Noob-Sai-Bot wrote:Now I see (small) pics and think 'wow ravage has been made uglier than the G1 version'. So not sure which one it is.
Since there is some question on how Masterpiece Ravage looks compared to G1 Ravage, I thought I'd do some quick photos. Apologies in advance if these aren't the best, I didn't do anything fancy like pull out my normal backdrop. (I just stood them a blank white piece of paper.)
Also, even though it wasn't part of the question, just for fun I thought I'd throw my 2008 Universe Ravage into these pics, as well. (This Ravage has been Reprolabeled.)
In all of these it will be G1 (reissue) on the left, Hasbro Masterpiece in the center, and Universe on the right.
First, the Cassette modes.
The front:
G1 and Masterpiece both look pretty darn good here! I'm going to say the MP edges it out slightly, however, as there is a visible gap under the right reel on the G1. The Universe one is only saved from being a disaster in this mode by the Reprolabels.
The back:
Cassette based Transformers almost invariably suffer from not bothering too hard on one side. The G1 version suffers from lack of a cassette deco here. But not too surprising, as one side needs to favour the jaguar mode. The Masterpiece one probably suffers the most on this side compared to any of its Masterpiece cassette brethren. In this case, though, I'd actually say the Universe one wins! It may technically still be the weakest cassette of the three, but the Reprolabels give it cassette details that neither of the other two have on the B side.
On to the jaguar modes!
This is probably the best angle on the three. Overall, I like the Masterpiece the best. But the other two aren't shabby.
The Universe one suffers from being a bit of a brick. Okay, you can wag his tail, and reposition his rear legs slightly... but the lack of articulation in his feet limit what you can do with his legs to almost nothing. His head sculpt always looked a bit funky, too. Almost beak-like rather then a feline face. It does have integrated weapons on its hindquarters, but given that they are tiny and colored black, people almost always overlook them on this figure, so they may as well not even be there. His jaguar mode does have cassette detailing (thanks to the Reprolabels) all over him, but he makes it work. I just think of it as the look of "Classics" Ravage rather then a true G1 Ravage look.
The otherwise excellent G1 figure just suffers from a lack of dimensionality that the above photo hides well, but will be more clear from other angles seen below. Also, while it does have awesome, huge, chromed weapons over the hindquarters, they are separate pieces that have to be removed for cassette mode. Not unusual in a G1 toy, but it must be mentioned if we are comparing it to the Masterpiece. And, of course, on his reverse side he has obvious cassette details. (Not as bad as the
lack of such details on one side of the cassette mode, but still note worthy.)
So, the Masterpiece. Good sculpt. Nice face. Good and expressive articulation. Integrated weapons. And it is three dimensional! A minor complaint would be a bit of kibble on the inner sides of the legs, but it isn't enough to make me dislike the look of the figure, and it also doesn't hinder the articulation in any way.
(The only major complaint I'd have is that mine came misassembled, and I had to do some scary surgery involving pin removal, plastic trimming, and a silver Sharpie to fix him... But I've not seen anyone else complain about this, so I hope I was an isolated case.)
Additional photos:
And just for fun, some photos I already had, taken just after getting the third party Beastbox and Squawktalk. (Hence their emphasis in these photos.) Ravage with other cassette based animals:
Frenzy, Squawkbox, and Rumble. (Or, if you must, Rumble, Squawkbox, and Frenzy: )
Cassette modes:
My Masterpiece Decepticons shelf:
) because it had more of a purple tone rather than blue and thus was more show accurate (even though I already had Takara's Rumble/Frenzy and every other Takara MP cassette released so far).
