Would you buy an MP Meister if the car mode was an approximated Porsche 935 Turbo?

Studio Series 86 Jazz's vehicle mode is a pretty close approximation of a Porsche 935 Turbo; probably about as close as HasTak can make it without getting themselves into legal trouble. Now imagine if TakaraTOMY were to create a Masterpiece Meister - basically the Studio Series 86 Jazz toy but with the budget and thus engineering/design level of an MP car. But the car mode would still just be an approximated Porsche 935 like SS86, not a licensed one like other MP Autobot Cars. Would you consider buying an MP Meister toy with a vehicle mode that was as close to being a Porsche as TakaraTOMY could possibly make it without the Porsche licence?

https://i.ibb.co/4NP8cVh/86studioseries-jazz03a.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/Vw0V3zq/86studioseries-jazz05.jpg

I'd buy it only if TT won't release a "officially licensed !!!!!" 2.0 version down the track.

Been hoping for a MP Jazz to go with my other MPs. No toy will ever be perfect, so I'd be happy with any minor imperfection(s) in order to have an important/favourite character.

I clicked no because my preference would be for a licensed car, especially with the correct Martini Racing livery for the 1976 Mugello 6 Hours race. TakaraTOMY have been on a run with licensed cars, and the vehicle modes have all looked great. It would be a shame to break that run with Jazz.

That being said, Optimus Prime was never licensed, and neither were the MP-3/MP-11 versions of Starscream (MP-52 is licensed from Boeing), so I would probably buy a non-licensed MP Jazz if that was what was available.

If this was 2-3 years ago I would have said yes.

However, the current Generations lines have stepped in pretty well to handle the modern representation of classic characters that go everyone interested in the initial Masterpiece releases (partly because the main MP design for MP10 through to MP22 appears to have largely taken the reins within Takara for the WFC trilogy)

Consequenlty the only the Masterpiece really has going for it is the licensed alternate modes.

Would I buy a Jazz? Hmm, gotta think about this one.

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Originally Posted by Ralph Wiggum

I'd buy it only if TT won't release a "officially licensed !!!!!" 2.0 version down the track.

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It's hard to know for certain if or when Porsche will ever relent and grant licence to HasTak. But for the foreseeable future it appears unlikely. We know that HasTak have been trying since at least 2003 as Binaltech Meister was originally conceived to be a Porsche, but Porsche refused to grant licence and so it ended being a Mazda RX-8.

On the other hand, Binaltech Bumblebee was also conceived to be the new Volkswagen Beetle, but VW refused to grant licence, and eventually Alternity Bumblebee ended up being a Suzuki Swift. But then years later VW relented and granted licence, allow VW Bumblebee to be a thing again. But anyway, for the purposes of this poll, let's work off the assumption that a licensed Porsche MP will never happen.

What Takara wanted to make vs what they actually made
https://i.ibb.co/Bwv8yM5/bt-meister-porsche.jpg

Without hesitation. Sure, I'd like a bang-on 935, but I'd rather a very good approximation than ... the nothing we have at the moment.

I wouldn't mind a "similar" looking mode - if they are going for anime accuracy then why not for the car modes too?

But similar to Seraphim Prime;s comment, I'm not that interested in Masterpiece at all anymore when WFC (and the refugees to Studio Series) are giving me the G1 cast in affordable good looking, to scale toys at much more affordable prices.

Pre-SS86 I'd have voted no, but seeing how close Hasbro is daring to go (and at first I thought SS86 actually was licensed) I'd happily take an approximation that's 95% bang on to a Porsche. If I have to apply Toyhax stickers to complete the look then so be it, but it's better than the nothing we have as Dirge said.

I dont know how I'd feel about it to be honest
Hasbro making a "close enough" version seems like the sort of thing third party companies are doing; It's the character, but not. We all know who and what its meant to be, but let's make it a bit different so we don't have to go & sit in the naughty corner.

On the other hand, Hasbro have been deliberately designing and Ive been purchasing figures for years that fit the above mentioned statement regarding designs that skirt legal issues. Who knows?...

Of course that's an overly simplified way to look at it as there would be a tonne of behind the scenes dealings we're not privy to like licensing costs etc
All things considered, probably not.

I think the difference is that Turd Party refuse to pay licensing and so just do whatever they want. HasTak would happily pay the licence if Porsche just allowed it. Same with VW, and as soon as VW relented then VW Bumblebee was back in town!

Although I've noticed that VW has only been used for Bumblebee since the licence was acquired - notice that Gens Select Bug Bite, despite the name and original Machine Men character, is not a VW Beetle. I wonder if this is because one of the conditions of the licensing is that the VW can only be used on heroic characters. We know that VW and Porsche don't want their vehicles to be affiliated with war, it's not even Transformers, just not war. Because before the licence was acquired for Bumblebee, we know that Takara got away with using the VW Beetle on the Disney Label Donald Duck Transformer, because Disney Label TFs isn't seen as being "affiliated with war" - it's not classified as being part of the "main" Transformers toy line.

If Porsche similarly agrees to come to the table as VW did, I would expect that heroic characters like Jazz, Cliffjumper, Hubcap, Tailspin, Backstreet etc. would be allowed to be made with the Porsche licence, however "evil" characters like Dead End, Skystalker, Metrobomb etc. may not. Which dashes my hopes for a Masterpiece Metrobomb. :p

We know a lot of things don't we.

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Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime

Which dashes my hopes for a Masterpiece Metrobomb. :p

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Top of your list, no doubt.