The Energon Pub

News Credits: 409 · Tue Feb 08, 2011 6:34 pm

I got my Rodimus today. The only problem is the backpack not pegging properly, the chest is little loose, and lots overly tight joints. After examining the figure - I think a lot of my issues can be corrected with a little nail polish and working the joints so they become less stiff.

News Credits: 1235 · Tue Feb 08, 2011 7:26 pm

I absolutely love this figure. I do have problems getting the shin panels to stay pegged in under the car. Also getting it to roll with that waist panel that sticks out under the car.

News Credits: 217 · Wed Feb 09, 2011 1:04 am

So after reading all the bad experiences people have been having with this guy I felt a deep sense of foreboding. As I opened the box I was half-expecting it to crumble into a pile of scratched spoilers, broken clips and red and orange dust that would then curse my family and blow out of the door.

But really, all the dread build-up was for nothing. He's a fantastic, amazing figure. He's certainly not a flawless figure and some of those flaws are really stupid. There's really no reason why he should have those puny little clips on the sides of his backpack, they don't even seem to be doing much. And there's no way that the spoiler issue should've passed QC.

But given how hilariously ambitious this figure is it does its job very well. Transforming him IS a major challenge especially when you're trying to cope with tight joints interacting badly with fragile parts. From just a short play session I can tell that transforming him would just get far easier with practice. He DOES need to be handled with kid gloves but he isn't exactly the glass swan that reviews were making me expect.

All four modes look great and all of them are a lot of fun. It takes a while to get his car mode sorted out but once you do he has lots of great features and looks both amazing and screen-accurate. His robot modes are great looking, hugely posable and have as much fun stuff going on as any other Masterpiece (shame about the tiny Matrix but it's not Takara's fault the cartoon had scale issues) and once you get the hang of the Winnebago mode it looks awesome and is amazingly massive.

Maybe I'll feel differently if/when he breaks but for now I'm thrilled with this figure and everything he can do. I'm not recommending that anyone who feels unsure about dropping 2 hundred big ones should order him but for anyone like me who was feeling haunted by all the doom and gloom I'd like to let you know that he shines through his flaws.

News Credits: 332 · Wed Feb 09, 2011 1:39 am

Those who have had issues, have you considered getting together and checking serial numbers? It might be just a bad batch in the run.

Wed Feb 09, 2011 2:13 pm

Man, thats a bummer to read. I HATE when you spent hard earned money for something that turns out to be junk. I personally don't do the Masterpiece line with the exception of Grimlock (US version) who is used in my Classics line as Grimlock. Hope you get it all worked out and they replace yours with a better figure.

News Credits: 5 · Wed Feb 09, 2011 2:41 pm

666-SHOT wrote:Man, thats a bummer to read. I HATE when you spent hard earned money for something that turns out to be junk. I personally don't do the Masterpiece line with the exception of Grimlock (US version) who is used in my Classics line as Grimlock. Hope you get it all worked out and they replace yours with a better figure.

I have the MP as my Classics Grimmy too, works really well.

For as much as the Takara tomy version costs, and the chances of getting a bum one, I am really glad that there will be a Hasbro version, so I can check it out in store as much as possible, or get it from someone who does.

News Credits: 3 · Wed Feb 09, 2011 11:11 pm

FINALLY got mine...I think it's both quite nice and a bit disappointing. I have some paint imperfections that I can live with, but what sucks is, like 95% of them out there, the trailer slot is too tight to take the spoiler without paint scraping. It's obvious the end result would be ugly if I push it all the way in, so I stopped before it really even got started. And after actually seeing it, I'm not excited about the sanding route as I think it would be fairly noticeable. Looks like I'll have to wait for the Hasbro version before Rodimus Winnebago mode happens...and hopefully that spoiler will just be yellow plastic.

I'm also less than thrilled about the lack of clearance underneath alt mode, but it seems with enough fiddling you can get all 4 tires to touch but I was unable to get both that to happen along with all the pipes line up correctly. Thus far it seems like it's one or the other. And it is probably the most fragile to date. Even with kid gloves I could see something going wrong if you were to handle it often.

Wed Feb 09, 2011 11:26 pm

man for the price that is just sad

News Credits: 1 · Wed Feb 16, 2011 1:20 am

Disappointment is the right word ... UGH!

I actually got mine in my latest Pile O Loot last week, along with the FP upgrade kit. I've been waiting for a free evening so I could sit down and mess with it for a few hours. Sadly (for HasTak) FP Protector blows this thing away hands DOWN!

I didn't have any specific problems, like paint or busted pieces out of the box, no. My issue is with the engineering on this thing.

It appears they have added fiddly bits just for the sake of adding fiddly bits. There are twists and parts moving all about that really don't need to do that. In particular the black leg panels.

That would not be so bad, if all the hundred million tabs actually lined up, but they don't.

And, sad to say, in my first transform of him one of the leg panels popped off. The silly thing is screwed in from an armature to the panel. After rotating it a gazillion times trying to figure out how the legs are actually supposed to line up it just came out from over use. You can see where the threads in the super soft plastic just wore out.

Had they used those "pop pegs" like they have on the $10 figures, or even the MP Seekers it would just pop back on, but NOOOOOO.

Word to the wise, don't transform him too many times, or he could be damaged by normal use.

As an MP collector, I'm glad I have him. He looks great in bot mode. I'm even glad I have the Winnebago camper. But when you compare what is supposed to be a MASTERPIECE to something like FP Protector, there is no comparison.

If you are someone on the fence about this guy, skip it and hope for a US import.

News Credits: 3 · Wed Feb 16, 2011 3:55 am

I think MP is better than FP, but my answer could change if something were to break on mine. At this point my biggest gripe is not being able to go to Winnebago mode without crapping up the spoiler... Otherwise I've gotten the transformation down well enough that everything lines and all four tires touch the ground.

News Credits: 9 · Wed Feb 16, 2011 12:15 pm

Kibble wrote:I think MP is better than FP, but my answer could change if something were to break on mine. At this point my biggest gripe is not being able to go to Winnebago mode without crapping up the spoiler... Otherwise I've gotten the transformation down well enough that everything lines and all four tires touch the ground.

I've just done my second transformation to car mode and got it perfect. I'm more upset about his sh*t shoulder articulation cos his back gets in the way. When pics first emerged I said he'd have bad shoulders but later pictures changed my mind. Now I've got him I see his shoulders are even worse than Grimlock. Poor effort.

News Credits: 9 · Thu Feb 17, 2011 2:50 pm

I've been playing with him a lot since yesterday and I'm really impressed with the engineering - controversial I know! The car fits together perfectly which is just staggering. There are only two areas where the engineering has failed:

1) the clearance under the car is about a quarter of a millimeter thanks to the groin plate. I'm glad my groin doesn't drag on the floor.

2) the lock holding the backpack in place is just a little off.

I'm still not happy with the shoulder (lack of) articulation but I've fixed that on mine with two minutes and a dremel. Now that's fixed I think he's amazing.

Tue Feb 22, 2011 2:46 pm

Okay. So since everyone just loves Rodimus :SICK:

can anyone please please please tell me when the MP-09 Masterpiece Rodimus Hasbro Re-Issue is coming out?!?!?!?! Not a real big fan of the winnebago thing. I just.want.a.good.hot.rod.figure.

So can anyone help?

News Credits: 129 · Tue Feb 22, 2011 2:50 pm

Over Drive Minor wrote:Okay. So since everyone just loves Rodimus can anyone please please please tell me when the MP-09 Masterpiece Rodimus Hasbro Re-Issue is coming out?!?!?!?! Not a real big fan of the winnebago thing. I just.want.a.good.hot.rod.figure.

So can anyone help?

Um, as for right now, it's not.

It's not coming out for some time, if ever at this point.

News Credits: 332 · Tue Feb 22, 2011 2:50 pm

Over Drive Minor wrote:Okay. So since everyone just loves Rodimus can anyone please please please tell me when the MP-09 Masterpiece Rodimus Hasbro Re-Issue is coming out?!?!?!?! Not a real big fan of the winnebago thing. I just.want.a.good.hot.rod.figure.

So can anyone help?

Probably never. Hasbro can't find a store willing to carry it. I also doubt it would pass a drop test.

Tue Feb 22, 2011 10:25 pm

oh. lol... *sigh* *laughs harder* drop tehhehhehst... hahahahaha LOL (On the ground laughing.) Oh that's priceless. heeeeeeeehhehehehe drop tes..... (faints) *regains consciousness* wow.

Oh crap you were serious?!?!?! What's that?

News Credits: 332 · Tue Feb 22, 2011 10:50 pm

Over Drive Minor wrote:oh. lol... *sigh* *laughs harder* drop tehhehhehst... hahahahaha LOL (On the ground laughing.) Oh that's priceless. heeeeeeeehhehehehe drop tes..... (faints) *regains consciousness* wow.

A drop test is a safety test where a toy is dropped from a fixed height to see if it breaks and if so do the broken pieces pose a hazard to small children. Brave Maximus couldn't be released in the US because it failed the drop test.

Oh crap you were serious?!?!?! What's that?

News Credits: 9 · Wed Feb 23, 2011 7:26 am

Over Drive Minor wrote:oh. lol... *sigh* *laughs harder* drop tehhehhehst... hahahahaha LOL (On the ground laughing.) Oh that's priceless. heeeeeeeehhehehehe drop tes..... (faints) *regains consciousness* wow.

Oh crap you were serious?!?!?! What's that?

I think they drop the toy from a certain height and if parts break off the toy has failed the safety test. It's to do with shards breaking off and piercing eyeballs and stuff.

News Credits: 409 · Wed Feb 23, 2011 5:58 pm

I think they drop the toy on children at a specified height. And if they cry loud enough they won't make the toy.

Tue Apr 05, 2011 5:05 pm

Trikeboy wrote:Ok, MP Rodimus was delivered today and so far I am not too impressed. He looks fantastic and I actually like the shell for Rodimus Prime vehicle mode. Unfortunately, he transforms terribly, I can't get him to lay flat in both vehicle modes, the feet are far too stiff to the point of me worrying that I will break him, the abdomen connects into the top of the windscreen in robot mode but it doesn't hold in very well, the back is supposed to rest on two pegs but that itself is held on only by friction, the hands don't store well in vehicle mode and to top it all off the paint is chipping on the right knee. I have only handled it for about 2 hours and this is my assessment. On top of all that, the plastic quality of the accessories is terrible (gun, saw blade and welder). I have handled KO's with better plastic. What a poor example from TakaraTomy.

Had been putting off this purchase for a while. Heard the negative comments about this figure, but bought it anyway, mostly because he is just going to be in Hot Rod mode with the others but for 200 dollars this really should have been better. Pretty much gave up on getting him in car mode with everything lined up properly.....Trikeboy pretty much hit all of my complaints with his post, so I will just leave it at that. On the plus side he was not broke when I got him and no paint issues. Sad when that can be a something to be happy about. :-?

Still think this one should have been Skyfire....

News Credits: 5 · Tue Apr 05, 2011 8:21 pm

Til this day, I haven't transform my MP Rodimus due to the fear of breaking the leg panels.

In addition to the other negative comments, look at my MP Rodimus trailer. It has sign of rectangle depression marks on both side of the trailer above the flame. The plastic itself feel flat. Someone told me that's normal for a large flat plastic. Man it looks weird in certain angle when that marks show up:

News Credits: 3 · Tue Apr 05, 2011 9:33 pm

I wonder if that happened over time?

I too haven't transformed mine in fear of breaking anything....kills me :BOOM:

Tue Apr 05, 2011 9:35 pm

"In fear of transforming a transformer... next on Geraldo..."

News Credits: 3 · Tue Apr 05, 2011 9:43 pm

Skyfire-5 wrote:"In fear of transforming a transformer... next on Geraldo..."

yea, I know exactly how it sounds, but Id be devastated if I broke a 200 TF that I coveted for so long.
Ill just wait for the Hasbro release to finally transform him :lol:

News Credits: 409 · Tue Apr 05, 2011 10:50 pm

REMINATOR wrote:Til this day, I haven't transform my MP Rodimus due to the fear of breaking the leg panels.

In addition to the other negative comments, look at my MP Rodimus trailer. It has sign of rectangle depression marks on both side of the trailer above the flame. The plastic itself feel flat. Someone told me that's normal for a large flat plastic. Man it looks weird in certain angle when that marks show up:

Sweet it's like robot alien technology.