M'Kyuun

What, you don't buy that a thin furry veneer would protect a robot from energon overload? While the explanation was thinner than their hairy/scaly/chitinous facades, Beast Wars is a terrific show, and I'm willing to overlook the ludicrousness of the reason for their organic forms for all the fun they had exploiting those forms in new and interesting ways that wouldn't be possible had they merely been mechanical critters. It remains a unique show within the franchise, both for the choice of alt modes, but also the brand of humor employed throughout, and I think it's the combination of writing/voicing, as well as the storytelling, that set it apart and lured TF fans in despite themselves, myself included. At heart, I'm a trukk, not munky guy; any day of the week, I'd prefer mechanical alt modes, even if those alt modes are creatures, like the Insecticons or the Dinobots. Robo-critters, like the Zoids line, or the recent 52Toys Mega/BeastBox line, have always held a strong appeal for me, and when BW transitioned to Trans-metals, and then to their Beast Machines forms, I was digging those changes, and the toys, of course. I still lament that the Trans-tech follow-up to Beast Machines never materialized. I liked a few of those concepts. At least Cheetor's Trans-tech design, my favorite, was realized, in part, in Animated's Blurr, who also got a Cheetor recolor, bringing it full circle.💞

Me neither. Looks like a hybrid of both.

TBH, I don't mind the Primal design if Trans-metal is indeed what they're going for. I just think it completely negates the disguise excuse for transformation, as nobody, animal or human, is gonna be fooled. Too, I wonder if the beastie bots are going to be scaled appropriately to their alt modes, or if they're going to do the mass-shifting thing like G1, or if their beast modes are going to be the size of typical kaiju? I think it'd be more interesting if they were scaled appropriately, and like the original Beast wars, the characters at least started off looking like organic animals. And maybe make the switch to a more Trans-metal-like form once they're discovered. I still think it'd be cool if the Beast characters were living apart from humans as animals in the wild to avoid detection for thousands of years, and only upon inadvertent discovery by their recently arrived Cybertronian cohorts, came out of hiding, adopting a more Trans-metal beast form, since they'd likely be comfortable in those alt modes having adapted to them for such a long period of time. That's how I'd adapt the story, anyway. Referring to the pics, I'm not too crazy about the Dino-bot pic, as it skews too close to the uber-shardy bot modes of the Bayformers, and it's an aesthetic that I'd like to see banished from Transformers forever, along with the director who ok'd it in the first place. G1 all day, no more Bay!

It's not AI, some poor pilot got absorbed into it. I wonder if it goes berserk if it takes a missile hit? Pfft, as if the Russians, or China for that matter, would ever stoop so low as to steal ideas from the US. At this point, it looks like every other aircraft with strong stealth characteristics. 🥱 Other than the unparalleled YF-23, I still think fighters from the 60s, 70s & 80s are the prettiest, or at least the most visually interesting.

Growing up in the 70s and 80s, those instructions are what I was used to. I rarely look at the parts call-outs b/c I never developed the habit, and steps with one part seem superfluous to me. Surely kids are more capable builders than that. We had to be back in the primitive days of LEGO. Those old hand-drawn instructions had their charm, although I prefer the crisper CAD illustrated modern instructions.

Appreciate the review, Mike. Being a cassette guy, and given that these are WFC scaled and fill a hole that'll otherwise remain empty for lack of crappy official versions, I have these in my stack somewhere and need to get them shipped eventually. For what they are, they do the job nicely, and as you mentioned, they have some significant improvements over the official cassettes. What a shame when the 80s toys were better. I still don't understand why Hasbro abandoned the realistic scale of the 80s micro-cassettes in lieu of this smaller scale, and much poorer execution. Anyway, I'd like to see Dr. Wu, or some other third party, do all the WFC cassettes with improved articulation/proportions with passable cassette modes. The official toys just leave me wanting for better. I'm hoping Wu will do Grand Slam next. I still have my G1 toys, and while they're in excellent condition, the designs haven't really stood the test of time, and there's room for an update in the mainline.

Ah, an oldie but goodie. Same story here: I had it as a kid, but parted it out to the four winds for MOCs. So I turned to Bricklink and found one in good condition a few years ago, along with a number of other Classic Space sets from the 70s-90s. The set you got looks immaculate, so good for you. More often than not the canopies suffer the most, but that one looks pretty good. At least you can see through it. For all their simplicity, there's something that's still captivating about these old sets. I think you could still present one to a kid and despite any media tie-in, they'd still get it, like we did when we were kids. It's extremely lamentable that LEGO has all but abandoned their organic space themes. Star Wars is cool and all, but there was something to be said for these home grown sets, as they were highly imaginative, and divorced from any narrative, let kids decide how things would literally play out. Aside from City, just about everything LEGO does now is tied to some form of media, so kids aren't as inclined to use their imaginations to fill in the blanks, as it were. To my mind, there's still room on the shelf for homegrown space as well as SW. TBH, my interest in SW has waned, and I'd welcome imaginative space sets, like Galaxy Squad or Space Police, more than the next iteration of the X-Wing, Millennium Falcon, etc, ad nauseum. That said, while I've little interest in the Republic Gunship, I am strongly anticipating the rumored UCS AT-AT, my all-time favorite SW vehicle, which will likely command a kingly ransom and boast a high parts count. That'll be a day one purchase, as this the UCS set I've been hoping and praying for since 1999. I just hope they're able to give it working articulation and not make it a statue for stability reasons. Looking at you, IDEAS Voltron. I'd definitely be interested in that Knight Rider set, too, if it gets produced; however, I have the sneaking suspicion that it wouldn't look nearly as good as the submission. Few of them do.

Good question. Another vid shows them using the yellow Bumblebee Camaro. It seems they're not ready to divorce themselves of Bayverse, which just means more of the same. I'm guessing they're keeping the beastie designs close to the vest for now, but I have a feeling they're gonna be something like this and this and not much of this In the words of a certain galactic smuggler, "I have a bad feeling about this".

Don't even joke about it! I seriously doubt they'd do that, but don't give them ideas. I just want a nice balanced YF-21 that'll look good proportionally next to the VF-19 Advanced. I need no other gimmicks: no breakaway limbs for re-enacting the delimiter scene, no lights, no sounds, just a good looking battroid that transforms into a decent looking fighter with nice tight joints, good paint, the requisite tampo, retractable gear, and some FAST packs. Hell, I don't even need the FAST packs, although they'd be nice.

So, I've been giving Juushinki Pandora another watch, this time in its dubbed and renamed Netflix version Lost Hope. To be fair, I only muddled about halfway through the Japanese version, as it seemed a bit dull, confusing with all the metaphysical mumbo-jumbo, and 70s level cheesy with "Mr. Gold!". I'm finding the English dub much more palatable: the cheesiness of Mr. Gold is tampered, the metaphysics is easier to understand, even if it is still mumbo-jumbo, and overall, I'm finding it easier to follow. Plus, I get to enjoy the mecha action much more without constantly having to divert attention to reading subtitles. Perhaps some of the original inflection is gone, but for my money, it's for the better. Speaking of mecha action, for those who are unaware, Pandora was produced by Satelight, Kawamori's production team, and this show is Macross in all but name, minus the singing. There are large monsters called the B.R.A.I. attacking a human city, and the humans employ transforming mecha, called Moevs, which feature essentially vehicle, GERWALK, and battroid modes, the latter of which requires the operator to mentally/spiritually link with the quantum generator power source to achieve. It's contrived, especially since valk pilots merely push a lever to do the same thing, but there you go. However, it's the mecha that brought me to this show, and being Kawamori's designs, they're pretty cool, and I'd love to have some toys. but, they never happened. So I'm looking through TFSource and out pops this new interesting looking mech called Big Tony from a new anime called Sakugan, also produced by Satelight. I dig it, but it beggars the question why the Pandora mecha didn't get some nice toys, as they share a similar aesthetic to the mecha from Eureka 7, but this new show did. Life is indeed unfair.

That is a nice shot! This bird is rarely photographed in profile, and it's 'futuristic' lines can really be appreciated here. I've seen the real thing at the AF Museum near Dayton, OH, part of Wright-Patterson AFB. I've worked on the B-1, probably its closest neighbor in design, which itself is a large plane, but the XB-70 dwarfs it. Had it gone into service, our enemies would have had reason to fear it considering the size of payload she undoubtedly would have carried, not to mention her incredible speed. It's amazing to see what they were able to accomplish in the 60's, really pushing aircraft design to its limits and beyond. That spirit has all but evaporated, at least in the public eye. If we do have a successor to this bird, or the rather temperamental B-1 for that matter, it's a very well guarded secret, vaporous Aurora notwithstanding.

Well, they released the VF-19 Advanced before the YF-19, so there's a precedent. However, given that the proto was already painted in YF-21 livery, it's not much of a leap. Besides, the -21 is more popular than the -22 variants, and I think Bandai are well aware that there's a desire at least among some fans to replace the ill-proportioned Yamato. I'm one of those fans.

As much as I like this mold, I really haven't the space for another, I've no attachment at all to the Shattered Glass Universe, and at this point I'd rather save my money for characters I want, like the forthcoming Dinos and Insecticons, not to mention all the POs I have that'll be dropping over the next few months. It's a cool effort and I dig the colors; I just have nowhere to put this guy, and it'd be a shame to leave him in the box. Better that he find a home where he'll be free of his cardboard containment unit to cause havoc and destruction (I'm assuming he's a Decepticon, even though the rotating Autobot/Decepticon placard is showing Autobot in these pics). Anyway, nice to see such a good mold getting a second use, and the execution looks good to my ignorant eye. As to Beast Wars Ravage, I always thought that was an even weirder bit of animation magic than usual, not to mention changing Ravage into an anthropomorphic character who can speak. To my mind, Ravage is forever anchored to his G1 cassette/jaguar forms, first and foremost. I have the Binaltech Ravage as well, which was a Jaguar, that turned into, well, a robot jaguar, if you squinted and maybe took a couple shots of tequila. Still, it has its charms. The BW incarnation still strikes me as weird, and while I'm glad they made it for the fans, it just doesn't really do much for me aside from getting another copy of G1 Ravage. Gotta say, though, that head sculpt is mighty reminiscent of Tigatron, who I hope they give a new larger mold for Kingdom as they did for the MP version rather than recycling Cheetor's.

It has been a long time coming, but the mainline is finally providing what I think most of us old timers, myself included, have wanted all along, and why MP became popular; it's giving us updated faithful versions of the G1 characters. Unlike the current hyper-toon faithful MP, it skirts the line with toonish proportion, alt mode detail, and some G1 toy detail in what I consider a good balance. The WfC line is essentially the toys that 13 year old me wishes had come in the box instead of what we got. My MP collecting, official and third party, has slowed down considerably, but my enthusiasm for what the mainline is providing is piqued. I hope they continue doing these G1 homages as they've been doing until they cover at least all of the first season characters, and onward, regardless of what they call the next line. Give us old farts the toys we've been craving, and then move on to UT, or do something completely new. Primus knows the franchise could use something fresh, especially for the non-G1 crowd. Heck, I'm an unapologetic Geewunner, but I'd still like to see them take the franchise in new directions, introduce new characters, new worlds, new stories. Plus it would give the designers opportunities to flex their creative muscles a little. Time for something completely new, IMHO. With one exception: Give us a titan class Animated Omega Supreme, Hasbro. And don't make it a retool of the Ark, you cheap bastards!

I feel ya, @Scyla. I used to enjoy collecting the line, and excitedly looked forward to new reveals like everyone else. It was was fun to play the guessing game of which character was next, until they started just doing revisions of already done characters with only the infrequent previously unmade character tossed in from time to time. Since they started the line in 2003, there remain a great many omissions just from the original first season cast, let alone the other two. Why we got Tracks ahead of Trailbreaker, Mirage, Cliffjumper, Brawn, Gears, Huffer, the Insecticons, the rest of the Dinobots, etc, is anybody's guess. I'm grateful for third parties who provided these and so many more characters over the years. To whit, I've not had much in the way of QC issues with my third party figs, who well outnumber the official figs on my MP shelves at this point. I've been lucky. To be fair, I've fortunately not been the recipient of QC issues with my official MP figs, but then again, I rarely handle them, so they may exist and I'm unaware. I can't recall any that stand out. Sorry to hear of all your issues, Scyla. It's enough to sour your enthusiasm for colleting when toy after toy has issues.

Always interesting to see modern interpretations of the old toys/ toon designs. Makes you wonder how things would be now had they taken a more toy faithful approach, like Gobots, in rendering the characters.

I'm not a big fan of the cell shaded look, but credit where it's due, Lek is incredibly talented, and he certainly elevates these figs he paints to an even greater artform. I find it challenging to do simple paint jobs, so this level of talent is astonishing.

I've never been in the position to handle MP-44 in person, but I'd love the opportunity if it presented itself. I think Takara do an amazing job with their engineering. That said, there are things about it that I didn't care for, both aesthetically, and in the transformation process, that had me looking elsewhere for a replacement for MP-10. BTW, I fence sat for years on MP-10 b/c there were things about him that I wasn't crazy about, too, but at a much more reasonable cost, I eventually got a copy, and he's a cool toy despite having some proportional issues. The engineering of that toy for the time was brilliant, though. Anyway, MP-44. I'm not a big fan of faux parts, and I didn't like how the cab wraps around the robot chest like a second skin. I just don't see the necessity. I also, and this is a very subjective, didn't like his fuel tanks in truck mode. They just didn't look right. I also didn't like the lack of the grey/silver stripe running around his cab. That's a salient feature of the character, and damn the animation for omitting it. The huge backpack was also a turn-off, and I'm not crazy about the inclusion of electronics, especially when the majority of spoken phrases are the Japanese VA and not Peter Cullen who originated the animated character as well as the live-action character. I chose Magic Square's Light of Freedom for my Optimus, and I remain very happy with that choice. It improved on all the areas where MP-10 was deficient while presenting a pretty toon accurate bot mode. The only negatives I have are the fiddly nature of his mirrors during transformation, and the lack of a connection point for MP-10's trailer. The latter seems a major oversight to me, but whatever. I display him in bot mode, and MP-10's trailer has been in storage for years, so not really an issue. I thought TE did an incredible, if highly novel and inventive transformation, especially their ability to reduce the trailer hitch section of the cab to a more realistic proportion. Ultimately, however, I liked more things about the MS version, and I've no regrets. Now I wish MS would give Doomsday, their brilliant legends class Megatron, the MP treatment, too, as I like the look of it better than MP-36's origami torso. FYI, in doing quick research to jog my memory about Light of Freedom, and to spare myself a trip downstairs to retrieve the real thing, I ended up on @mikeszekely's 2019 review on the TFW2005 boards. Fun to read through it again after a couple of years.

Glad to hear it, man. Hopefully it'll stay that way! If it strums the heart strings, it's doing its proper job. Yep. It's the cover for the faux canopy in bot mode that becomes, IIRC, part of his backpack. Agree on the gear; due to the Seeker's design, it's nigh impossible to put the mains where they should be (top of the thigh), so putting them in the feet proved a good compromise. MP-3/11's gear came out of the knees, and were laughably miniscule, although closer to accurate positioning, but they didn't look very good. On an otherwise relatively accurate looking F-15 mode, those little gear kinda stuck out like a sore thumb. Not a problem with the new Screamer. I'll find my way out.

Man, I love that optimism, but I think that ship sailed and went over the horizon at this point. I was invested in the story, and felt they were just really starting to get their groove when Cartoon Network, as they've done with so many other quality toons, cancelled it ostensibly in favor of the poorly done LEGO Chima. Love LEGO, love Ninjago, but Chima was just bad-wife and I agree. Anyway, I hoped that the creators would continue the story, much like Avatar: TLA, in graphic novel form, as I felt they still had stories to tell in that universe, and I would have been happy to read them as opposed to nothing at all. AFAIK, they never did anything more with it, though. I highly recommend the Avatar books: beautiful art throughout, they complete a number of stories left dangling by the animated show, and the writing is on point capturing the spirit, energy, and characters of the show. That's interesting. I like that show, although the editing bugs me sometimes as I think they take stuff out of context for humor's sake, and I think they could go more in depth on some topics, but for what it is, I enjoy it. I wasn't into to many toy lines as a kid; mostly LEGO, Brix Blox/LocBloc, Transformers, a few Joes, and a few Star Wars figs. I loved the M.A.S.K. stuff, but never owned any of it. I found a Condor in excellent shape, minus the driver, in an antique shop and scooped it up. I remember holding that sucker in my hands as kid and putting it back, and the decades of regret that followed, so now my little Condor sits on my desk where it emanates joy from its lovely green hull.😍 I'm digressing badly. I've not done any research on the Nacelle Company; indeed, I wasn't even aware of them despite watching The Toys That made Us, but I assume they're a bunch of guys in their 40's or so with truckloads of nostalgia for the plethora of goodness we had in the 70s and 80s (poor kids today). That can be good in a 2011 Thundercats, Netflix Voltron way, a little left of good in a J.J. Abrams sort of way, or not good at all in a Thundercats: Roar sort of way. Let's hope for the first option.

Funny how all these 80s properties keep coming back to life. I never got into Silverhawks as a kid, but I'd be willing to give a new show a watch, especially if it was done, as Keith says, like 2011's Thundercats, which I enjoyed and lamented the premature cancellation, or like Netflix's Voltron.

Concur. The vast majority of the Machine Robo line had very good looking aircraft modes; it was the robot modes, much like Diaclone, that suffered due to limitations in tech, and the design philosophy, in the early 80s for most transforming toys. the transformation gimmick was the selling point, the alt modes chosen for their 'cool' factors, and the bot modes brought up the rear end of the design process, focusing more on durability and stability, with very minimal articulation. So glad the times have changed. I didn't get a DX Bike Robo, but I'd definitely be down for a DX Eagle. I don't consider the YF-21's B mode garbage. I'm not really a fan of GERWALK, as it just looks like a mid-transformation step to me, but Kawamori likes it and it has become a Macross staple. So be it. Anyway, I'm a battroid guy, so I'll just say that up front, even though I'm also a fan of aircraft of all kinds, with a soft spot for jet fighters. That's why Macross appeals to me so; it has very realistic, albeit fictional, fighters which are often heavily inspired by real world jets, that transform into pretty nice looking robots, for the most part. The real problem I have with the YF-21 is the liberal amount of artistic license Kawamori took to give each mode idealized proportions which makes it very challenging to translate it into a three dimensional form. I agree with your observation that the majority of Macross fans are in it for the jet modes over the battroid. I was supremely bummed when Yamato's VF-4's shoulders couldn't pivot; how the hell is a combat machine supposed to fight when it can't raise it's arms beyond a little less than 90 degrees perpendicular to it's body? That's why my LEGO version has multiple joints at the shoulder, but I digress. Anyway, my Yamato VF-4 remains in battroid along with all my other valks. I'm in the minority, I guess. but it's my shelf, and damn if it doesn't make me supremely happy every time I look at it.😍 I can't speak for other fans, but that's never been my expectation, although mine is probably the loudest voice here critiquing the lack of accuracy. It's obvious that the majority of Transformer fans, judging by the reception of the heavily-toon inspired design direction, want these guys to look like they stepped out of the cartoon. The issue I take is that they can accomplish that and still create a realistic ground vehicle mode, but when it comes to a jet, all bets are off, and the sole focus is on the robot mode. MP-3 and 11 had a more balanced design, trying to present a more accurate F-15, but of course, the bot mode was blocky, the forward fuselage pivot was mounted too high, and the stabs didn't tuck away to at least give the legs a smooth look. MP-52 addressed all those things and more in bot mode, but the F-15 mode was far more compromised. With all their accumulated experience and talent, I don't understand why they couldn't have applied a little more engineering to try and clean up the F-15 mode. It didn't need to be perfect, but as it is, it's worse than its predecessors. I expect, and want, better from Takara, especially for $250. To my eyes, Maketoys did a better job, and NewAge did a better job than both. I've never really compared them; they're apples and oranges to me. By premium, I think most people denote a general expectation of high quality materials, design, engineering, durability, and presentation. The order of priority is subjective, of course, but I think we can all agree that if we're paying more than a $100 for a toy, at that price it's higher end, relatively, and the quality of that toy should be commensurate, i.e., it shouldn't feel brittle, shouldn't have cracks and stress markings (nor develop them with moderate non-aggressive handling), should have a reasonable level of workmanship and functionality without failures. Both Macross and Transformers MP toys, which are arguably 'premium' by general definition, have fallen victim to various and sundry QC and material deficiencies, so despite their higher price tags and general acknowledgement as being premium toys, they're not immune to human fallacy nor the shortcomings of materials and paint. As to whether or not the post Hasui spate of MP toys is more premium than their predecessors, I think it's completely subjective based upon what each fan wants in a MP toy. It's obvious which you favor, and that's fine. My own preference is for a more, to borrow your term, hybrid approach which eschews faux parts, and carries the real world alt mode detail into bot mode. I also like mechanical detail, especially if it's faithfully recreated from the original G1 toys, like the internal details in Prowl's shins. I wish they'd painted those to match the OG boxart, but you can't have everything. I'm just glad it's there- fascinated me as a kid, and that fascination has never diminished. I don't care for blank panels, which is an artifact of the simplified art direction for mass-produced hand-drawn cell animation. Had they the CG capabilities of today, the toon likely would have looked more like the WfC series. Alas, naught to be done for it. Anyway, IMHO, more detail is better, and I think that the majority of us who favor the Hasui era designs feel the same. What I value most about the current MP toys is the move to incorporate high levels of articulation into the figs. That's wonderful so long as it doesn't compromise the fig. MP Arcee's chest sculpt was a compromise to give her forward butterfly joints, but it made her chest shape inaccurate and unsightly, IMHO. Too, her backpack is a huge jumbled mess. MMC did it better on both counts. Azalea may not have the same level of articulation, but butterfly isn't that important to me, and the way MMC compressed her backpack is far more efficient and accurate to the animation. Obviously, we all want different things from these toys. Takara is definitely hitting the toon-centric niche hard, and it's paying off for them, as there are a lot of fans who want their bots to look just like the animation models. Most of those fans seem willing to overlook compromises to alt mode to get that perfect bot capture. I get it, but that's not what I want. At least not that fanatically toon accurate. A good balance of detail, especially detail belonging to the alt mode, married with salient characteristics of the toon models is what I want. It just so happens that Hasui got closer to that than the post-Hasui era. This sums up my views, as well. Let the realistic details of the alt mode and the toy details of the G1 toys inform the current MP toys, while capturing the salient features of the animation models in bot mode, with today's levels of articulation and engineering. Recipe for perfect MP figs, IMHO. Good points. I like your argument as to what 'premium' entails. Most of us have discovered in this and other toy hobbies, that no matter how 'premium' the toy may be, ultimately it's the product of human minds and hands and things can and do go wrong from time to time. I have an old Yammie YF-19 whose arm just decided to fall off from a crumbled shoulder one day. I hadn't touched the thing in probably a year- it just stood on display. Fortunately, my brush with QC issues has been far less than many others I've encountered here for both TFs and Macross. Knock on a California Sequoia. Anyway, like @technoblue, my robot delights aren't just limited to TFs and Macross; I'm a general all-things-that-transform kinda fan, leaning more towards vehicles and such, but I've recently discovered 52Toys' Mega/BeastBox toys, and I'm hooked. I've been enthralled by machines that transform into other things since watching Battle of the Planets as a wee lad, and that fascination hasn't diminished one iota over the last 40-odd years (just turned 50, BTW- half a century under my belt. Don't look it, and certainly don't feel it. Toys keep me young at heart and mind). Agree with your assessment about Takara's position among the fandom, and despite not being the biggest fan of the current approach, I think it's the correct one for their market (Japanese TF fans). Takara doesn't care about the West- Online retailers do, though, so that's where the vested interest lies. Thank goodness for third parties! options are good!😉 FWIW, I hope everybody who got MP-52 gets a good copy with no issues. Nothing sucks worse than getting that anticipated toy and finding flaws, great or small. Best wishes, healthy toys to all! Cheers!

I'll just leave it alone.😄 I couldn't have come up with a more apt description. I think that was the direction Hasui was pursuing, and I'm super happy that MP Prowl got made under his watch instead of the current team's. I have no issue with taking the better aspects of the toon and incorporating them into a toy, but to try and copy the blandness and other idiosyncrasies of a poorly animated show just takes the approach too far. I wish they'd done a spin-off line like Studio Series to channel the toon-centric philosophy, and let Hasui and his team continue the MP line as it was.

I concur. I admire Technoblue's optimism that another more balanced MP Seeker will come along, but, with the current toon-centric bot philosophy driving the designs, and Takara's general indifference towards aircraft alt accuracy, I think we've already gotten the best we'll ever get in a balanced F-15 Seeker. The thought just struck me; what if the same level of compromises were to show up on any other characters' alt modes besides the Seeker? Would those, too, be acceptable? I somehow doubt it. The fandom is willing to forgive egregious compromises to aircraft alts, but what if Hound had a serious lift to accommodate all sorts of odd shapes under his vehicle mode with like a mm of ground clearance. Or a potential Jazz, for that matter. Would that be acceptable? Never had a problem with how he looked, but as a thirteen year old, I wasn't quite as critical. There was soooo much license employed in that show; anyone who bought the toys and then watched the toon had to feel some form of disenchantment with both. The toys had a lot of great real world detail that was ignored by the simplified and often inconsistent animation. The toon gave an idealized version of the characters that contrasted with the compromises necessary to make the toys work. The toon characters had full body articulation; the toys seldom had any below the waist, and often stationary heads. Some had no elbows. Then there were Ratchet and Ironhide- night and day from toy to toon (Thank you for that, Floro Derry) I think Kawamori designed the vanette bros for Diaclone, IIRC. Not sure what he was smoking that day, but I'm glad Derry redesigned them to fit the show. Their toon likenesses being inventions almost completely divorced from the toys is another of those odd compromises that has affected how the toys are envisioned over the years. To me, that was MP-03, and then MP-11, exactly as you said. Takara could have taken some design cues from those toys and applied them to MP-52 to make a better alt mode, but the emphasis of that design was clearly to achieve the most toon accurate Starscream bot mode possible, and all else was afterthought. When Takara invited Kawamori to help refine the already designed MP Seeker, which would become MP-11, he took a similar approach as he does with his valks and concentrated on getting the F-15 mode as close to accurate as possible, fudging some of the design by turning it from a C to an E model, and giving the bot mode hip scabbards, and changing the shpe of the legs and feet to better approximate the F-15's aft fuselage. So yeah, that toy evolved from very F-15 accurate to more of a compromise, with the blocky G1 legs equipped with stabilizer supports mounted on sliders permanently attached to the lower legs. I think with a little better sculpting to try and capture the shape of the toon leg, they could have achieved a better balance back then. It still wouldn't have changed the cockpit's too-high hinge, which set it and the head too far above the shoulders, but it would have been a step in the right direction. Maketoys did a really good job of making good compromises between the bot and alt modes, and I was hoping that Takara would improve on that design, but they went way overboard for bot mode toon accuracy. As I see it, as long as Takara stays the course with their current design philosophy, I don't entertain much hope of a better balanced MP Seeker any time soon. Maybe in another decade or two when perhaps some of the current designers are retiring and new guys are coming in, but at that point, will G1 even have relevance? I dunno.

Hasbro's tepid to non-existent desire to promote and expand the domestic market for the premium toy line of its most lucrative franchise seems a bit counter to business 101. Hasbro knows there's an audience, certainly a far greater audience in the West than in Japan for Transformers, so it makes little sense that they haven't worked out a strategy to ensure these things see domestic releases, as well as appropriate CS. But, maybe Takara want autonomy over the MP line, and have it that way contractually. Sucks for fans outside of Japan, as you have to deal with middle-men, even Hasbro in this case, which always raises prices, not to mention all the S&H issues, and uncertain support. It's a sucky situation that seems to have no favorable resolution any time soon.