The Energon Pub

Rated X wrote:For all of you who think Hasbro’s MP scale based on car sizes is perfect, don’t ever expect to see MP Mini-bots. In real life a VW Beetle isn’t that much bigger than a Porsche or a Datsun. And would a truck like Huffer the same size as a VW Beetle even be possible? I think not.

You make an interesting point. Furthermore, the G1 cartoon's scale-accuracy to real life vehicles were also hampered by the fact that toys from which the cartoon was based on, came from different toylines that had nothing to do with each other.

IIRC, the Microman line was supposed to consist of robots that transformed into 1:1 scale objects like guns and micro-cassette players, and had its own unique storyline.

Huffer, Bee, Brawn, Gears, Windcharger and Cliffjumper were from the Choro-Q line of super-deformed cars. These weren't even meant to scale in with each other.

In short, they used the sizes of the toys in relation to each other as reference points for the cartoon...toys from completely different lines back when they were released as Takara products.

Son of Carl wrote:

TimothyR wrote:Man, I don't know how some of you guys can just get one of these, they look incredible together.

Not getting prowl because you have barricade is probably the strangest reason I've ever heard.

I don't quite understand the "I'm only going to buy one of this mold" mentality. G1 was built on repaints.

Anyways. Smokescreen looks perfect, I love the head. Each head give each character it's own personality, it's fantastic.

I can understand financial reasons, but beyond that, I agree with you. I think all these figures look great together, and different enough from each other that the fact that they share a base mold isn't overwhelmingly obvious. I will be buying every pre-movie MP that they release, especially if it's Reflector. I have my vintage collection, but this is the only new Transformers line that I collect(though I do have a few TFP figures). Masterpiece is actually the line that got me back into collecting Transformers, and now after so many years of waiting, it's finally becoming the line that I was hoping it would be way back then.

I totally forgot to mention that I understand financial reasons. My bad.

I collect other lines.. But the masterpiece line is my absolute favorite.. Ever since MP10, takara has really been doing an incredible job. I enjoy all of the MP releases, but lately, they've all been perfect.

I hope that someday I'll be able to own all of the G1 characters in masterpiece form. (At least the ones that were on the show)

That Smokescreen is looking worse and worse. I admit that I'm a flip flopper. One day or moment I might say a figure is great then the next minute I might say its bad. I'm only getting Mp-17. Mp-19 looks like it belongs with the alternators line where most of them robot modes where chunky and blocky. Those extra parts on Smokes take away his superhero V shape and some other stuff I mentioned in previous post about him.

Mp Prowl is the best of the trio cause he just looks and seems like the better Hero toy. I'm saving my money for realistic transformers from now on mainly pertaining to movie figures. The only figures that got on my collection this year was: Mp-17, Beast Hunters voyager Predaking, legion tp Smokescreen and Dotm HA Skids.

I actually like that they made Smokescreen somewhat "clunkier," because it's consistent with the show. And helps individualise him more.

Floro Dery designed the second season Autobots closer to the toys. Perhaps to make the cast appear more diverse. And I think it worked -- I didn't know that Smokescreen and Prowl (or for that matter, Trailbreaker & Hoist; Sideswipe & Red Alert) shared the same toy mold until years later.

Regarding scale. AKOM, in their three episodes, seemed to follow the size chart that Sabrblade posted earlier more closely.



(As a kid, I did notice that they looked fairly smaller in those episodes.)

The exact height difference between Optimus Prime and the rest of the Autobots wasn't always consistent throughout the series; but, what usually was, was that Prime (and I suppose, Blaster) were the tallest; followed by other truck/van characters like Inferno/Grapple/Ironhide/Ratchet/Trailbreaker; then the sports cars with the misc characters like Preceptor/Warpath/Powerglide; then lastly, the "mini" bots.

(Of course when I say Prime was the tallest Autobot, I mean after unusual characters like Omega Supreme, Skyfire, the Dinobots etc.)

I pulled a couple of grabs from memory from my DVDs for illustration.



I think Takara balanced between the alt & root modes rather nicely with the Masterpiece Autobots so far. Initially, when I saw photos of MP-12 next to MP-10, Sideswipe looked a little small to me. I will have a better feel after I get the Nissanbots. They look fantastic!

Rated X wrote:For all of you who think Hasbro’s MP scale based on car sizes is perfect, don’t ever expect to see MP Mini-bots. In real life a VW Beetle isn’t that much bigger than a Porsche or a Datsun. And would a truck like Huffer the same size as a VW Beetle even be possible? I think not. The MP scale isn’t so great. Classics scales are a lot more fun to display in groups. MP Scale looks better alone on a coffee table for your all time favorite character. And that’s my opinion, I’m not trying to push it as a fact.

I would be very interested in seeing Takara do the Minibots in MP style. They talked about plans for MP Huffer but scrapped it b/c of costs. I don't see why they couldn't engineer a figure so the robot mode would be smaller than it's alt mode. I would expect that Huffer's alt mode would not be the same size Prime's alt mode. Huffer's alt mode was much smaller in the show, as were most Minibots.

Cyberpath wrote:

That is good scaling, what episode is this from Cyberpath?

REMINATOR wrote:That is good scaling, what episode is this from Cyberpath?

The Autobot Run.

Cyberpath wrote:

REMINATOR wrote:That is good scaling, what episode is this from Cyberpath?

The Autobot Run.

thanks man,

REMINATOR wrote:

Cyberpath wrote:

That is good scaling,

Yeah, look at how tall Sunstreaker (Sideswipe's twin, btw) is compared to Prime. This is pretty much how the Masterpiece toys reflect the cartoon scale.

I flip flopped again and preordered Mp Smokescreen again after cancelling the the initial preorder I made. I'm getting mp Prowl but if I can successfully get Smokes for 60$ then I'm going with that. Smokescreen is the weakest if the bunch but his car mode looks not bad and it seems rite now its the "Hot Toy". And plus i don't want everyone to get one and be so happy with it and leave me felling left out.

REMINATOR wrote:thanks man,

No problem!

Eagleblaster wrote:I flip flopped again and preordered Mp Smokescreen again after cancelling the the initial preorder I made. I'm getting mp Prowl but if I can successfully get Smokes for 60$ then I'm going with that. Smokescreen is the weakest if the bunch but his car mode looks not bad and it seems rite now its the "Hot Toy". And plus i don't want everyone to get one and be so happy with it and leave me felling left out.

This is just my impression, but pre-ordering a Masterpiece toy strikes me as a win-win situation for the buyer.

If you end up liking the toy, good, you won't have to pay through the nose for it later on eBay (or "window shop." oh, Sideswipe, why do you taunt me?)

And if you end up not liking it, you could always auction it on eBay a few weeks or months later; likely earning enough to pre-order the next 2-3 Masterpieces.
(I've never auctioned anything myself, but I see what goes on there with the MP line. Wild.)

Cyberpath wrote:

REMINATOR wrote:thanks man,

No problem!

Eagleblaster wrote:I flip flopped again and preordered Mp Smokescreen again after cancelling the the initial preorder I made. I'm getting mp Prowl but if I can successfully get Smokes for 60$ then I'm going with that. Smokescreen is the weakest if the bunch but his car mode looks not bad and it seems rite now its the "Hot Toy". And plus i don't want everyone to get one and be so happy with it and leave me felling left out.

This is just my impression, but pre-ordering a Masterpiece toy strikes me as a win-win situation for the buyer.

If you end up liking the toy, good, you won't have to pay through the nose for it later on eBay (or "window shop." oh, Sideswipe, why do you taunt me?)

And if you end up not liking it, you could always auction it on eBay a few weeks or months later; likely earning enough to pre-order the next 2-3 Masterpieces.
(I've never auctioned anything myself, but I see what goes on there with the MP line. Wild.)

Yeah you are rite about that. Im still kindof regretting not buying mp-10 when I saw it on toysrus.com for retail price. Now they he having these smaller masterpieces looking good and scaled nicely next to mp-10.