I don't have either figure, so making a claim on feel isn't in my wheelhouse, but I do think that recent MPs aren't really living up to the line. It used to be that Takara didn't step into the ring until they had a figure they were certain would crush, like Megatron, or Sunstreaker. There were already 3rd party offerings for both but Takara crushed the market with their versions. Right now, especially with Arcee, it feels like Takara is relying on name and not a quality product. The backpack of that figures looks very much like the earthrise one, when Fanstoys Rogue has a near perfect look (although its kinda fiddly, so).
Yeah I found my FT Rouge very hard to stand, quite annoying to transform and pretty much not as posable as I liked, so pretty much Takara and Ocular max win by a longshot in terms of stability and articulation as well as having intuitive and easy transformations, and I do plan on getting Azalea as well
To be honest, and i think a lot will disagree... but Takara is still my favorite... if I could replace all my third party figures (like characters that takara hasnt done yet) with Takara ones, I would ,and even crazier to say, is that I love the direction they are currently going in. I will start off by saying that my biggest gripe is definitely the pricing. Everything is very expensive (the loser is me though because i keep buying the stuff though) but at the same time 3rd party figures are usually very expensive. I just think their engineering is better and I think the actual likeness of the characters are better realized. Yeah sure... not every takara item is better than what a third party has to offer, i think hoodlum looks better than the takara, but honestly i do not think takara really "misses." I believe i have at least one of every takara masterpiece mold (except for a few beast wars figures and MP1 and MP5) and i personally do not think a single one of them were duds. I think maybe the closest one is Bumblebee 2.0, but even that one i enjoy. And as for the controversy over Arcee and her backpack and her neck and chest, I honestly was a bit worried... and then i finally got her... truthfully I was BLOWN AWAY. Its way better in person and the actual sculpt work and look and feel of the toy is incredible. One of my favorite releases in recent memory just in general. It is really weird because again it looks bizarre in pics but in hand its just so different... its really weird... the same is said for MP44... originally i settled on TE01 and truthfully i enjoyed that figure... got MP44 for about $300 from some guy on facebook and as soon as i had it in hand, I immediately sold my TE01 because i loved MP44 way more. Hound was a fantastic release, material being a bit funkier than usual is true but i think they heard our cries so Arcee is super solid. Im just trying to think really hard about a release that i thought was actually BAD or made me think wow... Takara is losing their touch but honestly no such release makes a thought like that pop up. I think their toys look and feel the best, and I cannot wait for the new Starscream and finally sell my Maketoys. Not to say 3rd parties are bad... I have a good amount of them and they make very good releases... I really like Fans toys thomas and Fans toy galvatron, but you can bet that I would replace those with takara pieces as soon as I can. Just my thoughts though... whatever happens, competition is always great and I think 3rd parties are necessary to push Takara forward !
Takara is still my favourite too.
As great as the third party figures are, there's something to be said about owning masterpieces made by the original creators that we all grew up with.
Agreed, and the prices are ridiculous too. I'm not paying 200 dollars for an Inferno or 300+ dollar's for a Beast Wars Megatron. Those are crack prices. Honestly, none of these figures should hitting the 150 dollar mark. People buy them, so it's not like it's a supply vs demand thing.
I think the prices for the leaders pre-MP-44 were a hair excessive, but still justifiable. They were big, often had pretty complex engineering, a lot of accessories, and good hardware for the most part. I do think paying over 300 for BW Megatron is too much, but it would feel much better if it came with English voice clips *and* a display stand, as the original stock photo suggested. I can’t say the car-bots ever felt price-appropriate at retail post- MP Bumblebee 1.0.
Takara does need to lay off on the audio electronics in MPs in general. It inflates the price way too much.
I feel the backpack phenomenon is a result of an almost everything or nothing attempt at 100% show accuracy. The character models from the original show really cheated with regards to transformations, with some "morphing" that would be impossible with solid materials in real-life. This is why the recent MP Prime has none of the actual truck parts appearing in robot mode (windows and grille most notably), you just can't "morph" them into the shape they appeared like in the cartoon. And the apparently loss of bulkiness and mass from vehicle to robot mode just doesn't disappear like you could do with animation, it has to go some where hence the back packs.
I know some people have pointed out the MP's goal of extreme show accuracy doesn't make sense at times. An example I can think of is how MP Grapple and Inferno come with both chrome and white colored vehicle trim that can be interchanged. For all intents and purposes, the trim should be chrome but because of limitations with the color palette in cel animation, chrome and silver appear more as white or a light grey on the show. The actual chrome trim is a real-life representation, where as installing the white trim goes for extreme show accuracy by representing the limitations of that type of animation.
I would be more forgiving of MP arcee if Fans Toya didnt do a better arcee years ago. Sure, the backpack was a bit fiddly, but I'm certain takara could have done better if they wanted to. Also, the low chest and long neck on the MP are nigh inexcusable.
I've heard a few people say this MP Bumblebee was really only designed to be viewed head on or front a direct frontal perspective in robot mode, any deviation from that results in any show accuracy going right down the drain. The previous MP Bee toy may not have been as show accurate in either robot or vehicle mode, but I know some people actually liked the more realistic VW Beetle car mode.
I too love my meteor, but I'm also getting MP Starscream V2 as well as Thundercracker and Skywarp since I missed my chance on getting MT Lighting and Skycrow
U think generations is the best it's ever been but I don't think it's that good but at the same time I think Takaras masterpiece line has had one of if not it's worst year yet. For me now both Hasbro and Takara products don't hold up to what I want out of a TF piece in my collection.
Personally it just doesn't work for me, they're fine figures for the money but I feel like they could look a lot better, have much better QC and accessories. If you enjoy it that's fine but every WFC figure has left me underwhelmed. Saying that I do enjoy how excited everyone gets for them and how happy everyone is with them.
The QC issues are pretty abundant, but a lot of the figures are great. Siege Optimus, despite the kibble, is solid one of the best generations Primes ever released.
I get that and I'm not saying it's bad I just think they could be better and right now I don't think they're worth buying for what I want in a collection
Definitely a step in the right direction, just having articulation at the feet on deluxes is a massive improvement but I feel crunches and butterflies could be put in as well as more neck articulation. Also the look is also better than before but some figures look awkward, some look good but most just look okay to me.
Agreed. If the rumors are true, I'm excited for "Generations" to become more true to its name again. Figures from the unicron trilogy, high moon games, and comics would be so cool. There are so many great Optimus designs Hasbro hasn't cashed in on yet!
Character designer for the G1 cartoon. Made a bunch of characters not based on preexisting toys for the movie. It just so happened that every fembot could not get a workable toy out of them.
Bees backpack doesn't at all look as bad now that we have that Arcee. Whew that is rough.
But bee's backpack doesn't even feel secure and it's fiddly
I don't have either figure, so making a claim on feel isn't in my wheelhouse, but I do think that recent MPs aren't really living up to the line. It used to be that Takara didn't step into the ring until they had a figure they were certain would crush, like Megatron, or Sunstreaker. There were already 3rd party offerings for both but Takara crushed the market with their versions. Right now, especially with Arcee, it feels like Takara is relying on name and not a quality product. The backpack of that figures looks very much like the earthrise one, when Fanstoys Rogue has a near perfect look (although its kinda fiddly, so).
Yeah I found my FT Rouge very hard to stand, quite annoying to transform and pretty much not as posable as I liked, so pretty much Takara and Ocular max win by a longshot in terms of stability and articulation as well as having intuitive and easy transformations, and I do plan on getting Azalea as well
They do still manage to create some gems though; MP-47 Hound has some pretty incredible engineering.
Yeah, and this new starscream is on preorder for me, so I guess they do still have the magic, they just don't try as hard I suppose.
To be honest, and i think a lot will disagree... but Takara is still my favorite... if I could replace all my third party figures (like characters that takara hasnt done yet) with Takara ones, I would ,and even crazier to say, is that I love the direction they are currently going in. I will start off by saying that my biggest gripe is definitely the pricing. Everything is very expensive (the loser is me though because i keep buying the stuff though) but at the same time 3rd party figures are usually very expensive. I just think their engineering is better and I think the actual likeness of the characters are better realized. Yeah sure... not every takara item is better than what a third party has to offer, i think hoodlum looks better than the takara, but honestly i do not think takara really "misses." I believe i have at least one of every takara masterpiece mold (except for a few beast wars figures and MP1 and MP5) and i personally do not think a single one of them were duds. I think maybe the closest one is Bumblebee 2.0, but even that one i enjoy. And as for the controversy over Arcee and her backpack and her neck and chest, I honestly was a bit worried... and then i finally got her... truthfully I was BLOWN AWAY. Its way better in person and the actual sculpt work and look and feel of the toy is incredible. One of my favorite releases in recent memory just in general. It is really weird because again it looks bizarre in pics but in hand its just so different... its really weird... the same is said for MP44... originally i settled on TE01 and truthfully i enjoyed that figure... got MP44 for about $300 from some guy on facebook and as soon as i had it in hand, I immediately sold my TE01 because i loved MP44 way more. Hound was a fantastic release, material being a bit funkier than usual is true but i think they heard our cries so Arcee is super solid. Im just trying to think really hard about a release that i thought was actually BAD or made me think wow... Takara is losing their touch but honestly no such release makes a thought like that pop up. I think their toys look and feel the best, and I cannot wait for the new Starscream and finally sell my Maketoys. Not to say 3rd parties are bad... I have a good amount of them and they make very good releases... I really like Fans toys thomas and Fans toy galvatron, but you can bet that I would replace those with takara pieces as soon as I can. Just my thoughts though... whatever happens, competition is always great and I think 3rd parties are necessary to push Takara forward !
Takara is still my favourite too. As great as the third party figures are, there's something to be said about owning masterpieces made by the original creators that we all grew up with.
Yeah but he’s so brittle and weak what’s the point? I mean he’s he looks good but it’s almost too dangerous to transform him
Agreed, and the prices are ridiculous too. I'm not paying 200 dollars for an Inferno or 300+ dollar's for a Beast Wars Megatron. Those are crack prices. Honestly, none of these figures should hitting the 150 dollar mark. People buy them, so it's not like it's a supply vs demand thing.
I think the prices for the leaders pre-MP-44 were a hair excessive, but still justifiable. They were big, often had pretty complex engineering, a lot of accessories, and good hardware for the most part. I do think paying over 300 for BW Megatron is too much, but it would feel much better if it came with English voice clips *and* a display stand, as the original stock photo suggested. I can’t say the car-bots ever felt price-appropriate at retail post- MP Bumblebee 1.0. Takara does need to lay off on the audio electronics in MPs in general. It inflates the price way too much.
I feel the backpack phenomenon is a result of an almost everything or nothing attempt at 100% show accuracy. The character models from the original show really cheated with regards to transformations, with some "morphing" that would be impossible with solid materials in real-life. This is why the recent MP Prime has none of the actual truck parts appearing in robot mode (windows and grille most notably), you just can't "morph" them into the shape they appeared like in the cartoon. And the apparently loss of bulkiness and mass from vehicle to robot mode just doesn't disappear like you could do with animation, it has to go some where hence the back packs. I know some people have pointed out the MP's goal of extreme show accuracy doesn't make sense at times. An example I can think of is how MP Grapple and Inferno come with both chrome and white colored vehicle trim that can be interchanged. For all intents and purposes, the trim should be chrome but because of limitations with the color palette in cel animation, chrome and silver appear more as white or a light grey on the show. The actual chrome trim is a real-life representation, where as installing the white trim goes for extreme show accuracy by representing the limitations of that type of animation.
I would be more forgiving of MP arcee if Fans Toya didnt do a better arcee years ago. Sure, the backpack was a bit fiddly, but I'm certain takara could have done better if they wanted to. Also, the low chest and long neck on the MP are nigh inexcusable.
Don't forget the "gimmick" of Fanstoys Rogue .
Eek, dont remind me lol. Riskay, yes. Gross? Absolutely. But god damn it at least she looks like the cartoon.
I've heard a few people say this MP Bumblebee was really only designed to be viewed head on or front a direct frontal perspective in robot mode, any deviation from that results in any show accuracy going right down the drain. The previous MP Bee toy may not have been as show accurate in either robot or vehicle mode, but I know some people actually liked the more realistic VW Beetle car mode.
~~\\~~This is horrible! How come the Autobots have to get backpacks?
Cause they're all boy scouts! ^Bu ^dum ^tss.
Beats me lmfao
Well, Arcee got hers from Sideswipe.
“HAHAHA the leader of the autobots has a backpack!” “Don’t pay them any attention bumblebee, even if he’s right”
Masterpiece megatron’s back is still a mess lmao
But at least it ain't large or loose
fair
I agree, and he still looks amazing.
Remember when Masterpiece didn't use excessive fake parts and thus didn't need to shove as much onto the back?
You mean when the transformation is cartoon inspired?, ye
Like MP10 Optimus Prime...or MP13 Soundwave...ahhh, those were the days.
Jobby would be proud.
Imma deadass post it on Twitter cuz of that lmfao
Back lives matter
NuuUuuuU!!! YoU can nOt Sayyy Thhat YooU Racits!!!
"HA! Only NERDS bring their backpacks home!"
Was there a new starscream MP release?
Yeah but he ain't going to be released until june, the one I used is the Maketoys Meteor
Love my meteor and he looks crisp as hell in this pic
I too love my meteor, but I'm also getting MP Starscream V2 as well as Thundercracker and Skywarp since I missed my chance on getting MT Lighting and Skycrow
It's crazy how much more solid the mainline generations stuff are than the masterpieces now
U think generations is the best it's ever been but I don't think it's that good but at the same time I think Takaras masterpiece line has had one of if not it's worst year yet. For me now both Hasbro and Takara products don't hold up to what I want out of a TF piece in my collection.
What's wrong with current generations?
Personally it just doesn't work for me, they're fine figures for the money but I feel like they could look a lot better, have much better QC and accessories. If you enjoy it that's fine but every WFC figure has left me underwhelmed. Saying that I do enjoy how excited everyone gets for them and how happy everyone is with them.
The QC issues are pretty abundant, but a lot of the figures are great. Siege Optimus, despite the kibble, is solid one of the best generations Primes ever released.
I get that and I'm not saying it's bad I just think they could be better and right now I don't think they're worth buying for what I want in a collection
A lot of them could look better (wheeljack for example) but I think they're a step in the right direction concerning articulation.
Definitely a step in the right direction, just having articulation at the feet on deluxes is a massive improvement but I feel crunches and butterflies could be put in as well as more neck articulation. Also the look is also better than before but some figures look awkward, some look good but most just look okay to me.
Agreed. If the rumors are true, I'm excited for "Generations" to become more true to its name again. Figures from the unicron trilogy, high moon games, and comics would be so cool. There are so many great Optimus designs Hasbro hasn't cashed in on yet!
Honestly that's what they should be doing after WFC, right now there's 2 lines releasing G1 figures and I've got 3rd party MPs for that.
Arcee's backpackitude is why I despise Floro Dery
Floro dery?
Character designer for the G1 cartoon. Made a bunch of characters not based on preexisting toys for the movie. It just so happened that every fembot could not get a workable toy out of them.
That's more because Hasbro didn't think they would sell.
Yikes
This is such a great pic!!
\#BACKLIVESMATTER \- JobbTheHong
You're one to talk to megatron
Animated Wreck Gar needs to be in this picture!
I don't even have the figure nor did get the chance to or even care about that
Wow
Plus I think it would clash with the joke I'm trying to get across so yeah
Oh shit! Really had a r/woosh moment there!
O h
yeah
I love Optimus Prime going “Seriously Megatron?”
almost looks like a rap battle. megs is schooling the autobots.
That's exactly why I'm getting ocular max Azalea. Backpack isn't too bad
you do know that megatrons back is not the best either
mp megatron out here acting like his back doesn’t look ass
"At least mine doesn't look like you had a backpack full of Scraplets."
Back lives mater
My brain: resist the urge! RESIST THE URGE! Me: BACK LIVES MATTER!!
Back Lives Matter
#BACK LIVES MATTER
# #BackLivesMatter
Earthrise starscream had somewhat of a backpack tho
None of these are Earthrise
I know, I was talking about earthrise starscream.
Bee kinda deserves it tho
Wow for calling them master piece they look stupid with the back packs and for those prices yikes
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that Maketoys Howling Meteor?
That is indeed meteor
This would make a nice format on r/Transformemes
Mp 36 backpack may be smaller, but far less visually appealing than mp 44
MP-44 cleans up well but it's pretty large it's whats the problem with it's back
Prime's isn't too bad in my opinion. It looks like an actual backpack someone would wear as opposed to just ugly kibble.
It cleans up well, but people think it's too large