The Energon Pub

Okay, so previously the Masterpiece Autobot cars rubbed me the wrong way a little, with Sideswipe being only about a head taller than his CHUG counterpart while being more than 4 times the price (and yes, I know the cost is for advanced engineering, quality packaging, smaller production runs etc., I just have a natural distaste for paying high prices for small figures). That said, all this talk about MP Bumblebee and Ultra Magnus has my attention. I'd like to test the waters by getting one. But which should I get?

How I feel about the characters:

Sideswipe - I don't really have any attachment to the character. If they come out with a Sunstreaker I'd like to get them together to have a brother team a la the Super Trailbreaker Rescue Club from More Than Meets The Eye (the cartoon)
Red Alert - Much like Cyclonus does, I like him for his character flaws. Also the crazy head spark things.
G2 Sideswipe - Not really interested. God, wasn't that comic awful though?
Tigertrack - What the hell is a Tigertrack?
Prowl - He's okay as a character, I guess. I prefer the bland cop portrayal to the dickhead portrayal he has now.
Bluestreak - Solid meh.
Smokescreen - I like him as a character what with his ninja ways and gambly goodness. The changes to the sculpt look a little dubious to me though.

Orrrrrr...hold out for Wheeljack, Bumblebee or the Hasbro release of Prowl?

Sounds to me like you won't be happy with any of them.

GuyIncognito wrote:Sounds to me like you won't be happy with any of them.

Well if they were characters I was madly into I'd have bought them already

You and I are different types of collectors. I'm not that into the fiction, so I look at the Masterpiece collection and I don't see anything I DON'T want. For me, price and budget are the only concerns.

GuyIncognito wrote:You and I are different types of collectors. I'm not that into the fiction, so I look at the Masterpiece collection and I don't see anything I DON'T want. For me, price and budget are the only concerns.

Well it works for me. I already know which characters I do or don't like so the advice I'm really looking for is on the quality and value of these figures.

In terms of value I'd say the TRU Prowl is the way to go since it is indistinguishable (at least to me) from the Takara version. If you can swing the import prices then you could buy the Takara WJ or whichever figure(s) you'd want. I own the Datsuns and SS and I love the quality of these figures.

I see your statement about G2 Sideswipe, and sneer.

I mean..

If your plan is to "test the waters" then I would indeed suggest one of the Datsun Z's because they are fun to transform and are under $100 mark. I personally bought as many G1 figures as I could because I loved the toys. It didn't matter how much I actually liked the character. I feel the same way about the Masterpieces, MP-10 and up because everything before is out of my price range.

I've got Streak and I love the mold. I would definitely recommend it, in whatever character you like. It's heavy, solid, tight, well-designed, and highly poseable. I plan on getting Hasbro's Prowl as well. I only have a few MPs because I generally think they're too expensive for my budget, but I like the Datsun mold enough to buy it in two characters.

The only MP figure I own are Rumble and Buzzsaw KO's as they are usually out of my price range. If I was going to buy one of the cars it would be Wheeljack since he is one of my favs and the figure looks really sweet. Or G2 Sideswipe because he is just awesomely over-extreme and awesome lol

>Sideswipe - I don't really have any attachment to the character. If they come out with a Sunstreaker I'd like to get them together to have a brother team a la the Super Trailbreaker Rescue Club from More Than Meets The Eye (the cartoon)

The way things are now, the chances of a Sunstreaker are high so picking up Sideswipe seems like a good idea for someone that wants both.

>Prowl - He's okay as a character, I guess. I prefer the bland cop portrayal to the dickhead portrayal he has now.

MP Prowl is amazing. His transformation is cool and his poseability is probably the best of any TF. If poseability is part of your criteria then you need this figure. As Hasbro is releasing one that looks almost the same you may as well hold out for that and save money.

Obviously I don't have Wheeljack and Bumblebee yet so I can't comment or speculate, but Wheeljack's thighs are so thin...

Va'al wrote:

You just made me want to buy this.

I'm gonna go for Prowl. Does anyone have any advice on third-party missile launchers for him?

Diem wrote:I'm gonna go for Prowl. Does anyone have any advice on third-party missile launchers for him?

the Before And After ones that come with the stickers are nice. missiles don't actually launch but they look nice and fit on well

I like the MP Cars. Sideswipe does have attachment for me. He was the first G1 my brother got. He was the first Alternator I got. And comparing to the G1 Counterpart, it's a great improvement.
I also have Prowl just because of the importance of his character. And I agree, I don't like how he is portrayed by IDW. For that matter, I don't like what IDW is doing to the franchise.

I don't buy recolors. Too expensive just to get the same mold in a different color. Also so far, they have not produced a repaint character worth getting. Although I am tempted by Tigertracks just because yellow Lambos are awesome.

I will be getting Wheeljack, Bee and Ultra Magnus. If I had to choose between these, I'd go for Wheeljack just because I've always loved his character. However if it's just between Bee, and Magnus, I'd go for Bee. Magnus looks a little kibbley.