How times have changed. I remember fake parts being extremely frown upon here.

It is ironic how the tables have turned now. Third parties are actually integrating all the alt mode parts and Takara seems to be using it more and more. I am ok with some minor parts here and there being fake parts but in this case the whole figure being made of fake parts is just lazy, period.

This is basically a shellformer really. Totally missing the spirit of the original toys and also what Masterpiece is all about.

What saddens me the most is that Megatron 2.0 which actually by logic should need the most fake parts ended up using very little with the majority of the gun parts well integrated in robot mode and still looking like the G1 character.

 

I disagree. I think this is a line of collectors items that aren’t meant to be played with like the original toys. They’re meant to be display pieces that evokes that nostalgia from the tv show. Yes, the transformation is different from the show. But if you try to stick to the show you’ll most likely end up sacrificing one of the modes aesthetically

 

these are shellformers


Shellformer - Transformers Wiki

 

10 or 44?

Want to start getting into collecting these.

 

44 is the way to go if you want animation accuracy. 10 if you want a blend of animation and toy. 44 if you want complexity in your transformations. 10 if you want simplicity. It all really boils down to what you like and which figure more closely fits your needs

 

I’ve been out the loop there, what was wrong with it?

 

No, this isn’t a shellformer. That term gets thrown around without people really seeming to know what it means. Check the link that @deathsheadII posted.

As for missing the spirit of the original toys, that’s a subjective statement. To me this amplifies that spirit, which in my mind is a real-world vehicle changing into an awesome sentient robot. This is even better than the original toy because the robot now looks like it did in the cartoon that inspired how I played with the toy, and is waaaaaay more poseable and expressive!  

Regarding “what Masterpiece is all about”, that’s also somewhat subjective, unless you’re referencing a particular statement from Takara-Tomy. The flipping and folding I’m seeing in MP-44 isn’t much different than MP-12’s legs, it’s just used to solve a different set of problems and has several years of innovation making more possible for achieving a bot mode more accurate to its character model.

Why is that sad? It sounds to me like an achievement of great design and engineering.

 

This. They wouldn’t need Cullen to do voice overs, they can just pull it from the source material and the voice would sound younger.

 

Definitely what @e prime said. I only want to add that I wish I was in your position right now so I wouldn't have had to recently sell my MP-10 and be facing the prospect of selling many other early ones to replace them with the inevitable new cartoon-accurate shinys  

 

As far as Sunstreaker goes, loose parts and push poor paint job. Even the Autobot logo is crooked. That was a major trend with most KO reviews Ive researched.

 

I wasn’t thinking of the top edge of the window being higher - I think to be more realistic it’s the bottom edge that needs to be higher up the front of the truck so the windows have a flatter aspect ratio like MP-10.

Seeing how this transforms that could have been done - just extending the lower frame including the windscreen wiper up 3mm or so overlapping the glass more. We can see that part stays with the window as it flips round to bot mode going to the inside upper edge of the window, so the impact to bot mode would be that you would see that poking down inside the bot chest.

I guess that and maybe a nod to the toon look was why they didn’t.

 

It comes down to whether you fake it because itsi easy or you fake it because it's hard.

 

What I'm hearing is: EXCUSE FOR ANOTHER DIGIBASH!! Just kidding. But I'm gonna do it though.

 

Agreed! I would add that the transformations on these recent Masterpiece figures are not meant to be literal interpretations of the cartoon or original toys' conversion sequences, but rather, an attempt to make each mode happen while maintaining as many of the signature transformation motifs from the originals as possible (i.e. Optimus' chest forming from the actual windows, etc.). And hey, if MP-36 is anything to go by, it'll feel way more intuitive in hand than it looks.

 

I wonder if you can leave the windows unflipped.

 

Even if the vertical positioning lines up (don't know if the rotational axis is centred or offset), you're still going to end up with some gaps because the truck side will have a beveled inner edge so that they came come together in the angled position on Prime's chest. Plus with the centre divider removed, it's not going to look right.

 

Haven't been able to stop thinking about this piece of art.

We need some good scans and one of our board members fluent in Japanese to do a really nice translation of the interview.

Of interest, I was able to pick out that the knees have a new type of joint that I think has some kind of "automatic motion?' Don't really understand the context but yeh.. Interesting new knees.

Also for the first time ever they have added a rear bumper or (fender) as you Americans call it, to the rear of the cab. We can kinda see them in the transformation diagram.
Now if that doesn't quell some of the "NOT REAL TRUCK!!! Magic Square this and Magic Square that" I don't know what will.

 

This! To each their own, I love that we have those choices. Just because MP 44 is coming doesn't mean MP10 is any less valuable.

 

Nice! I'll get my copy of the book on Thursday, so if no one's done it before then I'll upload some scans and let's see if @Deruji can have a go (if he's up for it!).

The knees definitely look super cool, I love the way they've been designed - interesting to hear there's something else going on in there.

That rear bumper is what I spotted inside his foot then, I think it might actually be chromed:

 

I meant for bot mode.