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Thread: Toy Review - Masterpiece MP-36 Megatron (2.0)

  1. #1
    Join Date
    11th Mar 2009
    Location
    Melbourne
    Posts
    897

    Default Toy Review - Masterpiece MP-36 Megatron (2.0)

    The Kiss Player dude did the concept/aesthetic design for MP-36, but who actually did the engineering design has never been revealed. Even the instructions seems to have deliberately kept the designer's identity "nameless TT employee". Judging by the style of early sketches it could well be Kobayashi himself. The point I'm trying to get to, is that along with the Kiss Player dude the designer(s) did one hell of a job on MP-36. I can confidently say that for myself this is the best Masterpiece figure to date. He's not perfect, but he's exactly what I wanted for a Masterpiece G1 Megatron.

    Gun mode:
    It is an impressive gun mode.





    People complain about the panel lines and I get it, but my take is that is the necessary evil. Both modes turned out great so I can live with it.




    Even the rifling has been sculpted. When fitting the silencer, do be careful. Take it slow and gentle to minimize the paint scratches on the gun barrel. This is a painted surface being in contact with another piece that is supposed to be a tight fit. No matter how well the paint is applied there's bound to minor paint chipping. I personally don't mind it, as it gives the gun a slightly "weathered" look.


    Amazingly, the pistol is pretty damn close to a 1:1 Walther P-38 airgun(photo c/o onnsake@tfw)



    The gun has a nice solid feel to it and has a great grip. It feels just so comfortable in hand.





    Transformation:
    It's a time-consuming transformation, as in it involves many steps, but I wouldn't say it's complex. I always thought Ironhide and Megatron would be the ultimate challenges for G1 Masterpiece design. Ironhide's challenge lies in that he doesn't have much car kibble to work with in 'bot mode, while Megatron's is he needs to turn from a slim gun to a wide, bulky robot. With Ironhide at least the designer has the mass/volume to work with, but Megatron would involve a lot of mass shifting/re-arranging, which would unavoidably result in large number of transformation steps(again, not necessarily complex).

    One major plus point for me is MP-36's transformation is divided to several chunks; you start and finish this section before moving on to the next, as opposed to having 8 million loose bits hanging around at any given moment of this process. I think you just need some practice. Take it slow first, then when you know which part goes where, you do it a lot quicker. I have transformed him 4 times and each time quicker than the last.

    The transformation is full of "Masterpiece moment". After handling Megs for a while I found I'm most amazed by how the gun sides of the slide do a simple twist, revealing the flat surface inside to form the shoulder.


    I don't like how you need to rely on the strength of the thigh joint to pull the legs apart though. It's a very tight fit and I feel like I was gonna tear the legs off every time I do it.

    Again, there's some paint chipping simply because of how painted parts fit together. Personally I'm not too fussed. I just be careful and apply force gently when transforming. But I won't be scared to transform it because of some minor paint chipping. A Transformer figure is designed to be transformed (let alone one that has such a nice gun mode) and I won't have Megs as just an over-sized action figure on the shelf.

    Robot Mode:
    The robot mode is even better than I'd ever imagined it would be. It has incredible presence and personality, and is amazingly photogenic.

    From the curvature of the shin, details on the back of leg, to the folded "rod piece" on the lower back carried over from the G1 toy, there's s incredible attention to detail put on this figure. And again I don't mind the backpack at all because of how accurate both modes are.






    I've read comments of people disliking his proportions, but to me personally, he looks spot-on to the cartoon Megatron. In an interview about MP-10, Shogo Hasui mentioned that it took him a lot of effort to tweak the proportions to get Optimus' head right. I have no doubt the designers went through the same process with Megs, to get his proportions spot-on. It's just like sculpture, it's the subtle differences that separate "likeness" and "capturing the essence". I also like the new cartoon-styled hands, with them "tube fingers".




    He's incredibly articulated, and very easy to pose and balance, thanks to abundance of ratchet joints, excellent joint tolerances, and die-cast parts. He's easily one of the most articulated Masterpiece figures to date.
    Oh, did I mention the faces. They're awesome, and they swap out with ease.









    The stock-turned-display stand has strong ratchet joints and is great to use with a hefty figure like this.


    It's nice that the stock and silencer can be used the same way as they did on the G1 toy.


    His accessory count is not as impressive as Ironhide, but all the essential ones are included to kill a Prime or two.






    Some comparisons:





    Verdict?
    My definitive G1 Megatron, no ifs or buts. Best MP figure to date imo.
    Last edited by doublespy; 4th April 2017 at 06:04 PM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    2nd Dec 2010
    Location
    Brisbane
    Posts
    760

    Default

    Great pics and review mate! In short, MP-36 is unbelievable. There's so many innovative steps to the transformation, you can tell the designer really put everything into it.
    I can definitely echo the difficulty pulling the legs down. Way too tight, scary even. Took me around an hour with instructions to reach gun mode the first time since I was trying to be careful.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    13th Feb 2014
    Location
    Melbourne
    Posts
    1,982

    Default

    I've seen photos on FB about the gun barrel chipping paint after attaching the silencer only once I think! I'm not sure if I would be game...

  4. #4
    Join Date
    14th May 2008
    Location
    Back in Brisbane
    Posts
    2,477

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    You lucky devils.
    "I am not a gun. I'm hitting people with a hammer. On Mars."
    The Iron Giant / David Wildgoose

  5. #5
    Join Date
    21st Feb 2014
    Location
    Brisbane
    Posts
    291

    Default

    Wow

  6. #6
    Join Date
    27th Dec 2007
    Location
    Sydney NSW
    Posts
    37,637

    Default

    7 people have voted on this poll already - 6 voting that it's worth getting, 1 voting Only if something else that hasn't been specified (?). So this must mean that there are at least 6 people who've already received MP36! That's fast! ...clearly none of them from a certain online store

  7. #7
    Join Date
    7th Oct 2015
    Location
    Perth
    Posts
    1,199

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    I got notification from Ohmyprimus in Singapore that mine has arrived- I've asked my brother to pick it up in person and hold it. For the record I paid about $AU 280 for mine, which is obviously more than PC ($220) but I happily pay extra for peace of mind and reliability.

    Mind you, I have to figure out whether to get it posted (more $$$) or wait until one of us travels (longer wait).

  8. #8
    Join Date
    23rd Sep 2014
    Location
    Wollongong
    Posts
    2,217

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    Amazing pics! I'm reading here and on TFW about the paint chipping. Are the paint chips noticeable in robot mode?

  9. #9
    Join Date
    26th Mar 2014
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    443

    Default

    I'm worried about paint chipping too, numerous reports on TFW and also youtube reviews, such a shame

  10. #10
    Join Date
    27th Dec 2007
    Location
    Sydney NSW
    Posts
    37,637

    Default

    I'm planning on leaving this toy in robot mode w/ MP5 in gun mode as I believe that these are the better looking modes for both MP Megatrons. But obviously I will transform MP36 from time to time (especially at first), so I hope that I don't scratch too much. Would a spray on sealant help to make it more scratch resistant?

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