Toy Review - Masterpiece Hound

[dirge]

I just got my Hound & promptly opened and transformed him. I'm not as impressed as I'd want to be for the price.

Summary:

Pros:
- The robot mode mostly looks great & there's cartoon accuracy
- The vehicle mode attachments can all integrate in robot mode
- The robot mode rocket launcher integrated into the vehicle mode, and the way it forms part of the interior of the Jeep is very clever
- Excellent poseability & well thought out accessories

Cons:
- I know they're going for cartoon accuracy but I'd have preferred the colours be a little more realistic and a little less cartoony. It does come at a cost in vehicle mode
- The neck joint already mentioned by others, though in truth this doesn't particularly bother me
- I dislike the false wheels on his ankles. They look silly & I would much have preferred the real wheels
- It's too fiddly in some areas; which means that some joints are delicate with fine clearances - I'd rather have had a little kibble somewhere rather than the door hinges that, as some have found, are fragile
- Related to the last point, I don't want to transform him back to vehicle mode... I'm too afraid of these joints breaking. If he wasn't $200+ I'd buy another to display both modes. But then, the vehicle mode's green is too light to really evoke a military Jeep (the BT did that much better)

I'm not dissatisfied; Hound will look GREAT alongside the other Autobot cars. But the earlier guys like Bluestreak & Sideswipe are far more elegant and sturdy for mine; and even NOW on eBay are cheaper than Hound. While the MPs aren't really designed with play in mind, this is far less playable than the earlier cars.

[Tha_Phantom]

I don't want to transform him back to vehicle mode... I'm too afraid of these joints breaking.

I have had that feeling with a few of the recent MPs when I first transformed them, such as MP-43, MP-45 and MP-47. I think "this is too scary to transform again" but then I do, and the more I do it's fine. I've transformed Hound a good 6 or more times to bot and back now and he hasn't had one stress mark or crack. I'm not oblivious to the QC issues others have had out of the box, but mine has been totally fine after numerous transformations, for whatever that is worth.

[dirge]

I have had that feeling with a few of the recent MPs when I first transformed them, such as MP-43, MP-45 and MP-47. I think "this is too scary to transform again" but then I do, and the more I do it's fine. I've transformed Hound a good 6 or more times to bot and back now and he hasn't had one stress mark or crack. I'm not oblivious to the QC issues others have had out of the box, but mine has been totally fine after numerous transformations, for whatever that is worth.

Fair enough.

For me though, it remains a negative. I really enjoy transforming Tracks, Bluestreak etc back and forth ... but find Sunstreaker is kinda unpleasant (I have Cordon who displays in vehicle mode so best of both worlds right there). Hound feels more like Sunstreaker - but I'm still happy I have him.

[drifand]

After seeing people receiving damaged out of the box from a couple of reports, I decided I am skipping it for now.

[Tha_Phantom]

I look forward to you updating us when you've bought it.

[Paulbot]

I got my Hound yesterday from HLJ. Opened it for a visual inspection. No signs of any issues. Not transforming at this stage though.

Like Dirge, I was a bit disappointed at how cartoony the vehicle mode looks (I think it's primarily the shade of green, and I think it will look good in robot mode).