Diecast metal

[Cleon]

Having Diecast or not doesn't really bother me, but a few observations:

If done on the right toy that's well designed it can be excellent (I'm thinking MP-01, or 04 which is the one I have). The thing has a nice weight to it and it stands up without any issues (Mine has never toppled over, and everything is still tight to this day).

I think the diecast giving the quite substantial figure some weight is really nice (I'm a fan of watches as well, and a lot of people prefer stainless steel over other materials, like titanium, in part because of the weight it gives the watch. Not that I can afford an expensive watch myself..)

My Alternity Prime on the other hand I greatly dislike the diecast. He's way too top heavy, and if I recall correctly, the thing that's holding him up is a plastic heel (that may have been something I did upon recommendations from others, because he kept toppling over).

Having said that though, I wouldn't pay a premium for Diecast (I'm lucky I got my MP-04 prime for about as much as I'm going to pay for the re-issue of MP-10), which is probably why I got alternators instead of binaltech.

[Magnus]

I thought the idea behind the Masterpieces was that they represented the best engineering possible for a given figure. Since this means that they often have very intricate, involved transformations, I don't think this lends them to diecast construction, because of the stresses on the joints as a result of the extra weight. Of course, the quality of the plastic is also important; I would have bought MP-3 Starscream (I didn't mind the colour) were it not for the reports of fragile plastic.

[drifand]

The thing is.....they are saving cost on paint.

If its diecast you have to paint the metal. If its plastic you can decide to use the colour moulded plastic. Hope this makes sense, I didn't thought about it but realise they have been cutting corners with just that.

[Trent]

The thing is.....they are saving cost on paint.

If its diecast you have to paint the metal. If its plastic you can decide to use the colour moulded plastic. Hope this makes sense, I didn't thought about it but realise they have been cutting corners with just that.

Most of the MP cars are painted plastic. So is Takara MP-10. So no real cost saving there.

[drifand]

Most of the MP cars are painted plastic. So is Takara MP-10. So no real cost saving there.

I can find bits and pieces that are moulded colour not painted. This is where, it shows.

You sure about mp-10? I am quite sure the grey legs are plastic, and partial painted red? < I may be wrong but it does look like moulded colour rather than painted.

You are correct on the red, I believe.

Is the YOTH version arms painted or just darker red?

[CBratron]

Maybe some diecast for ballast in the feet or for small structural parts like in the middle of MP-10. Other than that, I don't really see a need for diecast parts in modern transformers.

I reckon modern plastics and structural design practices are sufficient for a solid transformer.

[drifand]

I agree, I wouldn't go "over" the top. I have toys in other lines where is full plastic and at high cost. It just doesn't feel justified for what you pay.

I dunno, purhaps people just don't mind paying high prices for all plastic toy.

Edit I just went to check on my mp10 it is moulded red rather than painted. Anyone wants to verify ?
The parts painted are actually the face, chrome parts, silver on body and the yellow arrows on hands. Most of the blue is plastic blue.

I looked at mp streak and yes almost everything is painted, only the red plastic, the silver fist and partial legs.

Well looks like I am just not happy with the paint work rather than diecast. I would admit that. But I did justify that the difference is for die cast, they are forced to paint as opposed to just using coloured plastic.

[Magnus]

I recently found out that part of MP22's torso/trailer deck is made of diecast metal. Since this is a pretty thin piece, and forms the 'foundation' of the robot mode's torso, I think it's a good example of using metal for strength.

[UltraMarginal]

I agree, I wouldn't go "over" the top. I have toys in other lines where is full plastic and at high cost. It just doesn't feel justified for what you pay..

The material cost is such a small amount of the overall cost of design and development of any product.

It does factor in, but when there are hundreds of hours going into design, development and prototyping of a product, the final material cost is a consideration but not a primary one.

[Magnus]

Digging up my own thread here, but I want to post that I like the way that diecast metal is being used in the restarted Movie Masterpiece line. Since quite a few movieverse designs feature what looks like bare, unpainted metal, the use of metal adds to the appearance of the robots - Barricade is the only one who doesn't have unpainted metal.

It's also good to see that thought went into the placement of the metal - it's not there just for the sake of having it. MPM-3 Bumblebee and Barricade have it in their torsos, in parts that fold over and collapse during transformation, and all of the robots have it in their feet, which helps to keep the mass lower down in the body to counteract any top-heaviness. MPM-3 Bumblebee, Optimus, and Ironhide also have unpainted metal on their shins, again making the bottom of the figure heavier as well as adding to the appearance of the legs.