Your fan thoughts on Takara MP-17 & 18 being Prowl & Smokesc

[Sparky Prime]

Grimlock was actually more like $70, at least that's what I paid for him.

Well he was actually priced at $59.99 when he was initially released, but TRU decided to raise that price shortly after that because of supply and demand. I remember having to pay around $70 for it myself.

[Tigermegatron]

How much was Grimlock here in the US? I'd imagine these guys would have to be about half that at the most.

As I recall, MP Grimlock was somewhere around $60. And I'd have to agree, if Hasbro releases these figures I can see them being around $30.

Grimlock was actually more like $70, at least that's what I paid for him.

Anyway, one thing Grimlock didn't have that these guys do that might drive up the price is licensing. Takara had to pay Lamborghini for the license to use the vehicle mode for Sideswipe, which, as I understand, is a large part of why that toy was so expensive. Same thing with these guys and Datsun, we'll have to see how that'll affect any possible Hasbro releases.

I'm not really feeling the mold now that we're getting a good look at it. The proportions are just too cartoony.

When I bought TRU MP Grimlock,I paid under $60. I remember the shelf price was around $59.99. then I had a whole bunch of in-store circular coupons & on-line coupons which made me pay under $50 for MP Grimlock with tax included.

TRU stores in america & the TRU web site often have a much lower price for TF store/on-line exclusives during the first initail release. when TRU restocks the item multiple times the price always goes up on TF store/on-line exclusives.

[JediTricks]

and the scale is SO small that the figure really doesn't look in any way "masterpiece", so if these 3 are like that then I don't think I'll give a care about them either.

I'm curious about this: Would you actually prefer that Sideswipe (and Prowl) be as tall as Optimus Prime, and thus out of scale?

I know this is just over a month hold, but you're saying there's no medium between being as tall as MP-10 and being HALF his size?
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7261/8159 ... c28c_z.jpg
He's not even Alternators-height: http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transform ... ost7765851 That's not a "masterpiece", that's a "midgetpiece", and I'm sure as shit not paying MP prices for something that small that's also got kibble in vehicle mode and mismatched color and soft sculpting in bot mode and seam lines and hollow legs. If it was $20-$30? Maybe, but MP ain't coming in that cheap, assuming it ever gets here at all.

It's not a bad toy, in my opinion. Biggest issue I have is that the head sticks up a bit much for my taste, but otherwise it's got a lot going for it. The shoulder and foot articulation is very nice, and the flip-up shoulder launchers are cool.

I hate how that mold carves out a lot of the car hood, leaving gaps and jigsawed lines, and then the shoulders are just like the head - sticking out too far. Plus, the sculpting is pretty soft and there's not a lot of good detail, and the face is a tad kludgy.

I think Dom was referring to Universe Brawn, which was released around 2009. I don't own that one, but it seems like it would be fine, as far as Brawns go.

Perhaps, IF you could find one to decide that for yourself. Also, it's looks pretty scrawny, not Brawny. And the colors are wrong.

I guess it all comes down to personal taste. I love the silver body/black hood with the red on Bluestreak, all blue is just kinda 'meh' by comparison, and like I said, not too different from what Smokescreen does.

G1 Bluestreak the toy doesn't have a black hood, he's all silver, only his bumper is black; and there's no red at all on Silverstreak in vehicle mode except for the Autobot logo sticker and the interior.

G1 Smokescreen is a red car with blue and white stripes, not a solid blue car. Meanwhile, the Bluestreak blue with silver hood prototype shown is a stock Datsun colorscheme.

Don't know where you think Universe Smokescreen is visually similar to Prowl, he's completely different, his bold silver and dark red setting him clearly apart from Prowl's clean black-and-white look.

I said Prowl and Bluestreak were similar, not Smokescreen. But there's a lot of white on Smokescreen, and they both sport cheap-looking fonts for the characters on the door, so there's that too. As for Prowl & Bluestreak, it's partly about how shitty their US decos look, a lot of black and light plastic base color, they both look like cheap knockoffs.

First images are online of Prowl and Bluestreak.

Hmm, I'm mixed about this, I like the love for the '80s Datsun Fairlady Z, but the thick plastic on the windshield wipers and side mirrors are lame, and the boots are massive.

What? That's not why those lines ended. They ended because Transformers wasn't selling well. And isn't Alternity still going? I don't pay attention to it because that line sucks.

Yeah, they are still making Alternity, and yeah, that line does suck, I bought Megatron and it's not anywhere near as good as it should be for the price, the scale eats it alive.

deluxe sized MP TF

I just have to point out that they are somewhat larger than a deluxe sized figure and a little shorter than the Binaltech figures from the images I've seen of Lambor side-by-side for comparison. So I'd say they're closer to the Beast Wars mega scaled figures.

They're considerably smaller than Alternators/BT, they're only a head shorter but they're smaller bulk too. Compared to MP-10 in the photos near the top of this post, I think it's night and day MP to Alternators.

Takara needs Hasbro's global suppport whenever they create newer molds TF toys. Because Hasbro gets the most volume/profits use out of the molds,as Hasbro has more distributors world wide. Without hasbro's support,Takara's exclusive TF toys are a failure in profits sales. Takara needs hasbro's global distributors to make the creation of newer TF molds worth while & worth profitable.

That's not true, look at TFP Breakdown, or MP Megatron, or at this point MP Sideswipe, or any of the TFP minicon-like figures. That is an over-generalization.

I suspect Hasbro doesn't want the deluxe sized MP TF toys. Because it's a hard salesman sale to try to convince any USA stores to sell deluxe sized toys at the $30 to $45 price range. Even TRU won't be interested. Due to Hasbro having to pay liscense fees to Lamborgini & Datsun,Hasbro would have to recoop those fees by charging USA stores/buyers more for these deluxe sized MP TF toys. AT THIS POINT HASBRO PROBABLY DOESN'T THINK ANY STORES/BUYERS WILL PAY $30 TO $45 FOR A GLORIFIED DELUXE SIZE MP TF TOY,SO THEY WON'T BOTHER SELLING MP TF DELUXE SIZED TOYS WORLDWIDE TO THEIR GLOBAL DISTRIBUTORS.

If these were $30 range, I'm quite sure Hasbro could find an exclusive buyer for them in a hot second, Target and TRU are both really hot for Transformers exclusives right now.

They really are not quite as small as a deluxe figure. Here, I found a size comparison showing MP Lambor with other versions of the character. You can see it's actually a bit larger than the deluxe Classics Sideswipe, yet a little smaller than Alternators Sideswipe, placing it closer to a Mega sized figure. And as for the media scale, this actually is about how big the Autobot cars should be compared to the most recent MP version of Optimus.

That first link is really telling, I hadn't seen that, thanks. I can't imagine paying $85 plus shipping and opening THAT box. I can't even imagine paying HALF that at a store to be such a small size.

The whole scale thing has always been off anyway. I mean the G1 cartoon would actually have us believe that a Lamborghini and an F-15 are the same size. The combiners are almost always out of scale, often showing the individual bots being much smaller than even the limbs they create.

Subspace & mass-shifting, bitch! Yeah, the cartoon asked a lot of scale.

I just have problems paying that much money for such a small toy. It has nothing to do with the size of the character--I understand that--but everything to do with how big it is vs. cost.

This. I don't wish the toys were bigger, I wish the price was lower. I would totally pay $40-50 bucks for a 'Masterpiece' at the size Sideswipe is (if it was a character I cared more about, that is). I'm the guy who's paid $30-40 for five-inch Figuarts bugmen, or dropped nearly $60 apiece on a couple of Super Robot Chogokin figures, so I can grasp the cost/quality ratio. It's just...I don't really want *Sideswipe* enough to justify dropping that sort of dosh on him (plus MPs in general just aren't really my thing, save for a few).

For me it's this and it's also quality, if I'm paying that $40 mark for something so small it sure as shit better be higher quality with sharper lines and no kibble, no hollow legs and weird issues. Bad enough it doesn't have opening doors.

How much was Grimlock here in the US? I'd imagine these guys would have to be about half that at the most.

As I recall, MP Grimlock was somewhere around $60. And I'd have to agree, if Hasbro releases these figures I can see them being around $30.

Grimlock was $70 at Comic-Con with an MSRP intended for $60, but TRU released only a very small amount in stores at that price before kicking it up to $70.

Anyway, one thing Grimlock didn't have that these guys do that might drive up the price is licensing. Takara had to pay Lamborghini for the license to use the vehicle mode for Sideswipe, which, as I understand, is a large part of why that toy was so expensive. Same thing with these guys and Datsun, we'll have to see how that'll affect any possible Hasbro releases.

I'm not really feeling the mold now that we're getting a good look at it. The proportions are just too cartoony.

I doubt the licensing will eat into this that much, I'll try to ask them at Comic Con. Surely being a giant vac-metallized dinosaur with an electronic light gimmick and not one but two separate eye-color swapping gimmicks had to have hit that mold as hard as a licensing fee for a smaller toy like this.

I agree, the long legs and big boots of the cartoon proportions are a bit offputting. I'm interested in Bluestreak, can't give a shit about Prowl just because I can't take his altmode seriously.

[Sparky Prime]

I know this is just over a month hold, but you're saying there's no medium between being as tall as MP-10 and being HALF his size?
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7261/8159 ... c28c_z.jpg

To be fair, Sideswipe's knees are bent quite a bit in that image while Prime is standing up straight, making him seem a bit shorter by comparison than he really is.

More comparison photos of MP figures...
http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transform ... ost8613865

They're considerably smaller than Alternators/BT, they're only a head shorter but they're smaller bulk too. Compared to MP-10 in the photos near the top of this post, I think it's night and day MP to Alternators.

I wouldn't consider it that considerable personally, but to each their own. I was just pointing out these MP Autobot cars are a size somewhere between being bigger than a Deluxe yet smaller than an Alternator.

[Tigermegatron]

The Average TF size scale of deluxes range from 5 inches to 6 inches from the robot mode head to toe. both Classics 2.0 Sideswipe & MP TF Sideswipe are under 6 inches tall from head to toe in robot modes.

Most of the Alternators were Voyager sized in robot modes because they were over 6.5 to 7.5 inches tall from head to toe in robot mode.

When Jedi,Says MP TF Sideswipe is a Head shorter than Alternators Sideswipe,This is about a one inch smaller difference. Because most Alternators toys came with huge over sized robot heads that were about one Inch+ tall. Usually that one+inch difference means the toy goes into a higher or lower TF size class.

The height,bulk & weight is not their to consider MP TF Sideswipe a Voyager toy. Due to MP TF Sideswipe being under 6 inches tall in robot mode from head to toe,not being bulky,light & hollow,he falls into the Deluxe TF size class.

[Sparky Prime]

The Average TF size scale of deluxes range from 5 inches to 6 inches from the robot mode head to toe. both Classics 2.0 Sideswipe & MP TF Sideswipe are under 6 inches tall from head to toe in robot modes.

Where are you getting this measurement that Masterpiece Sideswipe is under 6inches in robot mode from? Because as I have already provided, that's not accurate. Comparison photos all goes to show and reviews of the figure that have measured it have said it actually comes in around 7inches.

[JediTricks]

I know this is just over a month hold, but you're saying there's no medium between being as tall as MP-10 and being HALF his size?
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7261/8159 ... c28c_z.jpg

To be fair, Sideswipe's knees are bent quite a bit in that image while Prime is standing up straight, making him seem a bit shorter by comparison than he really is.

Prime's not standing straight up, his hips are spread quite a bit in that pic. Obviously Sideswipe's knees being bent makes a bigger difference, but it still shows how little bulk there actually is.

More comparison photos of MP figures...
http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transform ... ost8613865

Good link. Man, he's only about as big as G1 Soundwave! That's sad.

They're considerably smaller than Alternators/BT, they're only a head shorter but they're smaller bulk too. Compared to MP-10 in the photos near the top of this post, I think it's night and day MP to Alternators.

I wouldn't consider it that considerable personally, but to each their own. I was just pointing out these MP Autobot cars are a size somewhere between being bigger than a Deluxe yet smaller than an Alternator.

It's considerable in my book since it's 3x as much money and doesn't even have opening doors.

On the size thing, I agreed that they were bigger than deluxe, only I think TM was and is saying otherwise.

The Average TF size scale of deluxes range from 5 inches to 6 inches from the robot mode head to toe. both Classics 2.0 Sideswipe & MP TF Sideswipe are under 6 inches tall from head to toe in robot modes.

Most of the Alternators were Voyager sized in robot modes because they were over 6.5 to 7.5 inches tall from head to toe in robot mode.

When Jedi,Says MP TF Sideswipe is a Head shorter than Alternators Sideswipe,This is about a one inch smaller difference. Because most Alternators toys came with huge over sized robot heads that were about one Inch+ tall. Usually that one+inch difference means the toy goes into a higher or lower TF size class.

The height,bulk & weight is not their to consider MP TF Sideswipe a Voyager toy. Due to MP TF Sideswipe being under 6 inches tall in robot mode from head to toe,not being bulky,light & hollow,he falls into the Deluxe TF size class.

What deluxe or voyager figure has a head an inch tall? That'd be 20% of the figure's height. Half an inch is more like it. Anyway, the pics are clear, Sideswipe isn't deluxe sized, he's as big as G1 Soundwave (that's a good metric because Soundwave is also fairly thin) and deluxes aren't that big.

I just got out my G1 Soundwave and he's 6 and 3/4 inches tall. Sideswipe looks about a quarter inch shorter than that.

[Sparky Prime]

Prime's not standing straight up, his hips are spread quite a bit in that pic. Obviously Sideswipe's knees being bent makes a bigger difference, but it still shows how little bulk there actually is.

I meant he's standing up straight in the sense his knees aren't bent or anything like Sideswipe's are in that image. And Prime's hips aren't spread that much.

Good link. Man, he's only about as big as G1 Soundwave! That's sad.

Thanks. I thought it was interesting to see MP Optimus and Sideswipe next to G1 Optimus and Sideswipe.

[JediTricks]

Good link. Man, he's only about as big as G1 Soundwave! That's sad.

Thanks. I thought it was interesting to see MP Optimus and Sideswipe next to G1 Optimus and Sideswipe.

Yeah, seeing G1 guys together was closer to the scale I was expecting, with Sideswipe coming up to the top of the grill on Optimus' chest, but in terms of modern scale it's not a particularly useful benchmark I suppose since there's been a lot more refinement of that sort of thing, so I removed my original comment about it.

[Tigermegatron]

I know this is just over a month hold, but you're saying there's no medium between being as tall as MP-10 and being HALF his size?
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7261/8159 ... c28c_z.jpg

To be fair, Sideswipe's knees are bent quite a bit in that image while Prime is standing up straight, making him seem a bit shorter by comparison than he really is.

Prime's not standing straight up, his hips are spread quite a bit in that pic. Obviously Sideswipe's knees being bent makes a bigger difference, but it still shows how little bulk there actually is.

More comparison photos of MP figures...
http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transform ... ost8613865

Good link. Man, he's only about as big as G1 Soundwave! That's sad.

They're considerably smaller than Alternators/BT, they're only a head shorter but they're smaller bulk too. Compared to MP-10 in the photos near the top of this post, I think it's night and day MP to Alternators.

I wouldn't consider it that considerable personally, but to each their own. I was just pointing out these MP Autobot cars are a size somewhere between being bigger than a Deluxe yet smaller than an Alternator.

It's considerable in my book since it's 3x as much money and doesn't even have opening doors.

On the size thing, I agreed that they were bigger than deluxe, only I think TM was and is saying otherwise.

The Average TF size scale of deluxes range from 5 inches to 6 inches from the robot mode head to toe. both Classics 2.0 Sideswipe & MP TF Sideswipe are under 6 inches tall from head to toe in robot modes.

Most of the Alternators were Voyager sized in robot modes because they were over 6.5 to 7.5 inches tall from head to toe in robot mode.

When Jedi,Says MP TF Sideswipe is a Head shorter than Alternators Sideswipe,This is about a one inch smaller difference. Because most Alternators toys came with huge over sized robot heads that were about one Inch+ tall. Usually that one+inch difference means the toy goes into a higher or lower TF size class.

The height,bulk & weight is not their to consider MP TF Sideswipe a Voyager toy. Due to MP TF Sideswipe being under 6 inches tall in robot mode from head to toe,not being bulky,light & hollow,he falls into the Deluxe TF size class.

What deluxe or voyager figure has a head an inch tall? That'd be 20% of the figure's height. Half an inch is more like it. Anyway, the pics are clear, Sideswipe isn't deluxe sized, he's as big as G1 Soundwave (that's a good metric because Soundwave is also fairly thin) and deluxes aren't that big.

I just got out my G1 Soundwave and he's 6 and 3/4 inches tall. Sideswipe looks about a quarter inch shorter than that.

Today,I watched over 10 You-tube MP Lambor toy reviews videos that showed the toy transformed & the guys doing the videoes showed some Size comparisions in both robot & car mode. In addition to that,I clicked on that link that 06 provided in this thread showing side by side comparisions pics of MP Lambor next to the MP seekers,MP Grimlock,MP Prime,etc....

Looking at various lambor You-tube videos & still side by side comparisions pics. I WAS ABLE TO SUCCESSFULLY DETERMINE MP LAMBOR IN ROBOT MODE FROM HEAD TO TOE IS A BIT UNDER 6.5 INCHES TALL. I noticed in one still pic that had Lambor in front of a MP Seeker,Lambor's top head came up to the MP Seekers robot chest two square chest in-takes about half way. Since I have some MP seekers on display shelves,I took out my tape measure & measured a MP seeker up to his half way point on his square chest in-take,THIS MEASURED A BIT UNDER 6.5. I also saw a still comparision pic of lambor in front of MP Rodimus. Lambor almost came up to the bottom part of Rodimus's chest faction symbol. I measure my MP rodimus on display up to his bottom faction chest symbol,THIS MEASURED ABOUT 6.5.

So basically if MP Lambor measures 6.5 inches in robot mode,I consider the robot mode to be voyager sized. Since this is the average robot head from head to toe for most AEC,Movie-verse,Animated,TFP/BH Voyager sized TF toys-----> some of these have voyagers measuring in at around 6 & 1/4. It's very rare that voyagers measure in over 7 inches tall from head to toe in robot mode.

FWIW,Those you-tube videoes also showed MP Lambor's alt mode was 25% biger than classics 2.0 deluxe sideswipe's alt mode. 2.0 Sideswipe was one of the bigger deluxes in his size class. So if MP Lambor's alt mode is 25% bigger than 2.0 Sideswipe's alt mode----> I CONSIDER MP LAMBOR'S ALT MODE TO BE VOYAGER SIZED.

As far as MP Lambor not being a true Voyager due to the toy not having enough bulk. I think this is pure non-sense,Because Hasbro/Takara creates skinny/less bulky voyager sized TF toys all the time,like most of the new mold Voyagers that the DOTM toy line created like megatron,shockwave,et.. TFP even created a few skinny/less bulky voyagers toys like Starscream,TFP Rid optimus.

Various TF fans who are doing these MP Lambor toy reviews are reporting that Lambor has no dicast metal parts & the paint job is being applied sloppy & the red doesn't match the right color shades in certain areas on the toy. I FIND IT HARD TO BELIEVE THIS TOY HAS NO DIECAST METAL PARTS,DOES ANYONE HERE OWN THE TOY WANT TO CONFIRM OR DENY THIS? As far as the sloppy applied paint job on the toy,THIS IS WHY THOSE TAKARA MYSTERY BOXES ARE PURE AWFUL. At least the Hasbro Toys,buyers can look inside the clear plastic window on the toy boxes to select their perfect/less flawed color scheme.

NOW THAT I KNOW MP LAMBOR HAS A 6.5 INCH VOYAGER ROBOT MODE & ALMOST VOYAGER SIZE CAR MODE. I want to buy this toys as voyagers & bigger sized TF toys are my favorites & the ones I only buy. HOWEVER I AIN'T PAYING TAKARA'S $75+ for MP Lambor's toy. I'm interested in buy this toy if hasbro releases it in america for under $37---->If not then no big loss,as sideswipe isn't even on my top 30 new mold TF toys wish list. Sideswipe never really impressed me that much in the media cartoons,comics,movies. I tend to favor/want the bigger/higher ranking 2nd in command & leadership TF character toys. I honestly don't favor the puny/weak/lower ranking/skinny/small TF characters/toys