The Energon Pub

News Credits: 4877 · Sat Feb 08, 2020 9:48 pm

Wonder Festival 2020 is now underway in Japan with the displays finalized and image coming in from various twitter accounts and websites, like Dengeki Hobby. Below you can see Takara Tomy's Transformers Masterpiece MP-51 Tigatron in his full completely new mold glory. While some fans thought a simple redeco of MP Cheetor with a new head could do the job for Tigatron, the die hard Beast Wars fans knew this would not be enough and Takara did indeed go out of their way to make him as show accurate as possible. This means his mold is fully unique with achieving new transformation steps to get to similar looking Cheetor robot mode detail in some places. With MP Cheetor right next to him, you can just compare and see that hinges, shapes and sizes for pieces are all different, which is remarkable. The feet for instance are a different shape and proportion to Cheetor's and the chest is made up of his actual beast mode head, and his arms have different functionality implemented with them along with different panel segments. All this shows that the transformation will be distinct from Cheetor's, at least from a level of the smaller steps. The price is revealed on a tag next to him and it is 24000 yen, so around $220 USD. Since this does not appear to be an exclusive item, it will most probably be available at a 20-30% discount from Japanese retailers.

Let us know what you think of her and if you will be preordering her or not when the time comes.

News Credits: 11 · Sat Feb 08, 2020 10:18 pm

God, I want this and Arcee so badly! But, Masterpieces are just out of my price range these days. Though... i may just have to make an exception... :-?

News Credits: 7 · Sat Feb 08, 2020 10:24 pm

They went all out on this one!He looks imposing!

The tiger head looks a little odd though.I will assume it's because it's a hand-painted version of the toy for the festival.

Sat Feb 08, 2020 11:43 pm

HELL YEAH MAN!!!

Man and he even has his wrist-rocket! Oh **** son, this...I’m almost to tears with this news! Proof that God loves Beast Wars!

Sun Feb 09, 2020 4:38 am

But... but.. I was expecting Rattrap! Ruined forever!

Just kidding, this will make a fine addition to my BW-themed MP collection. I would have settled for a retool of Cheetor too, but Tigatron being a brand-new mold is very welcome news.

***Insert here usual price tag complain***

News Credits: 1350 · Sun Feb 09, 2020 4:58 am

This not being a reuse of the cheetor mold is suprising, but in a good way, and the price is expected. I'm priced out of the mp market but they are certainly pretty to look at

MyFigureCollection.net collection · Sun Feb 09, 2020 5:52 am

Well, those of us that insisted Tigatron wouldn't be a simple retool/repaint of Cheetor feel a little vindicated. Sure, there's a lot of parts that look alike and the transformation will be mostly the same, but this is the 100% new figure that Tigatron deserves! Such a great looking figure, too, and just the right size.

Of course now that we have Tigatron and Blackarachnia we have to have Airrazor and Silverbolt to "complete the set". Sorry, Rattrap, Waspinator, Rhinox, and all the rest, you're going to have to wait a few more years.

Emerje

News Credits: 1350 · Sun Feb 09, 2020 6:01 am

I'm down for MP Silverbolt.

News Credits: 25 · Sun Feb 09, 2020 7:09 am

Looks real good, but the price is way beyond what I'm willing to pay for a figure of this size, and a character if this level.

Ah well.

Sun Feb 09, 2020 9:15 am

Am I nuts, or does Tigatron look substantially taller than MP Primal in those pics? Either that or the camera angle is playing tricks on me. I certainly don't remember Tigatron being that tall in the show... ?

Sun Feb 09, 2020 11:45 am

looks more or less about right to me.

70C8D5D7-0A2A-41AE-B050-33A197C9567D.jpeg

News Credits: 174 · Sun Feb 09, 2020 12:02 pm

Nemesis Maximo wrote:looks more or less about right to me.

Yeah, optimus was kinda tiny in the show, it just didn't always come across, due to where characters may have been in the 3d space of the scene

News Credits: 6 · Sun Feb 09, 2020 1:25 pm

So he is a only bit smaller than MP Dinobot, yet roughly £80 less (obviously exact pricing is iffy, right now) and people are complaining :???:

For the larger Beast Wars MP figures, he has the cheapest price point so far. It was Blackarachnia that was grossly overpriced for the smallest Predacon of Season One.

ZeroWolf wrote:I'm down for MP Silverbolt.

Un/Fortunately, I don't think HasTak has interest in any MP Silverbolt, G1, Fuzor or Eagle.

Mon Feb 10, 2020 12:36 am

now they need to have MP Airazor so Tigatron can have his partner

MyFigureCollection.net collection · Mon Feb 10, 2020 1:25 am

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:So he is a only bit smaller than MP Dinobot, yet roughly £80 less (obviously exact pricing is iffy, right now) and people are complaining For the larger Beast Wars MP figures, he has the cheapest price point so far. It was Blackarachnia that was grossly overpriced for the smallest Predacon of Season One.

Can't say I've really seen anyone complain about that, if anything the two things haven't really sunken in together yet. His lower price probably has a lot to do with most of the engineering already being worked out and the likelihood that he wont come with the tons of accessories that Dinobot came with and probably no electronics.

ZeroWolf wrote:I'm down for MP Silverbolt.

Un/Fortunately, I don't think HasTak has interest in any MP Silverbolt, G1, Fuzor or Eagle.

I'd call it unfortunately. Not that I would say they're on the same level, but people did say the same thing about Lio Convoy. Never know, they might throw us a bone someday.

Emerje

Mon Feb 10, 2020 2:57 am

Aaand there goes my money again. And he's a new mold, like i was expecting. Good.

News Credits: 6 · Mon Feb 10, 2020 10:00 am

Emerje wrote:
AllNewSuperRobot wrote:
ZeroWolf wrote:I'm down for MP Silverbolt.

Un/Fortunately, I don't think HasTak has interest in any MP Silverbolt, G1, Fuzor or Eagle.

I'd call it unfortunately. Not that I would say they're on the same level, but people did say the same thing about Lio Convoy. Never know, they might throw us a bone someday.

Emerje

The difference is, Silverbolt isn't a Convoy. Not forgetting a large part of the design team at HasTak and the fanbase, do have a fetish for all things that share that aesthetic. A shared stance with 3P also. They barely touch Beast Era as it is, but if it isn't a Megatron or Optimus, they're not interested either.

As for a potential MP Transmetal line, the scale of a Season Two cast, relative to their Season One counterparts, would be too cost prohibitive EG TM Megatron is at least twice his Season One size and Rampage towers over that.

News Credits: 4 · Mon Feb 10, 2020 2:33 pm

I'm glad they didn't cheap out and just redeco Cheetor. For that, I'll pay the price amiami and others eventually put out. I've bought every MP Beast Wars figure that had a show appearance and this will be no different!

News Credits: 6 · Mon Feb 10, 2020 2:35 pm

Personally, I am curious who we'll get as a potential next non-show character. As Shadow Panther is far more aesthetically interesting than Cheetor.

News Credits: 1 · Mon Feb 10, 2020 2:45 pm

It seems his transformation will be VERY different to Cheetor's, despite the very similar robot modes. Having just the one image of his beast mode, here's the differences in engineering I can already see: his lower legs are formed from the whole tiger legs compressing, while his thighs are actually part of the tiger belly. His forearm kibble seem to form from his tiger chest, also. His robot crotch splits apart to form part of the tiger belly too. This also means the tiger's back is probably also the robot's back. And the chest is obviously not a faux head, but rather the actual beast mode head.

News Credits: 241 · Mon Feb 10, 2020 3:03 pm

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:Personally, I am curious who we'll get as a potential next non-show character. As Shadow Panther is far more aesthetically interesting than Cheetor.

Stripes

News Credits: 656 · Mon Feb 10, 2020 3:39 pm

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:So he is a only bit smaller than MP Dinobot, yet roughly £80 less (obviously exact pricing is iffy, right now) and people are complaining For the larger Beast Wars MP figures, he has the cheapest price point so far. It was Blackarachnia that was grossly overpriced for the smallest Predacon of Season One.

At least Blackarachnia was really good. MP-45 Bee, now yikes, there's one that makes the wallet cry considering the output.

News Credits: 6 · Mon Feb 10, 2020 3:49 pm

ScottyP wrote:
AllNewSuperRobot wrote:So he is a only bit smaller than MP Dinobot, yet roughly £80 less (obviously exact pricing is iffy, right now) and people are complaining For the larger Beast Wars MP figures, he has the cheapest price point so far. It was Blackarachnia that was grossly overpriced for the smallest Predacon of Season One.
At least Blackarachnia was really good.

In only one of two modes. As I mentioned in that thread, for the MASTERPIECE line they should look really good in both and from all sides. Otherwise how are can they be considered part of this line?

News Credits: 7 · Mon Feb 10, 2020 4:25 pm

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:
Emerje wrote:
AllNewSuperRobot wrote:
ZeroWolf wrote:I'm down for MP Silverbolt.

Un/Fortunately, I don't think HasTak has interest in any MP Silverbolt, G1, Fuzor or Eagle.

I'd call it unfortunately. Not that I would say they're on the same level, but people did say the same thing about Lio Convoy. Never know, they might throw us a bone someday.

Emerje

The difference is, Silverbolt isn't a Convoy. Not forgetting a large part of the design team at HasTak and the fanbase, do have a fetish for all things that share that aesthetic. A shared stance with 3P also. They barely touch Beast Era as it is, but if it isn't a Megatron or Optimus, they're not interested either.

As for a potential MP Transmetal line, the scale of a Season Two cast, relative to their Season One counterparts, would be too cost prohibitive EG TM Megatron is at least twice his Season One size and Rampage towers over that.

The size differences aren’t nearly that severe. TM Megatron is scarcely taller than his season one form. He’s mostly just bulkier in the shoulders. TM OP is taller and larger than his season one body, but he’s still smaller than season one Megatron. Tarantulas definitely gets bigger, but he’s still around the size of Rhinox. Even Silverbolt doesn’t get any larger than that. Then of course you have Quickstrike and Ravage you are small.

With the exception of Rampage in season two, it’s really only season three where you get truly huge characters like Optimal Optimus, TM2 Megatron, TM2 Dinobot (he’s large, but still smaller than Rampage), Tigerhawk, and Depthcharge.

So while I’d say that the season three cast is right out, season two cast is perfectly doable, without exceeding the price points we’ve already seen in the last two years.

As for Tigatron himself I’m ecstatic that he isn’t a simple redeco, or a minor retool. It’s a relief to know that he’s actually going to be taller than Cheetor, with what looks like some minor tweaks in terms of his transformation. The figure itself looks super slick

News Credits: 6 · Mon Feb 10, 2020 4:32 pm

Ultimately, although I love Beast Wars, I am perfectly fine with them sticking with the original mandate of Season One only. If they stick with the current rate of release, it will be a complete set of 14 within the next few years. Something they are far from accomplishing with G1, if they ever do.