MP-57 Masterpiece Skyfire Soars Supreme

[Paulbot]

The box looks to be a fair bit bigger than MP-44 Optimus version 3, but significantly cheaper. Optimus was 50,000yen, while Skyfire was 38,000yen.

I am happy with the Siege toy, but looking at the smoother MP without all that extra WFC panel detailing does make him look quite good

The figure looks much simpler than MP-44 though, so it would have a lower parts count overall. I also note it does not have as many accessories as MP-44 had.
We saw too that the Skids mould was cheaper than previous MP cars due to being simpler in engineering - it was half the price of Hound for instance. I'm glad that Takara have gone in this direction though.

I am still crossing my fingers for a new release of MP-44 without the trailer and Roller and all that to bring the price down to something I want to pay.

[GoktimusPrime]

Mag-goddamn-nificent. Hopefully this pays off for TT and they will continue to make some bolder choices in character releases.

TakaraTOMY have made bold MP choices before; some arguably too bold, as those toys weren't very commercially successful.
e.g. MP Road Rage (as a mass store release), MP Star Sabre etc.
Even the MP Trainbots are a risk being based on 1987 Middle-G1 characters, not to mention the long term investment from collectors in collecting the whole set over an extended period (which HasTak have previously done with Studio Series ROTF Devastator).

At the end of the day, it's up to us fans. We all vote with our wallets.

[danny-boy]

I pre-ordered MP-57 but I’m worried about yellowing. My MP-30 Ratchet has yellowed badly. MP-17+ Prowl and MP-20+ Wheeljack are still holding up fine though.

[High_Q]

I pre-ordered MP-57 but I�m worried about yellowing. My MP-30 Ratchet has yellowed badly. MP-17+ Prowl and MP-20+ Wheeljack are still holding up fine though.

Are your TFs under prolonged exposure to direct sunlight?

[danny-boy]

Are your TFs under prolonged exposure to direct sunlight?

Not even close to sunlight. It’s strange, never had a figure go yellow in all my years of collecting except MP-30 Ratchet. It has to be something with the finishing as different parts are yellowing. Never liked TT’s effort so happy to get rid of it as soon as a good 3rd party offering comes along.

[Skyfire]

I guess I have to get this - he's my namesake . But I'm expecting some disappointment to go along with my elation... I am almost expecting some love-hate with the MP-57 I receive. Sigh... and yay at the same time!... having MP-57 would be like reaching back in time and patting a sad little boy on the back and saying, "Hey, look what I got you."

I got my copy and have not transformed him yet, but first impressions:

All love and no hate! He's immense. I've had so much fun flying him around. The cosmetic finish is great. Just a faintness of red paint transfer from the "backpack" onto the forward fuselage. But the faces and insignia are perfect and the minifigures are painted impossibly well. The flight stand connector obstructs side tilting as Skyfire is too heavy; he can only pitch up or down slightly and is really meant to be level. My only issue so far is a bit of warping of the starboard flap, exactly the same as the model in the Takara Tomy transformation video. Also Wheeljack's hip and shoulder joints are a little loose/dislocatable (like some previous MP humans) but the other two minifigures are good and the elbows on these minifigures are super solid.

Speaking of the video, the manual and video say to unfold the wings and vertical stabilisers out of the box, but the video also points out at 30sec to clip a bottom tab through a hole at the bottom of the jet. I can't remember if mine was untabbed out of the box (I noticed it when fiddling with the nose in order to inspect Skyfire's head), but after tabbing it in, the side profile looked more in line. I watched a youtube unboxing and that copy was untabbed.

I'm having so much fun that I think this is going to be my 2nd or 3rd favourite TF I own (the top being MP-36 Megatron, and the other MP-44 Optimus). That little boy who was disappointed G1 toy Jetfire didn't look like TV Jetfire is truly at peace.

[griffin]

I am happy with the Siege toy, but looking at the smoother MP without all that extra WFC panel detailing does make him look quite good

This is why I would like to have both, because I love the detailing on the Seige toy as it would have looked cheap without it... but on the other hand, I love the simple flatness of the Masterpiece toy because it looks like it has come straight out of the TV screen.

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

I prefer the Siege version personally. Glad there's a cartoon-y version for those that want it though.

[GoktimusPrime]

Not even close to sunlight. It’s strange, never had a figure go yellow in all my years of collecting except MP-30 Ratchet. It has to be something with the finishing as different parts are yellowing.

Is there any sunlight that gets in at all? Because in my experience, even the tiniest sliver of sunlight can photodegrade toys. In 2016 I moved my toys to a new TF room where 99% of incoming sunlight is blocked out. But just recently I looked at my Jetwing Optimus Prime toy, which was standing near where a tiny sliver of light comes in and doesn't even directly hit any toys... and his smokestacks were yellowed. If you look at my Bayformers Optimus Prime vs Megatron TFTM re-enactment, you can see his yellowed smokestacks. Since then not only have I painted the smokestacks silver, but I've also added an extra layer of brown paper over that small gap where that sliver of light gets in. Note that this sliver was still obstructed by a closed blind and drape, but there was light bleeding from the very top near the ceiling that would bounce off the ceiling and onto the toy. I've blu-tacked the top of the brown paper onto the ceiling so that it now covers that offending top gap. In short, your toy room should be like a dark room... and then even darker. Dark enough to develop film.

I have learnt the hard way that any amount of sunlight that creeps into a toy room, no matter how small, can discolour toys. Now I got MP Ratchet after I moved, and that toy has never yellowed at all. Only DOTM Optimus Prime had some yellowing, but only because that toy sits on a ceiling high top shelf near where the light was leaking in from. And even then, only the rubber smoke stacks yellowed; no other part, and no other toys. Not even my CHUG Sixshot and Horrorcons who have white and light-grey coloured parts and are also near that ceiling corner. I'm going to add another layer of paper over that existing layer just to make it even darker.

If you can, consider UV tinting your room windows, but yeah, definitely block out all incoming sunlight from any windows. Aside from DOTM OP's smokestacks, I have experienced zero photodegradation since 2016.

[Cat]

This is why I would like to have both, because I love the detailing on the Seige toy as it would have looked cheap without it... but on the other hand, I love the simple flatness of the Masterpiece toy because it looks like it has come straight out of the TV screen.

I agree, I'm going to be glad to have both. They fill different niches for me, and I honestly never thought we'd have an official Masterpiece version, so I'm beyond the moon at where we are right now. Conversely the Siege Leader is a great figure and really sets off my Trilogy figures. It's a show piece of its own.