The Energon Pub

I've been considering getting back into Transformers and buying some of the Masterpiece figures. I was wondering if anyone had any advice about collecting the line. I'd like an Optimus Prime, but I'm not crazy about the after market price on MP-10 or the coloring and clear trailer of the Year of the Horse edition. Is it reasonable to guess that MP-10 would see another production run or something equivalent to be released. Are their figures you guys would highly recommend or ones to avoid? I noticed Toys R US was planning to reissue Grimlock. Are te Toys R US versions typically the same as the Takara version? Any advice or points in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.

For MP-10 - no one knows on another production run. Anything else said would just be pure speculation. Personally, I wouldn't count on another US run in the original color scheme.

There aren't really any figures to "avoid" in the MP line, though Megatron and Rodimus are objectively the worst put together. The latest stuff, like Smokescreen, Sideswipe, Soundwave/Cassettes, and any of their recolors/remolds are excellent all around.

Finally, for Grimlock, the US release is extremely similar, but does not include some accessories that the Takara one does, such as an apron, bowtie, and drink tray. Deco-wise though, they're nearly identical with only minor variation. On Grimlock I'd really say to wait on the TRU release in the coming months. Of course, TRU MPs can be a massive pain to find, so I'd weigh that consideration as well.

Hope that helps!

I would certainly say it's worth MP-10 or its Hasbro counterpart; it's pricey but it is literally the best representation of G1 Prime there is, and yes, there is no guarantee that it will ever be re-issued.

Thanks! with the Year of the Horse Optimus Prime I don't mind how Prime himself looks just wasn't crazy about the trailer and lack of roller accessory. However I can still find it for more than half of an MP-10 so it is pretty tempting. How much do you expect the TRU Grimlock to cost?

OscarGungan wrote:Thanks! with the Year of the Horse Optimus Prime I don't mind how Prime himself looks just wasn't crazy about the trailer and lack of roller accessory. However I can still find it for more than half of an MP-10 so it is pretty tempting. How much do you expect the TRU Grimlock to cost?

I would imagine it will be around the same price as Acid Storm; $80-ish

Diem wrote:I would certainly say it's worth MP-10 or its Hasbro counterpart; it's pricey but it is literally the best representation of G1 Prime there is

That's just your opinion, even if a lot of people agree with it. I think MP-1 or MP-4 in robot mode is more accurate, especially to the comics version, whereas MP-10's truck mode is the better representation of the vehicle mode.

Rodimus Prime wrote:

Diem wrote:I would certainly say it's worth MP-10 or its Hasbro counterpart; it's pricey but it is literally the best representation of G1 Prime there is

That's just your opinion, even if a lot of people agree with it. I think MP-1 or MP-4 in robot mode is more accurate, especially to the comics version, whereas MP-10's truck mode is the better representation of the vehicle mode.

Well I'll just leave this here, and we can agree to disagree. If the after-market price on MP-10 is a concern then even if the original poster did prefer MP-4 they'd have a hell of a time getting it.

Yeah, I'd like a few decent pieces rather than spend all my money on one excellent one. Is it true that the MP-10 figure is more in scale with the rest of the figures than the MP-4 is. Would the MP-10 look better, scale-wise standing next to the Autobot cars, Grimlock or Soundwave?

MP-1 and its variants (1B,2,4,4S) scale with MP-5, then everything MP besides those scales just fine in robot mode.

MP-10 scales better with everything starting with Grimlock (MP-8) and MP-1, IMO, is the better representation of Optimus in robot mode. Of course, there are those (majority of the fandom) who disagree. See above photo, and make up your own mind.

OscarGungan wrote:I've been considering getting back into Transformers and buying some of the Masterpiece figures. I was wondering if anyone had any advice about collecting the line. I'd like an Optimus Prime, but I'm not crazy about the after market price on MP-10 or the coloring and clear trailer of the Year of the Horse edition. Is it reasonable to guess that MP-10 would see another production run or something equivalent to be released. Are their figures you guys would highly recommend or ones to avoid? I noticed Toys R US was planning to reissue Grimlock. Are te Toys R US versions typically the same as the Takara version? Any advice or points in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.

I have advice for you.

1. Find and buy MP-10 or the US version of it.
2. Pick up the current line of cars as your budget allows. They're all great.
3. If you get into the seekers, avoid the original mold versions.
4. If you go the route of MP-1 or MP-4, you're going for more of a show piece rather than a figure to be part of a line. Not a bad thing, but MP Megatron to go along with them.
5. If budgets are an issue, find a US release Gridlock. Nearly identical bang for your buck as the Japanese releases.
6. Rodimus Prime over US Rodimus (but not by much).

Rodimus Prime wrote:MP-10 scales better with everything starting with Grimlock (MP-8) and MP-1, IMO, is the better representation of Optimus in robot mode. Of course, there are those (majority of the fandom) who disagree. See above photo, and make up your own mind.

It's an oversimplification but it works: MP-1 is scaled to generally go with Binaltech/Alternators while MP-10 is better scaled for Classics/Universe/Generations deluxes.

In terms of consistency within the line and to expand on what Rodimus Prime said, MP-1 scales best with MP-2 through MP-7 and their repaints. Since the Seeker mold has since been revised to the new scale that means that the only Masterpiece characters that aren't available in a scale that fits with MP-10 are Ultra Magnus (until MP-22 comes out), Megatron, and, oddly, Skywarp.

I do have one major caveat with MP-1. It only happens occasionally but is a known issue; sometimes the waist joint comes entirely loose and freely spins with no friction. It happened on mine, and since I already had MP-10 and the fix for MP-1 apparently involved modding I just sold it.

Counterpunch wrote:6. Rodimus Prime over US Rodimus (but not by much).

Having just gotten MP-9 recently, I gotta say, Space Winnebago alone makes it the go-to option. Just gives it so much more, and if you can find MP-9 v1 loose you'll probably pay about as much as the Hasbro version sealed.

Although every version of that mold has QC issues. Just be very careful with it when/if you buy it and do some research on what the common problems are so you don't break anything.

ScottyP wrote:

Counterpunch wrote:6. Rodimus Prime over US Rodimus (but not by much).

Having just gotten MP-9 recently, I gotta say, Space Winnebago alone makes it the go-to option. Just gives it so much more, and if you can find MP-9 v1 loose you'll probably pay about as much as the Hasbro version sealed.

Although every version of that mold has QC issues. Just be very careful with it when/if you buy it and do some research on what the common problems are so you don't break anything.

I own both versions (US and Takara) and I gotta go with Takara as well, simply due to the colors. What I did was take the US version, transformed it into car mode and attached the trailer. Then the Takara version is always in Hot Rod mode, either as a robot or car. It's the color that sells it for me.

Thanks for all your help. I'm leaning towards a Year of the Horse Optimus Prime because I can still find it for $129. I like the Takara one better just not another $200 better. I did notice on eBay there were Chinese sellers of some of the cars for less than $40 shipped. Some of the listings said KO version. I'm guessing I should steer clear of those but wondered what you guys had to say about it.

Anything MP-8 and after, imo, if you're looking for decent scaling. As for the ebay auctions, be careful, anything KO is no good in my book. I like genuine, so much that I don't really even touch 3rd party products. But it's up to you, some of the recent KO's have been pretty good quality, and for less than you'd pay for the Hasbro/takara versions.

OscarGungan wrote:Thanks for all your help. I'm leaning towards a Year of the Horse Optimus Prime because I can still find it for $129. I like the Takara one better just not another $200 better. I did notice on eBay there were Chinese sellers of some of the cars for less than $40 shipped. Some of the listings said KO version. I'm guessing I should steer clear of those but wondered what you guys had to say about it.

if youre looking at MP's and the price is too good to be true, it probably is. to my knowledge the KO'd MP's include prime(10), grim(8), lambos(all+gold), and datsuns(only prowl 17 so far i think).

also, takara is reissuing some masterpieces including MP10 next year.

Thanks so much for posting about the MP-10 reissue. I'd gladly wait until next year for that version. I think now that I know this I'm going to start with Soundwave, the TRU reissue Grimlock and some of the cars.

So, I see th enews on the Masterpiece Grimlock showing u at Toys R US and I'm wondering if my chances at getting one for retail price at the store is slim to none. It sounds like people are buying up all the stock at the stores and scalping them. Is this pretty typical for a TRU Masterpiece release? Is it possibility they will make this release plentiful because there is a movie coming out and I should be patient or is this one of those deals where I should park it outside a TRU when they open on truck day?

Diem wrote:

Well I'll just leave this here, and we can agree to disagree. If the after-market price on MP-10 is a concern then even if the original poster did prefer MP-4 they'd have a hell of a time getting it.

MP-01 looks better in bot mode to me...

OscarGungan wrote:So, I see th enews on the Masterpiece Grimlock showing u at Toys R US and I'm wondering if my chances at getting one for retail price at the store is slim to none. It sounds like people are buying up all the stock at the stores and scalping them. Is this pretty typical for a TRU Masterpiece release? Is it possibility they will make this release plentiful because there is a movie coming out and I should be patient or is this one of those deals where I should park it outside a TRU when they open on truck day?

That's an option...or wait for them to go up online. The first time they go up they will probably sell out in a matter of hours and likely early AM hours, but at some point they should be up for a day or maybe weeks. Might want to put up an internet page monitor once the page it up to alert you when it's in stock. Then again, this should be an easier release to get a hold of since it's a re-release and many collectors already have it.

duplicate post..

I went to a Toys R Us in National City, California, today and approached an employee in the Transformers section. I said, "Can I ask you when a particular Transformer will be available?
She said, "Grimlock?"
She said they have had numerous phone calls and inquiries but than no TRU store in San Diego had them in stock and the warehouse they receive them from have about 1,000 in stock but they wouldn't show up in stores for a while. I took that is there really isn't a point looking right now and that those that do have them were because of some fluke. I'm hoping they show up on their web site at this point.

OscarGungan wrote:I went to a Toys R Us in National City, California, today and approached an employee in the Transformers section. I said, "Can I ask you when a particular Transformer will be available?
She said, "Grimlock?"
She said they have had numerous phone calls and inquiries but than no TRU store in San Diego had them in stock and the warehouse they receive them from have about 1,000 in stock but they wouldn't show up in stores for a while. I took that is there really isn't a point looking right now and that those that do have them were because of some fluke. I'm hoping they show up on their web site at this point.

you could also ask fellow members l to look out for you. honestly id do it, but im in canada. prices are higher, and shipping over the boarder sucks.