A couple of weeks ago, TFSource had a deal on Masterpiece Trailbreaker where he was not only 20 dollars off, but purchasing him would also score the buyer a gift card for future TFSource purchases. I was originally going to pass on Trailbreaker, but I decided to go for it not only because of this deal, but also because I was approaching the 400th addition to my collection, and I wanted a significant figure to mark the milestone with. 100 was Universe/ROTF Silverbolt, my first combiner, 200 was T30 Jetfire, the first generations leader class and my favourite character, and 300 was Earthrise Skylynx, another favourite of mine and my first Commander class figure.
So for #400, I was thinking Retro "Pink" Hot Rod, since that figure is significant as the first time the character has been given his on-screen colour scheme, the fulfilment of his original prototype appearance, and would have been my first experience with the G1 mould.
But Hot Rod was not yet available in stores and sold out online, so it wasn't clear that I would be able to get him soon. I had a growing pile of figures I hadn't opened yet and didn't want to wait too long before getting to them.
So along comes Masterpiece Trailbreaker. I never really had any connection to Trailbreaker, and like I said it was a sale that motivated me into even considering this figure at all. But while mulling it over, I began to appreciate what this figure had to offer. MP-56 is a perfect realisation of a classic character in toy-form. And for this character specifically, who has received less attention than most of his peers in toylines, it's especially notable that his design is finally being given a very dedicated treatment. While being faithful to the original design is a given in Masterpiece, this figure really makes you appreciate that design. He's very distinctive due to his height, and the way the vehicle parts form the shape of the body to make a uniquely proportioned character among other Transformers. He's got great articulation and plenty of accessories to maximize playability. The transformation has a really nice level of complexity without being unmanageable. He's really a great figure overall to handle and pose. And as I don't have many MPs, he's among the elites of my collection. I've decided Trailbreaker is absolutely worthy of the milestone number.
Then like the next week Pink Hot Rod randomly came back in stock on Pulse so I guess if I had waited a bit this would have been a non-issue but whatever.So that is the story of how MP Trailbreaker became my 400th Transformers toy. I'm not going to get into much detail on the figure itself because so many have already explained why this figure is great on its own. I just wanted to note what Trailbreaker means for my collection. Here are some photos!
What if...
