Toy Review - JP MP-25 Masterpiece Tracks

[BigTransformerTrev]

Finally got to open him last night. My thoughts:

Robot Mode
Certainly the best mode by far. A really great representation of how he looked in the cartoon. Great colours, well proportioned and articulated - only thing is his backpack looks quite hollow.

Car Mode
Very nice, though I like the G1 version more with its longer hood. Looked like a proper muscle car.

Flying Car Mode
To my mind the weakest of the modes. The little tailfins are a great addition and yeah it looks like it did on the cartoon (which I suppose is the point of this toyline), but I liked that the original toy had the black backpack thing with the big cannons on it. Made it look like it was a flying battle mode and that is certainly how he's been represented in the comics, even semi-recently when the Autobots attacks Kimia. So even with the stand, I'll be using this mode the least - just looks like a car with some wings stuck on the bottom like G1 Wheeljack.

Raoul and Blaster
Raoul is nice enough, Blaster looks great! Can't wait to get Titan Wars Blaster so I've got the biggest and smallest representations of him

Overall
Decent car mode, great robot mode, average flying car mode. A good MP but it certainly didn't take my breath away. Besides the robot mode I still prefer my G1 Tracks over this.

[GoktimusPrime]

Hasbro version

Box. Note the English "Ages 15+" sticker added to the front. Otherwise the box is identical to the Japanese release.


Sample shots of the English language instructions


And no, I have no idea how much Toys R Us are going to charge for this toy.

[drifand]

Hasbro version



And no, I have no idea how much Toys R Us are going to charge for this toy.

Hopefully under $130 for a realistic TRU price.

[millhouse]

Hopefully under $130 for a realistic TRU price.

Given the price of the UW-01 Superion at $400? I doubt realistic is on the cards...

[drifand]

Given the price of the UW-01 Superion at $400? I doubt realistic is on the cards...

Well starscream was $150, so holding a bigger box and a smaller one, I don't see how Tracks can go higher?

Most of us are buying it under $110, so you must really love paying more if you choose to buy from TRU. Only difference is an English translated booklet.

[M-bot]

His transformation is fairly complex compared to recent MP's did anyone have trouble splitting the legs? Mine felt like they were glued together, my friend and I had to put a lot of force to split them. I looked up youtube vids to see if we were doing it right and they all split effortlessly. It was just 1 tab right at the end of the bonnet that was very hard to pull apart got it in the end but it was very tough.

Yep, mine was the same. Absolutely terrified it was going to break. On mine, it was the friction tab right at the front of the bonnet/legs. Ridiculously tight. I'm going to shave mine down just a smidge.

Finally got to open him last night. My thoughts:

Robot Mode
Certainly the best mode by far. A really great representation of how he looked in the cartoon. Great colours, well proportioned and articulated - only thing is his backpack looks quite hollow.

Have to disagree with this. Robot mode has all that back kibble, hollowness and shoulders that don't peg in all that strongly, and the wings that tend to get in the way of the shoulder articulation. I think he'll look fine on display, but his robot mode is not as solid as, say, MP Sideswipe or Bumblebee.

On the other hand, the car mode is dead sexy. Almost as sweet as MP Bluestreak

[Magnus]

Had a chance to play with mine today. I agree that his upper half seems spindly compared to the more solid Sideswipe or Bluestreak, but so far mine is holding together well enough. I like the fact that the extra shoulder hinge from the transformation gives extra motion, allowing the two-handed pistol grip in Gok's photos.

Of course, the car is lovely I like the blue finish on the plastic.

His transformation is fairly complex compared to recent MP's did anyone have trouble splitting the legs? Mine felt like they were glued together, my friend and I had to put a lot of force to split them. I looked up youtube vids to see if we were doing it right and they all split effortlessly. It was just 1 tab right at the end of the bonnet that was very hard to pull apart got it in the end but it was very tough.

Yeah, separating the legs is tricky. I looked at the instructions which shows you where the connection points are, and I "jiggled" at those points. But yeah, it wasn't easy.

Yep, mine was the same. Absolutely terrified it was going to break. On mine, it was the friction tab right at the front of the bonnet/legs. Ridiculously tight. I'm going to shave mine down just a smidge.

One trick I find helpful is to not pull the bonnet apart, but to twist it apart. What I do is hold the toy bonnet-side up in both hands, one hand on each side of the front of the car, and then turn my wrists out. The upper thigh swivels will turn inwards and the bonnet halves will pop apart.

[drifand]

Opened mine today.

and here are my thoughts.

Its over engineered for a car transformer mp. Ultra Magnus isn't as complicated for its size.

Ratchet joints are placed at wrong areas where I feel the feet will wear off and is probably the weakness in this toy.

The car doesn't feel that great and the pin at the window spoils the look.

IMO the toy is not worth if you paid over $90 for it. I am not going into shipping charges where some stores have abused it and took advantage of it when is actually same size box.

On the plus notes, the robot form is okay, I think the face should have matched what was shown on the box as the box shows Tracks face pretty good as compared to the toy product.

Someone fill me in, is this a different designer from Bluestreak, Wheeljack and Lambor? because I feel that the person may be trying a bit too hard and didn't simplify things where it should.

Yes/No to purchase? I can't say no if you collected this line for cars this far.
But as a toy itself, I am a bit disappointed on how it is.

[Trent]

Opened mine today.

and here are my thoughts.

Its over engineered for a car transformer mp. Ultra Magnus isn't as complicated for its size.

Ratchet joints are placed at wrong areas where I feel the feet will wear off and is probably the weakness in this toy.

The car doesn't feel that great and the pin at the window spoils the look.

IMO the toy is not worth if you paid over $90 for it. I am not going into shipping charges where some stores have abused it and took advantage of it when is actually same size box.

On the plus notes, the robot form is okay, I think the face should have matched what was shown on the box as the box shows Tracks face pretty good as compared to the toy product.

Someone fill me in, is this a different designer from Bluestreak, Wheeljack and Lambor? because I feel that the person may be trying a bit too hard and didn't simplify things where it should.

Yes/No to purchase? I can't say no if you collected this line for cars this far.
But as a toy itself, I am a bit disappointed on how it is.

You know the box art is just a photo of the toy right? Unless they changed the mould somewhere along the line the faces are the same.

And yes, Bluestreak, Sideswipe and Wheeljack were designed by Shogo Hasui. It is believed that Hironori Kobayashi, the designer that did MP-9, did Tracks

[GoktimusPrime]

You know the box art is just a photo of the toy right? Unless they changed the mould somewhere along the line the faces are the same.

Confirmed as correct