And that's what I was talking about. The way the windows are designed leaves gaps if you don't flip them around.

 

I feel like this new breed of MPs with their insane (albeit intuitive) complexity and high part counts are NOT conducive to KOs. The last thing I'd want it a KO version of, let's say Megatron, and those intricate shoulder and arm parts.

 

Niceee, yeh that will be perfect.. No more mistranslation... Trailbreaker/Hoist Gate shenanigans haha.

It does look like it just might be chromed! They also may be some kind of nickle metal from the looks of it.. hmm hmm hmm... and I wonder if those rear lights are paint or jewels?
I'm also loving the realistic horseshoe trailer hitch. Man this guy is going to be so dope.
This is a real passion project... I can only imagine what Koyabashi and the guys have drawn up pertaining to a Galvatron or Rodimus v2.

 

But the KO of Megs by IT is amazing and far better quality than Takara’s.

 

Just got this message:

Hi Randy,

Wanted to keep you in the loop on the latest TRANSFORMERS news, specifically regarding a pre-sale for the long-awaited TRANSFORMERS Masterpiece MP-44 Convoy/Optimus Prime collector item!

The pre-sale is taking place now until 12/19/18 at EB Games. Images of the product can be downloaded and found HERE or viewed in a preview below.

This is a Canadian Hasbro Exclusive for EB Games and goes for MSRP $599.99 CDN. The item can be viewed online at EB Games HERE.

Thanks!​

 

I think that's great reasoning if you're looking at Prime in a vacuum. But now you have a luxury that all of us who have been collecting MP from the get go did not have: hindsight.

What type of collection do you want (i.e. autobots only, autobots and decepticons, early MP 2.0 designs/Hasui/kobayashi, or the cartoon accurate aesthetic that began to appear with shockwave and inferno?)

One question to ask yourself for starters:

Are you going to buy an MP Megatron? If so, which one (MP36 vs 3rd party)? And, do you care how an MP10/MP44 would "match" aesthetically?

If you have a preference, then your choice becomes more clear.

 

What are the chances of an adapter to use MP-10 trailer?

 

I’m so conflicted about MP44. I’ve decided to order one but I definitely have some reservations. I guess my biggest hang up is that I feel that the Transformation while incredibly complex, isn’t all that intuitive and it doesn’t really evoke the feeling of his cartoon counterpart. MP 10 while dated actually transforms in a way that feels somewhat authentic to the original cartoon. The thing that confuses me even more is that I still can’t figure out why the current MP line is so slavish to a non-licensed vehicle like Prime when you have characters like Inferno who clearly sacrifice realism for cartoon accuracy. Prime in vehicle mode doesn’t really match his cartoon counterpart and it feels a bit odd considering the lengths they’ve gone to match his robot mode.

My MP44 will probably spend most of its life in robot mode as I don’t feel the transformation or vehicle mode feel authentic to his G1 self (IMO).

 

Rubber bands and duck tape; there's your adapter.

 

Damn Randy you baller you!

Wonder how much they're offering it after pre-sale...


 

 

I always hesitate to say things like this, as it tends to be misinterpreted as, "3Ps suck and TT can do no wrong," despite the fact that I have loved and owned many 3P MP style figures now (and that many of them end up doing something similar with their own figures *looks at KFC among others*) but...

Re: the transformation. While it would be awesome for there to be a simpler, more G1-inspired transformation, I think many underestimate the geometry of what has to happen to achieve what TT are going for here. You're essentially taking what is (nearly) a brick with lots of simple right angles, and turning it into a series of extremely unnatural diagonals and tapered lines and triangles, configured with very specific proportions and ratios to achieve as close to the animation model a look as possible.

Many will point to some of the 3P options soon to be available for more elegant transformations, but there's a reason those figures have differences such as fatter/taller truck rears, or tall MP-10 style grills in bot mode, rather than different grill proportions per mode. Or retain the silver stripe in truck mode. That's in no way a bash on those designs, I think they're great options and am glad they exist. But even something as simple as those things can be the difference between a straightforward transformation, and a far more complex rearrangement of components. (Which, yes, can often include panels and folding. Again, *looks at KFC* ... but they sure do tend towards cartoon accuracy, don't they?)

None of this is to say anyone has to like this, mind you. Just that there are reasons, and it's not as simple as "they're just over-engineering and making it complex for complexity's sake," as many appear to believe.

While origami is often used as a pejorative around here, origami as an art form is actually very instructive in terms of how to take a simpler shape, and turn it into a more complex, unnatural, highly specific object. And more pertinently, what is required to do so. And that's with 2D materials. Once you add dimensions, things get increasingly complex.

The more they try to hew to cartoon accuracy in terms of proportions and angles, the harder and more complex it's going to become to transform these figures into anything approaching real vehicles or whatever else they turn into. In effect, the older Hasui style MPs were probably actually easier to design, as the unnatural angles and proportions of the cartoon aesthetic weren't the chief consideration as they are now.

And then of course, despite the high MSRP for this set, there are also cost considerations. (Many of which TT has and their competitors do not.) I'm just saying, they didn't arbitrarily set out to make a complex transformation for its own sake imho.

 

Maybe they're translucent orange like the front bumper lights? That'd be sweet.

Yeah the trailer hitch looks great, the whole tractor looks fantastic. So much love in this release, and it shows. God, Galvatron will be pretty mind-blowing, I'm sure. Imagine him with the same under-face details as MP-36 - it'll be such a nice touch!

Man AD, if I remember right you won't be able to get this guy due to medical bills? I really hope things turn around for you and you can pick one up one day, because you clearly respect what's been put into this release and appreciate it a whole damn lot.

I like the fact that you look at 44 in truck mode and bot mode and just think 'how the fuck did they get from that to that?!?'. Exactly the same as with MP-36, these two complement each other in every possible way.

 

I enjoyed this a lot.

Edit:

I've just read what Sam wrote, hope you're doing OK!

 

Oh, I'm fine now, just broke AF.  If I'm lucky I can recover luxury $$$ before August, but if not, it's cool. I always maintain five separate budgeted funds. Necessities, medical costs, emergencies, savings, and then last, luxuries/fun. Healthcare - which is a can of worms I won't open on this forum because politics   - is not ideal in terms of costs to say the least. So all or most of those got wiped out last year and I'm still rebounding. But having those separate funds, let me tell you, is prudent budgeting because we would have been annihilated otherwise.

Since then, I've limited my "fun" to video games. Cheaper and they last longer.   (A person has to have something to not go insane.) But I could always skip a game here or there and put it toward Amazon JP gift cards instead, since this isn't coming until August or later. That's a feasible strategy. We'll see.

 

You are hilarious. You are literally making things up to justify your opinion.

Bizarre doesn’t even begin to describe it but someone else said it well with butthurt!

 

Not it's not, definitely would prefer to find the official at a reasonable price, though with this guy that takara price would be hard to justify, even though he transforms without a waist swivel! Ugh, decisions...

 

Depends on what you're looking for. If you were a kid from 6 to 12 yrs old when Prime got popped in the belly along with most of the G1 characters, definitely V3. If you like a more modern look and or dont do a lot of action poses, Mp10 may be good enough.

Cost wise and accessories; if you're gonna get MP10 and end up getting the Dr Wu Carly, the jetpack that came out a few years back, replacement hands and arms, smoke stacks, light up head and matrix for MP10, and the replacement Sparkplug and Spike, may as well get it all at once with MP44.

That's my suggestion at least.

 

About the same chances of using MP-10’s trailer with Bayverse Prime. Different connectors, no adapters.

 

Sept 2019 release right?

 

Essentially.