The Energon Pub

News Credits: 461 · Thu Mar 06, 2014 9:37 am

his face looks kind of fat... also is that a wheel on his back?

any chance this actually comes with spike? that would be awesome!

Thu Mar 06, 2014 9:38 am

Doc bot wrote:As a counter argument, I really like this bee precisely because it is an original old model VW but has a toonish bot mode. Growing up in the 80's, I remember getting him for $3 at the local toy store. Nothing about that toy looks like what he was in the show, but I didn't care at all since in my mind he was the same. These masterpieces are the toys I imagined I was playing with when I was a kid. Tomy is banking on this nostalgia heavily. Realistically, they are luxury, collector toys aimed at my generation who has disposable income.

Judging by the interview, this line is selling very well since they don't have to repurpose molds. I suspect this line will go on for a long time since guys like me will consistently buy them all. Unfortunately, this also means they will gradually crank the prices up since we are captive addicts.

Don't get me wrong....I love the Masterpiece line. It's just that to me they were always going for cartoon accuracy and not toy accuracy (Wheeljack for example looks exactly like his cartoon appearance but not so much like the actual toy). I just feel that if Bumblebee was never accurate to that version of the Volkswagon Beetle in the cartoon why use that version now? This to me more reminds me of a Gobot I had as kid in vehichle mode. (Can't remember his name....think it was BugBite)

News Credits: 1 · Thu Mar 06, 2014 9:41 am

Darkman20xx wrote:Obviously we have to wait until we have finished version pics but right now I really don't like it. Bee is one of those guys you will never get cartoon accurate in both modes due to the way he was animated. (Somehow the hood and front fenders folded into feet with no lights or hood kibble on the cartoon) He also had a rounded and plump car mode but slimmed down considerably in robot mode. Due to all this the use of this version of the Bug just makes the figure look old and bland. Though it wouldn't be accurate I would much rather have the alt mode made from one of the newer Bug models.

The 3P guys seem to have hit the cartoon look pretty well in both modes:

News Credits: 462 · Thu Mar 06, 2014 9:45 am

mooncake623 wrote:his face looks kind of fat... also is that a wheel on his back?

Yep, just like in the cartoon.

http://www.youtube.com/user/KirbyForce1 · Thu Mar 06, 2014 9:46 am

Aw **** man! This is marvelous. Absolutely marvelous!

Thu Mar 06, 2014 9:51 am

rpetras wrote:
Darkman20xx wrote:Obviously we have to wait until we have finished version pics but right now I really don't like it. Bee is one of those guys you will never get cartoon accurate in both modes due to the way he was animated. (Somehow the hood and front fenders folded into feet with no lights or hood kibble on the cartoon) He also had a rounded and plump car mode but slimmed down considerably in robot mode. Due to all this the use of this version of the Bug just makes the figure look old and bland. Though it wouldn't be accurate I would much rather have the alt mode made from one of the newer Bug models.

The 3P guys seem to have hit the cartoon look pretty well in both modes:

That actually does look very good though it looks too small for a Masterpiece figure. Pretty awesome though.

http://www.youtube.com/user/KirbyForce1 · Thu Mar 06, 2014 9:52 am

If they ever do a Masterpiece Wheelie or a new Hot Rod that's in scale with these new car Autobots, it had better come with Daniel.

News Credits: 461 · Thu Mar 06, 2014 10:02 am

Sabrblade wrote:
mooncake623 wrote:his face looks kind of fat... also is that a wheel on his back?
Yep, just like in the cartoon.

Well if that's a wheel instead of a yellow circle sure...

News Credits: 1 · Thu Mar 06, 2014 10:07 am

I'm guessing that for an international company like Tomy, it's easier to pursue the VW license than to risk lawsuits by making a pretend VW Beetle to look like the show. Just look at all the lawsuits that fly around whenever they try to make a new Jetfire.

Licensing is a big deal. If you take the Corvette as an example, GM is estimated to earn 70 million in royalties a year from that one car alone without doing anything. Maybe VW wants more of that free cash.

News Credits: 16 · Thu Mar 06, 2014 10:47 am

This thing is SO bought on sight. The engineering for the robot torso is AMAZING.

Thu Mar 06, 2014 11:02 am

I wonder if we'll get Daniel with an exosuit when they re-release this mold as Cliffjumper?

News Credits: 462 · Thu Mar 06, 2014 11:31 am

mblase75 wrote:when they re-release this mold as Cliffjumper?

NO!

Thu Mar 06, 2014 11:32 am

Guys I have a question and I'd appreciate any helpful info; many years ago Takara and Hasbro were making a line of Transformers named the Binaltech (that was the Japanese name the American equivalent was Alternators) that were modelled to look like classic transformers in robot mode and scale model reproductions of actual cars in their vehicle mode.

Hasbro/Takara actually approached Volkswagen and asked permission to make a toy based on the VW Beetle so they could make a Bumblebee but Volkswagen said no, now this masterpiece clearly transforms into a VW Beetle so my question is what made Volkswagen change their minds or did Takara say screw it!

News Credits: 372 · Thu Mar 06, 2014 11:43 am

Super Megatron wrote:This thing is SO bought on sight. The engineering for the robot torso is AMAZING.

I agree! Unlike the 3rd party figure, he has all those windshields in robot mode like in the cartoon.

Can't wait to see how the MP-21 transforms.. looking at the car and the robot standing next to it, it looks almost impossible. There's so much thought behind those Masterpiece toys.

MP Bumbelee would have looked good as either a realistic car or a chibified one, probably because the VW Beetle is kind of a "chibi" car anyway. I wonder how Cliffjumper will look as a realistic Porsche 924 though. But that's ages from now.

btw, the wheel/disk on his back is black in the AKOM episodes.
http://www.seibertron.com/images/cartoo ... f09306.jpg

News Credits: 241 · Thu Mar 06, 2014 11:58 am

Sabrblade wrote:
mblase75 wrote:when they re-release this mold as Cliffjumper?
NO!

To clarify: G1 Cliffjumper is not a Volkswagen Beetle (rather a Porsche 924 Turbo, despite transforming the same way as Bumblebee. He did keep his weird toy proportions in the cartoon, however.
Should MP Cliffjumper be in the works, I'm expecting either a new mold, or a vehicle reshell of MP Bumblebee

News Credits: 462 · Thu Mar 06, 2014 12:05 pm

Regarding potential redecos, I found this awesome GIF of ideas:

News Credits: 8 · Thu Mar 06, 2014 12:10 pm

damn thats a small MP figure, looks like they're getting like hasbro now & making everything smaller. Im curious about the face gimmick, will there be a toy face & a cartoon face or just different expressions? Might also be their way of making this easy to repaint into cliffjumper or whoever else they want.

News Credits: 1 · Thu Mar 06, 2014 12:14 pm

Bee's gonna be tiny. Using the guy's hand for scale in the last pic, he looks smaller than most deluxes.

Other than a red version, and possibly a gold-chromed Goldbug, doubt we'll see this remolded into a different character. They already said these guys are selling so well that they can invest in bespoke molds. A very good thing.

News Credits: 462 · Thu Mar 06, 2014 12:15 pm

Megatron Wolf wrote:damn thats a small MP figure, looks like they're getting like hasbro now & making everything smaller.

Where were you when Bumblebee was among the smallest Autobots in the whole G1 cartoon? He even claimed to be the smallest back in episode 2. You're seriously surprised that he's smaller than the rest when everything the Masterpiece line has been doing since MP-10 up to this point has been adhering to the official scale guide of the G1 cartoon? [-(

Thu Mar 06, 2014 12:28 pm

I think VW finally gave in to capitalize on the TF cash cow. They finally realized that WWII is in the history books and its time to move foward. Now the question is how will scale factor in to the car mode. The whole mini bot concept worked for kids toys, but not so much for real car scale in comparison to other real life cars. Bumblebee might have to be just under sideswipe and prowls height.

News Credits: 11 · Thu Mar 06, 2014 12:39 pm

Okay, this just went from 'nice Bumblebee' to 'OMG I NEED THIS NOW'. He does look tiny but that's accurate and the inclusion of the Exo Suit is something I did not see coming at all. And yes, the engineering looks amazing and the wheel on the back is a nice touch. Well done, Takara. :APPLAUSE:

News Credits: 372 · Thu Mar 06, 2014 12:52 pm

I think the top of Bumblebee's head will reach the bottom of Smokescreen's car chest. About 12 cm high.

Sabrblade wrote:Regarding potential redecos, I found this awesome GIF of ideas:

I wonder if Takara will try to retool the mold into Goldbug. They are rather different.

Thu Mar 06, 2014 12:55 pm

Thanks RatedX

News Credits: 767 · Thu Mar 06, 2014 1:00 pm

rpetras wrote:
Darkman20xx wrote:Obviously we have to wait until we have finished version pics but right now I really don't like it. Bee is one of those guys you will never get cartoon accurate in both modes due to the way he was animated. (Somehow the hood and front fenders folded into feet with no lights or hood kibble on the cartoon) He also had a rounded and plump car mode but slimmed down considerably in robot mode. Due to all this the use of this version of the Bug just makes the figure look old and bland. Though it wouldn't be accurate I would much rather have the alt mode made from one of the newer Bug models.

The 3P guys seem to have hit the cartoon look pretty well in both modes:

Only in alt-mode, the bot-mode is super inaccurate to the cartoon though. So it's the Takara just in reverse.

I just love this thing, and I can't wait for the HLJ pre-order to hit.

To those being baffled about him being tiny, he's going to be smaller than a Deluxe sized toy, this is not about Takara shrinking down the line to make more money, this is in line with the mission statement of the MP line since MP 10, which is cartoon bot-mode scale. And BB was tiny, if you're going to complain about BB being tiny, go and also complain about the Cassettes being too tiny to be MPs.

I'm curious to see how they'll handle the spare tire on his back, toy accurate black, or toon accurate yellow. Personally I would prefer a combination of the two, the back being yellow while the spare is just a tyre.