Wtf is going on here?!

P.S. Anyone else waiting on TFSource like me? Can’t wait to get this big boi in hand! Everyone’s photos is giving me fomo!

 

Yup. Pick your poison and be happy. Personally, I like TT's better but the FT is a hell of a toy.

But siege in between those 2?

lol.

Simply insulting.

 

MP-57 Skyfire
FT-10/X Phoenix
G1 Jetfire
Daca Toys Kronos
Seige Jetfire

In that order.

 

I agree with this.

 

I am. They usually run things 1-2 weeks later if it's a TT exclusive.

 

Same as TCP/TD, right?

Man, they look incredible together.

 

TCP will probably be in a week or two.

 

I can once he arrives!

 

Parcelforce either takes 5 hours to clear customs or 5 days. There is no in-between. Looks like Monday   

 

Yup. Me.

 

It’s a tight fit, but they’re in :



Might have to rearrange a little as dunno if happy with final layout, but just glad to have gotten them all on the same shelf

 

So.....I've spent some time with this guy, transformed him to robot and back and one thing I'm certain about is that the Mighty Megatron, MP-36, still sits on his throne comfortably as the greatest MP to date. He's just a good figure not a great one in anyway shape or form. Here's the breakdown

The good
1) . Insane levels of cartoon accuracy in robot, even the seemingly MEH facesculpt in pics is quite good in hand.
2). Good levels of articulation, something I don't really give a shit about but has to mentioned.
3). Lots of playability, accessories and all, again stuff I don't really care about but have to mention.

The bad
1). The altmode...it sucks it looks unrefined and unpolished with all those gaps which aren't even toon accurate. If this were the other way round and this was FT's, to say the TT fanboys would have raked him over the coals would be an understatement of the century. FT's jet is far superior, it cleans better and looks more refined and polished. The winning combo would be the Phoenix's altmode with TT's colour scheme.
2). Sturdiness - the figure just doesn't feel well put together, it doesn't tab solidly, I get a Tracks vibe from him, not a pleasant one, FT Phoenix on the other tabs like Mofo, everything locks in place quite nicely.
3).Transformation - it sucks as well, it's nowhere near as smooth and effortless as those rehearsed videos make it seem, such a step back from the very enjoyable Trailbreaker, lot of folding over plastic, tabbing issue, and for the love of god can anyone tell me how to untab his legs when going back into alt-mode without using a spugger, this is very FT like, dare I say I even prefer Phoenix's. At best TT's just gets the job done and barely.
4). The scale - he's a bit on the small side, Skyfire towered over each and every single bot and this is what Phoenix did in my collection even over MP-22, which is not the case with MP-57, you just don't the sheer sense of scale with this guy.

The Hmmm.....
1). I still stand by the fact that his face is too grey but that's neither here nor there.


All in all, I'd say he's a good figure, not great in anyway shape or form. The only thing he brings to the table is his bulk and in all honestly, you can't lose virginity twice. In terms of being imposing, Phoenix is more imposing than this guy and dwarfs everything around him which is what you feel Skyfire should do.

I'd say if the only thing I prefer of this guy over Phoenix is the toon accuracy in robot mode and the articulation which I don't really care about, everything else Phoenix reigns supreme. If you already have Phoenix and aren't too hung up on toon accuracy this is a bot you can easily give a miss because apart from that one aspect, which is important to me it feels more like a side step in every other department.

I can honestly say this figure doesn't even crack top five of my MP's, there is nothing he does better than the Mighty Megatron, the Grapferno mold, MP-22, the seeker mold and MP-29+ . It's such a shame, had he excelled in those other areas he would be vying for GOAT MP title but as it stands he's just another solid release, good but not great.

 

Saves me $270. Phoenix does the job!

 

When you look at Phoenix, you can see he's way too bulky, like if he had been on steroids. Don't get me wrong, I still like it but he's certainly not accurate, the distance between both shoulders plus his massive forearms make him look completely out of proportion and dated. The shape and placement of his vents is wrong, so is the size of the red parts on his hips. They also cheated on the cockpit in robot mode.
TT MP-57 just look like he jumped out of the screen and that is what the MP line has been all about for while.

 

Wait, I have Phoenix and don't actually recall how they cheated on the cockpit in robot mode. What was up with that?

 

This is a great and valid review, don’t get me wrong, but why did you even get him if there are so many negatives? You don’t even really care about most of the positives either. Of course you’ve seen in hand images and videos—even comparisons to Phoenix. You even said you don’t even care about the toon aesthetic.

Just saying, you would think that someone wouldn’t spend almost $300 on something they can definitely see they wouldn’t enjoy.

Then again, I don’t have my copy yet and also never had Phoenix, but I see the appeal to both figures. I’m personally a toon aesthetic kind of guy and that was the main selling point for me. I guess my question is what was *your* main selling point when you decided to get him?

I know you still said he was a good figure though!

P.S. I’m not trying to be a d*ck in any way lol.

 

I like the shape of the Phoenix's chest, but I wish it didn't protrude as much, like MP57's. The shoulders on MP57 seem a little too far down, and too far up on Phoenix. I like the shape of MP57's legs (mainly thighs), but I wish they were larger, like Phoenix's. The face is a little long on MP57, and a little short on Phoenix. If only it was possible just to average out the characteristics from both figures...

 

Obviously opinions are subjective, but I had a completely different experience with it.

Having compared both, it's true that the TT alt mode has a few more gaps, but they aren't particularly noticeable, and Phoenix has similar issues (albeit to a lesser extent). The TT alt mode is also more accurate than the FT one in a variety of ways. I do still think Phoenix looks very good in alt mode though, and has a few advantages (landing gear is more stable, the wings don't bow, generally sleeker profile etc.).

MP-57 feels perfectly sturdy to me. Sure, Phoenix has more diecast, but so what? Phoenix also has a major design flaw (the neck tab) that broke on mine after two careful transformations (I have a feeling the previous owner wasn't as careful, but even so, it is a design flaw). Some of the other tabs also get stuck on mine, so I'm concerned about their longevity. At no point did I feel like I was in danger of breaking MP-57, save for perhaps when pulling the ankle slider out, cause it was tighter than I was expecting. Once I got over the fear, it was fine.

As for the transformation, well I'm no Emgo by any stretch, but I found it to be one of the easiest MP transformations in ages. A damn sight easier than MP-36, that's for sure. I'd watched Watafa's review once or twice when it was released, and didn't even use the instructions to transform MP-57. It was actually fun; more so than MP-56, which I transformed very recently. I didn't encounter any issues with the backpack, as some have reported. I was quite surprised at how well it went, given that I usually have to resort to the manual or a video for most figures.

I don't think the scale is off by too much, but I agree that it is probably ever-so-slightly too short. It's probably exacerbated by looking at Phoenix for all those years, but when you look at the chart, Prime is probably a head/half a head too tall in comparison. Not the end of the world for me given the other positives though, but I agree it could have been a little taller. Takara's scales always seem to be internally inconsistent though. Ironhide/Ratchet/Trailbreaker are too tall compared to Prime etc. Most of the bots are half a head out, so I've learned to live with it.

So yeah, we all have different priorities, and fair play if you're not feeling it, but this is just to offer an alternate opinion to those who might be on the fence.

 

It's split in two. The plastic tip of the nosecone folds up inside, and the tip of the 'nosecone' in bot mode is a separate diecast piece permanently attached to his crotch.