Toy Review - MP 11-ND Dirge

DIRGE
Series - Masterpiece
Sub-line - none
Size/class - n/a
New/remould/redeco - remould/redeco
Wave - n/a (MP-11NR)
Released here - released in Japan in May 2017
Approximate Retail Price - Bloody Expensive!
Approximate Size - 24cm
Allegiance - Decepticon
Alt-mode - Delta-winged F-15
Main Colours - Blue, Grey, Brown
Main Accessories - Hologram Dr Archeville, 2 missiles.

http://i1028.photobucket.com/albums/...psqvqb0fie.jpg



Robot Mode

http://i1028.photobucket.com/albums/...psht6ygv7b.jpg

Despite being pretty much the same figure, for some reason Dirge strikes me as less stocky than see MP Thrust. The colours are quite good though I would have preferred to see a pure black like the toy rather than dark grey like the cartoon. He has the guns that most of the Seekers shared in the cartoon but these can be covered by bigger guns to resemble the machine guns that the toy had. These have been retooled from MP Ramjets rockets so are slightly different but overall look too big and bulky and resemble missiles rather than machine guns. Dirge is as poseable as any of the other MP seekers but there have been no real improvements. At least the missile racks built into his chest make sense as opposed to the likes of some other Seekers since he actually did deploy missiles from there in at least one episode.

Vehicle Mode

http://i1028.photobucket.com/albums/...pswzwcb1e2.jpg

A faithful representation of the character from both the G1 cartoon and the toy. Dirge has the Decepticon emblem on his nosecone that the toy had but the ones on his wings are smaller than both the original toy and its cartoon depiction. The guns can be repositioned under the wings but again they really needed to be smaller. You can put (yet another) holographic Dr Archeville in the cockpit but I really would have preferred to see Shawn Berger, since he did go for a ride in Dirge at one point.

Overall
This is the most expensive MP Seeker figure to date that wasn’t a variant of one that has already been done. That combined with the fact that Dirge was not hugely popular means that this will be a miss for a lot of folk. But if you are a MP or Seeker completionist or otherwise, like me, are one of the few Dirge fans out there then this is a nice way to end the Masterpiece Seeker line and will complete your collection nicely.

FOR MORE INFO AND LOTS MORE PICS, PLEASE SEE MY BLOG REVIEW OF MASTERPIECE DIRGE HERE

Any issue with loose hips?

As a warning to other collectors, DO NOT try to flap the little ends of his wings, even though they look flappable and will...it can cause damage, massive stress fractures on both of mine's sides, coulda cracked but I got lucky, a bit of a rub and they're sorta ok...its because the panel lines on the topside of the wings leave the plastic thin, it doesn't change the look of him in either mode anyway, I just thought...they looked moveable, d'oh!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Megatran

Any issue with loose hips?

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About the same as any other seeker but not to thrust's extent, he's the better of the trio

I pre-ordered mine from a certain dealer of dubious reputation so... not sure if I'll ever receive it. :(

It's a nice figure, probably my favourite of the MP Conehead's. After transforming Starscream recently I have no interest transforming this or any other of the seekers, it's just so finicky. But the Coneheads in bot mode look great altogether.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DaptoDog

It's a nice figure, probably my favourite of the MP Conehead's. After transforming Starscream recently I have no interest transforming this or any other of the seekers, it's just so finicky. But the Coneheads in bot mode look great altogether.

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They all look the same to me in their boxes :D
But Dirge is definitely one of my favourites thus far.

Sigh duplicate here I come.

If pc ever delivers, fine I am technically in the express line . Seeing I have not gotten a single item since 6 months, who am I kidding.

I think dirge looks a lot better than thrust.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DaptoDog

It's a nice figure, probably my favourite of the MP Conehead's. After transforming Starscream recently I have no interest transforming this or any other of the seekers, it's just so finicky. But the Coneheads in bot mode look great altogether.

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I'm actually pretty well rehersed in the seeker mould. Only takes me a few minutes to go from bot/jet and back again.

I have heard people not liking this bot.

After 2 months by boat from Japan, I finally got the figure while some retailer must be trying to make a mold for it as it has been a fruitless wait.

For me, Dirge was a better made seeker than Thrust. Somehow it feels better, looks better in colour than Thrust.

Thrust fell flat for me in both modes. I felt Dirge was a lot better and out of all the coneheads this one had zero issues for me. If Ramjet was a perfect piece, I think Ramjet is my choice of the best conehead, however is not hence I think Dirge gets points for it.

Again, I honestly thing they should have reduced the size of the boxes as is just making cost higher for postage.

overall feel of the toy, I give a 7/10.

The null rays attachment doesn't attach as solid and comes off just as Ramjet is but better than Thrust which looks off.

NONE of the MP Coneheads are worth their RRP (15984JPY≈AU$190), let alone the inflated prices that many other sellers are charging. :( I can only recommend this toy for people who want to complete all the MP Coneheads, in which case... you don't need a review or recommendation because your mind's already made up. :o

But if you're unsure about it, don't bother. There's nothing inherent in the MP Coneheads that you don't get from the base MP3 mould or its MP11 retool, so if you any of the First Year Jets in either mould then you're really not missing out on much. I got MP Dirge and I'm glad that I did, but that's because I wanted to complete the Coneheads. Those of us who have this toy have all paid a ≥$90 completion tax. :( So in answer to the poll question of is it worth getting, I answered "Only if" -- only if you really want this toy. But it's just not worth even the base asking price which most retailers don't charge - the only ones would be TakaraTOMYMall which sold out quickly and you need a Japanese mailing address, and the other being Voldemort Collectibles, so except for a small handful of lucky recipients 500,000 generations of mayflies will pass before you might expect to see your toy arrive. :o

I quite like Dirge, much more so than the rest of the Seekers.

There's nothing wrong with the toy per se - I quite like it too. It's just not $200+ awesome. :o

I should probably stop saying this stuff until after Voldemort Collectables delivers mine and I've had a chance to sell it off :p Then again... this thread will probably be quite old and buried away by the time that happens... if it ever happens

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime

There's nothing wrong with the toy per se - I quite like it too. It's just not $200+ awesome. :o

I should probably stop saying this stuff until after Voldemort Collectables delivers mine and I've had a chance to sell it off :p Then again... this thread will probably be quite old and buried away by the time that happens... if it ever happens

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Well for me honestly most MPs are not worth its value. We probably will derail the thread. After buying several 3p bots the quality is by far a lot better.

I like dirge based on colour and overall how things hang together.
The face sculpt is definitely one of the plus for me.

For me though, I don't find the Ko or 3p nailed any of the seekers. And is a shame.

One thing I did noticed was the grey plastic on the reissue Starscream looks a lot better than previous versions. Less swirl marks.

I haven't transformed mine yet... :o
I think the profile and shape of the wings on Dirge and Ramjet in bot mode look nicer than Thrust, someone talked about Thrust seeming stocky.

As the last conehead, I think I am almost relieved to have it and this part over?? It is so strange. It is like one company has been making MP Ratchet, Ironhide, Inferno which are full of character, articulation, value and accessories. Then another company has made these 3 coneheads which are almost the opposite. Very expensive, almost half-finished in a way with the jet nosecone and back kibble, barely any accessories and no improvements I think to the old existing jet mould.

At some point down the track if Takara does all the jets again with a new better mould I would almost certainly get them haha.

In saying that however, I am happy that I have 3 official masterpiece versions of these very menacing and angry looking bots :)

Just got mine; thanks BBTS sale price (and I bit the bullet before the GST thing).

It should be obvious, but I _am_ a fan of the character... I didn't order Thrust or Ramjet.

I DO have the first version of the Seeker mould (I got Screamer, Thundercracker and Skywarp).

I love the heeltab addition to the mould... more than all the other changes. I'm not totally sold on the shape of the face - I do like the fact they've made the cone shape match the cartoon (the actual cone on the G1 toys was too high to look decent, IMO).

I've left the Ramjet bombs in the box. The basic guns aren't quite accurate but I feel they're closer to Dirge than the Hugh Jass Ramjet bombs.

Overall, I am very happy with this figure.

Like Dirge (as in member Dirge), I got mine via a last minute BBTS purchase. I’m happy enough with him. Not much to add on the review side that hasn’t been said of any of the other MP-11 variants.

I was a bit torn as to which way I would vote, because 3 apply for me - completed my seekers, but would have prefered it significantly cheaper considering it is surely the swansong of this mould.