The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next

[mark-1s]

Official pics of official MP Hound!

•  

 

Full gallery: https://news.tfw2005.com/2019/06/06/takara-tomy-masterpiece-mp-47-hound-official-images-389430

 

Edited June 6, 2019 by mark-1s

[mikeszekely]

I mean, I guess it looks fine. Not sure if it's so fine it's worth replacing if you already have Maketoys' or Fans Toys' versions, but as long as Takara isn't charging and arm and a leg it should be a choice for the people that don't have an MP Hound.

[Tking22]

Looks pretty good, not vastly better then my FT Willis so I'll be passing. Looking through the gallery, there's no shots of him in alt mode next to other official MP figures in alt mode, from what I've read, the Spike that comes with him is larger then the Spike that comes with MP Optimus V3, so my question is, how big is official MP Hound's alt mode? Is it massive and monster truck sized liked FT Willis? Or did they manage to make it a bit more in scale with other MPs in alt mode?

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

Hound has a lot of faith in that tonneau cover to block blaster shots.

[technoblue]

I'm in. It looks like the front tires fold up under the hood of the Jeep in bot mode, similar to how Willis transforms. I'm hoping there will be better clearance on the official MP, though. Willis is a bit tricky in that area. Back to MP Hound, I really like how the arms fold up in the engine bay to create the illusion of mechanical "stuff" inside. And those rear tires have my attention. I'm curious to see how they work as the plastic bits apparently break down completely for transformation which is really cool. I think I see that the spare transforms too.

All the accessories look fun, as does the articulation. I'm fond of that stuff, so there's more to like. That said, I'll be keeping my third-party versions as they have their own character and are worth it for other reasons. 

Anyway, the big concern I have with Takara's official MP is price. Will be looking for a decent place to buy this guy. The US sites are all trending high, which is disappointing but somewhat expected.

[Dangard Ace]

I'm in for MP Hound.  Sure I have FT Willis, sure I thought it was good enough and I wouldn't replace him with an Official if it ever came out but when I tried to recreate the Sherman Dam fight with MMC Rumble, Willis's articulation was just okay.   MP Hound's articulation looks great and if it's good in hand then Willis's time is numbered.

[Tking22]

Hm, I just noticed, are those stupid tiny wheels on the sides of the feet permanent? That's once again, toon accuracy gone too far, that looks goofy as all hell :(.

[David Hingtgen]

Takara is ALL ABOUT TINY FOOT-WHEELS lately.  

[derex3592]

I'd like to get MP Hound. I'd also like Sunstreaker, Jazz, Ironhide and Ratchet. My only Autobots are Prime and Bumblebee. I went for the baddies first.  My Macross $$$ next year may go toward more MP TF'ers. At least they are EASY to get....

[sh9000]

Just waiting for the preorders on the Japanese sites to show up for MP Hound.

[Jeremy007]

He is up at amiami. 

https://www.amiami.com/eng/detail?gcode=FIGURE-049399

 

[JB0]

NOPE. The whole "toon accuracy at all costs" thing just makes him look incredibly derpy.

And his shoulders are hilariously awkward with how far back they are. Some of that's just because he's a slavishly accurate Hound, but... I thought in the cartoon they slid forward and down so they were under the fenders, meaning this isn't even cartoon-accurately derpy?

[sh9000]

I’ll wait to see the price at Amazon JP or NY.

[technoblue]

Here's the amazon.co.jp link:
https://www.amazon.co.jp/タカラトミー-TAKARA-TOMY-トランスフォーマー-マスターピース/dp/B07SPWN6Z5/ref=sr_1_1?qid=1559878022&refinements=p_28%3AMP&s=toys&sr=1-1&tag=transform0c-22

 

[sh9000]

https://www.nippon-yasan.com/figures/28394-transformers-masterpiece-mp47-hound.html

https://hlj.com/mp-47-transformers-masterpiece-hound-tkt10236

http://www.anime-export.com/product/44337

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10616994

Edited June 7, 2019 by sh9000

[M'Kyuun]

Hound has always been one of my favorite characters, and like many, I've waited a long time for an official MP version of him. Having Gundog, and having watched reviews of FT's Willis, in my mind the bar was already set fairly high, as each is a really good Hound figure with enough differences between them to give consumers a choice. The chunkier look of Gundog, similar to CHUG Hound, was my choice, but the obvious comparison with the official toy will lie with Willis. All this said, as has been the trend, I think the strengths of MP Hound will be its articulation, with which Takara have really stepped up their game in the last few releases, its engineering, and its adherence to toon accuracy, which is a very subjective area. For my tastes, it's not the end-all, be-all, and things like the aforementioned fake wheel nubs in bot mode are superfluous. My biggest nitpick with Hound is that his neck is attached to an armature and basically floats over his hood. Not crazy about that solution at all. And too, as JBO mentioned, the shoulders mount fairly far back and don't look right unless viewed straight on. The green bits under his bumper to fill out his torso seem a little too big; there was just a hint of green there in the toon model, but in my mind it wasn't necessary, and the look they went with has it a bit too pronounced. They carried over the robot diaper look, but IMO, it looks better than the toon depiction. That's another toon-ism that I don't mind their discarding in a modern toy. Unfortunately, my criticisms with this figure outweigh the good points for my tastes, and I think I'll be skipping him. Perhaps I'll change my mind after a review or three, but as it stands, Gundog is my MP Hound.

 

[Sgt Nate V]

MP Hound actually looks pretty good... until you look closer and notice things like how his neck isn't actually attached to his torso.

[kanedaestes]

https://news.tfw2005.com/2019/06/15/takara-tomys-next-beast-wars-masterpiece-is-lio-convoy-389784

 

Lio Convoy is the next Masterpiece

[mikeszekely]

4 minutes ago, kanedaestes said:

Lio Convoy is the next Masterpiece

Huh. That's probably going to have a lot more limited appeal.

But hey, they're moving forward. Maybe in a few more years they'll hit Car Robots and I'll finally get an MP Fire Convoy...

[M'Kyuun]

I have only peripheral knowledge of Lio Convoy, having never seen any of the Japanese Transformer shows, through some of the toys, official and non. The design is so-so for my tastes; I think the overall sculpt is alright, but I'm not caring for the entire front lion legs attached at the back of the elbows, like some sort of odd growth, nor the derpy , I'm assuming toon accurate, lion face in beast mode. The lion face in bot mode looks good, and hopefully it can be used optionally in place of the toon. For those who buy it.

I suppose it's good that Takara are addressing some of the other continuities in Transformers; G1 and original Beast Wars are the only ones I'm interested in, unless they someday do Animated. Anyway, G1 is the line I really want to see done to completion, at least every bot from first season. However, I'm not sold on the totally toon accurate design philosophy currently espoused by Takara, as I think there are too many compromises. Too, while I am generally a vocal champion of Takara's engineering, Prime V3, Hound, and Bumblebee V2 have elements I'm not crazy about (Prime's backpack, gappy torso, and flat fuel tanks; Hound's floating head and a little too-far set back shoulders; and Bumblebee's weird feet and backpack, to name a few). Among TF fans, who are a rather critical bunch, I tend to be more forgiving in most cases, but I find the design trend of late to less and less appealing, which saddens me because I want to like and own official toys , and to feel an overall satisfaction and joy in how they look and function. They're losing me with some of the stuff they're doing of late, and it gives me mixed feelings about continuing the line as it is. I much preferred the Hasui approach, but that ship has long sailed; I'm just glad I got my Prowl under his design influence. But it concerns me going forward as they do characters that haven't been done yet. I was really excited when Hound was announced, until more pics started showing up; I'm not sold at all on the head armature as a good solution, especially with Willis and Gundog taking a more traditional, and IMHO, better, approach. To that end, I'm glad for the options- no regrets with Gundog.  Still, I miss the pure sense of anticipation and excitement I used to feel with every new announcement; now there's an element of wariness there that dampens the mood.  While the toon accuracy approach has its fans, I'm guessing I'm not alone in wanting bots that are more detailed and less beholden to the animation.

 

[JB0]

I'm just surprised it isn't a white repaint of Prime v3, or a Megatron v3.

[technoblue]

6 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

I have only peripheral knowledge of Lio Convoy, having never seen any of the Japanese Transformer shows, through some of the toys, official and non. The design is so-so for my tastes; I think the overall sculpt is alright, but I'm not caring for the entire front lion legs attached at the back of the elbows, like some sort of odd growth, nor the derpy , I'm assuming toon accurate, lion face in beast mode. The lion face in bot mode looks good, and hopefully it can be used optionally in place of the toon. For those who buy it.

Yeah. I was in college when the original Beast Wars was on the air. My friends and I would sometimes tune in on lazy afternoons to watch an episode now and then because... Transformers. Unfortunately, it didn’t catch on as a regular event. It was simply too uncanny seeing robots turn into animals after growing up on the G1 show and movie. Yeah, I was so rooted in my truck not monkey sensibilities at the time. It would be years before I gave the original BW a fair shake.

Anyway, BW II, BW Neo, and Beast Machines never popped up on my radar as a result. These characters do seem interesting and I’m happy for those who want them, but I also appreciate getting to take a break from the MP line.

Edited June 16, 2019 by technoblue
spacing

[anime52k8]

20 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

Huh. That's probably going to have a lot more limited appeal.

But hey, they're moving forward. Maybe in a few more years they'll hit Car Robots and I'll finally get an MP Fire Convoy...

 

MP Sky-Byte

[Kanedas Bike]

So did anyone get the ThreeA DLX Bumblebee? It's a damn nice figure and for about $ 160 (shipped) pretty worth it to me. But I'm one of those folks that doesn't mind Transformers that don't transform as long as they look, feel and pose amazing in bot-mode, which this does.

Also pre-ordered the DLX Optimus Prime.

Just curious if anyone else is into the line...

-b.

[Scyla]

Lio Convoy seems like an odd choice for the next MP (well not really since it is a hero leader character) but the design of the toy doesn't look in line with the regular Beast Wars MPs. Which is understandable since he came from a different show that was not CGI. However I prefer a single design language in a toy line.

That said as always I'm interested in a black repaint.

3 minutes ago, Kanedas Bike said:

So did anyone get the ThreeA DLX Bumblebee? It's a damn nice figure and for about $ 160 (shipped) pretty worth it to me. But I'm one of those folks that doesn't mind Transformers that don't transform as long as they look, feel and pose amazing in bot-mode, which this does.

Also pre-ordered the DLX Optimus Prime.

Just curious if anyone else is into the line...

-b.

I would love to get the Blitzwing but he doesn't have any place in my collection sadly. From watching a few reviews it seems like the design of the smaller ThreeA Transfomers figures is similar in style to the toys designed by Chemical Attack.  I would say if you like high-end action figures like the KuroKaraKuri/Metal Build/Riobot robots you might be satisfied by it. 

[Kanedas Bike]

4 hours ago, Scyla said:

Lio Convoy seems like an odd choice for the next MP (well not really since it is a hero leader character) but the design of the toy doesn't look in line with the regular Beast Wars MPs. Which is understandable since he came from a different show that was not CGI. However I prefer a single design language in a toy line.

That said as always I'm interested in a black repaint.

I would love to get the Blitzwing but he doesn't have any place in my collection sadly. From watching a few reviews it seems like the design of the smaller ThreeA Transfomers figures is similar in style to the toys designed by Chemical Attack.  I would say if you like high-end action figures like the KuroKaraKuri/Metal Build/Riobot robots you might be satisfied by it. 

 

Want Blitzwing as well, but I've got entirely too many preorders as it is (among a few other things I want (but don't need) to buy).

And what you said is true, I like pretty much all of the figures you named off.

I'd recommend the DLX figures to anyone that's looking for a REALLY nice representation of  Bumblebee and likely Blitzwing and Prime from the most recent live action movie.

Also, big meh on MP Lio Convoy, personally I like the look of the Perfect Effect Leonidas better.

-b.

[sh9000]

[derex3592]

Masterpiece Omega Supreme???...Yes, THAT will be affordable...

[David Hingtgen]

17 minutes ago, derex3592 said:

Masterpiece Omega Supreme???...Yes, THAT will be affordable...

It's just a (very good-looking) siege titan-class figure. 

[vlenhoff]

Upgraded.

That Starscream has incorporated missile effects, ha.

Edited June 23, 2019 by vlenhoff

[mikeszekely]

Was out shopping the other day and I found this guy at Target: Siege Leader-class Galaxy Upgrade Optimus Prime.

So, for those of you who don't know, this is a retool of Siege Leader-Class Ultra Magnus and an homage to Transformers Cybertron/Galaxy Force Optimus Prime.  On the Cybertron homage, well, you don't really see it with the smaller robot.  Aside from his torso looking more like the cab of Cybertron Prime's alt mode than his usual G1 truck mode he's definitely looking a bit more G1 in this mode.  Indeed, Orion Pax in the current ongoing IDW Transformers reboot is based on this figure, and not the previous Voyager-class one.  However, unless you're buying Siege figures because of the new IDW comics, I'd say that the Voyager-class figure beats this one in aesthetics.  Maybe the translucent teal on white draws the eyes away so you don't notice it as much on Magnus, but this Prime looks fat.  Speaking of Magnus, Prime shares the same legs, arms, head, and most of the pelvis.  His torso from the waist up is really the only new parts for this mode.  It's enough that, combined with the different colors, he does look distinct enough from Magnus, but again this is really another point in favor of the older Voyager mold.

I do like the toy-style yellow eyes, even if they're not IDW-accurate (the comics still use blue).  Would it have really killed them to paint the smokestacks silver, though?

Like Magnus, this Prime gets his status as a Leader-class toy by dumping all of his extra plastic into accessories.  Those accessories would be a pair of arm parts, a silver rifle, two black guns, and his trailer.  The trailer isn't as good as hiding the super mode head as Magnus', and the guns on the top are disappointingly hollow underneath.  As for the guns, the silver one is similar to the one that came with the original Cybertron Optimus, albeit without the hand guard and firing missile.  The black ones are almost identical to the ones that came with Magnus.  They're just missing that splash of silver paint his got in the barrels.

Like Magnus' trailer, Prime's splits into boots, shoulder pads, and a torso piece (the arm parts aren't part of the trailer this time, though).  The boots are again mostly what came with Magnus, they just have different panels on the sides that don't move this time.  The rest is pretty much new.

Prime's articulation is the same as Magnus', but for a refresher his head is on a ball joint with some ok up/down/sideways tilt in addition to rotation.  His shoulders can rotate and extend a little over 90 degrees laterally.  His biceps swivel, his elbows bend 90 degrees, and his wrist swivels.  His waist swivels.  His hips go forward and backward 90 degrees on ratchets, and extend laterally almost 90 degrees on softer ratchets.  His thighs swivel around the hip joint, so they can't rotate freely but they can turn outward over 45 degrees, adn I think that's adequate.  His knees bend 90 degrees, and his ankles can pivot inward about 45 degrees.

In addition to his hands, Prime has 5mm peg holes on the outside of each forearm, on the outside of each leg near his ankles, on top of each shoulder, under each foot, one on either side of his backpack, and one in the middle of his backpack.

Speaking of backpacks, Prime still has one, just like Magnus.  Now, recall that I said that his arm parts don't go with his trailer the way Magnus' do.  The box suggests that you put the arm parts on his arm for this mode, as you would for super mode.  The instructions tell you to put them onto his backpack, though.  Putting them on his backpack seems to be IDW accurate.

Prime's cab mode has the same basic problems that Magnus' does.  His feet don't fold up in any meaningful way.  His front wheels sit very far forward and leave an empty gap behind them.  His smokestacks end up side-by-side in the middle of the cab instead of the back.  And his arms stick out the back of the cab with his fists super visible like they're holding the handlebars of an imaginary motorcycle.  I do like that the cab has some molded detail like marker lights, and light bars that the original toy had, even if they're not painted.

By itself, the cab has 5mm pegs on the sides of the bumper, in the middle of the bumper, a pair on top of the cab, one on each side of the cab, one on each side of the hitch near his robot feet, and one under each foot at the back of the hitch.  Plus, technically, his fists are available.  So, you can store all of his weapons and maybe even a few Battle Masters on the cab alone.

Do note that the arm parts are a necessity for the cab mode.  Without them you're missing a large portion of his bumper and his front wheels.  If you stored these parts on his backpack then they're already where they need to be, so it's only partforming if you put them on his arms already.

If we bring in the trailer... well, that's starting to look like Cybertron Prime, yep.  The cab is a little shorter, but doesn't have a visible head in the middle.  Even with the arm parts in their proper place he's still missing a pair of front wheels, and the bumper is slightly different without visible fingers.  The rear doesn't bulge out like the original toy.  And from the top the trailer's a bit more open on top.  Aside from some extra blue at the back, though, the colors are fairly accurate, the side panels are still there, and he's still got his ladder-cannons.  And, side from the very back, there's not a lot of obvious Ultra Magnus here.

While the top of the trailer is more open than Magnus', leaving the super head mostly visible, it does at least blend with the cab's arms and hides the hands.  The cannons can move up and down or swivel outward.  Both cannons have a 5mm peg in the front, and you can attach his rifle just like you could on the original toy.  They lack the cyber key gimmicks, though.  You can still use the three 5mm peg holes on the bumper, the two on top of the cab, and the one on each side of the cab, plus the trailer has two more on each side.  The instructions suggest placing the black guns near the front of the trailer, which might help hide his head from some views.  I prefer upside-down on the rear peg holes, but they kind of look out of place no matter where you put them.

While the sides of the trailer are hinged they don't swivel.  So, you can't do his flight mode.

Despite starting with a more G1 figure, once you armor him up Prime really does start pulling off the Cybertron look.  Like Magnus, the front of his pelvis even flips around for a slightly more Cybertron-esque one.  Could have used some blue on his crotch, though.  His forearms are still red instead of blue, but at least the arm parts provide some blue on the outside, the pipes, and the tires.  The armor provides the Cybertron-style head and chest windows (although they don't open and there's no Matrix inside), plus faux-cab shoulderpads.   He's got his wings, thought the wheels are fake, and his big cannons can fold up onto his back without him tipping over like the original toy.   And while his proportions still aren't ideal, I think I like them better than the original.  I think my only major complaint is that they could have done a better job with his legs.  I get that they wanted to reuse Magnus', but I think they'd be more accurate if they hadn't painted the shins silver, and instead painted some of the details on his knees.

They could have painted the black guns, too.  See, while they seemed to be an homage to a feature on RiD Magnus' alt mode for Ultra Magnus, they work as Cybertron Prime's leg guns here.  And as I recall, those guns were silver with a little red on the outside edges, not black.

Another area where this Prime has the original Cybertron Prime beat is articulation.  The new head is still a ball joint.  The chin keeps it from looking down as far as the base robot, but he can still look up and tilt his sideways pretty well.  His shoulders, elbows, biceps, wrists, waist, hips, thighs, and knees are all carried over from the base robot, and the additional armor doesn't restrict them in any way.  Plus, his new boots have nearly 90 degrees of ankle pivot.

He can hold any of his guns just fine, although again I prefer to have the black ones (which maybe I'll paint silver) on his legs.  The cannons can flip around and under his arms, like the original toy, and again you can put his rifle into one of them.  This time, though, his cannons have pegs on sliders, so you can maneuver them into his hands when you want to do the full-burst thing.

Fully armored, Prime now has peg holes on top of each shoulder, on the outside of each forearm just behind the wheels, on the back of each wing, on his butt, under each foot, and on the outside of each leg.  If, like me, you're using the ones on his legs for the black guns, you might be pleased to know that the designers accounted for that and put another peg hole on each gun.  Plus there's the peg hole on the barrel of each cannon, which can also be used for blast effect parts, and while they're too shallow to attach weapons you can fit those blast effect parts into the pipes on his forearms for some Hot Rod-style forearm gun action.

I very much appreciate that HasTak made an Ultra Magnus for Siege that used the White Optimus armoring up gimmick that the G1 toy had, instead of going for another all-in-one transformation or, worse, repainting the Voyager Optimus white and calling it a day.  I get that they had to reuse the mold, and I appreciate them stepping outside the G1 box instead of doing another Powermaster Prime.  That said, while there's a lot that I like here better than the original Cybertron toy, I don't think it's really accurate enough to please most Cybertron fans, especially unarmored.  And despite being technically more accurate to the IDW comics, the previous Voyager-class Prime is a much better G1-ish Optimus than the unarmored robot.  I think this Prime is a pretty good toy, but unless you somehow missed the earlier Voyager-class and are desperate for any Siege Prime, are a fan of the new IDW series and really want that extra comic book accuracy, or you love Cybertron/Galaxy Force so much that any version of that Prime will do, then it's ultimately a safe pass.

[technoblue]

Thanks for the review, @mikeszekely!

For me, I have no nostalgia for Transformers: Cybertron, so this siege version of the character is interesting because it's so different and unfamiliar to me. That, and I like what Hastak did with the new Magnus mold, so getting another toy using a variation of it is pretty cool.

[sh9000]

[mikeszekely]

Astrotrain looks pretty good! Kind of makes up for the first two.

I'm in for Apeface, as long as he's a Headmaster. Hopefully they'll do Snapdragon, too.

Spinister... Ok. I'd be more excited, but I missed Triggerhappy and never even saw a Misfire or Slugslinger, so Spinister (and a potential Needlenose) would complete a set that I'm missed every other release on.

And Crosshairs. Well, the Ironhide mild works surprisingly well, but I'm a little miffed that Crosshairs is the regular retail release while the one everyone actually wants, Ratchet, is going to be a Walgreens exclusive.

[vlenhoff]

I wish they could have painted the locomotive black. It woudl blend in a little better.