The Energon Pub

[Mach]

Now we have mini version of MP05 Megatron, should be from the same group of people develop the Mini MP Optimus.

original link: http://www.actoys.net/bbs/read.php?tid-407037.html

[Burn]

I can see i'll have a hell of a time getting that through Australian customs.

[Pretender Skywarp]

I can see i'll have a hell of a time getting that through Australian customs.

My thoughts exactly, we have have some of the strictest firearms controls in the world over here in the UK, we don't even let our Police Officers carry them!

As an aside, these "fan" projects are entering some really dodgy ground. The upgrades/accessories and weapons are all good and might even encourage people to buy a figure they passed on.

Whichever way you look at it, this is a boderline KO, despite whatever intention may have been behind it and if the Has/Tak legal team have had a bad day, it can only be bad for the wider fan-made-add-on community.

[Blurrz]

Images have surfaced of another Miniature Masterpiece figure. It's suitable that it's the nemesis of Miniature Masterpiece Optimus Prime, and that of course is Megatron. Every detail from the original Masterpiece has been replicated into a tinier, voyager sized mold. This will most likely be retailed by iGear. Take a look at it in the pictures below!





Of course nothing beats the original, which you can see on Seibertron's galleries here.

Masterpiece Megatron is a bit hard to get in North America, as the toy does not fit within custom regulations unless modified. The same will most likely occur with this Miniature, unless the tip of the gun barrel is painted orange. Remember that this figure is not licensed by Hasbro Inc or Takara Corp.
You can check out the original link here from ACToys.net.

Stay tuned to Seibertron.com for the fastest news on the net!

[Blackstreak]

If they did a mini of Optimus, they are sure to do a Megatron. I would expect them to work on doing the seekers and a repaint for Magnus. But it looks pretty sweet.

[Ravage XK]

1. Stop ripping off other peoples work. Its a good way to lose favour with us fans. Do something original.

2. The whole point of the oversize Megatron handgun was to help make it obvious to customs/the law that Masterpiece Megatron wasn't a real gun. Making a voyager size version must put the alt mode in the realms of being actual size.

[metaphorge]

Ironically this may have less of a legal hurdle to go through than the mini-Masterpiece Convoy, since Hasbro never released a version of Masterpiece Megs they have less of a leg to stand on in trying to shut this item down.

I just hope iGear has the sense to include an orange tip so it won't be as likely to run afoul of gun laws.

I'll take two, and also keep my original Masterpiece Megs.

I wish these mini-Masterpiece figs would spur Takara and/or Hasbro into releasing versions of these molds in this size so they'll better match MP Grimlock and the MP Seekers. I'd rather buy "official" versions, but in the absence of those I'll gladly add these to my collection, just as I have the WST Dinobots and the upcoming WST Blaster and Shockwave.

Since it's unlikely that anyone with half a brain is going to be "fooled" into buying these instead of "legitimate product", I really don't give a flip about any possible IP infringement. These will do virtually nothing to hurt Hasbro or Takara's immense bottom lines. No harm, no foul.

I wonder what these guys will tackle next. I'd like to see a Masterpiece Dirge....

It will only be a few more years until we can fabricate these at home with the rapid advance of rapid prototyping and 3d printers anyway. Beautiful days ahead.

[metaphorge]

2. The whole point of the oversize Megatron handgun was to help make it obvious to customs/the law that Masterpiece Megatron wasn't a real gun. Making a voyager size version must put the alt mode in the realms of being actual size.

The whole point of making Masterpiece Megs so oversized was so he would be the same size as Masterpiece Convoy in robot mode.

Since the item was designed for sale within Japan I'm pretty sure Takara wasn't that concerned about gun laws outside of Japan.

[Pretender Skywarp]

I am assuming that the intention behind this is to create a realistic sized alt mode, whilst having todays "toy-technology" for the robot mode. The ultimate homage to the original design intention of the Microman line if you will.

If that is what they are trying to do then great, I do see what they are trying to accomplish. I still think that they are on dodgy ground tho'.

I will be interedted to see what colour schemes they use, given the variations on Megs' over the years.

[metaphorge]

I am assuming that the intention behind this is to create a realistic sized alt mode, whilst having todays "toy-technology" for the robot mode. The ultimate homage to the original design intention of the Microman line if you will.

I'd guess that it's more to give us a Megatron scaled to go along with mini-Masterpiece Prime and MP Grimlock and the MP Seekers. The more realistic size of the gun mode is simply a fringe benefit.

It wuld be nice if iGear made a stock and silencer for this while they were at it. I wonder how hard it would be to adapt these parts from a G1 Megs?

[Pretender Skywarp]

I am assuming that the intention behind this is to create a realistic sized alt mode, whilst having todays "toy-technology" for the robot mode. The ultimate homage to the original design intention of the Microman line if you will.

I'd guess that it's more to give us a Megatron scaled to go along with mini-Masterpiece Prime and MP Grimlock and the MP Seekers. The more realistic size of the gun mode is simply a fringe benefit.

Both ideas have merit at this point, it would be nice to see some info from i-gear so we can stop guessing

[Down_Shift]

That's pretty awesome. I'll pick that up for sure. I really want the translucent mini-mp Convoy and I hope they try and do something like that with this too.

[Zetatron]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the fusion cannon for Mini-Megs looks to be scaled a little better to him than the original. I never really liked how MP Megs cannon was almost as tall as he was, it made him look a little ridiculous.

[Trikeboy]

Is it me or have they made the size of the fusion canon smaller than it should be?

[DevastaTTor]

I find it really interesting that none of the online retailers will touch these. Why will they carry the rip-off trailer, roller, and Sharkticon but not these "Partner Products" We all know they're iGear pieces so what's the difference?

I can't wait for someone to get a production Optimus or Megatron in-hand and post a review.

[Trikeboy]

Sorry Zetatron, I didn't see your post before I clicked reply.

[Deathsanras]

I find it really interesting that none of the online retailers will touch these. Why will they carry the rip-off trailer, roller, and Sharkticon but not these "Partner Products" We all know they're iGear pieces so what's the difference?

Because the other Knock Offs are not beloved cornerstone characters, are mostly miscellaneous accessories, and therefore slip somewhat under the radar. Compared to these Knock Offs (and they ARE Knock Offs) of HasTak's big guns (pun intended), the two most identifiable characters in the entire 25 years of the Transformers franchise at any rate.

This Megatron KO is the reason I was hoping HasTak would shut down these mini-MPs. I would actually like to get them, but I'd never get the Megatron KO past customs, and therefore there's entirely no point getting the mini Convoy KO. Yes, you heard it - if I can't have them, nobody can. The fun part is that I can (and will) claim the moral high ground anyway due to them being KOs.

[It Is Him]

Boo! Hiss!

[noctorro]

This Megatron KO is the reason I was hoping HasTak would shut down these mini-MPs. I would actually like to get them, but I'd never get the Megatron KO past customs, and therefore there's entirely no point getting the mini Convoy KO. Yes, you heard it - if I can't have them, nobody can. The fun part is that I can (and will) claim the moral high ground anyway due to them being KOs.

I totally disagree with you. You don't care if others might like them? And you wish mini Convoy would be cancelled because he's not worth getting if you can't get mini Megatron? Seriously, you may claim moral high grounds some day, but not social high grounds.

I like the mini Masterpieces because they would fit better with the other transformers lines I have.

If HasTak is "hurting" from these 2 products when they get out, it means they should've made them themselves instead of making hundreds of repaints.
If HasTak made them I would've bought them from them ofcourse, but they don't.
And I won't be getting them if the quality is bad or the price to high which will probably be the case :p

[Oilspill]

This is bold, and I'm not talking about the legal side of things. MP Megatron is claimed be many to be their most complicated transformer to transform, so downsizing it may make it even more difficult.

I won't be getting these myself as I already have the real deal, but I'm happy for anyone who wants them or even just wants a Megs & Prime that are more in scale with the other masterpiece figures.

[El Duque]

I must admit the idea of a 1:1 ratio alt mode MP-Megs is tempting, very tempting. On the other hand I really don't want to support such a blatant KO.

[Forgotten]

I must admit that I like the idea of a small MP-05 with a more scaled Fusion Cannon. I would love for HasTakTomy to make one or even maybe the same group that made the stock & silencer kit for it to make a more in-scale Fusion Cannon. I would eat it up. But as far as buying this, I just can't do it. I know what it's like to have your work, that you came up with and put blood, sweat & tears into ripped off by people for their own gain. And knowing that I just can't get behind this or the MP-1 miniature knock-off, because that's just what it is. An extremely overpriced Knock-Off, nothing more, nothing less. I have MP-1 & MP-5 and they are wonderful figures, i'll admit I don't really mess with them much due to the price I paid for them, but I do enjoy looking at them if nothing else, y'all know what I mean. Bottom line, imagine that you designed something as beautiful & complex as the Masterpiece figures and now imagine someone ripping them off. Would you really want people that are supposed to be loyal to your work supporting said KOs?? That's all.

[Naked Magnus]

I have owned the original MP Megs since it was first released and I am STILL afraid to transform it. It is the only transformer in my vast collection that I have not yet transformed. I read too many horror stories of MP Megs breaking easily during transformation. Compared to MP Optimus/Convoy, MP Megs is flimsy as hell.

I really don't blame Takara so much, as it is indeed an engineering challenge to produce an accurate walther P-38 AND have a robot mode that looks like the original cartoon character. MP Optimus is much more simple and hence they could use a lot of die cast.

If MP Megs is flimsy and easy to break, I would imagine this one would all the more be easily breakable, since the quality of these KO's typically is much worse than the official releases.

[Forgotten]

I have owned the original MP Megs since it was first released and I am STILL afraid to transform it. It is the only transformer in my vast collection that I have not yet transformed. I read too many horror stories of MP Megs breaking easily during transformation. Compared to MP Optimus/Convoy, MP Megs is flimsy as hell.

I really don't blame Takara so much, as it is indeed an engineering challenge to produce an accurate walther P-38 AND have a robot mode that looks like the original cartoon character. MP Optimus is much more simple and hence they could use a lot of die cast.

If MP Megs is flimsy and easy to break, I would imagine this one would all the more be easily breakable, since the quality of these KO's typically is much worse than the official releases.

MP Megs isn't nearly as bad as some people say. I've transformed mine a few times without incident, but I was exceedingly careful while doing it. I just don't grab him at random to transform as stress relief. I've been using my ROTF scouts for that lately. Those little guys are marvelous.

[El Duque]

I have owned the original MP Megs since it was first released and I am STILL afraid to transform it. It is the only transformer in my vast collection that I have not yet transformed. I read too many horror stories of MP Megs breaking easily during transformation. Compared to MP Optimus/Convoy, MP Megs is flimsy as hell.

I really don't blame Takara so much, as it is indeed an engineering challenge to produce an accurate walther P-38 AND have a robot mode that looks like the original cartoon character. MP Optimus is much more simple and hence they could use a lot of die cast.

If MP Megs is flimsy and easy to break, I would imagine this one would all the more be easily breakable, since the quality of these KO's typically is much worse than the official releases.

I can understand your reluctance to transform him, but don't let all the horror stories keep you from enjoying his wonderfully complex transformation. I remember when I first got mine, at that time I hadn't read any of the horror stories, as soon as I had him out of the box I set to transforming him. It took me about an hour, because I could tell from handling him he was a delicate piece. Some pieces didn't want to move, but I didn't force them. When I got frustrated I sat him down and walked away. After the initial transformation, probably transformed him 4 or 5 times, with no problems. Then I came across a horror story, whick lead me to research the topic further. After reading reading several heartbreaking stories of stripped screws and broken legs I was afraid to transform mine anymore, which sucked because he was in alt mode at the time and I really wanted to display him long term in bot mode. After several months of him sitting their in alt mode I said to myself, "I've transformed this thing multiple time with no problems, I'm not going to live in fear." Transformed him to bot mode no problem, he's been that way since, not because I'm afraid to transform him I just prefer him in bot mode. Go for it.