So I got a Faith Leader pretty damn quickly from edbomber (thanks man!) and decided to go ahead and do a pictoral review. Peaugh already has a great video review in his section but I’m going to try and cover some additional details and impressions I have of the figure.

First I’m going to rate the figure and accessories that came with the original Masterpiece Prime/Convoy and then I’ll move onto the new accessories – the more cartoon accurate head, poseable hands and the gun for Classics/Henkei Prime. Please note that I’m pretty critical so some of my opinions may be considered nit picky by many of you!


Pros:

• In scale with Voyager and Ultra sized classics – somewhat in scale with the deluxe Autobots.
• In scale with Masterpiece Grimlock and the Seekers.
• The weight really allows the figure to hold some much nicer poses (see pictures) and allows you to fiddle with him in a way that isn’t really possible with the larger figures.
• The outlines for the side door actually line up correctly unlike the official release!
• The chest windows peg together more securely than the original.
• For the most part he really looks like a shrunken version of the original Masterpiece – he photographs really well with them.

Cons:

• Faith Leader really does feel cheap. After being used to the heft of the original, both due to it’s size as well as the die cast, this one does feel like a knock off even though it’s much higher quality than your standard knock off. Some people have said this feeling passes once you get used to the new size so my opinion on this may change over time...
• The plastic has a slight texture that helps make him look cheap. It’s not as smooth and polished as an actual Hasbro/Takara release is. As a result, even though he photographs very well with official figures, in person he doesn’t look quite as good next to them up close.
• Getting everything lined up and pegged together in truck mode is difficult – the arms and the center grill are really finicky.
• Pushing his fists out when transforming from truck to robot mode is tricky – the fingers sometimes get stuck on the edges and you need to wiggle them around for a while to transform him.
• He can’t hold his rifle as well as MP Optimus. Even that version had issues holding the rifle at times but these fingers tend to drop the gun more quickly.

Quality issues:
My Faith Leader actually did have some quality issues. I’m going to cover these separately from the list of cons but I might update them if they turn out to be widespread.

• One of the forearm tabs that help retract his arms is really hard to pull up on mine when he’s in robot mode. I generally need a screwdriver to pop it out.
• The right shoulder did not have a click joint and was pretty loose. I had to drip superglue in the joint and keep moving it around to give it enough friction to hold poses.
• The screw hole in his left “original” hand was so loose that the thumb portion kept falling off. I had to let some superglue dry in the hole and then screw it in for the hand to stay together.

Overall I’d give the figure a B. My main reasons are due to the texture of the plastic, the QA issues and the general cheap feel.



New accessories:

Cartoon Head:
Looks wise the new head is pretty awesome! The only thing that would have made it look more cartoon accurate would have been if they had given him the hexagonal cartoon eyes instead of the five sides eyes the MP has. Now for my gripe – I really, really wish he could transform with this head! The fact that you need to take it off when transforming sucks IMHO. If the antenna could somehow fold out of the way this could probably be done but unfortunately that’s not the case.

Overall a B+ for the head – the only thing keeping it from an A is the inability to transform with it attached.


Poseable hands:
The poseable hands quite frankly suck. The fingers pop off as soon as you move them – trying to make him point at something is an exercise in futility. I must have popped finger pieces off about 5 times doing so. To add insult to injury, even if you manage to fold them all up you can’t transform him with the new hands!

The hands get a D- for the obvious reasons above.


Classics/Henkei Prime gun:
The gun is exactly the same size and sculpt as Faith Leaders just with a round peg to fit Classics Prime’s fist. It looks pretty much as you’d expect but to be honest I think the original guns with that figure look better. This gun has the baby blue highlights that clash quite a but with the regular Prime/Convoy. In addition, the texture on the plastic I mentioned earlier really shows up when the gun is held by an official figure (see pic).




The new gun gets a B for the reasons I listed above.


Overall I would say he is worth it if you want a Masterpiece Optimus Prime at a scale you can fiddly with easily and who fits in with your Classics/Henkei collection. Be warned though, he does look out of place with the seekers and Henkei Megatron (see pics below), but fits really nicely with the larger Autobots and Onslaught.

If you are buying Faith Leader in part due to the new accessories and don’t mind popping off the new head when transforming him, then buy him for the head but not the new hands – they suck!

Finally, if you expect him to be exactly the same as the original Masterpiece only smaller then you will be disappointed (I was a bit to be honest). The slight texture of the plastic and the generally “cheap” feel may put you off.

Oh, and here’s a few more pics for your viewing pleasure.  

 

Thanks for the pics and review. I wasn't really planning on getting it, liking the idea of a smaller scaled plastic version of MP Prime, but not 'enough'. I think my biggest disappointment would be that the "improved" head and hands have the serious issues that you mentioned. I sure would rather not bother with a head that can't be stored in vehicle mode.

 

I have to agree with everything you posted. Here is what I had to say in the topic plus pictures

 

I do agree with you on most points, especially the new hands - they are hideous!
However, I really like the texture of the plastic. Definitely not smooth like Hasbro stuff, but I do like the roughness of the PP01.

 

Can you be more specific with the plastic quality itself. What is it exactly that feels 'cheap' to you. Fit, finish, the thickness of the plastic? The weight of it? Is it brittle plastic? Is there a satin finish to the plastic?

Does it at least compare to Fansproject level of plastic or is it inferior?

 

Thanks for the review. So far it seems like Peaugh is the only one praising Faith.

I might be one of the few that has one on its way that has never handled the giant Hasbro/Takara versions. I'll do a review that would be from a clean slate.

..the pictures you posted pretty much toss all the negatives you wrote about him out the window. He looks great!

 

I think the texture is fine...to my eyes, at least, he looks fine w/ official figures. He does have more hand laxity leading to gun slippage and he feels light, but it is hard for me to assess how much of that is from handling MP01. The new head is pretty slick - I won't be transforming him much, so it being a touch too big is fine, but - it shouldn't have to be removed. Definitely a niche piece, but one I'm happy to have. Also, re: the classics gun - the baby blue is brighter in those pics than in reality. True, it doesn't quite fit the aesthetic of Henkei/Classics Prime, but looking at my Convoy holding his gun and the new gun - it looks much more natural than in that pic. Definitely too big though. Scaled down and squared off some would have been ideal - not going to complain about it though.

 

Very tempted with this one but the price just kills it for me. Too many other things I'd rather spend ~$100 on.
-G

 

Nobody has mentioned that the heads are very customizable. I really like the "classic" styled helmet versus the standard MP helmet but I disliked the fact that the horns keep him from transforming. I took a screw driver, took the horns off the classics head, swapped them with the standard horns. Now I have a classics styled head with straight ears so he can still transform.


He even has the funky comic book themed mouth under the face plate!

 

I like that they included an extra G1 rifle for Classics Prime but that baby blue and silver apps have to go. IMO they didn't have to be that slavish to the original MP release and deco the rifle exactly. It doesn't look right with Classics Prime with those extra bits of color, hell it doesn't look right with Masterpiece Prime.

The extra colors on the rifle bothered me so much on the original MP Convoy that I switched his rifle out with Magnus' all black rifle. My Optimus now carries a more faithful and cartoon accurate all black rifle and Magnus has the baby blue/silver accented rifle. Goes better with Magnus' blue faceplate anyway.

If I ever decide to get this, I'm stripping the extra paint off the rifles.

 

That sounds like a good idea... any pictures?

 

I don't really think he 'feels' cheap. The figure is definitely lighter than one would expect with MP-01 ingrained into our collective head. What gives it the 'this just isn't quite right feeling' to me is the joints. The hips and shoulders have that loose hang that MP has because of the ratcheting system employed. If these were made to voyager/deluxe class standards, he would feel a lot more solid. As is, if one picks up the piece, the arms and legs tend to dangle. They hold poses just fine, but could have been so much more with a little reworking. These joints are a bit loose, while others are ridiculously tight, and still othets are 'just right'.

The front wheel transformation is also off on the version I have. The passenger side transforms just fine, but the driver's side is held too tightly by a pin. This causes the vehicle transformation to spring back up until everything is in place. Annoying, yes, but it holds once fully transformed. That and my afforementioned wrist detachment shows me that QC is not necessarily the best on these. The bonus hands look great and could have been an awesome addition, but are not assembled in a way to make them hold up to any sort of play or posing situations. They just fall apart on contact.

The plastic on the cab portion has a satin finish which I really like. I don't have the figure in front of me, but I believe the legs have a more standard smooth finish. The overall texture to the figure feels great to the touch. The plastic used is of a pretty decent quality and I don't feel like it's going to break because of any brittle qualities. In order to accomplish all the transformations with various small levers and pieces, the plastic is thin in certain areas, but doesn't appear brittle. I have some stress marks, but only in areas held together by pins (the front wheel section I mentioned, as well as the bonus hands/fingers).

Also, the ball joint for the head is a little on the small side, so the head can pop off rather easily. His left leg also doesn't seem to lock in place after telescoping into robot mode. It seems to stay put, but doesn't lock like MP or PP01's right leg.

All in all, these are pretty minor complaints. Will he hold up to rugged play? I don't think so, but I also don't think anyone is buying this for their seven year old.

The sculpt, detailing, paint, chrome pieces, metallic eyes, accessories, and overall finish looks great on the shelf! The overall build quality seems just a bit off, however.

Again, I'm pleased to have the figure, but a few tweaks could have made all the difference to the final product.

 

not, yet. I can take a few when I get home.

 

At Quicky: I think evilmonkeys really nailed why I think it feels cheap: The looseness of the joints when you pick him up. His arms and legs wobble just a little bit which makes him feel like he's not perfectly put together. The plastic has a bit of a satin finish; more so than FansProject's Ultra Magnus armor, and it also feels like the plastic isn't quite thick enough.

One thing I did notice is that the hands do seem to transform just fine with the following trick: you should turn his fists around so that the back of his hands face up before retracting them and his hands come back out just fine (at least on mine).

BTW, thanks for the tip Big_Truck_Convoy, I'll try that!

 

Nice pics and review

 

I'm going to have to give that a try. The hands on mine sure do have issues when pushing them out.

And just a follow up to my above post: the legs have the satin finish, just like the cab.

I don't know, I'm liking this figure more and more, which is a good thing! The way the shoulders and hips are designed is identical to MP and I am now more re-accustomed to how they act. It's been a LONG time since I have had MP out of his box...

 

Where can you get this?

 

I'd like one but it would depend on cost - I might get it after i've got Faux-Springer and Faux-Hearts of Steel Optimus though.

 

I just got mine, and it came with two of the rectangular-pegged Ion Blasters...did anyone happen to get two of the round-pegged Ion Blasters? Anyone want to trade?

 

You should just email them. A guy got one with a broken Matrix yesterday and they're taking care of him.