Still got G2 Bee to tide us over... Probably a Tokyo Toy Show figure too  

And of course the monthly updates we'll now get of Tracks and future releases  

 

Yep, MP-10 rerelease in May too. Tokyo Toy Show is mid-June, G2 Bee end of July. Hopefully they're aiming for a September release because there are still two more MPs to follow before year's end!

 

I know some people on here pour scorn on Masterpiece collectors, and G1 in general, but for me, nothing beats the build-up of the latest Masterpiece figure. From speculation to actually getting it in hand, it's a great rush! I hope this line continues for a very long time in this vein.

 

Me too. It's one of the more special things happening with the brand these days.

 

I'm not worried too much about a gappy back. Those gaps in the arm pit area and the 'hood' over his head - I'm fairly certain you are looking through the rear window, and while it's clear in this proto, it's gonna be quite darkly tinted in the final release if this is like any other MP car, so it won't seem so much like you can look right through him. Also the doors are still to be accounted for. They could maybe be covering up the lower back.

 

September? This is déjà vu. Prowl in September 2013 and Wheeljack in September 2014. I just realised TT have never released a new MP figure between April-August.

 

Perfect. Nice work Kurdt.

Kobayashi confirmed.

 

Was that confirmed in the text accompanying one of the Tracks photos?

 

Nah Bumble just joking. Kobayashi's designs are more complex than Hasui's. To be fair though Ultra Magnus and Rodimus Prime require complex transformations that only he seems to be able to pull off.

 

Don't forget MP-23 Exhaust, even though he comes out at the same time as Star Saber.

 

It looks to me to be a lot like MP Sideswipe, just backwards. (As in front half makes the legs, arms fold up under the rear). But with the "outer lower legs" doing a 180, I think the legs will transform almost identically.

 

excited for this now , the gap on the forearm don't bother me in the slightest anyway no doubt a cover will be made to fill it...which reminds me still need bee and sideswipe covers

 

I too hope that if they put the flames that it's more toy like then toon in this case. The toy one actually looks a lot more detailed like it should (like you think and figure one would on a car) compared to the simplified toon version where they weren't going to draw that detailed flame on it each time. I don't think it would affect much in Bot mode to make it much difference but in car mode it sure would look better. So I hope in this case they do go with the toy look for the flames.

 

I think he gets a bum rap for this because he's worked on a few figures that require complex transformations. Grimlock is about as simple as a leader figure's transform is going to get, Starscream might be outdated but his engineering is pretty straightforward and effective, and Ultra Magnus' transform is pretty easy and very intuitive - I don't think these are no more difficult or involved than Hasui's Optimus or Soundwave. MP-09 really seems to be the only offender - I think it'll haunt him the rest of his life!

 

MP-09 was very ambitious - take a Dery design and realize it in real life, with 4 modes. I think only Springer could possibly be as challenging.

Ultra Magnus at least had a toy before the Dery art. Hot Rod did not. Dery liked to do weird things and cheat a lot. Once they decided to go for both Hot Rod and Rodimus Prime, that added another layer.

Frankly, that design is still the best design we have gotten to date in my opinion, although it looks like Star Saber will top him. It is really only the quality control we have to blame for the lack of love for that design. As pure engineering and coloring, MP-9 is brilliant.

 

Yeah I've gotta get this  

 

Couldn't agree more. A little off topic, but I talked to Dery on FB about Ultra Magnus and it turns out he was not responsible for his character design (makes sense when you look at it). What's even more interesting is that he did design Orion Pax (no surprise there - it's classic Dery), but he was originally tagged as Ultra Magnus. The details were fuzzy in his mind, but it seems Orion Pax was originally going to be called Ultra Magnus, but the name was changed and the Ultra Magnus name was used shortly after for the Powered Convoy figure we all know and love today. Btw, Dery said he doesn't know how did the Ultra Magnus character model, but he definitely did Tracks, so... bring on Tracks!

 

UM was designed by Hasui. It was his vision. The project was taken over by Kobayashi near the end once Hasui got pulled to do the AOE designs. That's why Magnus' transformtation is intuitive for such a huge piece. Kobayashi helped on the transformation part of it. Tracks will be Kobayashi's first MP design since Rodimus. I'm curious to see if he changes his approach to be more like what Hasui has put out.

 

I think the general consensus is that Hasui tried to go for an armoured up MP10, could not do it for complexity/cost issues and Kobayashi took over from scratch.

 

Interesting read, thanks Dean

Yup, what Knighdramon said. The Armor UM was Hasui, but MP-22 was all Kobayashi after he accepted the term of condition from Hasui, must carry 4 MP car, and try to be in-scale with MP10. Also in the MP Guide book, the MP-22 sketches had comments from Kobayashi as to why he did what he did...