Masterpieces - are we spoiled?

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

So, getting back to the original question/thread title, My Two Cents is...

No, Not Really.

MPs are high-end collectibles. Having high expectations for them is entirely reasonable compared to 15-odd-years-ago mainline releases. And a lot of the grievances leveled against contemporary MPs are legitimate. A $150+ toy really shouldn't break out of the box.

That said, Transformers fans are often pretty much the definition of an Unpleasant Fanbase. So there's that. But adjusting your expectations to the standard of the line in question is entirely reasonable, and MPs have gotten pretty pricey in recent years.



I'm totally waiting on official MP Insecticons btw. And Blaster plus cassettes, and Cyclonus, and Scourge. Plus a red redeco of MP Sunstreaker, and a few more besides. But I can wait - I'm pretty sure they'll come eventually.

[Raider]

I'm totally waiting on official MP Insecticons btw. And Blaster plus cassettes, and Cyclonus, and Scourge. Plus a red redeco of MP Sunstreaker, and a few more besides. But I can wait - I'm pretty sure they'll come eventually.

But I want them all now! And reasonably priced! And perfect representations in bot and alt mode!

Completely agree with your post. Blaster and the cassettes to square off against Soundwave would be awesome.

[danny-boy]

I think the G1 aspect of the line slowly dying out. They?ll release a new version of Soundwave and Starscream, but beyond that, maybe a Hoist/Trailbreaker. They?ll do Mirage, Jazz, and Cliffjumper if they can get the rights. Sideswipe might get a new mould. The Raiden Project will wipe out an entire years schedule if released separately.

I hope I?m wrong but there?s nothing on the horizon except a repaint mid year.

[Jellico]

To be really blunt. What do the Japanese like? That seems to be the core concern for any MP released. And to be blunter they seem to like good guy leaders. I mean, lion Prime came out of nowhere. Rodimus, Magnus, and Star Sabre are all somewhat orphans. The cynic in me suggests looking at every Prime in the line.


Raiden scares the heck out of me. A big expensive combiner Japan only when they couldn't even MP Devastator. The main positive is some cross promotion with Japan Rail? At least it isn't a Japanese fashion company. What does that say about the future of the MP line?

[GoktimusPrime]

To be really blunt. What do the Japanese like? That seems to be the core concern for any MP released. And to be blunter they seem to like good guy leaders.

That's pretty much true. Remember that MP Star Sabre was decided as the result of a fan's choice poll. And since the very beginning Takara(TOMY) have allowed collectors to submit direct feedback on MPs, including nominated and voting on which characters we would like to see for future releases. Unfortunately the online poll was geoblocked a few years ago, so you can only access it if you're in Japan or if you have a VPN. But yeah, a lot of Japanese fans do like good guys and good guy leaders. This is why Star Sabre is such a popular character despite the fact that his persona is pretty much just a carbon copy of Convoy. Dai Atlas on the other hand offered something different and Japanese fans hated him -- all because Dai Atlas breaks the "Convoy mould." But having said that, some Western fans can be like this too, such as people who really dislike IDW's Star Sabre. But this is why MP Star Sabre's Japanese bio is based on his Convoy-esque G1 persona, whereas his English language bio is based on his IDW persona.

I'd really like to see them finish off the 1984 Autobots for MPs (repaint/retool potentials in brackets):
* Ligier (red Diaclone Ligier)
* Trailbreaker (Hoist)
* Meister (Stepper)
* Gong (Outback)
* Drag (Pipes)
* Gears (Wave)
* Charger (Tailgate)
* Cliff (yellow Cliff, Hubcap)

Licensing issues is holding back Ligier, Meister and Cliff. Bayformers Scrapmetal transforms into a Volvo excavator, so assuming that they still have the Volvo licence then it should make an MP Drag possible. We know that TakaraTOMY have the licences for Suzuki, GM/Pontiac and Toyota, which would make Brawn, Charger and Trailbreaker all respectively possible. Gears is a generic pickup truck, so there isn't even any licensing required. Just make him already! And that's it. I can understand the hold up on Ligier and the Porsches, but I really wish that they'd do all the other remaining first year Autobots that they already have the vehicle licences for.

And once that's done I'd like to see the move on and do as much G1 as possible. Finish off the Dinobots. MP's never moved past Middle G1 though... it's done a lot of Early G1 and some Middle G1, but it's never touched Late G1. I guess the demand for late G1 isn't there, so don't hold your breath for an MP Moon Jet or Checker Road. I think CHUG is more likely to fill out the rest of the G1 roster, and they've done an impressive job in many respects. CHUG's recently been giving us some pretty obscure characters like Shuffler, Loafer, Roadfire, Dai Atlas, Star Convoy, Reflector etc. -- heck, they gave us Powerdasher! (give us CHUG Omnibots and Time Warrior, damnit!). I'm not expecting MP to cover all of G1, but I would very much love CHUG to do it. Still kinda disappointed about some potential CHUG repaints that were never done, such as Metro Titan, GADEP, Battle Gaia, Guard City etc. :/ But again, maybe the demand's not there.

No MP but CHUG's gotcha covered

[dirge]

I'd really like to see them finish off the 1984 Autobots for MPs (repaint/retool potentials in brackets):
* Ligier (red Diaclone Ligier)
* Trailbreaker (Hoist)
* Meister (Stepper)
* Gong (Outback)
* Drag (Pipes)
* Gears (Wave)
* Charger (Tailgate)
* Cliff (yellow Cliff, Hubcap)

Lol you just named most of the characters I long for. The remaining cars, Pipes, Cliffjumper & Gears... You only missed Beachcomber.

[Zixxy]

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.

[GoktimusPrime]

Lol you just named most of the characters I long for. The remaining cars, Pipes, Cliffjumper & Gears... You only missed Beachcomber.

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.

[drifand]

So, getting back to the original question/thread title, My Two Cents is...

No, Not Really.

MPs are high-end collectibles. Having high expectations for them is entirely reasonable compared to 15-odd-years-ago mainline releases. And a lot of the grievances leveled against contemporary MPs are legitimate. A $150+ toy really shouldn't break out of the box.

That said, Transformers fans are often pretty much the definition of an Unpleasant Fanbase. So there's that. But adjusting your expectations to the standard of the line in question is entirely reasonable, and MPs have gotten pretty pricey in recent years.



I'm totally waiting on official MP Insecticons btw. And Blaster plus cassettes, and Cyclonus, and Scourge. Plus a red redeco of MP Sunstreaker, and a few more besides. But I can wait - I'm pretty sure they'll come eventually.

Tada, totally with you. I mean seriously how TT is going to over engineer this will be beyond me for MP insecticons. There be no dumb no licensing excuses etc. But hey go figure on their choices on making MPs.

People are just done waiting, 2018 was the worse for G1 Mps

I do not like Hasui pieces and partly was because they were half arsed not painted during that period, may not be entirely his fault but it put me off, especially wheeljack was not fully painted like what it is now.

To make matters worse fanbase were so EXCITED about mp-44 starscream head they wanted another remake. OMG how are we going to finish this line?

One of the major issues that began was people treated Masterpiece line as an Action figure not a high end collectors item and now when they actually do apply quality paint is so expensive.

I have to say, one of the peak points for TF MPs was during Ultra Magnus - Grapple. I was still very relying on TT than even looking at 3P companies.

If we are honestly spoiled for choices, nobody will be seriously bothered with the 3p companies have to offer, but this appears not to be the case.