The Energon Pub

News Credits: 65 · Mon Nov 30, 2015 2:26 pm

Hmmm...It's very hard to balk at a $180 price tag, given that we (Hasbro territory consumers) usually end up paying between $200 to $230 for Takara releases of the MP-11 mold. So, what does that have to say about these pan-Asian/Chinese price hikes on Transformers? Maybe BBTS and TFSource are buying directly from TakaraTomy Mall for MP Ramjet?

News Credits: 4877 · Mon Nov 30, 2015 3:43 pm

Wolfman Jake wrote:Hmmm...It's very hard to balk at a $180 price tag, given that we (Hasbro territory consumers) usually end up paying between $200 to $230 for Takara releases of the MP-11 mold. So, what does that have to say about these pan-Asian/Chinese price hikes on Transformers? Maybe BBTS and TFSource are buying directly from TakaraTomy Mall for MP Ramjet?

No, they say so in the listing on TFSource (http://tfsource.com/masterpiece/mp-11nr-ramjet/):

This is the Asian market release of this product

TT is contractually not allowed to distribute their products anywhere other than Japan and thus no american retailer can ever get a direct account with them. The only reason why the price is lower (its still a 50$ mark up from the japan edition which is more limited while this one isnt) is because Hasbro Asia chose to sell it for less this time, probably because they didnt sell out their previous seekers as quickly as they wanted.

Since they are two different companies, markets and pricing strategies, the Hasbro Asia Price and Takara Tomy price are not related (I know you didnt ask, but I just wanted to put that out there since I find it interesting and also annoying).

Mon Nov 30, 2015 8:51 pm

Happy to see this isn't $200.

I preordered him this morning. :-D

News Credits: 372 · Tue Mar 15, 2016 6:24 am

More pix at: http://transformersasia.com/exclusive/e ... tail/3/255

News Credits: 174 · Tue Mar 15, 2016 1:01 pm

Fellow Seibertronians, Transformers Asia, the collector site for Hasbro Asia, has just posted pictures of the new MP-11NR Ramjet, an extensive retool of MP-11 Starscream. In the new pictures we get to see him in action alongside MP Starscream and MP Skywarp, along with some of his features. Ramjet is a TakaraTomy Mall exclusive in Japan, and is expected to be released to Japan on 3/19, with a subsequent Hasbro Asia release on 3/31. So check out the images mirrored below and let us know your what you think in the comments below.

News Credits: 217 · Tue Mar 15, 2016 1:33 pm

I might be alone in this but it sucks that there's no indication that you can swap the head and nosecone out for a G1 toy accurate (e.g. non-conehead) head. I loved the packaging art for Dirge et al back in G1 and I hated that that ridiculous-looking mis-transformation became so widespread.

News Credits: 149 · Tue Mar 15, 2016 2:50 pm

I have the iGear cone heads but I admit, I'd be tempted by this if it were a widespread release.

News Credits: 4877 · Tue Mar 15, 2016 6:39 pm

Hmm, those pics use Hasbro's Starscream, which is a bit odd considering he wasnt a Hasbro Asia release but whatevs.

One thing does suck though and I only realized it now, Ramjet is not show accurate from the back in the least. For one, his conehead is only black on one side, which means that when you pose him, whenever you walk into a room to look at him, unless you are dead on his eyes, his bullet head will appear to be black and white. Thats because the back of his head is all white.

And thats obviously not show accurate at all, as this amazing gif shows:

News Credits: 33 · Tue Mar 15, 2016 6:40 pm

Diem wrote:I might be alone in this but it sucks that there's no indication that you can swap the head and nosecone out for a G1 toy accurate (e.g. non-conehead) head. I loved the packaging art for Dirge et al back in G1 and I hated that that ridiculous-looking mis-transformation became so widespread.

You're not alone in this. I always displayed all my Decepticon jets with the proper transformation. What worked in the cartoon - does not work on the toy.

News Credits: 41 · Tue Mar 15, 2016 6:44 pm

Amelie wrote:
Diem wrote:I might be alone in this but it sucks that there's no indication that you can swap the head and nosecone out for a G1 toy accurate (e.g. non-conehead) head. I loved the packaging art for Dirge et al back in G1 and I hated that that ridiculous-looking mis-transformation became so widespread.

You're not alone in this. I always displayed all my Decepticon jets with the proper transformation. What worked in the cartoon - does not work on the toy.

A growing minority, we are. I was just never in to the "party hat" look.

Tue Mar 15, 2016 7:53 pm

i always liked the conehead look it differentiated them from the standard seekers like they were a new version better than the old version and it gave them a more villainous look

News Credits: 4 · Tue Mar 15, 2016 7:56 pm

I can't wait to get this! I still love the seeker mold, and this latest update looks great. There are enough changes that I feel like this is a must have for my masterpiece collection.

Thu Mar 17, 2016 4:24 am

Ultra Markus wrote:i always liked the conehead look it differentiated them from the standard seekers like they were a new version better than the old version and it gave them a more villainous look

I agree, definitely! Although it's fairly minor, the conehead nonetheless makes a big difference to the robot mode. And since we've now got Acid Storm, Sunstorm, etc., it'd really be lazy to just do another bunch of identical-apart-from-the-painjob Seekers. Though that Dr. Arkeville/Hologram Pilot sure is turning into a robot equivalent of the village bicycle lol.

News Credits: 372 · Sat Mar 19, 2016 10:49 am

Some interesting in-hand pix:

@sig_yan

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@yukiyakonkon28

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@tera753

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@634the3rd

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And many more here:
http://departuretime.fuyu.gs/18_masterp ... AMJET.html

News Credits: 1646 · Sat Mar 19, 2016 3:07 pm

Fellow Seibertronians, thanks to a multitude of users and various sources, we now have even more images of the limited edition MP-11NR Ramjet! These new images show off Ramjet in both his modes as well as some comparisons to other masterpiece figures. The previous news can be found Here. . Ramjet is a TakaraTomy Mall exclusive in Japan, and is expected to be released to Japan today, with the Hasbro Asia release coming on March 31. Take another look at this guy, and let us know what you think of this guy in the comments section. And as always, stay tuned to Seibertron.com for all your latest Transformers news and galleries!

News Credits: 41 · Sat Mar 19, 2016 3:15 pm

I'm really liking that strange face sculpt. Here's hoping they do a Thrust or Dirge as a more regular, reasonably priced release. I would love to diversify my Con ranks with at least one cone head. Just can't stomach the price they are asking for this guy.

News Credits: 3 · Sat Mar 19, 2016 3:34 pm

At least we now know where the head goes! ;)^

News Credits: 21 · Sat Mar 19, 2016 4:33 pm

There something you won't see in transformers live action movie series compared to animated series transformer riding on top of another transformer in jousting match there's comedy for you

Sat Mar 19, 2016 4:45 pm

dragons wrote:There something you won't see in transformers live action movie series compared to animated series transformer riding on top of another transformer in jousting match there's comedy for you

And yet somehow, the "realistic" movie looks goofier than the dated cartoon.

News Credits: 3 · Sat Mar 19, 2016 4:58 pm

Gearslide wrote:
dragons wrote:There something you won't see in transformers live action movie series compared to animated series transformer riding on top of another transformer in jousting match there's comedy for you

And yet somehow, the "realistic" movie looks goofier than the dated cartoon.

But hey, we're all about goofy here. 8-}