The Energon Pub

Its not a wheel on the G1 cartoon model. Its the round detailing from the bottom of the car\back on the original Microchange toy. Its just his back is black on the original toy.

Honestly... I don't like it. It looks more of a return to the old styles of Masterpiece toys that has unnecessary gimmicks and potentially avoidable compromises to the original material added.

I like it. And of course he's going to be small, he's Bumblebee! Spike is added to justify the cost and to say "Aw ****! What are we going to do now?"

(I also like how we were having the "1984 ONLY" discussion and the next day, BAM, the Movie.)

Clearer image!

I havn't commented on anything here in months but finally something has brought me back to the table LoL. Its good to see 'ol Bee sporting his original look again (and lets face it, most likely the last time as an entire new generation will always identify with him as a Camaro now).
But what I actually wanted to comment on that I havn't noticed anyone else mention is the fact that he appears to be a vintage Super Beetle.... interesting. I should first point out that I'm an avid VW enthusiast and have participated in (along with my dad) the restoration of over a dozen different types of "bugs" since coming of driving age in the mid 90's. I currently own a yellow '72 Beetle Sedan that was passed down to me that I never plan to part with...back in the day I used to tool around in it with my dad running errands in the mid eighties carrying my trusty G1 Bumblebee along for the ride. As a kid who was exposed to more VW knowledge than the average Joe would care to know I used to always wonder if Bumblebee was a Sedan model or a Super Beetle. It was important to me you see because of my dads car, I wanted to know if we were driving a real Bumblebee or not? It was always difficult to tell based on the original "penny racer" style toy and his animated portrayal never really helped with specifics either. There would be clues here and there over the years (like taillight lenses and bumper shapes) but often they would contradict one another thus portraying his alt mode as some kind of amalgamated bastard creation. In my teens I finally surmised (accepted more like it) that he must be a Super Beetle, it just made the most sense to me, which kinda bummed me out a little because I wanted to turn my standard sedan into a BB replica for car shows, botcons, and what not. In 2007's Bayformers there was the infamous scene where Bernie Macs character tries to show Sam a yellow bug thus prompting Camaro-Bee to condescendingly ram it with a passenger door (which in hindsight was probably where I decided that Bay could go F himself, but I digress). Anyway that yellow bug was a super beetle thus lending credence to my assumption that Bee was indeed a Super.
But finally here, at last, we're getting a more definitive answer that only the Masterpiece line could prompt an answer to. Folks, we have a Super Beetle. I'm glad and sad at the same time...it kinda confirms to me that I would just be wasting my time trying to convert my classic into a Spike & Carlie "lovebug". The way I figure it, Takara and VW would have to be specific to a particular make and model year in order to grant a copyright usage.
*And now just to be specific, this mold appears to be either a 1971 or 72 Super Beetle...because of the bulbous wide nosed front bonnet (or hood on American cars) and the fact that it seems to have a flat, not curved, front windshield which only existed on Super Beetles for those two years. I'll have to get a better look at the taillights to confirm this, they should be slender solid red with clear bottoms...I swear if it ends up being the "elephant foot" taillights I'm going to call shenanigans

And just to confirm the thought most of you are having by now, yes I have too much time on my hands, yes I ramble, and yes I am a freaking Geewunner...and proud of it!

They made his horns too Unicron-y.

Hmmm, looks kinda small, I wonder how well this would fit in with classics figures, based on the picture showing the guys hand lookes about the same size as Classics Bee.

leakin' lubricant wrote:Hmmm, looks kinda small, I wonder how well this would fit in with classics figures, based on the picture showing the guys hand lookes about the same size as Classics Bee.

The problem isn't that Masterpiece is too small it's that Classics has always been too big!

zodconvoy wrote:

leakin' lubricant wrote:Hmmm, looks kinda small, I wonder how well this would fit in with classics figures, based on the picture showing the guys hand lookes about the same size as Classics Bee.

The problem isn't that Masterpiece is too small it's that Classics has always been too big!

I dont know to be honest, he stacks up quite well with the rest of his Classics brethren, apart from Prime who is to small. I dont have a problem with Masterpiece Bee being around the same size as Classics Bee, ive been looking for a more show acurate Bee for my Classics collection for ages.

Hope MP-24 is Cliffjumper. Maybe they could also do Hubcab as MP-24H?

Should TakaraTomy feel exceptionally cheeky:



Which is which?

Hopefully smaller means cheaper.

making the car look like a real vw bug is great and think that having Volkswagen licence a TF is long over due! doors will open for porsche to get in on it 'cough'JAZZ 'cough' (where were they when the alternators were hot)the robot mode looks great too very cartoon accurate but i think if they made the car more of a deformed VW bug like in the show it would make it even more cartoon accurate....... just sayin
how are they or if they do cliffjumper are they going the same way?

Joetx wrote:They made his horns too Unicron-y.

Overall, I like the design. I agree, the horns seem a little off. Also the thighs look a thin from this angle.

Joetx wrote:They made his horns too Unicron-y.

Unicron's whole head looked like Bumblebee as the Devil.

The alt mode windows look a little weird to me, but overall I really like this and know he will look better in colour

Amelie wrote:Its not a wheel on the G1 cartoon model. Its the round detailing from the bottom of the car\back on the original Microchange toy. Its just his back is black on the original toy.

Thank you, you've saved me the trouble of having to post this.

Amelie wrote:Honestly... I don't like it. It looks more of a return to the old styles of Masterpiece toys that has unnecessary gimmicks and potentially avoidable compromises to the original material added.

I must admit, I agree. He still looks awesome, but the spare tire plus what looks like a rotating panel for the insignia seems contradictory to the new way of the MPs. I guess the tire can be argued, since perfect real world detail in vehicle mode seems to be the goal on these guys, down to the Datsun brothers having the headlamps for the first ever time, although here it contradicts the show model of the robot. If that is a rotating panel for the bot symbol...why? The others display the Autobot brand in vehicle mode per the cartoon.
Not saying he's bad, I want one dearly...just from here he seems to bend the trend a bit.

Sabrblade wrote:

zodconvoy wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

manofsteel2397 wrote:i thought they were going with the cartoon line?

Cartoon designs, yes, but the original toyline is what dictated all of G1 in the first place.

Splitting hairs, dude. Shockwave was a huge part of Season 1 and Reflector was aboard the Nemesis making them as '84 as you can get. They go by characters on in the cartoon as Grimlock's reissue proves. Shockwave won't happen because it's not theirs to make but nothing's stopping a toon accurate Reflector. Devastator might be too much to ask for though.

The cartoon is not the end-all, be-all, only thing that matters in regards to G1. Before the cartoon, there was the comic; before the comic, there was the toyline, and in that toyline were 28 toys. 18 Autobots and 10 Decepticons. Those are the ones that Takara wants to get done first, with any others being made either as redecos/remolds of the original 28 in order to milk the molds of the original 28, or as extra special case side projects like Masterpiece Fans Choice winner Star Saber.

And Grimlock's reissue proves nothing since it was only reissued in non-Japanese markets, not as a part of the main Japanese Masterpiece line as it currently is.

Stormrider wrote:So how does MP Ultra Magnus and Dai Atlas fit into this?

Ultra Magnus is a remold of the existing MP-10 Convoy mold, meaning they can make him without having to do so from complete scratch and can further promote the MP-10 mold. With new molds, however, they wanna complete the '84 cast before dipping into new molds of later characters.

As for Star Saber (not Dai Atlas), he's a special side project being made by an entirely different designer for a very special case, being the winner of the Masterpiece Fans Choice poll, in celebration of the brand's 30th Anniversary. Thus, his case demands special treatment.

Stormrider wrote:Takara also stated that they wanted to make 1 big MP and 2 smaller MPs per year. There aren't any more 1984 big characters left. Shockwave and Galvatron are legitimate choices. I don't feel 100% certain that Skywarp and Thundercracker will be redone. Is there a need too? Their colors and scale from their previous releases work perfectly.

They could still remake Megatron, and he badly needs it.

Stormrider wrote:Not sure if you understand my post because the cars you listed are not considered big MPs by Takara's logic. I was replying to Sabrblade's post:

Ironhide/Ratchet and Trailbreaker(/Hoist) are bigger than the other Autobot Cars and could possibly be counted among the bigger MPs (if they're only about a head shorter than Convoy/Starscream/Soundwave/etc.).

I really hope Reflector gets thrown in there somewhere, talk about a character that gets no love. It would be a really unique addition to the masterpiece line, but with no real repaint potential.

Is it me or does MP Bee look like he has a Buzz Lightyear chin??? Something doesn't look right.

warzon3 wrote:Is it me or does MP Bee look like he has a Buzz Lightyear chin??? Something doesn't look right.

Yeah the face lookes a little off, but it is a prototype, plus he looks to have interchangable face plates, cant wait for clearer images.

warzon3 wrote:Is it me or does MP Bee look like he has a Buzz Lightyear chin??? Something doesn't look right.

The shape of his face does widen and stick out a bit but the smile makes it look worse than it is. It's nt so bad on the pic of the face being removed.

can't satisfy everyone.

HappyBirthdayRoboto wrote:Hopefully smaller means cheaper.

Well, the 2 major independent TFs retailers recently knocked off a whole $5 (!) from his price, which was originally the same as the Datson trio, the Lambo duo, etc.

When it comes to the Autobot Masterpieces it's all about a poseable cartoon-accurate robot mode coupled with a realistic looking licensed car. Hasui is nothing short of a wizard for consistently pulling it off.


@G1 Legacy You should still do it. A classic yellow beetle = Bumblebee.


If I'm not mistaken Volkswagen owns both Lamborghini and Porsche? And if Takara has done both Countach & Beetle then theoretically Cliffjumper and Jazz shouldn't be a problem.

Cyberpath wrote:If I'm not mistaken Volkswagen owns both Lamborghini and Porsche? And if Takara has done both Countach & Beetle then theoretically Cliffjumper and Jazz shouldn't be a problem.

Pre-orders up at Anime-Export

http://www.anime-export.com/product/18568

40 bucks