The Energon Pub

[Sowndwave76]

This is one of those cases where I'm glad I didn't give-in to a figure even though it was really tempting... As much as I've wanted an MP Starscream standing next to my Megatron and Soundwave, the overall look of the MP seeker mold just wasn't enough for me to justify the cost. I know it drives some people crazy, but I like figures based on the likeness of the original characters. Imo, the previous seeker mold actually looked almost knock-off-ish, and would've triggered a lot of buyer's remorse.
Assuming This Starscream is more show/cartoon accurate, I'm definitely in.
Which also makes me really glad I've skipped so many figures recently and in the past that I thought were 'mehhh'. Because now, even if it's priced at $200++ I won't hesitate to get it.

I'm in no rush to get the rest of the seekers (including the coneheads), but I hope they continue with more Decepticons in this line. Why not make Reflector or the Insecticons to add some smaller, less expensive 'cons to the MP mix?

[ilikerobits]

This was like the joke that everyone has made for the last three years; "oh, now that all the seekers have finally been released, Takara is gonna make a new mold, hahahaha!", and now Takara has gone and actually made the joke a reality. This company should honestly be ashamed of itself. The collectors who have supported this line since its inception have been betrayed, tbh.

[frogbat]

I only have the original green grey star scream, so I’m looking forward to this. Hopefully it’ll be worth the wait and getting it will also be dependent on prices. I’m far from a completist, but I always tried to get key mp figures. However after hound being a fragile, complicated unfun mess... and arcee looking less than stellar, I’m being super choosy.

[Cyberpath]

I hope this will be the definitive Starscream. There's still no one figure that captures him exactly right. And I hope he doesn't have a huge back, I'm so over those.

Interesting that they're still using his robot blasters in jet-mode. I figured maybe the new MP would follow Hound's lead. Maybe it was just too much folding and storing. Or maybe that silhouette is not of the actual final MP.

[Evil Eye]

A new Seeker mold has been a long time coming. A shame they decided to do it once they'd completely shifted to 100% cartoon literalism, horrendous transformations, shonky QC and astronomical prices. It's a good job the Maketoys Seeker exists.

[-Kanrabat-]

HA! We all freaking called it.

My butthole is still sore from the treason that was MP-11.
Let's hope that one will not be messed up.

[Emerje]

Definitely getting. There wasn't much I liked about the original mold (I only got the Japanese Skywarp) and thought the second was a little underwhelming (I only got the TRU Starscream) so I'm hoping this will be the definitive Seeker mold. And being animation accurate is always a plus for me. Looking forward to the reveal!

Emerje

[blackeyedprime]

Interested and partly why I held out on replacing my horrible ko starcscream (my ko thundercracker is fine) and completing the seekers but there is no way they are going to be £50 each like Skywarp V1 was at retail (Think I paid £80ish for Thrust on sale). If/when they are over hundred each I will just have to hope for good KOs or just pass on them.

[Kurona]

I reiterate that rehashing the Seekers this time is such unnecessary garbage that even a Masterpiece version of ROTF Wheelie would be a better use of resources.

why lol

[Evil Eye]

I reiterate that rehashing the Seekers this time is such unnecessary garbage that even a Masterpiece version of ROTF Wheelie would be a better use of resources.

why lol

Yeah, the current MP Seekers are not very good, with the Coneheads suffering from horrendous mold degradation. If the MP line hadn't gone the way it has with design, QC and price, I'd be pretty glad to see the damn thing getting retired. Though by the silhouette I am very sad to see the F-15 mode is going to be heavily compromised.

[AllNewSuperRobot]

I have no horse in this race, as MP Galvatron is all I want from G1. That said, this is Bad Comedy.

Obviously the other redundant joke of the G1 MP line to make: let's sound off how many Transformers, that don't have licensing rights issues, could have been added to this line in place of the multitude of rehashed figures?

I think we'd be into the Takara Series by now...

[Gauntlet101010]

I have no horse in this race, as MP Galvatron is all I want from G1. That said, this is Bad Comedy.

Obviously the other redundant joke of the G1 MP line to make: let's sound off how many Transformers, that don't have licensing rights issues, could have been added to this line in place of the multitude of rehashed figures?

I think we'd be into the Takara Series by now...

Yeah, I'm very much into this sentiment.

I held off on getting 3P versions of TFs I like for ages. But I finally got a 3P Galvatron - one of the few characters I want as an MP - because I lost hope on an official take.

[Master Farr 1]

only $600

[CircuitBreaker]

I have the earthrise seekers to look forward to completing, and I have V1-Ghost SS, and a thundercracker ko of V2, so I may bite the bullet on v3 if he isn't laden with QC issues and tons of unnecessary bloat to increase the price.

That being said if we just had a continuous art style and did every bot before changing styles that would have been great. I kinda preferred the old "make it a realistic update to the G1 figure" aesthetic and we could have had a full G1 cast by now.

[Immortal Starscream]

I gotta say I am a bit torn here... I never got the v2 starscream, or skywarp. never got the v1 skywarp for that matter. money issues mostly, and of course, aftermarket price is even worse. I always thought the v2 was hilarious since they basically went back to the original mp starscream prototype. (for those that dont know or remember, the v2 seekers where what we originally saw back when they were designed to be part of the alternators line before getting sent to japan, and the designer said screw the robot mode, I LOVE JETS, im going to make a perfect jet mode and so the first mp seeker mold was made)

having a (hopefully) better mold is great. I like it.. but...

I am not a fan of the die-hard cartoon perfect models. I liked it better when the mp line was a perfect fusion of original toy design and cartoon aesthetic. To me, that was what made them Masterpieces. And the trade up on style is not the only issue. To accomplish this cartoon model accuracy, the cost of these has skyrocketed to practically absurd levels. I look at this silhouette, and immediately I am thinking, "yup, they're going to want $300 for that"

but the most important issue with this, as has been echoed here by others allready, what about galvatron? what about reflector? trailbreaker? perceptor? Blaster? powerglide? bombshell? kickback? shrapnel? Kup? Cyclonus? I know the dinobots weren't greatly popular in japan, but the rest of the world would buy them in a heartbeat. There are so many transformers from so many generations that people everywhere have been waiting for forever, and we keep getting remakes of the existing ones.

Go back to what you had before, the perfect fusion between original toy, and cartoon. this allowed them to be a little less complex. With this design aesthetic, you can power through some of the smaller characters faster and cheaper, in creasing quantity while still keeping quality. The demand is there Takara. We want to destroy our wallets for you. we really do, but you HAVE to start looking at what we really want.

rant over.

[william-james88]

I look at this silhouette, and immediately I am thinking, "yup, they're going to want $300 for that"

For sure, expecting any less would be folly at this point.

[Sowndwave76]

I do understand people wanting something left, right, or "beyond" cartoon accuracy... What I don't understand is someone trying to say "perfect fusion" of cartoon design and something (?) else...
And that's not me calling out any one individual... Especially because lots of people have this idea.
But someone try and define "perfect fusion" in actual verbiage... Seems like a tall task. While that term is very open and abstract, it could also be seen as myopic in the realm of a collector community. Meaning one person's "perfect fusion" is most likely not going to be "perfect" for almost anyone else.
I would think more people would be in favor of something that looks more cartoon accurate than people that aren't.
I can't imagine spending $240+ on a figure that doesn't look very very similar to the character it's representing.
We can all imagine responses to an "MP" version figure that is an "exaggeration", "stretch", "interpretation" or "Variant" of a specific character... It would surely get a mixed critique. Pretty sure that's already happened.

And of course I understand this involves a lot of variables in terms of what can justify "MP"...

Multiple people have already commented that the previous versions of the seeker mold were "off" for one reason or another, and I think it could be argued that those were at least somewhat of a "fusion" of cartoon and other styling(s).

I personally see the MP line as figures that first and foremost should be very show accurate in design of the robot mode (which is part of the reason why I didn't get an MP until Soundwave).
From there I want great articulation (which then kinda justifies larger scale), very little kibble, and decent alt mode. If all of that is happening, then I don't care much about the transformation. I don't want the other criteria sacrificed for the transformation process.
I don't want the appearance of the bot mode to be sacrificed for the alt mode... Btw, of course high quality across the board (materials, joints, paint apps) is an unsaid expectation for this line.
If accurate alt modes was top priority, I'd be collecting model kits, not action figures.

Part of what "MP" means to me is that a 2D illustration is being brought to life through engineering and piece of plastic and metal...
Which is obviously next to impossible to get 100% right when the illustration/animation has tons of wiggle room to change proportions for a transformation, alt mode, curved lines for posing, etc.
I say this because no figure is going to look 100% accurate to the cartoon.
There already is a compromise or "fusion" in appearance even if show accuracy is a top goal.

I know the costs of 3P stuff is steeeep... But if you're that bothered by cartoon accuracy, at least there are options.

[Quantum Surge]

It's hard to be that excited about this figure. I want to delve into the Masterpiece line after seeing MP-10 and MP-13, I wanted to buy Primal and Cheetor, and getting MPM Optimus and Bumblebee from the movies at very good prices made me want to go even further with the line. This feels like the line that makes me want to swim into it happily, but the issue is the quality control and prices most of these figures are getting. I don't want to spend too much money on a figure and fear of pieces snapping off, especially when we're already talking about figures that have to do a lot more than they need to achieve cartoon accuracy (looking at you, G1).

And it sucks too when you consider how the very recent MPs don't have the same level of quality we used to get from the past (aside from Rodimus). You would think Takara would look at MP-10 Prime or MP-13 Soundwave (even Star Saber despite me not liking the character or design much) and feel that's how they should do Masterpieces for the G1 series. They looked the part, they didn't need the cartoon accuracy to be overdone, and they're great for the fans that want nice-versions of those characters. Prime's MP-44 counterpart, on the other hand, feels far too ambitious and expensive to boot; its complex engineering doesn't really seem to be worth the money when you consider how underwhelming the robot mode looks. I get what Takara went for with the cartoon accuracy, and in a way I value their efforts, but it doesn't seem that exciting to revisit. Also hurts when you have Bumblebee look nice as his cute little chibi beetle form and become a robot that ONLY looks good from the front.

Starscream may be better than the other Seeker molds in the MP line, but I'd at least want it to be a figure that's functional rather than have it go for the extreme cartoon accuracy with a transformation that makes the plastic feel frail by comparison. Then there's the fact that Earthrise has a more accessible figure, and for all the gripes I have with Earthrise, it at least feels more worthwhile.

[Evil Eye]

I think the thing with the modern MP line is the direction change from the previously established (and IMO superior) philosophy of design of the MP10/Hasui era. Back then, they realized that just looking as close to the cartoon as possible no matter the cost did not make for a fun toy or a good looking one- redesigning was necessary for a figure that handled well and looked good. Most if not all of the MPs from that era were stellar- Soundwave, the Hasui-designed cars, MP-10 himself (who has become so synonymous with Optimus Prime I sometimes go to call Prime "MP-10") are all absolutely fantastic figures which have stood the test of time, look great, are fun to pose and transform and don't cost a small fortune.

Modern MPs, on the other hand, have good articulation but little else going for them. They cost a ridiculous amount, are nightmares to transform (and egregiously abuse faux-parts), have some questionable QC and worst of all don't look that great. The subtle, quasi-realistic stylings and added details are all gone in favour of barren panels that are then broken up with hinges and joint seams anyway, the backpacks are horrendously clunky, many of the sculpting and painting decisions (such as the rounded fingers and grey faces instead of silver) look a biiiiit weird, and all in service to getting accuracy to a cartoon that A: couldn't stay accurate to itself and B: didn't look all that great anyway. If the animation was inconsistent with proportions but looked uniformly gorgeous (see: lots of late 80s/early 90s anime) I could understand it, or if they based the toys specifically on the concept art and tried to replicate Floro Dery's undeniably talented artwork, then fair enough. But as much as I love it, the cartoon wasn't exactly Escaflowne quality in visuals, and yet they completely abandoned all other influences than the cartoon- and even that they couldn't quite get right!

Whilst 3Ps do exist, and are generally more affordable (and sadly better built) than their official counterparts, they have been playing a bit of "follow the leader" with embracing full cartoon-literalism, meaning for those of us who just want more Hasui-style MPs the choices are very, very limited.

So yeah, I'm mainly frustrated that instead of carrying on with the aesthetic and design approach that gave us joys like Wheeljack and Soundwave, we're instead getting things like Bumblebee 2.0 (YEURCH) and Hound, with skyrocketing prices and plummeting QC to boot.

[Immortal Starscream]

I do understand people wanting something left, right, or "beyond" cartoon accuracy... What I don't understand is someone trying to say "perfect fusion" of cartoon design and something

you are correct in saying this can be vague as opinions differ greatly. But a general consensus among those of us that feel that way is a design that not only looks more like the character from the cartoon, but also has all the sculpted detail that the toys and vehicles had, without the scult of the toy being broken up like a jigsaw puzzle. Added with the fact that the mp figures that we got from this style transformed similarly to their g1 counterparts which keeps the spirit of the toys that we loved as kids alive. Also, the fact that they were durable and playable... like I can pick up and play with my mp 10 prime and my mp sideswipe etc and play with them and they dont feel like the are fragile and breakable. Whereas the modern mps feel much mre fragile and delicate. Maybe for some that's a good thing. But I am an out of box collector, and besides putting my grubby little hands on my stuff, figures can fall from shelves for a number of reasons. knowing that if my mp10 falls he's probably ok is good. Knowing that if mp Megatron falls hes probably going to shatter like my mp cheetor did, is terrifying.


black hat says it perfectly, so QFT:

I think the thing with the modern MP line is the direction change from the previously established (and IMO superior) philosophy of design of the MP10/Hasui era. Back then, they realized that just looking as close to the cartoon as possible no matter the cost did not make for a fun toy or a good looking one- redesigning was necessary for a figure that handled well and looked good. Most if not all of the MPs from that era were stellar- Soundwave, the Hasui-designed cars, MP-10 himself (who has become so synonymous with Optimus Prime I sometimes go to call Prime "MP-10") are all absolutely fantastic figures which have stood the test of time, look great, are fun to pose and transform and don't cost a small fortune.

Modern MPs, on the other hand, have good articulation but little else going for them. They cost a ridiculous amount, are nightmares to transform (and egregiously abuse faux-parts), have some questionable QC and worst of all don't look that great. The subtle, quasi-realistic stylings and added details are all gone in favour of barren panels that are then broken up with hinges and joint seams anyway, the backpacks are horrendously clunky, many of the sculpting and painting decisions (such as the rounded fingers and grey faces instead of silver) look a biiiiit weird, and all in service to getting accuracy to a cartoon that A: couldn't stay accurate to itself and B: didn't look all that great anyway. If the animation was inconsistent with proportions but looked uniformly gorgeous (see: lots of late 80s/early 90s anime) I could understand it, or if they based the toys specifically on the concept art and tried to replicate Floro Dery's undeniably talented artwork, then fair enough. But as much as I love it, the cartoon wasn't exactly Escaflowne quality in visuals, and yet they completely abandoned all other influences than the cartoon- and even that they couldn't quite get right!

Whilst 3Ps do exist, and are generally more affordable (and sadly better built) than their official counterparts, they have been playing a bit of "follow the leader" with embracing full cartoon-literalism, meaning for those of us who just want more Hasui-style MPs the choices are very, very limited.

So yeah, I'm mainly frustrated that instead of carrying on with the aesthetic and design approach that gave us joys like Wheeljack and Soundwave, we're instead getting things like Bumblebee 2.0 (YEURCH) and Hound, with skyrocketing prices and plummeting QC to boot.

again though, this is my opinion, and while shared by many others, is still just that. The thing to remember is Takara makes these for the Japanese market, and clearly the current style of MP's is what they want over there.

[Tuned Agent]

Dread it. Run from it. A new Masterpiece seeker mold was going to arrive all the same. And now... it's here.

MPs aren't my thing so I'm not interested in the figure, though I am curious to see how it turns out. But this reference... does put a smile on my face.

[Mindmaster]

Dread it. Run from it. A new Masterpiece seeker mold was going to arrive all the same. And now... it's here.

MPs aren't my thing so I'm not interested in the figure, though I am curious to see how it turns out. But this reference... does put a smile on my face.

“Did you do it?” “...Yes.” “What did it cost?” “...$1K+ for all six cartoon Seekers, not counting the infinite other repaints they can do with the mold.”

[ZeroWolf]

I'm ambivalent on this, the drive to G1 toon accuracy above all else killed my interest. Still, it was inevitable that they would do another Starscream (and Skywarp, Thundercracker, dirge, thrust, ramjet etc etc), what this line needs now is a suprise announcement of a character who hasn't had the mp treatment at all.

[-WonkoTheSane-]

Given that, as a collector, I (and no doubt many others) have been priced out of collecting Masterpieces, I'm okay with them rehashing the Seekers.

Just means I won't have to sit in the corner and sulk because I can no longer afford MP's and I have to miss out. So ... yay?

I agree. I really don't know why I'm complaining, The last MP I bought was MP36. With the price increases (And IMO some iffy design choices) That seemed to me to be a good jumping off point.

It's not that I wanted to jump off, but when Hound and Arcee come in at almost twice (factor in dollar conversion) what I was paying for other MP's of the same size ... it just becomes ridiculous.

I never wanted to jump off either, I was more forced off, To be honest. I just decided if I couldn't afford them anymore, The last one I bought would be one I really wanted.
I just feel like Takara doesn't want us for a target audience anymore.
I think at this point, They don't want people who have a budget, They want people with endless caverns of disposable income.
That isn't me. And I assume, Isn't a lot of others as well.

[Mindmaster]

Given that, as a collector, I (and no doubt many others) have been priced out of collecting Masterpieces, I'm okay with them rehashing the Seekers.

Just means I won't have to sit in the corner and sulk because I can no longer afford MP's and I have to miss out. So ... yay?

I agree. I really don't know why I'm complaining, The last MP I bought was MP36. With the price increases (And IMO some iffy design choices) That seemed to me to be a good jumping off point.

It's not that I wanted to jump off, but when Hound and Arcee come in at almost twice (factor in dollar conversion) what I was paying for other MP's of the same size ... it just becomes ridiculous.

I never wanted to jump off either, I was more forced off, To be honest. I just decided if I couldn't afford them anymore, The last one I bought would be one I really wanted.
I just feel like Takara doesn't want us for a target audience anymore.
I think at this point, They don't want people who have a budget, They want people with endless caverns of disposable income.
That isn't me. And I assume, Isn't a lot of others as well.

I agree with this sentiment. I liked the direction the early 2010’s MPs were going; realistic vehicle modes with robot modes that were modest in their approach on the character’s iconic looks. I don’t mind if it the design incorporates cartoon elements, but when the whole thing sacrifices so much for optimum accuracy including weird proportions seen only in the cartoons and crazy expensive prices, that’s kinda what turns me off on the new approach. The most recent MP I’ve gotten was Sunstreaker; I feel like he’s just before where they started going in the wrong direction for me. Car mode is super realistic, and robot mode blends in the right amount of realism and the cartoon aesthetic. I want to get Hound but $150 for an Autobot car when others before him have been at the most $80 just isn’t feasible to me, not to mention the QC nightmares plaguing him and most of the unnecessary gear that more than likely would stay in the box never to see the light of day like the ones that came with Sunstreaker and Hot Rod. I’m proud to say that my MP collection is nothing but official ones with nothing 3P in them, not even upgrades like hands or anything, but with the way things are, some 3P options are becoming more and more viable and cost effective, and that’s something I thought I’d never say (coming from someone who barely touches 3P aside from FansProject’s very first offerings back when 3P was a new concept and the occasional PE combiner kits).