My First Masterpiece

I had never owned a Masterpiece.
I've been a fan of Transformers since I was 4, and have followed the toys, shows, comics, conventions, obscure merchandise & third-party stuff and more religiously through the years, but I've always skipped out on Masterpiece figures (mainly because of the price).

I was recently in Dubai and stopped in Kinokuniya where I found four (FOUR) MP-23 Exhaust figures for about USD 100 (they also had about 6 Star Sabers). After a lot of debate, and encouragement from my brother, and given the figure's history, I grabbed my first Masterpiece, and I can't believe I've never owned one before today.



I love this guy. He might be the best figure in my collection. What makes him more special to me is he's MP-23, and this year marks the 23rd year since I discovered Transformers.



My thoughts on him:

• The head sculpt is amazing.
• The MP Wheeljack body sculpt is fantastic, more so in person than I thought in the pictures. I think I need Jacky now.
• Everything is so damn tight! I had to throw him in the freezer to loosen up those joints.
• The paint scheme, with all the controversy and changes made to it, is great. It's simple, clean, and effective, and I like how his Decepticon logo sticks out on the 'white on red' piece on his chest.
• The Lancia Stratos mode looks amazing.
• I love that they included the Immobilizer, even though it just stays in the box for me.
• I like his bellybutton. There. I said it.
• His card artwork is stellar.

For those of you planning on grabbing him:

• The 'lower blades' sticking out of the side of his head sculpt can get caught on his chest during transformation, mine has gotten a slight stress mark on the right blade, nothing terrible or noticeable unless you look for it. The best thing to do is have his head tilted up as you bring it down, and then straighten it once you are past the clearance area on his chest.
• The removable side view mirrors were extremely delicate on my piece. My right one stressed immediately as I was gently pushing it in, so I ended up using the spare they give you. I think I can hit it with some heat to remove the stress mark, but be heedful of that. The other ones seem sturdier.
• Getting him to stay together in vehicle mode is a bit of a task, but this one is just nitpicking.

Overall, he's a fantastic figure. I've caught the MP bug, Star Saber is in my pile of loot (he was the one I wanted as my first MP) and now I've preordered the MP-10 reissue, and I'm trying to obtain a MP Grimlock and MP Soundwave.

 

Yeah, I don't have a problem with the Hasbro blue because it's definitely based on the toy. It also turns lighter in natural light. That said, I think a light blue toon accurate color will just take the seeker trio over the top.

I agree with you on the insignias. I don't want Skywarp to be the only right side up figure, so based on that maybe I do want Transformers Asia to release him. Are right side up insignias worth $80?  

As for that 3P Skyfire, I don't have it so can't attest to it personally. It may be one of the most controversial 3P figures that came out in the last year. It's generally considered a major disappointment...though it does look good.

 

Nice! Glad you got your first MP! Welcome to the world of MP collecting, you'll definitely love it here! Your wallet will hate you though.  

 

This pic is smoke-tastic! It gives me a disturbance in the depths of my huck.

 

I love how the subtle shadows accentuate the groves in his thighs and other parts.
Great lighting. Nearly makes me wish that masterpiece figures where panel lined like people do with their Gundam figures.

 

I have to say, that the only downside on the Masterpiece figures or 3rd Party figures are the hands. My cheap 80`s figures or CW figures have a tight grip because of the unarticulated hands, but with those MP/3rd Party hands, those weapons fall easily off...

My G2 Sideswipe cannot even close his hands. So he holds weapons with open hands, which looks ridiculous...

Even Sideshow/Hot Toys give multiple hands to have a good grip on the weapons...sigh..

 

Couldn't disagree more, I hate block hands, so little character. Besides they all pretty much have tabs inside the hand to alleviate grip issues.

I'm guessing you've never handled a Fanstoys figure? Titanic grip!

 

I had Soar, but wasn`t impressed by the grip.

If the companies put 2 sets of interchangable hands with the figure, everyone would be happy...

 

I'm ok with the hands the cars have, I think it's a good compromise. I got the articulated hands that FanStyle made for the Datsuns and put them on MP-17/18/18S/19. They're pretty cool and all, but they're right at the size where they might be a little too small and delicate for full articulation. Of course I wouldn't mind paying a little more to get better articulated hands, but I'm glad the MP figures don't have a block with a 5mm hole or open hands like CHUG/CW figures.

The only thing I really don't care for is the larger figures like Soundwave, Prime, Magnus, etc - the single trigger finger and mittens for the rest of the hand is just plain bad for figures that size. They should be more like the FT hands.

 

heckuva shot!!

that's a nice looking display!!

 

Cheers man how about this one:



Has two official figures in it!

 

so now ppl are posting pics and saying there are official mp's in it so its oke to post here? i dont get it..

 

As long as an Official MP figure is in the Pic, its ok.

 

Great first MP, great first MP-related post! Welcome to the party

Also keep an eye on that Exhaust, he'll be a bad influence on your future MPs...

 

heh. even though there is no seat to put them in, with all these diaclone inspired releases coming out i kinda want a little diaclone driver with magnet feet. lol.

 

*drools*

That looks sooooo good.

 

Does doesn't it......one more for the night although I chopped Laserbeak out by mistake:

 

Great shot...

Quakewave looks fantastic and blends so well with the othe Masterpieces...

Apollyon reminds me of a custom (a good custom) but does not give me the same MP VIBE as Quakewave.

Discalimer - I don't own either of the above ...so can only base that on all the pics I have seen of both Figures


Disclaimer - I do own Green Giant and other 3 party figures. ...  . Just missed the boat on Quakewave

 

Why not one PIC of all the boxes? That would certainly be pretty cool

 

Just arrived. Cool.