The Energon Pub

[Dead Metal]

Fan company i-Gear known for their Autoscout figure have updated their site with an on-line store complete with pre-orders for their upcoming partner product of a miniature Master Piece Optimus Prime. But this is not all they also have a pre-order for a limited to 500 pieces Nemesis Prime version of this toy.
These pre-orders also give us our first idea of when the figure will be available for purchase and how much they will cost.
The release date is quoted as being November 2009 for the Optimus Prime version and February 2010 for the Nemesis Prime version. The prices are $95 for the Optimus Prime version and $80 for the Nemesis Prime version.

To pre-order you have to visit the online store and follow the instructions.

We at seibertron.com want to remember you of the fact that although these figures are of a smaller size and feature new heads and hands, they still are KOs of the original and legendary figure created by Hasbro and Takara so the quality on these is not guaranteed.

Stay tuned to seibertron.com for all your Transformers related news!

[Counterpunch]

Don't support direct thievery guys.

A lot of people between Hasbro and Takara worked hard to engineer MP Convoy.

These jerks at iGear are really just stealing their work entirely.

[UltraPrimal]

Don't support direct thievery guys.

A lot of people between Hasbro and Takara worked hard to engineer MP Convoy.

These jerks at iGear are really just stealing their work entirely.

Agreed. Besides, $95 for an undersized KO?! Does it even have any diecast in it? You might as well just buy a real MP Convoy.

[Dead Metal]

I wish they would just release the hands and head in original size on their own, I would so love to have an MP Prime with those attached.

And I knew that these would cost about the same as the real deal.

[Editor]

For what it is, and what they are charging. This is just unnecessary. The fan items are one thing but this is just taunting Has/Tak to come after them.

[Ravage XK]

Agreed, I'd rather they concentrated on their own work rather than ripping off someone elses.

Lets send them a message, they have gone a step too far.

[Mach]

Although once and while i reported updates on these, but it never cross my mind that i will ever get this, not even one second....
I mean i have a perfect MP toy from Takara, why i need that?
Talk about scale, TF toys never ever been in scale... so really unnecessary for me.
That kind of money, I can invest in some exclusive deluxe toys or whatever...

[Forgotten]

No way am I buying this, i'd much rather pay a little more to the people who DESIGNED THE TOY and get a full size MP-01B Black Convoy. I enjoy 3rd party offerings like FP Commander and TFC gears of war( I think that's right) gun set for classics universe. They put a lot of time, money & thought into making dare i say niche products for fans. I mean my Shadow Commander is probably my favorite Transformer I have next to MP-5( I know it's a problematic clunker but I love my accurate G1 Megs). So i'm not saying I don't like 3rd party toys altogether, just not in this circumstance.

[Mkall]

I do not support this figure.

Direct rip-off in my opinion.

[fenrir72]

@ CP. My sentiments exactly! Though I'm one of those who support 3rd party upgrade/customs. This one crosses the line. This is a RIP-OFF! If when I do purchase KO's it's because the original isn't available.

Heck maybe in the future I just might buy the iGear Ark Playset but this mini-me MP is just plain outright IP violation to the max.I for one own an original MP-01 Convoy, though lately, I've seen a lot of the BL/KO of him, never even considered getting one....because the original was available.

And the price is well for that price you can buy yourself an original TF product.

I hope this won't be the feather that breaks the camel's back and gets HasTak riled up to go after other companies like FP.

[DevastaTTor]

Love how last week, these color photos where just some photoshop job to see what they would look like. This week, they're iGear promo shots. Not a hope in hell I'd buy something like this without seeing an official piece, especially when iGear's quality is unproven.

Not really a hope in hell anyway-I'll save that 95 bucks and apply it to next spring's Takara version, the real thing.

[Dead Metal]

I love the fact that a few weeks ago we where praising this thing and now that we know more about it we all gang up on it!
But what you guys have to keep in mind is this, this is only manufactured by i-Gear as they where contracted to do so by a Chinese fan.

But I love how i-Gear announces and shows off awesome self designed products and then start to sell KOs.

[fenrir72]

Agreed. iGear should literally stick to their guns as in accessories (heard some complaints and didn't buy their GOW set anyway). Or maybe their playsets, Kremzeek and maybe mini-me Sharkticon (is the figure still copyrighted anyway?) and Grimlock's crown. Vector Sigma! I hope those guy's will reconsider this release...........very dangerous precedent which might get HasTak charging with their battery of corporate lawyers........the worst kind of slug this side of Kolkular.

[Convotron]

I really like the anime-ish head sculpt with the exaggerated features like the more angled ear-headwing-thingies. For a KO, the prototypes at least look really spot on for design replication. The fact that it'll be plastic in construction means it should hold up to moderate handling so it's not just going to be transformed once and posed for a year at a time.

BUT the price and the fact that it is a substitute for MP OP(despite being slightly smaller in scale), which in one form or another is still available through online stores, just nullifies my motivation. I'm not going to lie, this is VERY tempting for me. If it was say a $60 figure, I'd consider buying it. I could have a MP-01 for purely display and the mini figure for a display figure that I could fiddle around with without fear of accidental damage. The fact that the prototypes show such detail in copying the original is, again, tempting to me.

It's a blatant copy of the MP-01 design, yes and the discussion of unofficial 3rd party producs is already taking place in another thread. However, my main criticism of it is that iGear is being kind of stupid in this. They're taking a bath in chum before diving into shark infested waters. I say if you're going to do something like this, be smart about it, not that I'm condoning or supporting anything. If there's one thing I dislike more than doing something that I feel is wrong is doing something that is wrong in a stupid way. I can at least respect cunning.

I wish they would just release the hands and head in original size on their own, I would so love to have an MP Prime with those attached.

I think this is a great idea. iGear would still be able to put out a product but not as an inviting target as a full figure creation. I think that an alternate head sculpt and hands set would actually sell way more than the full figure in the long run, provided that the price was reasonable. Such an accessory set would add even more motivation for me to hunt down an MP-01 or 04.

Whether or not Hasbro/Takara is going to do a thing about it, this must have raised a few eyebrows and I'm sure this is one of the more heavy straws on the camel's back that are steadily piling up.

Should there ever be a focused effort to stem the sales and activity of unofficial products, I imagine this particular product would be among those singled out as the more guilty examples because let's face it, this is more obtrusive than a weapon accessory kit such as the TFX-ABT-01.

[Nexus Prime 79]

Gotta agree with most of the above. This is nothing but overpriced KO and a open invitation for Has/Tak to go after the 3rd party producers. Still wondering has iGEAR even shipped any of their products?

[zodconvoy]

$95 for Optimus?!? That's almost as much as I paid for the real MP-01 when it came out! Less than a year ago I got MP-02 for only $115!

These things are pure theft! %50 from Hasbro/ %50 from us!

Screw that noise!

[skywarp-2]

too expensive..

not that I had the money anyways...

however..should anyone buy this item, be cautious of who you tell, from the looks of things you may get a fandom lynching..

[Kibble]

I wonder if these will actually see the light of day... Unlike a more underground KO operation, it seems this wouldn't exactly be the most difficult thing to track down and put a stop to.

[Bumlbemister333]

Don't support direct thievery guys.

A lot of people between Hasbro and Takara worked hard to engineer MP Convoy.

These jerks at iGear are really just stealing their work entirely.

Agreed. Besides, $95 for an undersized KO?! Does it even have any diecast in it? You might as well just buy a real MP Convoy.

Yah, but MP Convoys are really hard to find for a good price, and I'm not a big Transformers spender. But I agree- 95 bucks for an undersized convoy? I don't know, maybe I'll ask for it for Christmas, trying not to sound like a hypocrite. But Hasbro ant Takara did work hard on those, and iGear's taking all the credit.

[Bumlbemister333]

One thing I don't get- Are Nemesis Prime and mini Optimus Prime different sizes? Nemesis Prime being bigger than mini Optimus Prime? Cause if that's true, what the heck is with the prices??? $95 for mini Optimus Prime is already too expensive, but Nemesis Prime, who they only have 500 of- is priced at $80??? It's a fairly good deal for Nemesis Prime, with the prices compared, it makes no sense.

[Convotron]

One thing I don't get- Are Nemesis Prime and mini Optimus Prime different sizes? Nemesis Prime being bigger than mini Optimus Prime? Cause if that's true, what the heck is with the prices??? $95 for mini Optimus Prime is already too expensive, but Nemesis Prime, who they only have 500 of- is priced at $80??? It's a fairly good deal for Nemesis Prime, with the prices compared, it makes no sense.

If the Nemesis Prime you're referring to is the MP-01B, which is a repaint of the official Masterpiece Optimus Prime figure mold, the reason Mini MP Optimus Prime is selling for so much is that it's an unofficial product and so its creators, iGear, can choose how much they want to price it and for some reason they're going pretty darn high.

Edit: Just had to comment on my so-called sentence/paragraph. Wow...at least I punctuated...sort of.

[Barrelass]

I have no interest in this, and after seeing final production pics of their MP Grimmy Crown, Mug, and Thrust, I have even less interest in a complex piece like this. The crown set looks like garbage. It will be interesting to see how this is handled.

[Universe]

Don't support direct thievery guys.

A lot of people between Hasbro and Takara worked hard to engineer MP Convoy.

These jerks at iGear are really just stealing their work entirely.

Well said.

Being a fan of Transformers since the 80's, I support Hasbro, even though some of their U.S. release paint apps and selections are questionable.

[Kibble]

One thing I don't get- Are Nemesis Prime and mini Optimus Prime different sizes? Nemesis Prime being bigger than mini Optimus Prime? Cause if that's true, what the heck is with the prices??? $95 for mini Optimus Prime is already too expensive, but Nemesis Prime, who they only have 500 of- is priced at $80??? It's a fairly good deal for Nemesis Prime, with the prices compared, it makes no sense.

I would guess this is simply a matter of availability. Black Convoy is currently readily available for pre-order for a half-way decent price so they'll charge less. MP-01 is only available on the secondhand market at markup prices so charge more. Personally, if I were in the market for an MP Prime, I would just put in a pre-order for MP-04 for $199.

[HECTOR]

I don't understand what everyone's mad about. Why are people saying that Hasbro/Takara worked hard to develop MP Convoy and now iGear is stealing the credit? I bought MP Convoy and they got their hard earned credit. Good for them.
Now this figure is being called a ripoff. Of course it is! That's it's appeal! MP Convoy is a work of art and a smaller one is EXACTLY what I want for my classics/henkei collection. Now is Hasbro/Takara going to make one for me? Of course not! They'll politely tell me that classics/henkei Prime fills that spot.
Sorry people but iGear really IS offering something different here and they certainly aren't stealing my patronage from Hasbro/Takara. I've purchased both MP Convoy and classics/henkei Optimus Prime (as well as my whole Transformers collection) and buying iGear's figure on top of that won't hurt.

I'm just saying that if Hasbro/Takara were to make this figure I'd be onboard but we all know that they won't.