Optimus Legends getting world premier stuff from MST? That's pretty awesome and well deserved. He became my absolute favourite reviewer ever since I (recently, I'll admit) discovered him.

Also, of course, Ironhide looks stellar. This new wave of Magic Square designs (I'd say from Perceptor onwards) just keeps on giving.

 

You're right buddy   Usually it's guys like Golden Zhen or Double Dagger with a world premiere. Maybe Magic Square decided to give the premiere to someone outside of Asia to boost coverage on the rest of the planet?
I'm expecting more media coverage on this little guy soon after the Optimus Legends YouTube vid, though AND pre orders starting to appear.

 

Video Time!

edit:

Booo on the feet only having side to side tilt. I think the alt mode could be a lot better, especially that front panel, but I'll take it for that killer bot mode.

 

Didn't look at a scale chart, but he feels undersized to me. Everything else seems great (except maybe foot range of motion).

 

Surprised how short he is compared to trailbreaker. He might fit NA better. Cool figure though. Can't wait to see the van wars play out.

 

Is that MFT's Trailbreaker? I thought the blue MST version was a brighter blue without a metallic face.

 

Maaan, bot mode looks spectacular.

@Autobrat Leader - I initially expected him to be as tall as Trailbreaker, but I'm not surprised about the final size... Looking back at that early Ratchet prototype pic (with Jetfire and Mirage in it) after having Hound in my hands, helped to put him into scale.

 

That's the first time I'm questioning myself about buying an MST figure...the shape of his alt mode is so wrong!

 

Agreed. I love MST but they just freakin' suck at foot articulation. Not having forward/backward foot or at least toe articulation is severely limiting. Makes it so any pose has to have the lower legs perpendicular to the ground. And yeah, the bot mode could use a bit of rounding off - it was especially obvious when he put it next to NA Ironhide.

 

Looks amazing to me. I've already started slowing down on the MP scaled bots both due to prices and space constraint. I feel like I picked the perfect time to get into the legends scale. So many awesome things about this guy at 1/4 the price. Pretty much looks like I'll be picking up every MS figure from here on out.

 

Looks really nice...transformation seems like a headache though...rubber tires always a plus for me.

Edit:

I have Magic Square's Blaster and Jazz and because of time, they seem like 2 different directions as far as transformation is concerned. Although their Blaster has a little of it, Magic Square seems like they are into "puzzle panel" transformations now (couldn't find a better name). Like I said, I have their Jazz, but haven't transformed him yet.
What have been people's experiences pushing those puzzle panels into each other? Does it require much force?

 

As far as an ironhide/ratchet mold, looks … pretty awesome. Nice face sculpt, stature and presence. Checks all the boxes I need. They even made that weird diamond crotch look aiight.

 

Love him. Definitely better than TT and NA (v1)

 

I see that almost all the windows are broken up by transformation seams. That means that the paint is going to be right up to the edge, and will be on parts that get handled a lot (if you're someone who transforms their figures often). Given that paint doesn't play well with the plastic that MS uses, I'm a little concerned that these windows will see some paint wear-and-tear from finger-rubbing, and you'll end up with flaked-off paint in the middle of your windows.

I think the bot mode looks excellent (shame about the Pac-Man knees, but whatever), but the alt mode is a bit... boxy.

 

And for NA 2.0 comparison.



Later on when I get home I'll grab some pictures of MS Trailbreaker and MS Bluestreak with NA Riddick for some comparison shots.

 

Also, I guess MS doesn't do backwards articulation at the hip anymore, huh?

 

They've sacrificed it for the hiding hip plate functionality. I like the backward articulation but I'd say it's a worthy trade. But Ironhide actually does have backward movement - looks to be about 10-15 degrees, which is as much as humans have and is plenty for my taste.

 

Yeah, fair point on the slight backwards movement being present. As for hiding-the-hip-plate functionality: yeah, that's a good thing to do and I'm all for it (TBH after Takara did it with Sunstreaker and Prime 3.0, I feel like everybody in the world should have copied this design), I just don't see why they must be two mutually-exclusive features. I understand that the hip joint is placed further forward to create more space for the hip plate to tuck under the body, but like... is that truly the only design possible? Seems like there could be a middle ground - but it's true that I'm not a toy designer, so maybe I'm way wrong.

 

What I like:
- it's Ironhide
- MS aesthetics, pretty much walked out of the cartoon
- extra hands, face, nozzles and rocket launcher
- articulation
- transformation, I'm a sucker for these kind of puzzle transformations
- alt mode, looks a lot like g1 toon van
- slight backward leg movement, enough for thrusting them hips
- almost ready for release

What I don't like:
- lack of ankle articulation, this is going to require some fooling around getting the pose you want
- alt mode, though quite g1, could be better, a bit too boxy and long

Scale looks ok, according to Sunbow at least.