The Energon Pub

News Credits: 9 · Sat Dec 21, 2019 1:55 pm

Interesting video to cross reference Transformers branding and functionality within the train model world.

https://youtu.be/yLUrcTmEUhg

News Credits: 4877 · Mon Aug 16, 2021 8:53 am

Even though we have heard very little from Takara's Transformers Masterpiece Raiden project, we knew it was still underway. And now we have what I hope is further proof at it's ongoing development. An image surface on Baidu showing one component of the train combiner. This train bot is Shouki and it looks a lot like the image Takara had shown us of Shouki in the generations book. So, there is a good chance what we are seeing below is our first look at part of MP Raiden. This is a test shot of course so it won't look like this in the final deco.

You'll let us know what you think.

News Credits: 462 · Mon Aug 16, 2021 9:09 am

FINALLY!

Can't tell how big he is, though.

News Credits: 56 · Mon Aug 16, 2021 9:14 am

With all of the name reveals we've been getting for Legacy/2022. I thought to myself "I might not be getting any Transformers next year"...then I am reminded of this, all things happen for a purpose. Even if nothing in the mainline interests me, at least I can rest assured I'll hopefully be able to get Raiden. Looking forward to seeing more.

Mon Aug 16, 2021 9:38 am

Highly detailed. That's good.

But the highly possible hole in my pocket. That's no good.

Considering the price of UW Devastator a few years ago, MP Raiden can easily be double the price of that.

News Credits: 56 · Mon Aug 16, 2021 9:44 am

CW Dev was $150 USD in 2015, UW Dev was roughly the same price, although because of imports and some of the added details it came with, most folks were paying around $200 when it came out in the end of 2015. It hasn't been confirmed if the components will be sold separately, or as a set? But f we could get the whole thing for around $400, I'd be ok. Sadly, that would also not be the most expensive combiner I have purchased in recent years. $60-$70 each though, a few months apart would defintely be easier on the budget for sure.

Mon Aug 16, 2021 10:42 am

God help us if these guys are in scale with the rest of the MP Line....

News Credits: 8 · Mon Aug 16, 2021 10:50 am

Stormshot_Prime wrote:God help us if these guys are in scale with the rest of the MP Line....

I don't think these will be. Hudt comparing to the crack in the floor and assuming that is roughly standard, Shouki's train mode looks to he roughly HO Model Train Scale (1:87) ehich will put him as roughly 12" long. But I am also unsure of how they got such a wide bot out of such a narrow alt mode.

News Credits: 4877 · Mon Aug 16, 2021 11:50 am

optimeow wrote:Highly detailed. That's good.

But the highly possible hole in my pocket. That's no good.

Considering the price of UW Devastator a few years ago, MP Raiden can easily be double the price of that.

Will be more than double, closer to triple. This would be a $500-$600 combiner.

News Credits: 2 · Mon Aug 16, 2021 2:57 pm

Flashwave wrote:But I am also unsure of how they got such a wide bot out of such a narrow alt mode.

Think Mudflap from TF: Cybertron...very long vehicle mode, but sturdy, wide robot mode. I think the shoulders run parallel to the length of the train mode and his legs do the splits.

MyFigureCollection.net collection · Mon Aug 16, 2021 5:15 pm

Stormshot_Prime wrote:God help us if these guys are in scale with the rest of the MP Line....

The bot mode will be (which isn't any bigger than the Headmasters in the cartoon), it's Masterpiece after all. But just like the Seekers the alt mode will not be.

His transformation is very simple and to the point. Basically the arms go over his head, backpack goes above arms to make the front, legs push together, feet form the back. It's his ability to combine that makes him look so complicated and because of that the price will probably be closer to Arcee than Skids.

Emerje

News Credits: 462 · Mon Aug 16, 2021 5:20 pm

The thing about his size is that that one magazine interview described him specifically as being "Unite Warriors size", which at first glance sounds like he'd be the height of a typical CW/UW/POTP/Selects combiner, which in turn would make Raiden CHUG scaled instead of proper MP scale.

The possibility does still remain that "Unite Warriors size" meant "Unite Warriors Devastator size", to make him proper MP scaled, but if that's the case, that begs the question of why the interview didn't just say that instead of the broader, less-specific "Unite Warriors size" since Devastator was the only UW toy of that height.

Mon Aug 16, 2021 6:08 pm

Based on the fact that Shouki (and the other Trainbots) are around Rodimus Convoy's height in The Headmasters [source],his figure should be anywhere between shoulder height to being nearly as tall as MP-9 Rodimus Convoy. :-?

So if anybody has both that figure (MP-10 Convoy V2 and MP-44 Convoy V3 should work too) and either "Titan Class" version of Devastator, I suggest that you scale those figures next to each other. This should give you (and probably us as well) a good idea on how tall his figure alone will be. Along with a better idea on how big Raiden will be when he is combined.

Either way, I am interested in the rumored "MP" Cliff figure. And since the rumors tied to the Legacy line are starting to bore me, I am going to hope this is not going to be a long-winded, expensive set.

News Credits: 1646 · Mon Aug 16, 2021 7:11 pm

Super excited to finally see some news on this! I am really stoked for the idea of getting an MP Raiden!!!

MyFigureCollection.net collection · Tue Aug 17, 2021 4:30 am

Sabrblade wrote:The thing about his size is that that one magazine interview described him specifically as being "Unite Warriors size", which at first glance sounds like he'd be the height of a typical CW/UW/POTP/Selects combiner, which in turn would make Raiden CHUG scaled instead of proper MP scale.

The possibility does still remain that "Unite Warriors size" meant "Unite Warriors Devastator size", to make him proper MP scaled, but if that's the case, that begs the question of why the interview didn't just say that instead of the broader, less-specific "Unite Warriors size" since Devastator was the only UW toy of that height.

I just can't imagine them making MP figures not in scale with MPs. What's the point? Make it a Selects or a one off, no need to shoehorn them into the wrong line, they'll sell regardless.

Emerje

News Credits: 101 · Tue Aug 17, 2021 5:00 am

One thing is sure. That's one MP I'll NEVER get unless I win a million dollars. Because if I get that ultra expensive (price justified) MP, I'll want to hunt down the complete G1 original and we all know how much this goes for.
[-(

News Credits: 174 · Tue Aug 17, 2021 6:00 am

Looks amazing, and like its going to be intolerably expensive

Emerje wrote:
Sabrblade wrote:The thing about his size is that that one magazine interview described him specifically as being "Unite Warriors size", which at first glance sounds like he'd be the height of a typical CW/UW/POTP/Selects combiner, which in turn would make Raiden CHUG scaled instead of proper MP scale.

The possibility does still remain that "Unite Warriors size" meant "Unite Warriors Devastator size", to make him proper MP scaled, but if that's the case, that begs the question of why the interview didn't just say that instead of the broader, less-specific "Unite Warriors size" since Devastator was the only UW toy of that height.

I just can't imagine them making MP figures not in scale with MPs. What's the point? Make it a Selects or a one off, no need to shoehorn them into the wrong line, they'll sell regardless.

Emerje

It's possible that they're giving it the name because the amount of detail/functionality/complexity is masterpiece level, kind of like how the rotf starscream was labelled a masterpiece, despite being a normal leader class figure

News Credits: 462 · Tue Aug 17, 2021 10:43 am

Emerje wrote:
Sabrblade wrote:The thing about his size is that that one magazine interview described him specifically as being "Unite Warriors size", which at first glance sounds like he'd be the height of a typical CW/UW/POTP/Selects combiner, which in turn would make Raiden CHUG scaled instead of proper MP scale.

The possibility does still remain that "Unite Warriors size" meant "Unite Warriors Devastator size", to make him proper MP scaled, but if that's the case, that begs the question of why the interview didn't just say that instead of the broader, less-specific "Unite Warriors size" since Devastator was the only UW toy of that height.

I just can't imagine them making MP figures not in scale with MPs. What's the point? Make it a Selects or a one off, no need to shoehorn them into the wrong line, they'll sell regardless.

Emerje

To be fair, that's exactly what they did with MP Star Saber. He's completely out of scale with any and all other MPs.

His "Battle Up!" mode is supposed to be combiner-sized, while his standard robot mode is supposed to be of equal height to Perceptor (who is himself of equal height to the tall Autobot likes of Ironhide/Ratchet, Inferno/Grapple, and Hot Rod).

Yet, the standard robot mode of his MP is as small a typical Autobot Car (Prowl/Streak/Smokescreen, Wheeljack, Sideswipe, Hound, and Sunstreaker), while the "Battle Up!" mode is the same height as MP Ultra Magnus, MP-1 Convoy, and... the CW/UW/Potpie/Selects Combiners. The latter notion means that MP Star Saber is more correctly scaled for CHUG rather than Masterpiece.

Now, at the time that they were making him, I was certain they wouldn't be able to make Star Saber as big as he'd need to be, since this was before Titan class Devastator was even known about. But, at the very least, my hope was that Takara would at least be able to make him as big as Armada Unicron, since that toy was at least still much taller that foot-tall MPs like Magnus and MP-1.

But, with the onset of Titan class Devastator setting a new standard for Combiner height at MP scale, I do kinda still wish that MP Star Saber could have been bigger. At the very least, Armada Unicron-sized, if not taller.

Tue Aug 17, 2021 7:50 pm

-Kanrabat- wrote:One thing is sure. That's one MP I'll NEVER get unless I win a million dollars. Because if I get that ultra expensive (price justified) MP, I'll want to hunt down the complete G1 original and we all know how much this goes for.

My feeling is that I'll get "MP" Cliff and be done for the time being. >:oP

Not because my past experiences in the community (as a whole) always ended up being toxic, but because they always dump one means of doing this line for another. With the cap-off for me the moment every figure suddenly had to be their animated counterpart. Which has me actually look at how the characters scale in their anime series, while I wish I could follow that up by seeing how select MP scale with each other.

Or how MP figures that match a characters height scale against select Unite Warriors figures.

As for the original... Are we talking about the first (1987) individual figures, the giftset, or the second (1990) reissued figures? Either way, these complete (and MISB) will cost as much as a single 1990 reissue (MIB). With patience allowing you to get them for less via Mandarake. ;)^

News Credits: 2 · Tue Aug 17, 2021 9:57 pm

I know Takara is limited by the cartoon character's design, and also that this is an engineering sample and not a final product... but this doesn't look like a Masterpiece figure. All the gaps, exposed hollow parts and ugly hinges make this look like a mainline quality toy.

Tue Aug 17, 2021 10:51 pm

whacko wrote:I know Takara is limited by the cartoon character's design, and also that this is an engineering sample and not a final product... but this doesn't look like a Masterpiece figure. All the gaps, exposed hollow parts and ugly hinges make this look like a mainline quality toy.

I was originally wondering if it was a 3P prototype, myself. The way the photo was shot had me wonder how the leaker got it. But also having been a fan of prototypes in the past, I am presuming that it is the actual item. And that the final product will look a whole lot better.

(Here is a LINK (click here) to his Collector Interview. It is worth checking out.)

MyFigureCollection.net collection · Wed Aug 18, 2021 12:37 am

whacko wrote:I know Takara is limited by the cartoon character's design, and also that this is an engineering sample and not a final product... but this doesn't look like a Masterpiece figure. All the gaps, exposed hollow parts and ugly hinges make this look like a mainline quality toy.

You're going to have to point out the exposed gaps and hollow spots because I don't see any. And the hinges are a necessity due to him being a combiner. Once the clear plastic is painted over a lot of it wont be visible.

Emerje

Wed Aug 18, 2021 1:36 am

Emerje wrote:You're going to have to point out the exposed gaps and hollow spots because I don't see any. And the hinges are a necessity due to him being a combiner. Once the clear plastic is painted over a lot of it wont be visible.

Emerje

From what I have seen, the hollow points are in the legs area with any gaps seen being in the back. Something that also caught me off guard, at first, but later looked up prior to me editing my response to them. Which happens to be why they use clear plastic, and that they do not always stick with one prototype model.

But I do agree with you on the fact that once we see a more solid (color, digibash, or something else) version of this figure, a lot of those issues should not be noticeable. And if they will go with animation accuracy for height, or use "Unite Warrior" Devastator's combined height to make the set more affordable.