Lol you just named most of the characters I long for. The remaining cars, Pipes, Cliffjumper & Gears... You only missed Beachcomber.Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime
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Lol you just named most of the characters I long for. The remaining cars, Pipes, Cliffjumper & Gears... You only missed Beachcomber.
Eagerly waiting for Masterpiece Meister
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Honestly I believe masterpieces are be figures you collect if you truly love a certain character, and believe that character deserves the best representation it can get in figure form.
They're not so much "Toys" as other Transformers are.
They're made not for the transformation and the fun of having them;
But are made for the robot mode, the alternate mode, and to pose so well that your brain refuses to understand this thing can transform.
They're more a marvel of mechanical genius to ogle at than something to enjoy hands on.
Last edited by Zixxy; 2nd February 2020 at 11:31 AM. Reason: Making it easier to read :)
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I was just focusing on the First Year Autobots (and other incidental repaint/retool potentials), so I didn't include other Autobots that aren't shared moulds with First Years. If we want to include both First and Second Year Autobot Cars and Mini-Vehicles (which to be fair, are all "first years" as far as Japan is concerned) then what we have are:
Grapple
Hoist
Inferno
Alert
Skids
Smokescreen
Tracks
Beachcomber
Adams
Powerglide
Seaspray
Warpath
And among the Dinobots:
Grimlock
Slag
Sludge
Snarl
Snarl
Swoop
Year 2 gets trickier as it includes non-Takara moulds, some of which TakaraTOMY may not be able to legally imitate the likeness of. Not to mention the fact that these non-Takara moulds were never released in Japan anyway; even G1 Omega Supreme only debuted in 2008 as Takara had acquired the rights after merging with Tomy. A cartoon-like MP Skyfire would be legally doable (and be relevant to the Japanese market since he appeared in the cartoon). But others like the Deluxe Autobots and Deluxe Insecticons may not be possible. But I think that a lot of fans would like to see the rest of the Early G1 Cars and Dinobots done as MPs.
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I found myself feeling somewhat similar in 2006 when the first Classics figures were revealed. Even though the Unicron Wars had a few characters that were obviously partly based on G1, suddenly after decades they were making figures based on the characters and cartoon I loved in the 80's! Of course now Classics/Generations/Whatever has been running for 14 years so it's only characters that hadn't been done properly before in the line, such as Reflector, that get me pumped.
In regards to Masterpiece, yeah I suppose we are lucky, though I wouldn't say spoiled. Given the infrequency of new figures, the recolors of existing figures into obscure diaclone characters or else just remade slightly more toon-accurate, and the high price tag means that the line doesn't thrill me. Don't get me wrong, I really like it and I've picked up the latest figures of Hound and Blackarachnia, but when you look at other sci-fi/popculture franchises a lot of them have very expensive high end figures as well. Masterpiece is a great line and I hope it continues, but I don't think we are spoiled to have it.
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Reviving an old thread - I was wondering where people had found the information about the change in factory materials for Hound, and came across TFW2005's Wonderfest Report, which includes the following:
Where's the overwhelming demand for cartoon accuracy coming from?Regarding the recent constant price increment: Takara Tomy booth director mentioned that fans have overly demanded for the cartoon aesthetic. So in order to pull off the cartoon aesthetic while maintaining the proper alt mode, the number of parts for each figure has gone up compared to the Masterpiece Datsuns or Wheeljack. The cost of materials has also gone up which also contributes to the rise in pricing. On this matter, Gamelingual let him know that many fans feel that they will be forced to quit the hobby if the prices become too expensive. The response was that this this is something they have discussed with the executives and it contributes to the decisions of what figures will be made next.
I know there was a huge appreciation for the level of "magic" achieved with figures like Dinobot and Megatron, but I feel that cartoon accuracy is demanded there because the models were so defined.
The G1 cartoon can hardly be called consistent even within itself, let alone being consistent with other sources. I think everyone loved the Datsun, Lancia, and Sideswipe moulds because they gave us a wonderful balance of cartoon likeness, effective transformation, and realistic vehicle. It was a the best representation of everything that that character was - not a screen accurate replica that allows us to re-enact the cartoon.
I feel like the obsession with cartoon accuracy is giving us poorer quality figures at much greater prices, and I for one would gladly sacrifice perfect accuracy for a figure that was more affordable and could be handled more frequently and without needing to be extra delicate.
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My understanding is it's the Japanese fans. TakaraTomy still do their fansurveys, but geoblock them so only those with a Japanese IP can submit them. My source of info... Gok.
I feel it was needed for Ironhide & Ratchet (for obvious reasons) and Sunstreaker is better for it given the awkwardly long arms & lack of waist/groin on the G1 toy. But I feel Hound took it too far with tyres that fold up to conceal alongside FALSE wheels on his ankles and a need for every accessory to fold into his legs. Sure, it was very clever engineering, but not worth the extra price all that necessitated.
Eagerly waiting for Masterpiece Meister
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Mate... you are preaching to the choir. I don't even like the term "cartoon accuracy," and prefer saying "show likeness," because the fact of the matter is - for most Transformers - the toys came first and therefore they are NOT inaccurate to the cartoon. The cartoon was inaccurate to the toys. I personally prefer toy accuracy, but I know that I'm in the minority and obviously TakaraTOMY are going to cater for what the majority want.
As you said, previous MPs had a balance, and this balance has been lost as the toys are ever increasingly shifting towards cartoon-likeness. But it is as fans have been demanding. And the main reason why I used to translate the Takara(TOMY) surveys (I used to translate the printed card surveys too before they went online) is to give Anglophone fans a chance to have their voices heard directly to Takara(TOMY). Alas, they've cut off our ability give direct explicit feedback. I wonder if it was to do with the fact that Hasbro was also doing MPs for their market at the time that the geoblock came in. <shrugs> <---this is pure speculation
The online survey is here:
https://www.takaratomyfans.com/
I for one haven't been able to access it from outside Japan. I used to take screen shots and translate the online surveys here, but I haven't been able to do so since the geoblock came into place. The last time being three years ago which was when I was last in Japan. If anyone here is able to access the survey and you want something translated, by all means please post screen shots on the Takara online survey thread.I did call TakaraTOMY directly twice after the geoblock started asking them to consider removing the geoblock, but they've evidently elected not to do that.
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I'm not an MP collector, but I am an MP review watcher, and from that perspective I'm not a fan of the cartoon accurate trend. The thing we sometimes overlook is that the G1 cartoon was cheap animation knocked out in a hurry, and it seems odd to me for an expensive deluxe toy (in the proper sense of the word) to emulate that. I'd rather they aim to emulate some of the better box art, which I think suits them more.
I'm particularly dismayed by those extra cartoon accurate re-decos that paint reflected light and shadow onto the toys, as if they don't already have that by virtue of being objects. Surely that means they would have to stand at one exact angle within a display relative to lighting.
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I certainly hope that the amount of returns and complaints about Hound breakages is a wake up call for them. No one wants delicate figures and breakages, and they could certainly do well to stop a little short of some of the things they attempt, in favour of greater structural integrity.
Thankfully mine has no issues. But reading threads on it, even the people with breakages still love the figure's design. It has an incredible transformation to a super clean robot mode mode with amazing articulation. It's a shame MPs are going up in price (which only makes any issues that much bigger of a deal), but a big part of that is the accessory bloat as much as parts count imo.
While they're certainly going for cartoon aesthetic, I do wonder just how different a 2012 Hound or Sunstreaker might have looked compared to what we got recently. Or how much different a new Sideswipe with skinnier chest would be to MP-12. I think Sunstreaker and Hound fit in with the others quite nicely. They don't forgo panel details or toy nods like say Ironhide did. I feel like he's a bit of an outlier because the van kind of afforded them greater choice for styling the legs and arms, than the bots who wear more of their vehicles. I don't think a modern Sideswipe would look as different to MP-12, as say MP-10 does to MP-44.
The cars I feel, have stuck pretty close to each other overall (especially vehicle-wise - I mean Sunstreaker and Sideswipe are nigh on identical) - it's when you look at some of the others that there is a more obvious difference in aesthetic. Personally I think an eventual Jazz will probably be very similar in aesthetic to what we got with Prowl. But something like Trailbreaker might look more in line with what we got with Ironhide. If they come right after each other, it might seem a little like "So, what's the direction of the line now!?".
I think the specifics of each character - their alt mode, their difficulty in transforming to something resembling the cartoon, and the toy's budget all play a part in the end result as much as any overall aim to be cartoon accurate. The earlier cars had lower budgets/less parts, and couldn't do as much to achieve cartoon accuracy. The Beast Wars MPs are very accurate, but a great degree of that is due to their shells affording freedom to cover pieces that can look like anything the designer wants, and their higher price. And like you say, because the models were so defined in the first place.
Then look at Arcee. They've taken much more artistic liberty compared to the cartoon than any of us expected I think. Is it just that they can do whatever they want with her body, since almost none of it is the car, and a designer has their own image in mind this time? Part of it is because they can't afford the space to store fake chests instead of using the real hood as her chest. Or does it signal a shift away from cartoon accuracy?
I don't think we can necessarily look to the last or any figure really, as some kind of definitive guide for how the next one will turn out. There's a lot of factors that go into what is and isn't possible and what the end result will be.
I wish they were cheaper of course, but Sunstreaker and Hound are so good, that I'm pleased Jazz hasn't come yet. He's going to be incredible when he does!
I think if given the choice, I'd rather have 202X Jazz than 2012 Jazz. With good QC please
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Toei's Kohara Shohei initially designed animation models, but these were simplified by Sunbow's Floro Dery as a deliberately stylistic choice.
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