The Energon Pub

[Quantum Surge]

A hypothetical Masterpiece Sky/Jetfire brings up an interesting question. Just how far is Takara willing to go with cartoon scale accuracy when it comes to the bigger characters? Will they even dare to do any of the combiner teams/gestalts? How much would such figures cost!?

Now I don't know for sure but I'm pretty certain that Takara themselves said that they're weren't going any bigger than Star Saber

I remember something along those lines and it was further reinforced when they confirmed that there were no MP Combiners planned or even on the roadmap.

I think there's also be a good reason why we wouldn't see MP Combiners: time.

Will fans be patient enough to wait for the Constructicons or other Combiner teams (released individually and not in a giftset) when you add high prices or distribution for each member? What if we get 5-7 years of Combiners only but nobody else? Not to mention that Takara will want to work on other characters to have their line ups more diverse (not counting Movie and Beast Wars MPs).

What I think works about the Combiner Wars line is that since they have a more approachable price tag for fans, they can have more characters being available frequently within a year (even if it means retooling). I know that it may not be an apples for apples comparison, but the mass produced figures work when you're dealing with characters that may not sell at higher price tags. Think of the Marvel Legends vs Marvel Hot Toys as a good example; while big name characters like Spider-Man, Captain America, and Wolverine will likely sell, some lesser known ones like Agent Coulson and Mockingbird would warm pegs, but the advantage to these compared to their Hot Toys counterparts would be both the prices and the build a figure piece (plus completion would be easier for everyone that wants to have the Avengers at around $120 instead of buying them for $630.

[shajaki]

Thought I'd drop my thoughts on MP-39 here

Also, you open Sunny yet? I'm curious how you feel compared to Surgio.

MP SS is a $#@!ing work of art. He defies expectations and is beyond description. The sheer amount of moving parts he has is astounding. He essentially has 3 modes: Robot, Countache, and the fictional "super tuned" Countache. Their workaround to get this figure made was brilliant. The transformation, while difficult, was not as much of a pain as Surgio, and I was able to figure out on my own. It was fun! Robot mode is nothing short of stunning, posable and amazingly proportioned. And that head sculpt. Even though I like the cartoon accurate direction of the line, I did not like his head when it was revealed. In hand, it-is-PERFECT. I can't get over it, he literally blows my mind. Best MP to date, hands down.

In comparison to Sunsurge, there is no comparison. Surgio is great, but it's like comparing MP-10 to Classics Prime. Or a ham sandwich.













One thing though. His little gun that folds away into his leg, snapped in half when I tried to fold it up. I'm actually pretty upset about that. I'm trying not to let is sour the overall experience.

[Quantum Surge]

I honestly prefer Classics Prime over MP-10. It's looks more ready for business.

[shajaki]

Has anyone experienced paint chipping with their 39?

I haven't, and I haven't attempted to pur him back into car mode, but noticed that he feels super painted. So it got me thinkin

[steals_your_goats]

Has anyone experienced paint chipping with their 39?

I haven't, and I haven't attempted to pur him back into car mode, but noticed that he feels super painted. So it got me thinkin

I've transformed him back and forth a few times and have had no issues with paint chipping.

[shajaki]

Has anyone experienced paint chipping with their 39?

I haven't, and I haven't attempted to pur him back into car mode, but noticed that he feels super painted. So it got me thinkin

I've transformed him back and forth a few times and have had no issues with paint chipping.

[Ironhidensh]

I can't freaking put him down since I got him and I have no issues.

[Cyberpath]

I still find his transformation frustrating. Yesterday I transformed him back into a car for the first time with the help of a video review. And today into a robot initially using the manual + intuition, it went great but I got stuck with the backpack. (So much stuff going there.) What got me stuck, I realised, was that the instructions start from real Countach mode and mine was in his hot rod mode. The car's super engine is supposed to be flipped down and absorbed by the robot's super-engine. Next time it'll go smoother!

I like how he holds his gun. Wish Sideswipe could smile, too.

⠀

[triKlops]

Just got mine the other day.
Can't wait to pop the box and take a look!

[ScottyP]

Has anyone experienced paint chipping with their 39?

I haven't, and I haven't attempted to pur him back into car mode, but noticed that he feels super painted. So it got me thinkin

I've transformed him back and forth a few times and have had no issues with paint chipping.

Likewise. I'm going to try and remember to check it again in a couple months, it took Grapple a little time to start chipping. Hopefully they learned some materials lessons and applied them here though!

[Cyberpath]

Done it! Robot to Countach from memory. (Not the most fun transformation.)

[MGrotusque]

Has anyone heard word/rumour about anyone creating an alternate head to the official release yet? I'd love to get rid of that horrible cartoon head. It clashes terribly with the aesthetic of the body in bot mode. I need a more toy accurate head.

[steals_your_goats]

Has anyone heard word/rumour about anyone creating an alternate head to the official release yet? I'd love to get rid of that horrible cartoon head. It clashes terribly with the aesthetic of the body in bot mode. I need a more toy accurate head.

But the entire aesthetic is cartoon accuracy. If you put the toy head on the cartoon body then that would clash.

[Ironhidensh]

Has anyone heard word/rumour about anyone creating an alternate head to the official release yet? I'd love to get rid of that horrible cartoon head. It clashes terribly with the aesthetic of the body in bot mode. I need a more toy accurate head.

But the entire aesthetic is cartoon accuracy. If you put the toy head on the cartoon body then that would clash.

Nah, that really comes down to personal taste. As for the head, I'm sure Takara themselves will do one on the guaranteed repaints that are on the way. Aside from that, I imagine a company like PE or Dr Wu will be out with one very soon.

[Emerje]

If the Sunstreaker body was meant to be 100% cartoon accurate it wouldn't have chrome (like Inferno's cartoon parts). I find the closed mouth to be perfectly fine, though.

Emerje

[MGrotusque]

The closed mouth sculpt is the most tolerable. In my opinion the bot and alt mode sculpt is only cartoon accurate by silhouette and proportions only. THere is too much detail with panels and line work that to me are more like the toy. The head doesn’t reflect that at all.
My real grievance is the shape of the ears. I’m hopeing reprolabels will offer stickers to go inside them and introduce the lines or “venting” back in them like every other Sunstreaker head.

[Burn]

Late to the party, but hey, I wanted to wait until I had a whole heap to ship from HLJ. So my thoughts on MP-39 Sunstreaker, but first ...

WARNING: The following post contains thoughts on a Transformer. It WILL contain whinging, those members who have delicate sensitivities and find offense at a leaf falling off a tree are best to just scroll on now.

A bit of background ... Sunstreaker hasn't meant much to me as a character. As a toy, I got him via a mail away promotion that was running back in the day. He was one of the few Autobot '84 cars that I had. That figure back then was what it was, "look at my flailing arms!"

Flash forward to 2018 and we have this guy. He can do more than just flail his arms. He can do all sorts of poses, and his secret power ... frustrate the **** out of me.

I ignored the instructions and tackled the transformation myself. And I did fine, right up until that backpack. Did I give in and resort to the instructions? Nope! I hit the Googles!

FYI, there aren't that many pictures out there that give a real clear view of how that backpack should come together. I looked at many pictures, (including Denshs) and then finally figured it out. I did what Cyberpath did and started him in turbo mode.

Don't get me wrong, this is a brilliant figure. The alt mode is gorgeous, as is the robot mode. My beef?

The backpack.

They did their best with the backpack, they really did. And I think my disappointment stems from "ladder/crane" magic, I expected to see it happen here again. Realistically, that was never going to happen. But they really did the best they could. And my stubborness didn't help either, I could have gone back to the instructions, but no, I persisted for an entire episode of Jane the Virgin (go on, judge me, I don't careeeeee).

This is the definitive (authorised) Sunstreaker, no two ways about it, his Classics rendition is a good figure, but didn't capture the G1 look like this one does.

If you had money to burn, I'd recommend this figure. But if you're watching your budget or you're selective in what figures you get, you could probably give this one a miss.

[Emerje]

I ignored the instructions and tackled the transformation myself. And I did fine, right up until that backpack. Did I give in and resort to the instructions? Nope! I hit the Googles!

Same exact experience. Can't be bothered with instructions so I messed around with him until I got the bot mode right. But that backpack is pretty complicated thanks to the back of Sunstreaker having two forms. I ended up coming to this very forum topic to check pics and see if I could figure it out. I'm still not sure if I got it right, but I'm too stubborn think it's wrong.

Emerje

[Burn]

I'm still not sure if I got it right, but I'm too stubborn think it's wrong.

This is pretty much how I feel as well. I'm fairly certain it's right, like 99.9%, so I'm just going to push it aside and bugger it if it's wrong.

[Emerje]

I'm still not sure if I got it right, but I'm too stubborn think it's wrong.

This is pretty much how I feel as well. I'm fairly certain it's right, like 99.9%, so I'm just going to push it aside and bugger it if it's wrong.

Yep, I can't be bothered to hunt for the instructions every time I want to mess around with a figure. As long as there aren't any obvious mistakes I can live with it.

Emerje

[Wolfman Jake]

Burn, do you have MP-36 Megatron!? I shudder to think of you trying to transform that figure without using the instructions.

[william-james88]

If you had money to burn, I'd recommend this figure. But if you're watching your budget or you're selective in what figures you get, you could probably give this one a miss.

With this toy even figure on your top five best Lambo based transformer toys?

[Burn]

Burn, do you have MP-36 Megatron!? I shudder to think of you trying to transform that figure without using the instructions.

He's still in his box (I had a heap to unbox!) but I wasn't sure if I was going to transform him anyway given all the problems people have had.

If you had money to burn, I'd recommend this figure. But if you're watching your budget or you're selective in what figures you get, you could probably give this one a miss.

With this toy even figure on your top five best Lambo based transformer toys?

You're asking the wrong person. I rarely rate figures unless the subject criteria interests me. Lamborghini cars don't interest me enough to think about rating them.

[william-james88]

Could you at least tell me if you prefer MP Sideswipe over MP Substreaker?

[Burn]

I would have to get Sideswipe down from his shelf home, and if I'm going up the ladder to do that, it'll be to put Grapple, Sunstreaker and Megatron in place.

I hate ladders ... even if I have to only go up one step.