Rank 6 - Dedicated Member
You know what, I'm getting less and less enthusiastic for it myself and I'm a huge Bee fan (in case my avatar didn't already give that awayOriginally Posted by Trent
).
I was hyped when a new Bee was announced and when I saw the first blurry pic and couple of pics I was still hyped, but yeah, kinda just ordering out of obligation now.
Rank 6 - Dedicated Member
Oh I personally don't hate it. I'm perfectly happy with MP-21 and am happy that I can save some money with another release I won't touch.
Thinking about it, I've wondered what a MP Grimlock v2 would look like with the slavish toon look. He'd need to be around Ultra Magnus in size but the proportions of the original toon model would personally look ridiculous. Grinder is already a perfect MP Grimlock to me
Rank 8 - Deluxe Member
I can't embed the photos on my phone but these pics attached suggest it has been mistransformed. The backpack doesn't look nearly as bad from the back at least.
https://www.tfw2005.com/boards/attac...jpeg.28201165/
https://www.tfw2005.com/boards/attac...jpeg.28201169/
https://www.tfw2005.com/boards/attac...jpeg.28201164/
I'm reserving judgement until we see the proper pictures. However, there is speculation that this will lead to a proper Minibot MP subline with Cliffjumper up next. If this is true I can forgive Bumblebee V2 not being perfect.
Rank 8 - Deluxe Member
Well that would be awesome if we get the rest of the Mini-bots.
Rank 6 - Dedicated Member
Love the Alt mode.
Bot mode... front on it looks great and I'd be interested to see what the alternate head looks like. Is it a toy accurate face plate, or like an OP v3, where there are differences in design across the various seasons.
$150 is a lot of moolah though. Have to think about it since I would likely be keeping him in alt mode next to the bot of the previous release.
Rank 8 - Deluxe Member
That picture makes the backpack look good, still not cartoon accurate, but not the mess that's on show at the Wonder Fest.
Rank 6 - Dedicated Member
There are more pics of both modes in different angles.
From the latest images, it's just the expressionless face, plus two alternate expressions. No face plate option shown but maybe the text provides more information.
Recent Acquisitions: MP-53+B Dia Burnout
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Rank 10 - Admin
That goes back to my earlier comment that the only reason they would do a chibi Bumblebee would be to give us the base frame for Cliffjumper, Hubcap and Bumper... but the problem though, people might be willing to shell out $150 for a primary character like Bumblebee, but half that would buy Cliffjumper at that price, and half of that again would also be willing to spend that much on obscure minibots like Hubcap and Bumper. There is just so much redeco potential for this mould now that it is more accurate to the original Bumblebee toy (this one would make more sense than the first MP Bee in blue, black, green, etc to homage the South American and BotCon redecos of the original Bumblebee toy)... I'd buy one in every colour of the rainbow if the price was half what is being speculated (and it should be, since the earlier Autobot Cars that are bigger, used to be about AU$80)
To just see how over-priced this Bumblebee is at 13,000yen, this list has the various Autobot Cars since the first one in 2012, and any Masterpiece toys since then that were 13,000yen or less.
The prices didn't really start to skyrocket fast until the anime redecos in 2017 (especially the larger MPs that aren't on this list), and those anime redecos were limited edition TakaraTomyMall exclusives, which justifies a price increase to cover the cost of the smaller run. But then after that, the regular release toys (even mere redecos) were costing just as much. So either the regular release toys are now being done in similar small numbers as the exclusives, or TakaraTomy felt that if people were happy to pay exclusives prices, then why not use them on the regular toys as well.
It's hard to believe that this tiny new Bumblebee is about the same price or more, than the much larger Seeker Jet mould, or even the MP-10 cab (like Black Convoy).
2012
- - MP11 - Coronation Starscream (remould - Decep) 13600yen
- - MP11S - Sunstorm (redeco - Decep) 13600yen
- - MP12 - Lambor/Sideswipe (new - Auto) 6000yen (7000yen for Amazon.jp excl version)
2013
- - MP10B - Black Convoy (MP-10 redeco, no Trailer - Decep) 13,400yen
- - MP17 - Prowl (new -Auto) 6,000yen
- - MP18 -Bluestreak (remould Prowl - Auto) 6,000yen
- - MP19 - Smokescreen (remould Prowl - Auto) 6,800yen
2014
- - MP12G - Gen2 Sideswipe (redeco w/ new accessories and head - Auto) (6,800yen)
- - MP20 - Wheeljack (new - Auto) (6,500yen)
- - MP21 - Bumblebee (new - Auto) (6,500yen)
2015
- - MP-23 - Exhaust (redeco Wheeljack) (7,000yen)
- - MP-21G - Gen2 Gold Bumble (Bumblebee) (redeco with Jetpack (5,500yen)
- - MP-18B - Bluestreak (blue redeco Streak) (TakaraTomyMall excl & Hasbro HK) (8,000yen)
- - MP-25 - Tracks (new) (7,500yen)
- - MP-26 - Road Rage (remoulded Tracks) (7,000yen)
- - MP-21R - Red Bumble (redeco - Satellite Store exclusive in Japan - plus Asia release) (5500yen)
- - MP-14C - Clampdown (redeco Red Alert - TakaraTomyMall exclusive in Japan of 2000 units - plus HK release) (8,000yen)
2016
--- MP-27 - Ironhide (10,000yen)
--- MP-28 - Hot Rodimus (Hotrod) (8,000yen)
--- MP-29 - Laserwave (Shockwave) - (12,000yen)
--- MP-30 - Ratchet (remould Ironhide) - (10,000yen)
--- MP-25L - Loudpedal (black redeco Tracks w/ redeco Raoul & Microman Blaster) (Tokyo Toy Show excl) - (8,500yen)
--- MP-14+ - (Red) Alert Anime Colour Edition (minor redeco) TakaraTomyMall exclusive - (8,400yen)
--- MP-32 - (Beast) Convoy (Optimus Primal) - (11,000yen)
--- MP-33 - Inferno - (13,000yen)
2017
--- MP-34 - Cheetor (7,000yen)
--- MP-35 - Grapple (remould Inferno) (13,000yen)
--- MP-11 - Starscream (reissue) (14,040yen)
--- MP-37 - Artfire (redeco Inferno) w/ Nightstick (new) (12,000yen)
--- MP-38 - Optimus Primal (redeco Beast Convoy in toy colours) (11,000yen)
--- MPM-3 - (Movie) Bumblebee (new - similar to Hasbro version) - (9700yen)
--- MP-12+ - Lambor/Sideswipe (anime minor redeco) - (8500yen)
--- MP-39 - Sunstreaker (new) - (12,000yen)
--- MP-10B - Black Convoy (Reissue - cab only) - (12,800yen)
2018
--- MP-40 - Targetmaster Hot Rodimus (minor redeco with new Targetmaster gun) - (9,000yen)
--- MP-21 - Bumble(bee) (reissue) - (5500yen)
--- MPM-5 - Barricade - (10,000yen)
--- MP-34S - Shadow Panther (redeco Cheetor w/ new head & accessories - TakaraTomyMall exclusive) - (8600yen)
--- MP-17+ - Prowl (Anime Edition) (minor redeco - TakaraTomyMall exclusive) - (9200yen)
--- MP-42 - Cordon (white "Diaclone" Sunstreaker) - (14,000yen)
--- MPM-07 - Bumblebee (new - VW) - (10,000yen)
2019
--- MP-45 Bumblebee - 13,000 Yen
Stick to your guns.You know what, I'm getting less and less enthusiastic for it myself and I'm a huge Bee fan (in case my avatar didn't already give that away
I was hyped when a new Bee was announced and when I saw the first blurry pic and couple of pics I was still hyped, but yeah, kinda just ordering out of obligation now.
Rank 6 - Dedicated Member
Good find. It looks like the display figure was mistransformed or those bottom two folded panels came loose. It's still a big backpack, but at least it's a bit more compacted and therefore cohesive.
I've got a few more for you:That goes back to my earlier comment that the only reason they would do a chibi Bumblebee would be to give us the base frame for Cliffjumper, Hubcap and Bumper... but the problem though, people might be willing to shell out $150 for a primary character like Bumblebee, but half that would buy Cliffjumper at that price, and half of that again would also be willing to spend that much on obscure minibots like Hubcap and Bumper. There is just so much redeco potential for this mould now that it is more accurate to the original Bumblebee toy (this one would make more sense than the first MP Bee in blue, black, green, etc to homage the South American and BotCon redecos of the original Bumblebee toy)... I'd buy one in every colour of the rainbow if the price was half what is being speculated (and it should be, since the earlier Autobot Cars that are bigger, used to be about AU$80)
To just see how over-priced this Bumblebee is at 13,000yen, this list has the various Autobot Cars since the first one in 2012, and any Masterpiece toys since then that were 13,000yen or less.
The prices didn't really start to skyrocket fast until the anime redecos in 2017 (especially the larger MPs that aren't on this list), and those anime redecos were limited edition TakaraTomyMall exclusives, which justifies a price increase to cover the cost of the smaller run. But then after that, the regular release toys (even mere redecos) were costing just as much. So either the regular release toys are now being done in similar small numbers as the exclusives, or TakaraTomy felt that if people were happy to pay exclusives prices, then why not use them on the regular toys as well.
It's hard to believe that this tiny new Bumblebee is about the same price or more, than the much larger Seeker Jet mould, or even the MP-10 cab (like Black Convoy).
2012
- - MP11 - Coronation Starscream (remould - Decep) 13600yen
- - MP11S - Sunstorm (redeco - Decep) 13600yen
- - MP12 - Lambor/Sideswipe (new - Auto) 6000yen (7000yen for Amazon.jp excl version)
2013
- - MP10B - Black Convoy (MP-10 redeco, no Trailer - Decep) 13,400yen
- - MP17 - Prowl (new -Auto) 6,000yen
- - MP18 -Bluestreak (remould Prowl - Auto) 6,000yen
- - MP19 - Smokescreen (remould Prowl - Auto) 6,800yen
2014
- - MP12G - Gen2 Sideswipe (redeco w/ new accessories and head - Auto) (6,800yen)
- - MP20 - Wheeljack (new - Auto) (6,500yen)
- - MP21 - Bumblebee (new - Auto) (6,500yen)
2015
- - MP-23 - Exhaust (redeco Wheeljack) (7,000yen)
- - MP-21G - Gen2 Gold Bumble (Bumblebee) (redeco with Jetpack (5,500yen)
- - MP-18B - Bluestreak (blue redeco Streak) (TakaraTomyMall excl & Hasbro HK) (8,000yen)
- - MP-25 - Tracks (new) (7,500yen)
- - MP-26 - Road Rage (remoulded Tracks) (7,000yen)
- - MP-21R - Red Bumble (redeco - Satellite Store exclusive in Japan - plus Asia release) (5500yen)
- - MP-14C - Clampdown (redeco Red Alert - TakaraTomyMall exclusive in Japan of 2000 units - plus HK release) (8,000yen)
2016
--- MP-27 - Ironhide (10,000yen)
--- MP-28 - Hot Rodimus (Hotrod) (8,000yen)
--- MP-29 - Laserwave (Shockwave) - (12,000yen)
--- MP-30 - Ratchet (remould Ironhide) - (10,000yen)
--- MP-25L - Loudpedal (black redeco Tracks w/ redeco Raoul & Microman Blaster) (Tokyo Toy Show excl) - (8,500yen)
--- MP-14+ - (Red) Alert Anime Colour Edition (minor redeco) TakaraTomyMall exclusive - (8,400yen)
--- MP-32 - (Beast) Convoy (Optimus Primal) - (11,000yen)
--- MP-33 - Inferno - (13,000yen)
2017
--- MP-34 - Cheetor (7,000yen)
--- MP-35 - Grapple (remould Inferno) (13,000yen)
--- MP-11 - Starscream (reissue) (14,040yen)
--- MP-37 - Artfire (redeco Inferno) w/ Nightstick (new) (12,000yen)
--- MP-38 - Optimus Primal (redeco Beast Convoy in toy colours) (11,000yen)
--- MPM-3 - (Movie) Bumblebee (new - similar to Hasbro version) - (9700yen)
--- MP-12+ - Lambor/Sideswipe (anime minor redeco) - (8500yen)
--- MP-39 - Sunstreaker (new) - (12,000yen)
--- MP-10B - Black Convoy (Reissue - cab only) - (12,800yen)
2018
--- MP-40 - Targetmaster Hot Rodimus (minor redeco with new Targetmaster gun) - (9,000yen)
--- MP-21 - Bumble(bee) (reissue) - (5500yen)
--- MPM-5 - Barricade - (10,000yen)
--- MP-34S - Shadow Panther (redeco Cheetor w/ new head & accessories - TakaraTomyMall exclusive) - (8600yen)
--- MP-17+ - Prowl (Anime Edition) (minor redeco - TakaraTomyMall exclusive) - (9200yen)
--- MP-42 - Cordon (white "Diaclone" Sunstreaker) - (14,000yen)
--- MPM-07 - Bumblebee (new - VW) - (10,000yen)
2019
--- MP-45 Bumblebee - 13,000 Yen
- MP-12 Alert was released in December 2012 with an RRP of JPY5,800;
- MPM-4 Optimus was released in 2017 at JPY15,000;
- MP-41 Dinobot was released last year at JPY28,000;
- MPM-6 Ironhide was released at the end of last year at JPY15,000; and
- MP20+ Wheeljack is going to be released this month (if he's not already out) at JPY8,500.
Source: https://tf.takaratomy.co.jp/products/tf_mp
It's possible that the Movie Masterpieces have slightly higher prices due to their more complex moulding and diecast metal, where other MP cars before were nearly all plastic.
I would imagine that inflation is acting on multiple points during development: research and development, tooling for moulds, raw plastics, metals, cardboard, ink, factory operating costs, and labour; all of those little changes could be adding up to make big differences down the line. Also, it stands to reason that since newer MPs are more complex and have higher part counts, then they would have higher production costs to match.
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