Oh no! I have the MP bug! Now what?
Posted: Tue Nov 07, 2017 9:48 amSo for a long time I've been a CHUG-scale-only collector with no interest in MPs. I've never been militantly anti-MP, they just didn't fit in my collection at the time.
All that changed, well, several years ago when I got my first ever MP, G2 Sideswipe. He's a fantastic toy who looks goregous in both modes, poses well and has an inspired but intuitive transformation. Despite that, he's remained my only MP for years. However, recently, I decided to order myself a Christmas present from Mandarake in the form of Maketoys Despotron.
I'm keeping him in his box 'till Christmas but I briefly checked him to make sure he was alright, and I was blown away. He feels amazing. Hefty without being clunky, big without feeling oversized, and just an absolute work of art. It's gonna be a long wait 'till Chrimbo I can tell you.
Anyway, now that I've experienced two MPs, one official and one 3P, I've realized that as someone who appreciates quality over quantity, resistance is futile. I'm not going to switch over to collecting MP scale, but I am going to amass a modest MP scaled collection.
Yep. I've really gone off the deep end.
Now, I'm generally quite liberal with what I buy as I don't generally care about one £15 toy looking slightly different from another as long as they're good figures. With an MP collection, though, it's a bit more difficult, as aesthetic differences stick out like a sore thumb. So I'm going to have to impose slightly more draconian self-restrictions on what I get to prevent regrettable impulse purchases/a badly composed collection.
So anyway, these are my criteria for what I want in my selection:
1: Must fit in relatively well with the two MP scale figures I have already (G2 Sideswipe and Despotron). Obviously perfect aesthetics matching is impossible but some consistency is desirable. Generally I prefer the pre-Inferno MPs where they were a bit more liberal with design and were more detailed. So no absurdly cartoon accurate, bland figures like MP-36, but on the other hand no overly detailed stuff like Generation Toy's not-Jazz.
2: Quality and engineering are paramount. I care more about a toy being solid and well engineered than it looking 100% perfect. So case in point, Maketoys' Reflector, whilst taking some liberties with the design, is fine because they're built superbly and transform with almost no partsforming. KFC's on the other hand is out, because they partsform a fair bit, and also KFC is a joke in terms of QC.
3: Only characters I actually care about, or toys that look cool enough to justify me buying them. Case in point I don't care much about G1 Springer so I have no interest in having him as an MP, and I certainly wouldn't buy a lackluster figure just so I could say I have him. However, if someone made a really awesome Chop Shop MP I'd buy him even though I have zero attachment to the character.
4: No KOs. Whilst I might buy them for customs duty/parts fodder, and I MIGHT buy a good KO of a figure that doesn't outright replace the original (though at that point I'm unlikely to care enouh about the character to buy it anyway) but I would never buy a KO in place of the real deal. Good 3Ps I'm OK with for reasons I've discussed a million times (or else I wouldn't have bought Despotron), but KOs, even KOs of 3P products, I won't touch except in very rare cases.
5: No combiners. I'm convinced that combiners just don't work at that scale, either the individual robots suck, the combined mode sucks, or they use partsforming for like half the mass of the combiner. I might buy individual figures from a combiner, but not the whole team.
So now that's out of the way, what do I want? For one, I'm planning on no more than 15 a side, if that, unless I miraculously inherit a mansion and a fortune from some rich uncle I didn't know I had. For another, I'm hoping that even if numbers on both sides aren't identical, that the "power level" is. So if I have 12 mostly car-sized Autobots and 8 largish Decepticons that's fine, as long as they look evenly matched. Finally, whilst my collection will be G1-inspired for the most part, it won't be based on any particular media so much as simply what looks cool.
Anyway, now that the introductory wall of text is over, time for the MPs I'm considering. This is where I really need your input, in case either A: I'm missing a good figure, or B: A figure I think looks great is actually terrible. You get the idea.
Also note this is a long-term plan, I don't intend to buy these all in a hurry!
AUTOBOTS:
MP-10 Optimus Prime- Self explanatory. The definitive Optimus Prime and the definitive MP. It's kind of a requirement at this point and I doubt a 3.0 will top it.
Prowl- Police cars are cool. Datsuns are also cool. Police Datsuns are INCREDIBLY cool. Also I know the mold rocks.
Road Rage- I know this isn't the best mold ever, but it's a girl and it's a little red Corvette, and AFAIK it isn't actually diabolically bad, just not as good as it could be- but genuine ones are pretty cheap (£40 on TFS Express!) so I might get her.
Fanstoys Rogue (Arcee)- Arcee is one of my favourites, and the ToyWorld one looks like crap, so unless Takara makes one and it's amazing or Maketoys makes one (which will be amazing because I'm pretty sure they can do no wrong at this point) this will be my Arcee, some horrendous QC botch notwithstanding.
Wheeljack- Often cited as a really outstanding MP (IIRC the wonderful William-James listed him as the best MP thus far) and has a gorgeous car mode. Plus, you know, Wheeljack.
Fanstoys Grinder (Grimlock)- I don't want an entire shelf of MP Dinos, but Grimlock is a bit of a must. Plus, again, it's an amazing toy. I would go for the official MP as he looks gorgeous, but he's too small next to Prime.
Bumblebee- He's so small that he's practically a "why not?" and he looks cute. Plus, with Prime, G2 Sideswipe, Wheeljack and Grimlock, he'd complete the Autobot Devastation crew.
Grapple- I don't like MP Inferno at all but Grapple somehow looks infinitely better. Plus he's a big lad and breaks up the sea of carbots.
Maketoys Downbeat (Jazz)- Best Jazz around at the moment and a really cool looking figure. Also, Maketoys.
Maketoys Gundog or Fanstoys Willis (Hound)- Not sure which Hound I'd go for, Fanstoys is supposed to be excellent but Maketoys' offering is also great, and I am basically Maketoys' devoted worshipper at this point.
MMC Sphinx (Mirage)- AFAIK he's universally considered a perfect figure, and he really hits me in my weak spot for old racing cars.
DECEPTICONS:
Maketoys Howling Meteor- The official MP is a bit of a mess, and the 3P offering is incredible (from what I've seen anyway) and you can't have a TF display without a Starscream. The alternative is Galaxy Meteor (who I may buy for my CHUG shelf anyway as he works in that scale, 'cause Cybertron Screamer is HUEG) but the head and fist combo for Despotron is so hilarious I need him for that alone.
Soundwave (Takara)- He looks so damn cool, and it's SOUNDWAVE. Plus he is by all standards an incredibly engineered figure. (Note: Soundwave's cassettes do not count towards my maximum collection due to being tiny.) I'll probably get Rumble FrenzyThe Blue One and Buzzsaw first, if I even bother with the other two.
Cloud 9 Quakeblast (Shockwave)- Yes, I know the official MP exists, but it's a weird shade of lavender and the knee movement suuuuuuuucks. Also, I can get Quakeblast for like £45 from a reputable/100% positive Chinese seller on eBay of all places (and pay like £15 more for a guaranteed genuine from other venues) and £45 for a figure the size and quality of Quakeblast is amazing. Also, that paint. HNNNNNGGGGGGGGG~
ToyWorld (or Zeta Toys if the improved reissue is a real thing) Shovel (Scrapper)- I don't want an MP Devy, and even if I did I wouldn't buy the TW version as it's a misproportionate partsformery mess. But their Scrapper looks great on his own, he comes with the least amount of redundant cobiner kibble, and he's the Constructicon I could see on his own.
Unique Toys whatever their names were (Brawl and Swindle)- Again, no interest in the combiner, but these two look like awesome figures, and Swindle is, well, Swindle. Also a friend of mine has them and can vouch they are as good as they look.
Maketoys Visualizers (Reflector): I love Reflector and I love Maketoys. Match made in heaven. Say no more. Also a really cool toy so that helps. (Only counts as one due to small sizes and gestalt nature.)
Some Insecticons I dunno- I don't actually know which Insecticons I want, but I kinda want all three because of them (which is weird because I don't feel the need for all the MT Seekers). I'm thinking Fanstoys because they have the best QC and those cool bug legs, but we'll see.
Fanstoys Berserk (Blitzwing)- Assuming he actually comes out and isn't a pile of junk I want him. I love Blitzwing but the other two options are a mediocre pile of compromise (DX9) and a complete mess of a figure that's more of a mid-air collision between a tank and a jet than a decent Blitzwing (KFC). If we don't get a good Blitzwing I may just give up.
ONE Conehead from Maketoys- Not sure which one (possibly Ramjet?) but I kinda want just one to go with Starscream. Just the one though.
Fanshobby Archenemy (Scourge/Nemesis Prime)- Yes he's technically an RID character but I don't care. He's a solid, well built, awesome looking toy, and he's getting a reissue with a trailer soon.
Any others worth bearing in mind? Anything I've listed that's actually terrible? Am I making a huge mistake and should stop with this madness before I start buying MP Throttlebots? Your input is much appreciated, as is your patience for enduring this veritable Greek Epic of a post about plastic robots.
All that changed, well, several years ago when I got my first ever MP, G2 Sideswipe. He's a fantastic toy who looks goregous in both modes, poses well and has an inspired but intuitive transformation. Despite that, he's remained my only MP for years. However, recently, I decided to order myself a Christmas present from Mandarake in the form of Maketoys Despotron.
I'm keeping him in his box 'till Christmas but I briefly checked him to make sure he was alright, and I was blown away. He feels amazing. Hefty without being clunky, big without feeling oversized, and just an absolute work of art. It's gonna be a long wait 'till Chrimbo I can tell you.
Anyway, now that I've experienced two MPs, one official and one 3P, I've realized that as someone who appreciates quality over quantity, resistance is futile. I'm not going to switch over to collecting MP scale, but I am going to amass a modest MP scaled collection.
Yep. I've really gone off the deep end.
Now, I'm generally quite liberal with what I buy as I don't generally care about one £15 toy looking slightly different from another as long as they're good figures. With an MP collection, though, it's a bit more difficult, as aesthetic differences stick out like a sore thumb. So I'm going to have to impose slightly more draconian self-restrictions on what I get to prevent regrettable impulse purchases/a badly composed collection.
So anyway, these are my criteria for what I want in my selection:
1: Must fit in relatively well with the two MP scale figures I have already (G2 Sideswipe and Despotron). Obviously perfect aesthetics matching is impossible but some consistency is desirable. Generally I prefer the pre-Inferno MPs where they were a bit more liberal with design and were more detailed. So no absurdly cartoon accurate, bland figures like MP-36, but on the other hand no overly detailed stuff like Generation Toy's not-Jazz.
2: Quality and engineering are paramount. I care more about a toy being solid and well engineered than it looking 100% perfect. So case in point, Maketoys' Reflector, whilst taking some liberties with the design, is fine because they're built superbly and transform with almost no partsforming. KFC's on the other hand is out, because they partsform a fair bit, and also KFC is a joke in terms of QC.
3: Only characters I actually care about, or toys that look cool enough to justify me buying them. Case in point I don't care much about G1 Springer so I have no interest in having him as an MP, and I certainly wouldn't buy a lackluster figure just so I could say I have him. However, if someone made a really awesome Chop Shop MP I'd buy him even though I have zero attachment to the character.
4: No KOs. Whilst I might buy them for customs duty/parts fodder, and I MIGHT buy a good KO of a figure that doesn't outright replace the original (though at that point I'm unlikely to care enouh about the character to buy it anyway) but I would never buy a KO in place of the real deal. Good 3Ps I'm OK with for reasons I've discussed a million times (or else I wouldn't have bought Despotron), but KOs, even KOs of 3P products, I won't touch except in very rare cases.
5: No combiners. I'm convinced that combiners just don't work at that scale, either the individual robots suck, the combined mode sucks, or they use partsforming for like half the mass of the combiner. I might buy individual figures from a combiner, but not the whole team.
So now that's out of the way, what do I want? For one, I'm planning on no more than 15 a side, if that, unless I miraculously inherit a mansion and a fortune from some rich uncle I didn't know I had. For another, I'm hoping that even if numbers on both sides aren't identical, that the "power level" is. So if I have 12 mostly car-sized Autobots and 8 largish Decepticons that's fine, as long as they look evenly matched. Finally, whilst my collection will be G1-inspired for the most part, it won't be based on any particular media so much as simply what looks cool.
Anyway, now that the introductory wall of text is over, time for the MPs I'm considering. This is where I really need your input, in case either A: I'm missing a good figure, or B: A figure I think looks great is actually terrible. You get the idea.
Also note this is a long-term plan, I don't intend to buy these all in a hurry!
AUTOBOTS:
MP-10 Optimus Prime- Self explanatory. The definitive Optimus Prime and the definitive MP. It's kind of a requirement at this point and I doubt a 3.0 will top it.
Prowl- Police cars are cool. Datsuns are also cool. Police Datsuns are INCREDIBLY cool. Also I know the mold rocks.
Road Rage- I know this isn't the best mold ever, but it's a girl and it's a little red Corvette, and AFAIK it isn't actually diabolically bad, just not as good as it could be- but genuine ones are pretty cheap (£40 on TFS Express!) so I might get her.
Fanstoys Rogue (Arcee)- Arcee is one of my favourites, and the ToyWorld one looks like crap, so unless Takara makes one and it's amazing or Maketoys makes one (which will be amazing because I'm pretty sure they can do no wrong at this point) this will be my Arcee, some horrendous QC botch notwithstanding.
Wheeljack- Often cited as a really outstanding MP (IIRC the wonderful William-James listed him as the best MP thus far) and has a gorgeous car mode. Plus, you know, Wheeljack.
Fanstoys Grinder (Grimlock)- I don't want an entire shelf of MP Dinos, but Grimlock is a bit of a must. Plus, again, it's an amazing toy. I would go for the official MP as he looks gorgeous, but he's too small next to Prime.
Bumblebee- He's so small that he's practically a "why not?" and he looks cute. Plus, with Prime, G2 Sideswipe, Wheeljack and Grimlock, he'd complete the Autobot Devastation crew.
Grapple- I don't like MP Inferno at all but Grapple somehow looks infinitely better. Plus he's a big lad and breaks up the sea of carbots.
Maketoys Downbeat (Jazz)- Best Jazz around at the moment and a really cool looking figure. Also, Maketoys.
Maketoys Gundog or Fanstoys Willis (Hound)- Not sure which Hound I'd go for, Fanstoys is supposed to be excellent but Maketoys' offering is also great, and I am basically Maketoys' devoted worshipper at this point.
MMC Sphinx (Mirage)- AFAIK he's universally considered a perfect figure, and he really hits me in my weak spot for old racing cars.
DECEPTICONS:
Maketoys Howling Meteor- The official MP is a bit of a mess, and the 3P offering is incredible (from what I've seen anyway) and you can't have a TF display without a Starscream. The alternative is Galaxy Meteor (who I may buy for my CHUG shelf anyway as he works in that scale, 'cause Cybertron Screamer is HUEG) but the head and fist combo for Despotron is so hilarious I need him for that alone.
Soundwave (Takara)- He looks so damn cool, and it's SOUNDWAVE. Plus he is by all standards an incredibly engineered figure. (Note: Soundwave's cassettes do not count towards my maximum collection due to being tiny.) I'll probably get Rumble FrenzyThe Blue One and Buzzsaw first, if I even bother with the other two.
Cloud 9 Quakeblast (Shockwave)- Yes, I know the official MP exists, but it's a weird shade of lavender and the knee movement suuuuuuuucks. Also, I can get Quakeblast for like £45 from a reputable/100% positive Chinese seller on eBay of all places (and pay like £15 more for a guaranteed genuine from other venues) and £45 for a figure the size and quality of Quakeblast is amazing. Also, that paint. HNNNNNGGGGGGGGG~
ToyWorld (or Zeta Toys if the improved reissue is a real thing) Shovel (Scrapper)- I don't want an MP Devy, and even if I did I wouldn't buy the TW version as it's a misproportionate partsformery mess. But their Scrapper looks great on his own, he comes with the least amount of redundant cobiner kibble, and he's the Constructicon I could see on his own.
Unique Toys whatever their names were (Brawl and Swindle)- Again, no interest in the combiner, but these two look like awesome figures, and Swindle is, well, Swindle. Also a friend of mine has them and can vouch they are as good as they look.
Maketoys Visualizers (Reflector): I love Reflector and I love Maketoys. Match made in heaven. Say no more. Also a really cool toy so that helps. (Only counts as one due to small sizes and gestalt nature.)
Some Insecticons I dunno- I don't actually know which Insecticons I want, but I kinda want all three because of them (which is weird because I don't feel the need for all the MT Seekers). I'm thinking Fanstoys because they have the best QC and those cool bug legs, but we'll see.
Fanstoys Berserk (Blitzwing)- Assuming he actually comes out and isn't a pile of junk I want him. I love Blitzwing but the other two options are a mediocre pile of compromise (DX9) and a complete mess of a figure that's more of a mid-air collision between a tank and a jet than a decent Blitzwing (KFC). If we don't get a good Blitzwing I may just give up.
ONE Conehead from Maketoys- Not sure which one (possibly Ramjet?) but I kinda want just one to go with Starscream. Just the one though.
Fanshobby Archenemy (Scourge/Nemesis Prime)- Yes he's technically an RID character but I don't care. He's a solid, well built, awesome looking toy, and he's getting a reissue with a trailer soon.
Any others worth bearing in mind? Anything I've listed that's actually terrible? Am I making a huge mistake and should stop with this madness before I start buying MP Throttlebots? Your input is much appreciated, as is your patience for enduring this veritable Greek Epic of a post about plastic robots.
