Takara Tomy Transformers Masterpiece MP-19 Smokescreen – Hasbro Pulse

Smokescreen + is now available at HasbroPulse for $79.99

 

And with that listing, nice hi-res versions of some of the photos we've gotten:

 

Holy crap! Those are great!

 

Ordered one from NY today. My first + version carbot - I feel the face and smoke effects were big enough difference.

 

Gosh those are so much nicer. Hasbro pulse with the nice photos. Never would’ve thought that.

Gonna change that icon now?

 

yep... just as soon as i have time hahaha

 

Not knocking this release (I think it's great), but I'm really surprised at how positive the reaction has been to it.

Especially considering I'd say it's much more similar to the original MP-19 than MP-20+ or MP-18+ are to their OGs.
I'd even argue that 19+ has less differences from its original than 12+ or 17+, though of course it comes with the bonus faces and effects at least.

So what's the dealio. Why you guys give so much grief to my boy Bluestreak, but showering all this love on Smokey+? Is Smokescreen that much more popular a character? Was he everyone's favourite toy as a kid?

 

Very true, Sam, maybe it's the smoke effects, who knows, haha. But I'm surprised myself because people bitched about his derpy toon accurate face on the OG version which I loved by the way and now TT has even gone more toony with it people love it even more!? TF fans, who the hell knows what goes on in our minds, haha!?

 

The colors are a lot different. The better you look at the original and the plus release side by side, the more noticable the color differences are. Add to that the swappable faces, the new shoulder launchers and the smoke effect and this guy's a winner. To me at least. I think it's a great improvement. Just like Bluestreak is. Prowl is last on my list of Datsuns. He's only a small improvement compared to what was changed with the other two Datsuns.

 

This has surprised me as well.  

I’m still on the fence about adding Smokescreen+ to my collection. He’s starting to grow on me and I also need to be selective about my MP spending with 44-47 preordered. If some extra money comes my way maybe I’ll order one, but I’m still very happy with the standard version.

 

Of all the characters who have been given the + treatment (well, except Megatron+, not interested in that one), I've always first enjoyed the original version, but then preferred the + version by a fairly large margin once it was in hand. For me, it's about getting as "anime accurate" as possible, so preferring the + versions is a natural step. I'm looking forward quite a bit to both Bluestreak+ & Smokescreen+! And Optimus 3.0 & Bumblebee 2.0 & Hound! The next several months should be exciting!

 

Ordered from Toydojo.........

 

The colours are much more vibrant. But I love both of them.

 

For me I like the new colours and different facial expressions, but I LOVE the new integrated shoulder launchers and the smoke effects. And it makes me think that as the plus versions go along they may get more ambitious with how much they’re changing the actual parts instead of just the colours like Prowl plus. As was discussed in a different thread, Ironhide and Ratchet just might get plus versions with a few more parts to ditch the hip panels. Who knows how far they might go?

 

I love the different face sculpts too. Takara always manages to bring the Transformers to life with their face sculpts. I am getting Smokescreen + and Bluestreak+.

 

becuz racecar

 

I really do think it's because he's a cool racecar with some cool extra effect pieces coupled with the fact he had his own spotlight episode.

I, on the other hand, am very much looking forward to Streaker more than I am to Smokey. Smokey is completionist thing for me as he's the last member of the silver faces for me and I was never a fan of his original face/head sculpt anyway.

 

oh well I ended up putting a deposit for him with tfdirect like I did with Streak+

 

It's a valid question, Sam.

My first reaction was one of hesitancy - Its exclusivity; when you squint, the changes are downright subtle.

I'm not normally a fan of large fields of red next to lots of blue, but those colors seem really vibrant - they "pop". The satin finish doesn't look nearly as matte or dull as Bluestreak's grays. Add to that the no-longer black (smoky, really) windows, newly sculpted parts, and the beautiful action/effect parts, and it's something I'm going to try to source. My only remaining gripes are the exclusivity and the all blue toes/car rear.

Bluestreak is a tougher sell. I want the lighter, blue-tinted windows, but the paint job looks far too flat/matte for a sports car. I wish that T-T had chosen (metal flake) pewter and silver paint for the auto body panels. As is, I'm not sure if I'll get him or not. Prowl was an easy choice: A quick glance at him and those shins turned from black to the light blue of transparent windows over bright white.

It doesn't have to do with the character. One of my favorite MP-ish figures is Savant/Skids, but even with issues #19 and #20 of the original comic, it's not really about character. I never had any attachment to Smokescreen. It just looks smart.