Can you check if the number on prime’s backpack is the same format? Thanks.

 

I'm not buying it lol

 

For me it's the other way round. I find Megatron way more intuitive and very rewarding when you consider the end result...far more impressive. Have transformed him over 20 times, not exaggerating. When Megatron was released 2 years, if someone would have told me a matching Prime would be made and would be more complicated to transform than Megatron I would have laughed them off but yet here we are.

I even showed this figure to a friend today and he also couldn't quite get his head around how Prime is more complex than Megatron? TT really dropped the ball on MP-44 in terms of robot to alt-mode transformation. Once upon a time they reigned supreme in transformations but the chink in the armour first appeared in Sunstreaker. As with Prime his transformation is lacking in one thing which made TT peerless in this category....efficiency. With MP-44, into alt-mode...the juice simply ain't worth the squeeze.

People are taking up to an hour to transform him and lining up and tabbing just to produce a panel-y and kibbly trailer cab?? Seriously? Could anyone imagine if TT made a Grimlock and it was just as difficult to transform? You wouldn't because in your mind, you look at what the character transforms into, the iconic queues in the cartoon and then you realize it shouldn't be that complex and/or painstaking. I gotta be honest...it's a trainwreck of a transformation. I've done it five times now and I'm sorry it just is. I've never been drunk and totally smashed off my face but I have a feeling transforming this figure is like seeing those guys that are totally smashed off their faces that somehow, against all odds, manage to make it to their homes at the end of the night. I really don't find it intuitive at all but somehow get there.

I almost feel as if TT were hell bent on giving us the ultimate representation of Sunbow G1 Optimus Prime. Which they have, of course. Say what you may about this guy's transformation and price but he absolutely destroys the competition in terms of capturing the likeness of this character in robot mode. But I feel it was at a great cost literally and metaphorically. Don't know how to put it any other way but that transformation, from robot to alt is just hot shit, plain and simple.

 

Now imagine a V2 Rodimus Prime.

 

I'll bend over and take the a$king price it like a champ.


"No matter the cost".

 

Ha yeah, I opened it and did the knee fix quickly only to put it away without transforming it back. I know on Xmas day I’ll be busy cooking etc so it’s in robot mode. The idea of fixing the knee was just bothering me too much so I couldn’t wait.

Ouch that is a long time. Ah well. I get to see you guys sharing photos etc until then!

 

Nice! Where was this? Is it the Hasbro release?

 

Local comic shop. They got stock from EE.

 

Oh lol. I thought that was yours  

 

Hahaha.  

 

I concur with you. While I say that I can handle Optimus’ transformation...it doesn’t mean i enjoy it.

Its a HOT mess. In terms of disappointment, he’s a close 2nd to MP-9 for me.

IMO what’s the use if he looks as good as the toon but has a wacky design for the knees, overly complicated transformation process and paint that scratches off each time I transform him.

Sure, some of the issues are fixable BUT collectors shouldn’t have to fix the issues.

If i have to do that, I might as go back into Gunpla.

Oh yeah, I would love to round off my MP collection with a new Rodimus and Galvatron but...no more 1st runs for me.

 

Well, he looks like the toon AND has good articulation hence the complex transformation. Other than the legs, the rest of the transformation is not that complicated. MP-36 is worse in that regard AND paint chipping.

With MP-44, at least it’s more avoidable to transform without chipping the paint, for MP-36 it’s inevitable since some parts clip and require some force to tab or move the parts around. In either case it still sucks that it happens much too easily.

Though I agree, the over-engineered knees and paint chipping still suck. At this price point you could buy a perfect grade Gundam IIRC, you shouldn’t be fixing issues at this price point, otherwise you may as well just make it yourself if you could.

Obviously, to each their own. I enjoyed the transformation overall, the legs for me were the only frustrating part of it and took me the longest to figure out.

 

I didn’t mention articulation but while in theory, the figure has it but it’s negated by the wacky knee joints.

May i know your suggestion for avoiding paint chipping on the gray painted parts? But my buddies and I have tried various ways to avoid that issue but alas, there’s there’s aways a nick after each transformation.

 

I don’t really have a specific method. From truck to bot I just transform the rest of the torso first before doing the waist.

From bot to truck just make sure everything is out of the way, when you transform the gray part, make sure the front part is fully extended before rotating it and when you transform the wheels don’t put too much pressure on it.

When you’re all done with it, transform the rest of the truck while making sure that the waist armature and faux grill aren’t touching the gray parts. Though I’ve only transformed him a handful of times so maybe I’ve lucked out, generally I’m also super careful with handling my figures - I transform at the pace of an elderly driver.

The knee aside, the rest of the figure is super articulated as well - the highest degree of any Masterpiece offering. Better articulation usually means more engineering in the transformation to make it possible. The knee issue is awful, but I don’t think it should negate everything else since it’s not mutually exclusive to the transformation.

Though, I don’t have knee issues so maybe I’m ill informed.

 

It felt like a mess until I learn wotafa's method.

 

Just to be clear on the exact shade of red... Mr. Hobby 158 Super Italian Red? I have a couple of small dings to touch up. Or point of reference for the above quote. Thanks.

 

I actually think that Sunstreaker was one of the last great ones. It still accomplished the toon accuracy, but not 100%, still some car parts and folding bits visible. It had a great real world alt mode with great simple features. Best of both worlds with a nice transformation. Now we are going completely cartoon with this installation. And I think it's only going to get worse giving the other upcoming figures (Bumblebee). But I think we asked for it. Total toon accuracy is going to cost us the enjoyment of the transformation. The licensed figures I think were the way to go, simple yet real world and damn good bot modes and fun transformations that still resembled the originals. To me if the fun is gone and it becomes a chore, I'm out. Maybe we should take a step back a bit.

 

Lol that’s such a dramatic box. Befitting him though.

 

For sure, toon accuracy means more advanced transformations. Prime and Bee don't have real-world accurate alt-modes for different reasons. They didn't go with a licensed alt-mode for Prime because the original G1 toy wasn't really a licensed truck, the closest real-world truck that resembles the toy is the Freightliner FL86. Obviously, there are differences between that and the toy/toon hence why none of the MP Primes has licensed alt-modes. MP-44 still has real-world details and inspiration, but it also takes after the proportions of the toon truck which IMO is a good in-between instead of a licensed alt-mode which has a passing resemblance to the toy.

Depending on each bot, licensed/real-world alt-modes or inspired alt-modes can be hit or miss. Tracks for example is one of the weaker releases because his alt-mode is too small and compact due to his licensed alt-mode, so his bot-mode suffers. With Prime, I'd imagine transforming into a Freightliner FL86 would mean the transformation would've been a LOT more complex. The cab would have to be smaller and the truck bed would have to be thinner to match. With less mass to hide the bot parts, it'd mean an even more complicated transformation as is and the bot wouldn't be nearly as impressive.

As the alt-modes takes liberties, TT has more freedom in how they engineer the transformation. With Sunstreaker, the alt-mode has to perfectly match the real-life Countach which results in the kibble that you refer to. For Bee, they went for the full toon alt-mode with minor real-world details. It seems like for the mini-bots they'll forgo most of the real-world details since they're aesthetically different from the other bots, toy and toon-wise. For Bee v2, the MP-21 VW alt-mode roof is too wide and the front is too big to achieve the toon proportions of MP-45 for instance. So they went for the toon alt-mode with minor real-world details to accomplish the toon bot.

Although this results in the compromise of his backpack and feet, the cost of toon accuracy though I blame his size more than anything else. Since the alt-mode is smaller and takes a rounder shape than the original MP, it's harder to hide the kibble but achieves better proportions compared to MP-21. MP Hound will be a licensed alt-mode with some liberties I believe? But he looks pretty damn clean and the transformation seems less complicated than the latest releases if not on par with Bee v2 - going by the TT videos as well as reviews from owners of early production copies of MP-45.

I think that the frustration over the recent transformations not being 'simpler' is due to Prime and Bee having previous MP releases. Despite Sunstreaker being the most complicated carbot released, you're fine with the transformation. Maybe because there wasn't an MP Sunstreaker before, so there's no benchmark for the transformation (other than the 3Ps options, which were still somewhat complex FWIH). We've had MP-10 and MP-21. They don't need to achieve a certain look in bot-mode so their transformation can be more simple.

TT are not trying to make things needlessly complicated in terms of transformation, they're going for a particular aesthetic choice which happens to require more advanced engineering than before. I understand the enjoyability of the transformations is subjective, though I don't think it's going to get worse though. MPs are meant to be the most advanced level Transformers figures, not CHUGs which have to be limited to a certain level of complexity. Stepping back would be a mistake when we've already gone deep into toon accuracy.