Signs of life
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/j...psctzybr5r.jpg
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/j...psyeqmzyaj.jpg
Printable View
For me, I'm sold already. Less classics than Invisible, but the very top of the thighs being so visible (ie. Can see the whole ball joint thing) not a fan, if the front skirt things a bit longer maybe, but I'm not too picky, just feels MP'y enough for me.
Also prototype picks of their reformatted Comptus up on tfw, looks damn tasty. The chest and mid section look nice, and the end of the tracks lining up with the knee looks sweet. Maybe i should pick up cynicus now...
MMC Reformatted Comptus prototype on tfw
Will keep an eye out on this, but those big hip ball joints does look very revoltech, so i hope they do a good job in hiding it if this isnt the final mold.. Mirage being one of my favourite G1 toys, I wouldnt mind having this to add to the Mirage collection.
I am not sure what it is but the UT version does seem a bit out of place on my MP shelf, I wonder how this would stack up.
It looks the biz, I think it may end up a bit more MP like than DX-9's version.
However with so much 3rd party MP love I'm more interested in MMC's Reformatted line of late as something different, such as Commotus not-Turmoil.
http://tformers.com/mastermind-creat...6520/news.html
Yeah, that one is looking real nice. I'm thinking about getting the Impactor version.
Had a browse through the MMC site and found a few upcoming images of bots i didn't know about. I didn't realise there were so many reformatted bots that already had renderings
http://www.mastermind-creations.com/collection.html
Can't wait for the rest of the Reformatted line listed on that page.
P4L Reviews - Mastermind Creations PS-01 Sphinx (Pre-production sample).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwCIdWJSTXs
I have the dx9 invisible but this is really tickling my fancy
I prefer the DX9 darker blue, but I may well get this.
Yeah I'm the same, prefer the darker blue, and chrome (though not too keen on chromed spoiler), but Sphinx has got me on the sculpt.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tober
Not feeling it. Blue is too light and not a fan of the head.
I love that blue colour, I know it's not G1 toon accurate but the shade just goes so well with the white.:)
Maybe it's just my this far always good experience with MMC, but this design just speaks to me, I think I may get it, even though Mirage is one character that even my pessimistic self thinks Taktom will release in MP from one day.
I think the blue could go a touuuuch darker, but i won't have a problem if it stays the same, cause it does look great! Both toys look fantastic. I held off Invisble to see more of this, but now... Well I don't think anyone would be disappointed with either! Invisible would still fit well with MPs despite it's similarity to classics Mirage, and it's hard to imagine how Takara Tomy could do a better toon styled toy than Sphinx.
The only problem i have with anything related to these two is the USD-AUD :( !
Anyone else notice the name on the tyres? :p
Uh-huh! http://www.easydrawingtutorials.com/...oofy-thumb.jpg:)Quote:
Originally Posted by Raider
Updated with darker blue and chrome. :)
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/j...pshpnaimtq.jpg
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/j...psqmysv7uv.jpg
Now do Sunstreaker and Jazz. :D :D
Not a big fan of the face, seems a little camp.
I'm more interested in the Seraphicus Prominon in the background!
Yeah that head is awful.
Ive seen worse, but yeah, reminds me of the Tetrajets by Impossible to sell ToysQuote:
Originally Posted by Trent
Is it just the smiling face or both heads youse don't like?
I miss the old blue.
I dont think there's anything wrong with the face/head. But somethin else seems to be off with it from those pics.
I actually think the smiling face looks better. If you look at Mirage in the cartoon, he fairly prominent angle lines running down his face from his eyes. Without them, the face looks to round. Also the helmet is a little round. It needs to flare out _just a little bit_ more at the bottom.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tober
Oh and the fact they have "ell" instead of "elf" bugs me no end.
Of course I'm nitpicking. But given I expect this to be on Takara's radar in the next 2 years and I think TT will do a better job, this would need to be pretty close to perfect for me to buy it. Or include a toy accurate head. Then I'd probably be in.
I prefer the old blue too... though the photo isn't great so it might not be a good representation anyway. My ideal blue is probably right in between them though.
The head could definitely use some work, i think it's mostly the eyes which need more definition/sharper lines... atm they end up looking a bit sad - see this photoshop someone did on TFW (the render is MMC's):
http://i.imgur.com/tyloXuv.jpg
The "ELL" instead of "ELF" bugs me as well.
Digressing here. I really liked the Tetrajet idea, and it's still a representation that no other third party company has tackled (or deemed profitable enough a niche to tackle). Impossible Toys should have gone with a modernised design (either Classics scale or MP scale) for their robot modes instead of the G1 look. End digression.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sinnertwin
Definitely looks a bit off in my opinion. I can't quite pick it.... is his head too big?.... has he pulled his pants up too high?..... is he about to cry?
I'm pretty happy with my DX9 Invisible and this does nothing to change my mind. I think Invisible's proportions are better.
MMC Spartan!
A superb toy all round and an excellent interpretation of the IDW take on the character. It could also be said that it is also a faithful modernization of the original Marvel UK character model.
The only real difficulty with this toy is the crapola MMC instructions which make the transforming process much more complex than it is as they can be misguiding. Once you understand what is required, he is very easy to transform with the trickiest bit being the upper thigh swivels.
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Very nice pics Kup. Love the group shot of wreckers. I really need to get the team together myself.:D
I'll post my review below as well....
And saw yours on TFW Kup. Thanks for the compliment:D
I have to admit I'm not generally a big fan of third party toys. I feel like they always tend to over-engineer the figures to justify the premium they charge. I'd only bought about 4 or 5 third party figures before I got Spartan, and all of the were small toys like Toyworld Bee and the Igear mini-bots. But soon as I discovered Mastermind Creations were going to do an Impactor based on the LSotW design, AND with a Metal Slug inspired tank mode, I knew I had to get him. And he is just fantastic!
TANK MODE:
I've always loved double homages, like Animated Huffer and Pipes. I think it's really ingenious of MMC to incorporate the Metal Slug aesthetics into the tank mode design. I grew up a huge Metal Slug fan and still remember the days playing the first two games on the arcade machines. The unique aesthetics were part of the draw for me, and MMC did a great job capturing the essence of it. From the extra-heavy-duty-looking treads, and the curved tread guards to the hydraulic cylinders connecting the body and turret. And because the designer also managed to snuck in some curved surfaces on the turret (the upper body in robot mode), it doesn't feel like you have curvatures colliding with the hard-edges which are necessary for robot mode. But I can understand that some might not like the idea of a tough, bruiser type character turning into a chibified tank.
http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/a...psedqwuwqb.jpg
The plows add just the right amount of hard edges to the tank mode.
http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps9fuzhaok.jpg
There's two 5mm peg holes on top of the turret (one is for the shoulder canon in robot mode). There's also one set of dual barreled cannons on either side. Because they extend from the tip of the robot mode feet, you can use the hinges on the toes to pose them a little bit. These were not present in the earlier prototype and CAD drawings, but I like that bit of extra armament on my Cybertronian tank.
http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/a...psalvpaycu.jpg
The hydraulic cylinders limit the turret rotation to about 15 degrees each side, but they do look good. I generally like to leave them unattached, which frees up the turret to a full 360 degree rotation. The main turret canon is hinged at the base which gives about 30 degrees of tilt upwards in tank mode.
http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/a...psfoap27gp.jpg
A very nice and compact side view
https://image.jimcdn.com/app/cms/ima...3435/image.gif
http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/a...psadfqh2gd.jpg
Because of how the legs transform into the sides of the tank, there is a bit of gap at the back, but it doesn't bother me at all.
http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/a...psfgw63zgu.jpg
He looks good with Springer in vehicle mode.
TRANSFORMATION:
Transformation to robot mode is involved, but not frustrating. There's a couple of tricky bits you need to be extra careful of, especially how the thighs transform. The upper thigh piece is a separate piece that rotates independently of the thigh in relation to the hip joint. You need to rotate that to a specific position in order for the thigh to be able to swivel all the way forward and for the leg to collapse. The instruction booklet is not very clear but I find this video instructionvideo instruction manual to be quite helpful.
After a couples of times transforming back and forth you shouldn't have any problem and I'm now quite enjoying it.
ROBOT MODE:
http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/a...pso3b6gscs.jpg
The robot is fantastic. It's like he jumped right out of a page of LSotW. The plastic is very sturdy and nice to handle. The muted colors look great in person and imo far better than what the earlier renders looked like with the bright gold and over-saturated purple.
http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/a...psd9l3xxnk.jpg
In robot mode there's more paint apps exposed, mainly in the chest and abdomen. These are cleanly applied without issues. Oh and the little yellow plug on his right arm is for plugging the arms together in tank mode. They stay just find without it so if you don't like parts forming you can just throw it away. I generally leaves it there in robot mode.
http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/a...psd5afwav9.jpg
The head sculpt is spot on. I do wish there was an extra face with neutral expression though.
http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/a...psyw2bbvru.jpg
Spartan has pretty every articulation on a modern transformer toy, with his knees being only able to bend about 90 degrees my only small gripe. The lower elbow joint on mine is initially quite stiff and when I tried to bend it the plow pieces would pop off, as they're only friction held in place and not glued on. After some play time this joint has loosened up and the plows now stay in place during posing and transformation.
http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps5jzmzuxd.jpg
http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/a...pschiooinb.jpg
He is a good Voyager size and fits the CHUG aesthetics perfectly. Also there's a screw hole on the elbow that takes 5mm pegs, so you can put some extra weaponry on Spartan's forearms and make him look even more bada$$.
He also comes with a right hand and the drill from when he was best pal with Megs. (which I forgot to take photos of...) His hand is also compatible with Prime FE Bulkhead's wrecking ball so you have a few options as to how you wanna armor him up.
Just a few shots to show off how accurate he is to the LSotW design:
http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/a...pshwcmodux.jpg
The shoulder cannon could use a few extra paint apps but all in all a great job by the designer to transfer the 2D design into a 3D figure.
http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/a...pssqnmqjux.jpg
http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/a...psg4cgnrkq.jpg
I don't have the set up or the chops to do this shot justice, but the back-lit grim feel is there.:D
VERDICT:
I've handled MMC products before but this is my first actual purchase. I like how their plastic feels and the engineering of this figure a lot. I'm also planning to pick up their Not-Turmoil as well. And now I'm really looking forward to their other IDW inspired releases.
High recommended.
Great write up guys.
I like this guy a lot. The only thing stopping me from getting him is the fact I am trying to get out of chug collecting. But the thing that really is tempting me know is that the alt mode almost has an Animated aesthetic to it.
Hmm.
Thanks.Quote:
Originally Posted by Trent
Yeah Metal Slug aesthetic is uite similar to TFA. What's also amazing to me is that the comic design of Impactor has mostly hard edges and MMC managed to sneak the curves that made the alt mode work, without compromising the robot mode too much.
Metal slug?
http://ohmyprimus.com/media/catalog/..._turmoil_4.jpg
So cute.