MasterPiece Collection v1.1

[Anubis]

My Red Alpha finally arrived from Toynk. Took a month from the time I won the auction (and paid them the same day). Not happy about that, I had to email him twice, but I only paid 55 for it though.

Not bad overall. It's definately not worth 80, and feels like it'll break if I'm not careful, but for under 60 sure. Several parts were too tight during transformation, so I felt like I would break it. Arms are a little loose in Soldier, but hold their pose. The arms in particular feel quite fragile, and I can see how easy it would be to break the forearm fins.

My only issues really are that one leg pulled out nice and easy, but I had to force the right leg and I was so afriad I was going to break it. It seems to move easier now. That same knee seemed to have some excess glue, as it didn't want to move until I kind of forced that. Now it moves fine. The head seems to be crooked a little too, as it doesn't want to sit flush in Soldier mode, so I just turned it's head to the side some and it looks all right. My left shoulder missle cover looks like it has a little bit shaved off one edge. Thankfully the greasy monkey did not touch this Alpha. Overall problems with mine were minimal and I feel I could transform it again without breaking it.

It looks really nice though. It's an impressive looking mecha on the shelf, and I'm glad I got it. At least any issues I had with mine were fairly minimal.

I might get those decals from Tam and really spruce it up.

I am kind of tempted to get the Shadow Alpha, but not right now due to lack of fundage. This and my SD Red Alpha will at least cover me on Alphas for now.

What I really want though are cyclones, I would easily buy all of those as I've said before. Hopefully by con season this summer we'll hear something about those.

[jenius]

I have now owned quite a few of these MPCs (no greenie yet as you can see). My biggest complain is the shoulder design (should rachet like a Valk's shoulder so you could feel secure it will always be able to support the arm's weight). My second biggest complaint would definitely be the crooked heads! I think every single one has had a crooked head. The best you can hope for is one with a head that isn't so crooked it looks like it's confused. Turning the head to the side helps but I'm not sure that's a great solution...

Here's another pic for comparison purposes...

*edit - picture was huge so I shrank it down for y'all

Edited February 16, 2005 by jenius

[promethuem5]

Holy crap, teh MPCs ARE small.... screw that, I want a Gakken.

[Ed.Coli]

Holy crap, teh MPCs ARE small.... screw that, I want a Gakken.

Uh, no, they're not. Rather, the 1/35's are huge. The MPC in fighter mode is easily about the length of a Yamato 1/60.

[jenius]

Yeah, the Gakkens are friggin' huge. I think the green diecast guy in the middle is about 6", the red MPC to the right is about 8", and the gakken in the rear is about 10".

[captain america]

I have now owned quite a few of these MPCs (no greenie yet as you can see). My biggest complain is the shoulder design (should rachet like a Valk's shoulder so you could feel secure it will always be able to support the arm's weight). My second biggest complaint would definitely be the crooked heads! I think every single one has had a crooked head. The best you can hope for is one with a head that isn't so crooked it looks like it's confused. Turning the head to the side helps but I'm not sure that's a great solution...

Actually, crooked heads & lose shoulders can still be fixed to a decent extent; the real flaw that I see with this toy are the hip joints, which, like the Veritech POS, greatly limit its posing ability because you can't adopt a wide stance. I hate to say this, but I wish Toynami had stolen my hip geometry to do their toy; at least then people would have had greater posing possibilities.

[valk1j]

I hate to say this, but I wish Toynami had stolen my hip geometry to do their toy; at least then people would have had greater posing possibilities.

I wish Toynami had given you a whole bunch of money for your complete design, that way we could have something good.

[captain america]

Hi Valk.

Truthfully, I don't think the Toynami sculpt is all that bad. If anything, they gave the toy a really good balance visually in all 3 modes; particularly the fighter mode, which I think looks better than mine.

In this case, my overall sculpt or theirs wouldn't have made any difference; it's more an issue of engineering & troubleshooting. But then, that's where I think I could've helped them most of all. The thing is, these are "collector" toys. Designed more for appearance & detail (as much as you can put on a toy anyway) than for outright sturdiness or quick transformation. Collector toys are more about cool poses with little or minimal playtime and in that respect, that's where this toy blows bigtime, because of the limited joint capability, you simply can't give them the cool action poses like you see on the old Imai box art.

I'm going to try to hack-up one of mine, and see if I can't do something more intelligent with it.

[Oberatixx]

is there any word yet if the alphas will be able to connect to a beta, if toynami decideds to prodcue a beta?

[Majestic]

is there any word yet if the alphas will be able to connect to a beta, if toynami decideds to prodcue a beta?

Don't think so. My guess is they'll have some sort of wonky extra plastic piece that supports the Alpha connection and is prone to detachment.

[mechaninac]

is there any word yet if the alphas will be able to connect to a beta, if toynami decideds to prodcue a beta?

That's always been Toynami's claim..."if the Alphas sell well enough to justify making a Beta, we'll think about it; and if we make a Beta it will be compatible with the current MPC Alphas for link-up." I'm paraphrasing, of course, but that was the gist of their half-hearted Beta announcement.

Whether of not they actually make a Beta, and decide to make it link-able with the current crop of Alphas, or decide to release "all new" Alpha versions for Beta compatibility is pure speculation. In the end, Toynami will do what they perceive to be in the best interest of their bottom line.

Also, don't forget that, according to Toynami, their next planned MPC line will be the Cyclones. A Beta, if it ever sees the light of day is at least 2-4 years away. Add to that the new Robotech movie/series that may or may not become reality; if it does than it would be safe to assume that Toynamin would give mecha from the new series greater priority for production, and the possibility for Betas becomes even more remote.

Call me pessimistic, but I think the Beta is nothing more than vapor-ware at best; or, at worst, a Toynami ploy to get fans to gobble up the Alphas in the vain hope that a "promised" Beta would be made.

[Feyd-Rautha]

Hi Valk.

Truthfully, I don't think the Toynami sculpt is all that bad. If anything, they gave the toy a really good balance visually in all 3 modes; particularly the fighter mode, which I think looks better than mine.

In this case, my overall sculpt or theirs wouldn't have made any difference; it's more an issue of engineering & troubleshooting. But then, that's where I think I could've helped them most of all. The thing is, these are "collector" toys. Designed more for appearance & detail (as much as you can put on a toy anyway) than for outright sturdiness or quick transformation. Collector toys are more about cool poses with little or minimal playtime and in that respect, that's where this toy blows bigtime, because of the limited joint capability, you simply can't give them the cool action poses like you see on the old Imai box art.

I'm going to try to hack-up one of mine, and see if I can't do something more intelligent with it.

whoooh ...i want too see shot's of this modified alpha!

would you possibly consider too modify some ones alpha for a fee??????

[Feyd-Rautha]

is there any word yet if the alphas will be able to connect to a beta, if toynami decideds to prodcue a beta?

That's always been Toynami's claim..."if the Alphas sell well enough to justify making a Beta, we'll think about it; and if we make a Beta it will be compatible with the current MPC Alphas for link-up." I'm paraphrasing, of course, but that was the gist of their half-hearted Beta announcement.

Whether of not they actually make a Beta, and decide to make it link-able with the current crop of Alphas, or decide to release "all new" Alpha versions for Beta compatibility is pure speculation. In the end, Toynami will do what they perceive to be in the best interest of their bottom line.

Also, don't forget that, according to Toynami, their next planned MPC line will be the Cyclones. A Beta, if it ever sees the light of day is at least 2-4 years away. Add to that the new Robotech movie/series that may or may not become reality; if it does than it would be safe to assume that Toynamin would give mecha from the new series greater priority for production, and the possibility for Betas becomes even more remote.

Call me pessimistic, but I think the Beta is nothing more than vapor-ware at best; or, at worst, a Toynami ploy to get fans to gobble up the Alphas in the vain hope that a "promised" Beta would be made.

well, i see your points..

but as far as the new shadow chronicles ...the beta was shown wearing a relflex weapon for the new series..

perhaps this will help the Beta/Tread's cause

...funny i don't remember reading an official statment from toynami regarding the cyclones(my all time favorite mechs)

..cyc said this was mentioned ages ago...but i only rember them announcing the masteropeice series as being the VF's..then 3 alpha's ..then 2 remaining unidentified mpc sku's..

I better finally get my variable BARTLEY..I've been waiting 20 fuggin year's for one

[Ladic]

when is the last alpha release date?

And does anyone know if the first Cyclone MPC is gonna come out this year? or next?

And do you think it will sell really well? or about the same as other MPC's??

[GobotFool]

man, I dread the Cyclone MPC. That thing will have so many moving parts, and be so frail, that It will most certainly fall apart the moment it's removed from the box.

[1 VF-1 2NV]

man, I dread the Cyclone MPC. That thing will have so many moving parts, and be so frail, that It will most certainly fall apart the moment it's removed from the box.

Yeah, just imagine the cyclone has to fit in their MPC boxes.

[jenius]

How do the MPC Alphas compare to the Imai 1/48 variable model? I imagine the MPC is significantly more sturdy than that model. So, if Toynami stays true to form, we'll get the same treatment with the MPC cyclone. It will be fragile for a toy but more sturdy than a model.

[Cyclone]

Give and take. Toynami have addressed the (IMO) common failure points of the Imai kit, the hips most notably, but people are reporting joints which I've never seen fail on the Imai breaking (elbow, upper arm).

I think it's in part due the fact the Imai is lighter and an actual model so people treat it kinder, joint failure comes from transforming at lot, where the MPCs are sturdier/tighter and heavier, so there is a very, very fine line between using enough force to transform/pull out limbs and breaking them.

Both share the common truth of lasting longer if you don't actually transform them I guess.

Cyc

[Lonely Soldier Boy]

Hey, guys! Since nobody has yet posted this image, I thought I'll do it. Note how nice the shoulder connects to the lower arm in fighter mode. I've tried everything and my Bernerd still shows awful gaps there. Can anyone give me a tip on how to put them closer together?

[captain america]

The fighter you see in the pic is most likely a manicured test-shot model, and I wouldn't be a bit surprised if they left out all the forearm/inner parts/snap pegs to keep it looking nice & tidy fit-wise. Don't try to get that look on your blue Bernard version, you simply won't be able to; the fit is just too awful on the production toy.

Oh, by the way, the old Imai model was also very delicate. But then, it was designed as a model kit, not a toy. Much of the sloppiness in the arms stems directly from the fact that Toynami copied an already flawed design to begin with; throw-in some poor assembly at the factory and the end result is what we hold in our hands now.

[Lynx7725]

Actually I was able to get a very close fit between upper and lower arms on my Red Alpha, but it's quite complicated -- every collapsable part between torso and feet has to be totally collapsed (difficult in itself -- I ended up OILING the torso extension joint).

AND the hips have to be positioned perfectly (the feet are not supposed to touch and must be positioned correctly). AND the whole Alpha must be in a specific arc along the long axis to achieve this.

But yeah, it can be done.

[Lynx7725]

Hmm. I think the Shadow Alpha has just became my favourite Alpha. Two reasons:

• No shoulder pod to lose
  
• Can throw the Destablizer ammo clip into the same compartment to prevent loss
  

Heh.

[Feyd-Rautha]

the shadow is a nice looking bird!

..i'm sure it will sell like hot tamales'

...then bring on the tread/beta

...then i enjoy dark tread/legioss goodness!!!!

[jenius]

wow, i never thought about the whole shoulder pod thing... interesting, it's just gonna look like it has a flap hanging out on one shoulder...

I just checked the two MPCs I have that I transformed to battloid and then back into fighter: My Scott has a gap at one of the forearms. This gap is actually caused by poor construction of the forearm, not because everything hasn't made it all the way back into place. For whatever reason the forearm is a little too wide so when it attaches to the shoulder the hooks create pressure that push the forearm back out. If I push the sides of the forearm together it actually makes it back into fighter mode seamlessly. My Rook looks almost perfect. Obviously not quite as good as the Shadow mock-up but darn close. I believe that part of the trick my be in pushing the kneecaps back into position. I can't swear but it certainly can't hurt.

[Lynx7725]

My Scott has a gap at one of the forearms. This gap is actually caused by poor construction of the forearm, not because everything hasn't made it all the way back into place. [...] I believe that part of the trick my be in pushing the kneecaps back into position. I can't swear but it certainly can't hurt.

I had a similar issue on my Red Alpha's arm, I think it's an assembly issue but haven't really had the desire, time or patience to take the arm apart.. it's way down on my list of things to do.

As for the kneecaps, it's not just the knees.. the hips have to be angled correctly, the knees (at the slot-and-hole) must be adjusted correctly and upper legs pushed into the lower legs at the correct length on both legs simultaneously (tougher than it sounds). Overall, it's a hassle only the anal-retentive would bother with on a regular basis.

[Feyd-Rautha]

what do you guy's think of BETA/tread Superposables?

also ...does ANYBODY have pics of the Japanese MPC BOXES?!?!!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!?!?

MUST SEE tv!

[Prowlus]

now for something completely different Namely Masterpiece Voltron

[bigkid24]

Yeah, just imagine the cyclone has to fit in their MPC boxes.

True but they can package the figure separately from the bike mode of the cyclone. Both of them vertically. I think you could fit a pretty good sized figure in there.

Also, that shadow actually looks pretty good. Crap. Wasn't going to get it but now I'm tempted.

[zeo-mare]

the Voltron is looking good, it is a shame it is so expensive if i recall

[Godzilla]

the Voltron is looking good, it is a shame it is so expensive if i recall

$150 for preorder from Big Bad Toy Store.

[wolfx]

I can't really see the claws on the shadow alpha. How is it holding the gun? Is it something like lego hands?

[Uxi]

As far as the gap of the arms in the fighter, pay attention to the post on page 1 or 2...

It's all about making sure the torso is compacted. I had a very slight extension. Now that I made sure I pinched it close during the latest transformation the arms are perfect. I'm actually questioning the need for the torso to telescope out from the chest like that... but it is better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

I'm definately getting a Shadow. And thinking of another Lancer...

[SDFcommander]

I will definitely be getting the Shadow. I just got my Lancer Alpha and it's looking pretty good! The real gem for me however is Rook's Alpha.

I did some panel lining and applied All the sticker. I literally found a place for every sticker on the sticker sheet Alot of the detail is lost in my lighting. I hope to put some better pics up soon. The stickers and panel lining make a very big difference with the red Alpha, otherwise it ca look a little plain.

Happy to say no problems with this Alpha. Stiff arm/shoulder joints and everything!

What I did notice is that while mostly everything has been a vast improvement over the VF-1 line, it seems like the stickers have made a step down in quality. They don't seem to have the gloss and the stickiness of the stickers from the VF-1 MPCs. Has anyone else noticed this?

[CoryHolmes]

Who-eeee. That is one pretty toy when all the stickers and labels are applied.

[Hiriyu]

Here's my routine for collapsing the MPC's arms together, which seems to work pretty well when transforming back to fighter mode - my blue, red and green versions all respond identically.

Open forearm covers ~ 45 degrees (don't want to scratch the paint at the upper end of the forearm cover). Leave hands deployed.

Collapse forearm/shoulder assembly - Make sure the two horizontal tabs are engaged into the shoulder unit. Squeeze them together slightly if needed, but be careful. Upper and lower arm sections should fit together pretty cleanly at this stage.

As Lynx suggested, make sure that hip joints are in proper lower position. Then compress both legs simultaneously about half way. Engage the locking tab and hole that keep legs locked together in fighter mode. Then finish compressing the legs and make sure that the inner tabs locking the lower legs to the body are engaged.

Eyeball the distance required for the tabs at the tip of the forearms to fit cleanly into the mating hole on the upper surface of the legs. When all is right, fit the tabs to the holes, making sure that the arms stay cleanly compressed.

Deploy the tail fins, and then fold the hands into the forearms. Lastly, shut the forearm covers*.

Rejoice in your alpha's clean lines (well, as viewed from the top at least ).

*If the hands are fitted incorrectly, you will simply not be able to close the covers, and will not likely damage the hands in doing so. If the hands are folded in first, they can [and will] obstruct the mid-arm sections from collapsing into the forearms, resulting in unnecessary stress to the hands and failure of the arm units to close completely.