Gallery and Video for Masterpieces at 2019 New York Toy Fair #tfny #hasbrotoyfair

Beast Megatron just needs to get here already. He is gonna be one heavy mambajamba though and really bulky!

Via tformers.com, BBTS has a pre-order for MP Star Saber due in April. They say it's a reissue but I only see BBTS with an order page for it. And April seems rather soon. Could it just be BBTS acquired extra stock? If it's a reissue, I would expect the Japanese retailers to carry it (for cheaper).... Anytime with insight?

nycPrime wrote:Via tformers.com, BBTS has a pre-order for MP Star Saber due in April. They say it's a reissue but I only see BBTS with an order page for it. And April seems rather soon. Could it just be BBTS acquired extra stock? If it's a reissue, I would expect the Japanese retailers to carry it (for cheaper).... Anytime with insight?

If you look down the page of BBTS when you search Star Saber you will see the actual Takara release (the one thats $15 cheaper). The one you found will not be released by takara nor found in Japan for cheaper. its the Chinese issue with coin. And it is available elsewhere, like at the main retailer of chinese issues, Robot Kingdom: http://www.robotkingdom.com/tftrmp24.html

Cool thanks. That makes sense. That's a shame though. I was excited when I saw reissue and thought I could snag it for cheap through a Japanese store. The wait continues for me.

nycPrime wrote:Cool thanks. That makes sense. That's a shame though. I was excited when I saw reissue and thought I could snag it for cheap through a Japanese store. The wait continues for me.

Yeah, sorry. But hey if $126 + Shipping sounds good, there's one on the Secondary market:
https://order.mandarake.co.jp/order/det ... er&lang=en

So I wanted to bring this thought to the table and get some other opinions on my mind process.

So I brought both of my newer MPM Bumblebees to work today and posed them together having fun, and it made me think about MP-45 and where it stands.

So we have MPM-3, which is about the size of or a bit larger than a standard G1 MP carformer. Then we have MPM-7, a bit shorter than MPM-3 and just ever so slightly smaller than a G1 MP. MPM-3 retailed online for $100, MPM-7 at $90, with MP-45 at $120.

MPM-3 has a very complex but manageable transformation that ends up representing his very complex movie self perfectly, all the way down to his wings and his back details, back, legs, and all. He only comes with his arm cannon accessory, but he doesn't really need more, his alternate face is a built in facemask.

MPM-7 is equally as complex but the bot mode isn't as accurate, though if given the time, the door wings could have been engineered to lie like they did in the movie and the wheels adjust accordingly. And his movie design was much smoother, so even if the door wings are outright removed, he's still a nearly perfect representation of himself on screen, back and all. He comes with his 2 weapons and an optional facemask, not built in, but probably better for it.

And then we come to MP-45. The front looks like he did on TV, every detail pretty much there. But it's all fake, only his toes are actually real. And the back of the legs aren't right, and neither is his back, with a new fake rear wheel thingy coming up from behind. He comes with some faces and guys and stuff too, so more accessories, but were they necessary?

So the way I see it, the MPM-3 is by far the superior all around MP figure. MPM-7 could have done much better given the benefit of another year before release, and MP-45 really needed more time. It's so hard to look at him considering they nearly killed that figure once already, and then they basically took several steps back. And that price, he is $20 more than the Bee that is twice his size and handles a far more complex look significantly better.

And we see that again with the upcoming MPM-9 Jazz: he transformers from flawless car to flawless robot, back of the robot and all. They look good/accurate from every angle, and the G1 guys aren't doing that anymore.

Heck, the G1 guys are hugely expensive and only good looking primarily from the front, while the MPMs are cheaper and good from just about every angle, and even though MPM-8 Megs is about to be $160, he is going to be huge and heavy and complex, and he's still $70 less than MP-36. And of course we have the Beast guys, who are pricey like the G1 guys but actually screen accurate like the MPMs, so a sort of compromise of the 2.

I just think that if the QC could be buttoned up, the MPMs are the better spot to be in right now. And it baffles me that the complex movie designs can be done so much better than the current G1 MP options.

Just my thoughts, would like to hear someone else's.

I agree that there is some weird stuff going on. I dont know how conplex mpm 8 will be, he looks really simple to me.

Not sure what it's for, but the cover features MP-36 Megatron, MP-44 Optimus Prime and MP-45 Bumblebee, enjoy --

Cyberpath wrote:Not sure what it's for,

That's for this.

Forgive me if this has already been brought up but I think one of the nicest things they've done with the MP line is continually rerelease the successful one's like MP-13 Soundwave. I couldn't afford him until the third run because I arrived late, it's cool that they did that. That said, I don't really want any other MPs at the moment, even Soundwave though I love him his deck gimmick rarely works exactly right and the MP-02 Hasbro I bought had a bubble in the eye, a gash on the leg, and the fins of the birds were so stiff Laserbeak's just peeled off in my hand, and Buzzsaw has never been touched.

My Takaras (13 and all tapes) all are in great shape though, thankfully. The bad experience with the Hasbro has made me want to focus more on G1 reissues where fewer things can go wrong and prices aren't quite as steep. I almost feel like opening one of these is a gamble, of course it's always worth more unopened but if I could have psychically seen into my Hasbro's box, I'd have left it MIB and resold it and no one would be the wiser.

Overall: Love the line, love the attention to the show (even when I was a kid I thought they should look like the show), but am hesitant to buy more as QC seems a bit iffy on what're really complex and fragile products. To be fair I'm a Soundwave and G1 Jetfire guy, so I'd probably buy those if they remolded them or something. To be honest with the Jetfire they'd have to really impress me, I'm a huge Macross/Robotech fan as well so they'd have to blow me away to look past the fact that I'll always think the original is perfect in its own right.

Cheers!

Minus Dinobot, who is on my Beast shelf, here's a nice look at my MP collection. I have a chance here to get an MP-23 Exhaust for like $48 shipped, real thing. Really considering it cause that design is cool

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:Minus Dinobot, who is on my Beast shelf, here's a nice look at my MP collection. I have a chance here to get an MP-23 Exhaust for like $48 shipped, real thing. Really considering it cause that design is cool

Then get it. He does look cool, if you can forgive the inaccurate logo upfront, but so far, I haven't heard any complaints. Still, for 48$, it's a steal

I did consider MP Star Saber myself, not too long ago. I saw a review on YouTube and liked what I saw. But, being informed by those in the know on the forum that he doesn't have the relevant tabs or connections for a potential MP Victory Leo, my limited G1 MP collection will stand with Hot Rod alone.

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:I did consider MP Star Saber myself, not too long ago. I saw a review on YouTube and liked what I saw. But, being informed by those in the know on the forum that he doesn't have the relevant tabs or connections for a potential MP Victory Leo, my limited G1 MP collection will stand with Hot Rod alone.

Didn't KFC( the toy company, not the chicken) make a Victory Leo that is compatible with Star Saber? In any case, Star Saber is one of the best Transformers Masterpiece figures ever made for the size and engineering alone. You will not be disappointed at all with him, and he's on sale at BBTS!

Nathaniel Prime wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:I did consider MP Star Saber myself, not too long ago. I saw a review on YouTube and liked what I saw. But, being informed by those in the know on the forum that he doesn't have the relevant tabs or connections for a potential MP Victory Leo, my limited G1 MP collection will stand with Hot Rod alone.

Didn't KFC( the toy company, not the chicken)

That made me laugh far more than it should have.

Nathaniel Prime wrote: In any case, Star Saber is one of the best Transformers Masterpiece figures ever made for the size and engineering alone. You will not be disappointed at all with him, and he's on sale at BBTS!

Thanks for the heads up. Unfortunately I don't buy from BBTS. I once bought the Piranacon reissue giftset for about $20, a real bargain. Only to end up paying an additional £30 in Customs when it reached the UK.. As such it's not worth my while.

Nathaniel Prime wrote:Then get it. He does look cool, if you can forgive the inaccurate logo upfront, but so far, I haven't heard any complaints. Still, for 48$, it's a steal

Tried and couldn't, would only ship inside japan

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

Nathaniel Prime wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:I did consider MP Star Saber myself, not too long ago. I saw a review on YouTube and liked what I saw. But, being informed by those in the know on the forum that he doesn't have the relevant tabs or connections for a potential MP Victory Leo, my limited G1 MP collection will stand with Hot Rod alone.

Didn't KFC( the toy company, not the chicken)

That made me laugh far more than it should have.

Nathaniel Prime wrote: In any case, Star Saber is one of the best Transformers Masterpiece figures ever made for the size and engineering alone. You will not be disappointed at all with him, and he's on sale at BBTS!

Thanks for the heads up. Unfortunately I don't buy from BBTS. I once bought the Piranacon reissue giftset for about $20, a real bargain. Only to end up paying an additional £30 in Customs when it reached the UK.. As such it's not worth my while.

Glad I entertained you

But there are seriously a ton of people who come up to me like " But KFC makes chiken, not toys"

It's fine if you don't want to buy from BBTS, I myself haven't bought from them either, but I may just get that Shattered Glass MP10 from there, because I don't think I can get an MP10 with a trailer for 100$ or less without going for the KO anywhere else

I guess it's been a month, I'll bump this thread!

First post in 12 years hahaha!! (Though I am quite certain I had more than 34 posts from back then )

Long story short, I collected the Masterpiece line early on (MP-1, MP-3, and MP-5 (sadly)) but then life started getting in the way and that was that. BUT I've always kept an eye on the line and a few weeks ago, I bought a new book case that allowed me to bring out the old MP's and decided I would honor the occasion with a NEW Masterpiece!

After tons of research and hours of watching review videos, I decided to dip a toe back in the water with Ironhide. Always loved him and MP-27 is absolutely amazing. I don't get any of the complaints! He's so good, I couldn't help myself and immediately ordered Wheeljack and MP-36 Megatron! (my MP-5 will be going up for sale very soon. I hope someone out there actually wants to buy it haha!)

Oh my poor bank account....

I'm actually seriously contemplating selling off most of my Masterpiece collection at this point. I could go into a long discussion about why, but I'll try to keep it down to a nice, concise, bullet point list.

- The cost of Masterpiece figures continues to rise.
- The release of new mold Masterpiece figures has slowed considerably over the past couple of years.
- It's becoming increasingly clear that some characters/figures (more minibots, combiner team members, triple changers) are either never coming out or are a long ways off, making completion of the cast a pipe dream.
- Generations figures have been stepping up substantially in quality, cost considerably less money, include almost the entire G1 cartoon cast (and then some), and are much more space efficient in a large collection.
- With the "brand unification" meaning an end to Takara Tomy alternative paint application options, and the availability of Takara Tomy "exclusive" figures like Star Convoy through Hasbro Pulse, Generations collecting for me is becoming even more affordable.

Anyone else feeling similarly?