Toy Review - Legacy Motormaster Commander class
Series - Generations
Sub-line - Legacy
Size/class - Commader
New/remould/redeco - New
Released here - June 2022
Main Features/Gimmicks - Awesomeness
Truck mode:
The cab itself is excellent. It’s suitably powerful looking, with all the right sculpt, and details picked out by paint apps. I’m particularly a big fan of the rivet details; i just think it’s a must for any good Motormaster. The trailer itself sure could stand to be a bit longer, as proportionally it does look off for Motormaster. However for the level of engineering Takara packed in with such a short stubby trailer, honestly I’m not complaining at all. It’s surprisingly heavy and so densely packed with parts. The trailer also gives a Ginrai/God Bomber vibe (it’ll need some major remolding to work though, which i don’t think has happened at the Commander class price point yet?)
The back of the cab is also pretty clean. The way the trailer bed transforms certainly helps. The trailer has a similar flip out stand to ER Optimus.
It’s worth noting the part that the trailer wheels are attached to are made of PVC and is quite thin. Mine and the ones I’ve seen online are all warped to various degree out of package. It’s a thin part with thin load bearing connecting tabs so I get it why they chose the material, but maybe a slightly different design would’ve alleviated the need altogether?
Transformation (base mode)
The whole concept of it is very God Bomber-esque. It’s simple but effective. The main connection points that hold the trailer together are all 5mm so there’s loads of customizing options when the trailer’s broken into the various block sections. Would I have preferred that the turret tower thing is fully integrated into the Menasor frame? Absolutely. DX9 did it with their rather simple (for a 3rd party)but elegant design and I love that figure. Would this ruin Legacy Motormaster for me? Definitely not. I like what’s been achieved with the rest of the pieces here. And Menasor manning the turret could be an intentional homage to “Cosmic Rust” too!
Base mode:
Far from the worst base mode we’ve had(Some of the Titan base modes are the worst imho due to the lack of meaningful engineering). The whole thing is COVERED in 5mm ports and pegs so you can really go crazy and deck this thing out. I also like the scope feature on the turret gun Mark mentioned in the steam; it just adds another dimension to the look.
Transformation (Motormaster)
The flow of the process, especially the leg bit, is very similar to some 3p designs like DX9’s. The transformation is simple but really effective. I like the choice of not breaking down the trailer bed further: it helps with the truck mode look, and also helps solidify the Menasor block he forms a bit more.
Motormaster mode:
It’s a fine looking Motormaster to me. The legs could stand to be a bit less kibbly, as all the panel mass that forms the cab box are left on the legs. However considering what he also does later in Menasor mode, it’s a compromise I’ll willing to accept.
He cuts a fine silhouette. The head sculpt is kind of a modernized G1 toon look, nicely painted with metallic purple. The arms look like they’re cast in purple and color corrected with paint. I think they look better in person where the purple bleeding through is much less noticeable.
He’s a pretty standard voyager size, and does look really nice next to his fellow Stunticon Dragstrip. The team will look so good displayed together in ‘bot mode.
He has all the standard WfC articulation points we’ve come to know and love. The only thing I think TT could’ve done better is the neck joint. A ball joint with cut out on the back of head to give him some up range would be nice versus the rotation joint he has with no up or down range. Since he comes in a closed box anyway this could’ve been easily achieved imho without having to have some of these new “anti theft” neck joint designs. I feel that the sword is sized for Motormaster, and the gun is really more sized for Menasor and the gun turret thing.
Transformation (Menasor)
It’s so good. Mark was not wrong in the stream when he said it’s a pretty crazy transformation for Motormaster. The process flows. All the tabs are there waiting for you. The end result is a solid chunk of torso and the best part is that Motormaster actually forms the majority of the torso, unlike some of the 3p designs where he just kind of balls up into a box and fits into a cavity inside the Menasor frame.
We’d already seen it in the stream, the Automorph feature on both the arm and leg is of course worth all the praises. The arm chunks doing a double Z extension is also ingenious and satisfying to execute.
Menasor mode(I realized after uploading the photos that I forgot to fold up the knee caps when I took these. Ah well it’s incomplete now anyways and you get the gist of the combiner frame):
This is the mode that justifies the Commander price for me. Solid, well articulated, with great engineering built in. The arms do look a little long but I think it’s the legs that are a bit on the short side. And I’d rather have the volume in arms to implement the awesome engineering than not having it.
I think the scale here works perfectly and it works next to all the WfC era figures. He will be a hefty beast of a figure when all the Stunticons come out.
The articulation is excellent for a combiner. All the connections are solid, and there’s ratchet joints everywhere, even the wrists are ratcheted. Again, I just wish the head joint had more up and down range. Ejima is an engineering genius and I love his work on these Stunticons, but Hasui would’ve definitely worked a hinge joint here in the neck.
Overall:
Best Commander class figure so far imho. Most of the previous ones had size going for them, but Motormaster more than makes it up with engineering and playability. Personally, I’m not only paying for plastic by the volume (which wouldn’t justify the price anyway)when I buy Transformers, but more the design that went into it. The playability of this set is also a good way to look at value for money. For a younger fan that doesn’t care about Menasor being complete, you get essentially 4 modes in this set(I actually love how Hasbro had the Menasor frame on its own in the box art, not Motormaster, as if it's a standalone figure). For me, I love Motormaster as is, and am absolutely looking forward to completing Menasor hopefully this year.
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Originally Posted by doublespy
