Toy Review - JP MP-24 Masterpiece Star Saber

[Raptormesh]

I got into TF's at ground level. Wave 1, G1. I was there. I remember reaching the top of the escalator, arriving at Chadstone Myer toy department circa late '84 and being confronted by this display of new Robots that looked amazingly shit hot.

I collected pretty heavily thru the 80's and consider myself pretty much across the essential G1 lore. Now, having said all that, who the eff is this Starsaber flog? I've never heard of the a-hole. And why is he getting an MP slot when the likes of Jazz or Hound are still not made?

I hate SS's alt mode. Ugly as f*ck. His bot mode looks like something out of Astroboy rather than Transformers. His colour palette is rank and frankly I just don't understand the gush this idiot gets.

Isn't the point of the MP line to bring us CORE G1 characters in their ideal incarnation? I just hope this mis-step by Takara is the last and that future MP's are TF's I actually recognise.

So you're saying you're ambivalent about Star Saber? Personally I hoped Takara would give us My Little Pony dress up dolls.

[Handsprime]

Just a reminder that the Masterpiece toyline is a Japanese toyline and that the toys are based off characters off the TV series and since the Japanese TV is an extended version of the G1 cartoon, expect to see characters that never got a (normal) release in Australia.

[griffin]

As others have noted, the black-box Masterpiece toys are made for Japanese fans... and subsequently, most are desired by Western (Hasbro) fans but not all, as Soundblaster, Tigertrack, and Exhaust were less popular with Western fans because they were not originally released in Western markets as Gen1 toys... so are less familiar and less desired.

But one thing that many have missed is that Star Saber WON A FAN VOTE to be the 30th Anniversary Masterpiece toy (for the Japanese Masterpiece toyline)... so complain to the fans who wanted this, not TakaraTomy for making what fans demanded.

Both of those reasons is why it is not likely to be released by Hasbro, and I'm actually surprised to see it coming here as one of the direct imports by TRU Australia.

(topic moved into review topic)