My Seekers look great with Soundwave and Faith Leader and Grimlock look great alongside Hasui's designs, because the designs look like they're from the same line, and I'm far from the only one who thinks so.
By the same token, many people have raved about how good Scoria will look with Hasui's figures, and he's designed by someone else entirely and has design aspects of both Kobayashi and Hasui in it.
Then of course, we have plenty buying one or both of the 3rd party Huffers, which is two more designers, because they feel the designs also match Hasui's.

The reality is that plenty of us do not see the disparity between designers that you do.

 

I rather they release Galvatron than a V2 Megatron.

 

hey they did that exact thing with the classics line. All was going well until they changed designers and size and threw that whole collection in the toilet. Remember when the classics figures went for more than 12 bucks on ebay? Then you remember the line before the designer and size were changed.

I am using my brain it tells me to remember history because it more than likely is repeating.
Hey if I'm wrong I will be happy about it. But I don't think I am.

 

The fact of the matter is that none of us know how this will turn out. So, the only reasonable thing to do is to wait and see how the figures turn out. If you like them, buy them. If you don't, let your opinion be known with your wallet and don't buy it. It's as simple as that.

 

Ummm NO.

I want Both!


Greedy me!

 

Before anything else we NEED a new proper MP Megatron scaled to MP-10

 

Hell, right now I just want Clampdown and Deepcover from the SS mold (milk that sucker like a cow!) and someone like Rapido (who has a Botcon toy using the Universe ProwlStreakScreen mold), Skram or Jackpot... or a new character out of the blue Bluestreak dream.

Wheeljack will have limited opportunity for repaints (Slicer is the only one I can think of, since they won't likely go the Marlboor route).

 

Sideswipe brought me back.

To this day, I love MP-1. I still own that and MP-5. I bought Screamer and Takara Skywarp and Thundercracker, then sold those three and only have MP-5 because of it's scale to MP-1. While I realize the jets weren't entirely Kobayashi's, that's when I got sick of the line. Masterpieces were no longer masterpieces to me.

Grimlock looked okay, but nothing great; and from the Roddy reviews, he seemed to be an engineering fail. They just weren't masterpieces, any more.

Then, for the hell of it, I ordered Sideswipe and can honestly say he's perfect. I will never "need" another Sideswipe or Prowl.

So then, without knowing who the designer was, Sideswipe brought me back. I love the look and the style. He was the first true "masterpiece" since MP-1 for me.

With all that in mind, I'd be lying if I said I weren't a little apprehensive of the change. I do however, for whatever reason, have faith that Kobayashi's gonna knock this outta the park. And I have faith in Takara, so let's see where this goes.

And hope it's not another case of history repeating.

Have fun, all!

 

That was Hasbro with a mainstream line. This is Takara with a collectors' oriented line. Not quite apples and oranges but not an apt parallel, I think.  

 

Well, realistically, the engineering and design of both MP05 and MP09 are amazing. That HotRod alt mode of MP09 is gorgeous (if you can get it to TF into that mode). While I realize there is some fiddly-ness to both and some QC issues with MP09 especially, I think they are far from a POS when it comes to engineering, and design.

Not to be the white knight or whatever else people will want to call me. I definitely see the faults with both figures but I think the engineering done with both of them is beyond anything we could have thought possible before they came out.

And while aesthetically, in bot mode MP05 is a bit too much G1 toy and not enough G1 toon, I still find it a marvel of design and engineering to have produced that figure.

Then we have MP09 that looks, almost, like he just stepped right out of the movie. The fact that they incorporated all 4 modes of RP and HR into the that one impressive figure still astounds me (even if I am leary of transforming it and the need for the trailer to cover most of HR in alt mode).

I think the world has become too entitled (or maybe it's just expectation of something better than it was before), but I think it's clouded our views on what we actually have already.

What we have are some glorious MPs in a line that hasn't even quite got to 20 figures (technically 20 soon) which has spanned over a decade, with more on the horizon and hopefully many more to come after those.

I believe we should all be thankful for what we have and will be getting soon, instead of nitpicking each one apart.

And no I'm not saying we should settle for a 5-step transformation in future MPs or that QC issues are not a problem but there needs to be a line between wishing for everything we could ever desire and facing the reality that world does not always follow our ideal.

 

I think people are apprehensive because of the absolute perfection of some of Hasui's figures.

In my sig, there are only four figures that aren't 100% perfect - at least to me.

Optimus: The wheels could be hidden and the proportions - specifically the arms - could be a little better.
Starscream: Doesn't count since he's not really Hasui's.
Red Alert: The thighs could be changed to white - possibly not Hasui's fault - which I can do with a Sideswipe KO.
Ravage: I think he'd be better if they kept his rockets separate.

I never looked at Kobayashi's MPs and thought they were the definitive version of a character, whereas I have looked at Hasui's and thought he created the definitive versions of Sideswipe, Soundwave, Laserbeak (Buzzsaw), Rumble (Frenzy) and Prowl (Bluestreak & Smokescreen). I don't "need" to buy any representations of those characters ever again.

Regardless, as stated in that earlier post, I have some faith in Kobayashi this time around. I do, however, totally understand the trepidation of some board members.

Have fun!!!

 

Masterpiece is my main focus now. I like the older ones well enough, and the ones we got recently are stellar. The new ones would have to suck some serious balls for me to not buy them. I don't think that will be the case.

 

I love how the side that tries to push an irrational argument always claims to represent logic and reason. If that were true, why the need to constantly remind us in every post?

Putting the flag waving and ad hominems aside, I think in this case, yes, it was the designer that made the line as popular as it is today. His designs have been inspired and are what made casual collectors take notice. I realize there's a big hardcore section out there that will buy more figures over several lines, but for people that only care about reliving their childhood and are slowly getting out of toy collecting, the quality of his figures was a welcome last hurrah.

I agree that when MP01 came out there was a lot of excitement for the figure. When MP3 and MP5 came, there was also a lot of excitement. I was amongst those collectors. It was the time between releases that allowed me to consider their quality and decide how much I really didn't like them once the G1 fanboy googles wore off. I stopped collecting the line and didn't come back until the datsuns. I didn't know who the designer was and didn't realize there was a reboot since MP10, but once I saw the datsuns I took the time to find out. My toy collecting is very casual and I'm an older family man that is only interested in reliving an idealized version of his G1 collecting days. That's what Hasui brought to the line and that unique touch is what he understood and Kobayashi didn't.

So you might argue that Hasui has set the precedent and Kobayashi is sure to follow. I don't disagree, but I also think Hasui was as excited for the line as I am and was on a roll. What I wanted was to see a complete subset of the series, like the ark crew he promised us, all designed by him for me to have as a cohesive and idealized version of those characters. I didn't expect him to design the entire G1 line all by himself, even I could get sick of him, but I did want to see something consistent for a little while. I don't think Kobayashi will be awful and I do like MP08, but he simply won't be Hasui. I'm not saying his designs will be bad, but they won't be at the same level with Hasui's nor have the same aesthetic in design choices, and that's where I'm disappointed. Kobayashi had plenty of opportunities to give us something close to what MP10-19 have been, but failed to match up. Hasui has been knocking it out of the park with every release and I wanted a small, complete, collection of figures with his unique vision defining them; my experience reliving my collecting childhood will miss that.

Now you might say that I'm just a part-timer and don't deserve an opinion since I'm not in it for the long haul. You'd be right, I'm not in it for the long haul, but I'm also not the only one. A number of posts I've read of people asking for the line to speed up are like me. They enjoy reliving the past, they like the quality of work Hasui does, and they want to relive enough of it before they put their toy collecting days behind them. I don't collect nearly as much as I used to and once the MP line fizzles, I'll be done, I just don't want that to happen sooner rather than later.

Sorry, but based on the number of posts saying people will buy the MP version of a third party figure would suggest that many people don't agree with what you're saying. Third party figures were a nice "stand-in" until the MP line releases their version (that, of course, was while Hasui was the MP line). It's simply not possible for two different designers to make figures that look similar to each other. Your example of the third party stuff only validates my point on this. Some people love quakewave, but I think they just love the idea of getting a shockwave figure. He honestly looks like crap when displayed next to the vastly superior MP10-19 figures. I see those differences in the figures, and based on the response of many disappointed collectors in this thread, many other people see it too.

 

I'd like to pose a question to all the Kobayashi optimists on the board. Did any of you actually love the MP10-19 designs or did you all feel like they were just an acceptable continuation of what we were getting before MP10?

I seem to remember a lot of people praising the newer designs and picking apart how awful certain aspects of the older ones were, but suddenly the supporters of MP01-09 have found their voice and are letting us know their true feelings. Am I correct in this assumption? I'm frankly very surprised to read posts where people compare MP01 to MP10. Before this announcement I would have thought that argument to be ludicrous and never saw anyone making it. Which personal characteristic is driving you to rejoice at the news of a new designer? It certainly isn't based on any discussed history of the MP line that any of us naysayers are aware of.

 

I'm glad someone brought this up.

Crappy index fingures on MP-10 and Soundwave.
Not saying it'll get any better... but I've never had MP-03's figure tips go flying off into the air while trying to pose them. And for that matter, never had an issues with Quakewave's either.

 

MP10 could've done a better job of hiding the wheels but it's still the definitive official G1 Optimus. After I got it in hand, it was better than I expected.

 

Personally, I thought Grimlock was the best of Kobayashi's designs, followed by Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime (in terms of looking like the animation model and being able to switch between all iterations of the character).

Grimlock was easily poseable, not susceptible to break, and a relatively easy transformation.

Rodimus stunk in that he never was stable, couldn't be posed, broke, and was a pain to convert from one mode to another.

I had the original Megatron, Starscream, and Prime, but Hasui's redesigns equaled instant replacements. A pity that we were unable to get a version 2 of Megatron. Heck, for that matter, it's a pity that Hasui didn't get to finish the crew of the Nemesis which aside from Megs 2.0, would've been Starscream repainted into Thundercracker and Skywarp again, and then Reflector would've been last (seeing how Shockwave always stayed on Cybertron).

 

"Hey there Jim-Bob. You've been doing a great job as an accountant, but why don't you go spend a year in the secretarial pool now. You know, for cross-training, like on a ship, with a captain and stuff."

I think what Transformed means to say is people get assigned to different projects, not other departments. Hasui didn't stop being a toy designer, he's just designing for a different line. We do that in the US too.

 

I definitely prefer Hasui's work but I don't feel that Kobayashi's earlier pieces are the monstrosities you make them out to be. MP-08 continues to be one of my favourite MP figures despite the recent hatred that is directed towards him. I also don't hate the seeker mold the way that many in this thread do. I thought the original design for MP-03 (before Kawamori altered it) looked fantastic. Heck, even MP-09 would be a favourite of mine if there weren't so many QC issues with the figure. I just don't see these designs as being the absolute rubbish that you're making them out to be. I buy very few Transformers (largely because I find the majority of them to be absolute rubbish) but I still don't hate the earlier Masterpiece figures the way you do.

Will I miss Hasui's work? Almost certainly. Do I think that Kobayashi is a talentless hack who is going to literally destroy everything that Hasui has worked on thus far? Not likely. The line will survive and I'm sure that there will be a few gems in the future, with or without Hasui at the helm.

 

You've obviously been under a rock. There are lots of people who will still take MP-01 over MP-10 regardless of scale. Also, all the people that are "picking apart" pre MP-10 MP's are all exaggerated opinions and is nothing more than that. To say that they are awful is ridiculous. They might be bad to some, but awful...I'm not seeing it, opinion or not. Maybe if it was commenting on some of the latest generations figs...