dozen times?

And more importantly... when does Blaster get an MP? Soundwave is too mainstream.

[Smut Peddler]

And more importantly... when does Blaster get an MP? Soundwave is too mainstream.

I always hated Blaster. I thought he was so annoying. He was one of the reasons I stopped following transformers as a kid.

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

no way! two can play!

[Kanedas Bike]

Heads-up, HLJ has Star Brick up for pre-order, only 14,400 JPY after a 20% discount.

http://www.hlj.com/product/TKT81692

Surprised Gakken didn't already have this up.

-b.

[Gakken85]

Felt sick last night. Barely got any sleep. haha.

Thanks, got two of each.

Can't beat that price on Exhaust.

2 spacebricks at TF source is $340 shipped.

2 at HLJ is $280 before shipping.

Might come out about 10 bucks cheaper after shipping, even if I don't bundle it with other stuff. Exhaust is the same month so he can tag alone for free mostly.

Edited September 8, 2014 by Gakken85

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

Heads-up, HLJ has Star Brick up for pre-order, only 14,400 JPY after a 20% discount.

http://www.hlj.com/product/TKT81692

Surprised Gakken didn't already have this up.

-b.

i'm disappointed in you Gak