The Energon Pub

My supplier just got a limited supply in and I'm now trying to decide which to get.

Is there a detailed review of the trailer anywhere? What exactly does it do? Is it worth the extra money? Who thinks it's better to display both boxes separately, i.e. get just MP-01 plus the Takara trailer?

Thanks!

Go with mp-04 you will be happy with trailer it adds an extra little bit to an already great figure here is a link to the seibertron.com gallery: http://www.seibertron.com/toys/gallery. ... =0&start=0

It realy depends if you are a fan of and like to display Convoy trailer, I find his trailers rather superflous to needs so I'm quite happy with MP-01.

Yours AK

Get all the MP's while you still can.

Its very painfull to regret in the future...

Thanks guys... another 500 bucks down...

wait, i hear a lot of guys complaining about MP-04's misaligned chest plates...is this really a common occurrence among MP-04 releases?

:MAX:

All versions of the MP Convoy (& Magnus)/20th Prime mold can have slight chest-alignment issues, IMO it's very slight and not that much of a problem.

Whoops, double post...

Get MP-04 if you have enough juice. Depending on your budget and the eagerness of getting a complete prime. How much your supplier is asking for each?

Be aware that MP04 is more prone to QC issues than MP01.
It was such an issue that TFsouce actually posted a warning about it on their site to potential buyers.

Something like a 60% chance of some kind of paint issue (mostly chipping) straight from the box. Stack and lower legs were especially prone to this.

I have both MP01 and MP04, 01 was clearly painted with more care.
I keep the MP04 in alt mode with his trailer.

Sid Burn wrote:Be aware that MP04 is more prone to QC issues than MP01.
It was such an issue that TFsouce actually posted a warning about it on their site to potential buyers.

Something like a 60% chance of some kind of paint issue (mostly chipping) straight from the box. Stack and lower legs were especially prone to this.

I have both MP01 and MP04, 01 was clearly painted with more care.
I keep the MP04 in alt mode with his trailer.

I think the second run of MP-01's have the same issues.

Metal Ed wrote:I think the second run of MP-01's have the same issues.

I heard something about that as well, but I dont think it was as bad as the MP04. I think the whole trailer idea was tacked on, or more specifically, I dont think Takara planned on the second MP Prime release. I still like it though.

Hey does anyone know what happened with MP 04 that gave him such a huge price spike? Was it the Movie or short supply? I remember having him in my pile of loot at BBTS when he was on clearance for like $150, but he vanished.

Ruthless Cynic wrote:Hey does anyone know what happened with MP 04 that gave him such a huge price spike? Was it the Movie or short supply? I remember having him in my pile of loot at BBTS when he was on clearance for like $150, but he vanished.

It's no longer being produced, hence the increased in price. All of the MPs seem to have limited runs. With the price point for MP-04, I wouldn't be surprise if TakTomy made a smaller production run for that figure. I consider myself lucky for being able to get my MP-04 from BBTS for 159.99.

Honestly, I'm not sure how much of an issue money is, but get both.

If money is an issue, get MP-04. Display the magnificent MP Prime in bot mode. Then buy a dvd prime for 20 bucks at walmart to haul the trailer around. Some long smoke stacks for 5-10 bucks and he actually looks quite decent.

It depends on why you're buying MPs. If you want cartoon accuracy, then I can't see why you wouldn't want the trailer unless, like AK, you always felt it superfluous.

I like Bonger's idea, though. It helps explain why the trailer kept disappearing in the cartoon.

HOIST: Prime, where the dickens is your trailer?
OPTIMUS: DVD Prime is looking after it. Now, do some hoisting.

Leonardo wrote:It depends on why you're buying MPs. If you want cartoon accuracy, then I can't see why you wouldn't want the trailer unless, like AK, you always felt it superfluous.

I like Bonger's idea, though. It helps explain why the trailer kept disappearing in the cartoon.

HOIST: Prime, where the dickens is your trailer?
OPTIMUS: DVD Prime is looking after it. Now, do some hoisting.

Haha. I woulda had Botcon Hoist haul it, but he is too small.

Leonardo wrote:HOIST: Prime, where the dickens is your trailer?
OPTIMUS: DVD Prime is looking after it. Now, do some hoisting.

"do some hoisting" LOL best post of the day LOL

Thanks to all replies to my original post. Here's another question:

I saw another box that was sold that included only the trailer. Apparently it's made by a company called Justitoys or something. Is this the same trailer as the one that comes with MP-04? I understood that MP-04 comes straight from Takara?

Bonecrusher27 wrote:Thanks to all replies to my original post. Here's another question:

I saw another box that was sold that included only the trailer. Apparently it's made by a company called Justitoys or something. Is this the same trailer as the one that comes with MP-04? I understood that MP-04 comes straight from Takara?

No, the Justitoys trailer is different. It is non-transformable. Here is an example of it:
http://cgi.ebay.com/TRANSFORMERS-MP-OP- ... dZViewItem
It is very nice if you don't plan on displaying it transformed, and is the cheapest option.

There is a transformable 3rd party trailer that is exactly like G1 Prime's. They are sold by ebay seller sky_lynx:
http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZsky_lynx1978
Though he does not have any for sale as of this posting, they pop up all the time.

I bought one from sky_lynx since I already had a Prime, and I didn't want to pay $200 just for the trailer. It is not as detailed as the Takara trailer, it is literally an upscale of the G1 version. But, unlike the Takara trailer it also comes with roller!

I have been very pleased with it.

If you DON'T already have MP prime and you don't care about getting roller, the MP-04 version may be a better deal for you. If you already have a Prime, and you just want a good looking trailer for a low cost, the Justitoys version is great. If you just want *a* trailer, and it need not be G1-ish, some model truck trailers have been used by people to very nice effect.

You have lots of choices!

Hey thanks for your detailed post rpetras! Seems like I have some more thinking to do. I sometimes wonder how great it'd be if I could mix and match features in toys... if only the Takara came with Roller. I'm wondering why didn't they do that? They were pretty detailed and generous with what they gave Prime; seems a no-brainer that roller should be included. Ah well...

Still labouring over should I get the MP-01 reissue then because of the advice above that unless it's first run, the paint app is still crap. Represents the most expensive TF I'm ever going to buy.

Yeah, since your MP-01 won't be the first MP-01 run, the paint quality won't be all that great. But its just a minor factor. Given that you have a chance to score a MP-04 at a decent price, I'll go with that if I were you. The Non-transforming Justitoys trailer is just boring. And the Sky_lynx transforming trailer is good (I bought that last month), but it cost just about if not more than MP-04's trailer, and mostly for people already has a MP-01. MP-04 does has some short comings, like somewhat inferior paint, trailer a bit short, no Roller, no shooting missiles like the G1 trailer. But it does win on the looks and how it holds the Prime accessories and all. It can still become a good battle base/hanger like it should, so it would still be a fun piece for diorama (which is what a transforming trailer is all about). But if the MP-04 is going to cost you a lot more than retail, then Sky_Lynx's could be a good option, especially if you are a G1 fan. I would go:

MP-04 > Sky Lynx trailer > Justitoys trailer

Based on your situation.

Honestly - if you like, or at least don't mind, the laser scorch marks, you should get the non-DVD 20th Anniversary Prime from 2004 (I assume you know the difference between DVD and non-DVD 20th anniversary Prime). Except for the laser scorching and shorter smoke stacks, it is *identical* to MP-01 Prime. I know - I have both.

And you can get a pair of long smoke stacks for it off ebay for $10.00.

I think that the QC on those were pretty high, since they were an early run, and probably better QC than most second-run MP-01's; certainly better than MP-04's. And, it will cost 60-80 dollars less than an MP-01.

If you buy on ebay, you can actually examine the picture to see how well aligned the chest doors are. Save a picture of the item to your hard drive, then open it with an application that allows you to zoom in. Find yourself a vendor with perfectly aligned chest doors.