Toy Review - Masterpiece Dinobot

[doublespy]

[B]Series - Masterpiece
Sub-line - none
Size/class - n/a
New/remould/redeco - new
Wave - n/a (MP-41)
Released here - released in Japan July 2018
Approximate Retail Price - 25000 yen


I'm conflicted on how I feel about MP Dinobot. On the one hand hes' so close to perfection but the very few production issues/oddball design choices have quite the impact on the play-ability of this figure that I just can't simply overlook. On the other hand, this is a Masterpiece of probably my favorite Transformer character ever, and like a lot of people it's a dream come true. And it repesents that character so well, that I can't help but be willing to forgive the things that could've been handled better, just cause it is a Masterpiece freaking Dinobot.


Raptor mode:




It makes some sacrifices here in dino mode in favor of the 'bot mode, but considering the amazing 'bot mode accuracy, this is still a very respectable raptor mode. Head sculpt is per the usual high standards of Masterpiece figures, it translates the CGI design to physical form perfectly. Character, accuracy, it's all there. I'm also impressed by the coherence of the raptor chest and back. Some people would say it looks very panel-ly, but it'd rather this than dedicated panels just to cover robot bits resulting in a shell-former. Due to the need of turning into robot arms, the legs are probably where most liberty has been taken, but short of giving 'bot mode entirely separate arms, compromised had to be made. Also the reversed skin colors on the legs bother me less in person. I think what's been captured perfectly here is the raptor skeleton that defines the silhouette; from the neck, down to the spine, bird like chest bone, rib cage, and the wide hips. The exposed kibble at the back doesn't bother me one bit, as I try to have practical expectations on beast-formers where the designers no extra hidden surface to hide all the kibble. I also have to mention the sculpted scale details. They look fantastic in person.







The eye changing gimmick works wonder to add an extra layer to the personality this figure has. The golden disc adapter is simple and effective to work with both modes.

Pose-ability is decent in this mode. The retractable teeth are a clever touch to enable the jaw to fully close. If the head could tilt from side to side that'd be perfect. My biggest gripe with this mode is there are no real thighs, just a panel tabbed in place to represent the muscles there, so no meaning thigh articulation to speak of here. The 'bot mode shoulders actually function as knees in this mode. Not sure engineering wise it'd be possible to have articulated thighs but the lack of it really takes away lots of dino poses. The ankles have front to back swivel, and side way tilt. Both joints are not-ratcheted, creating balance issues especially considering the entire 'bot mode is pack into the raptor body that these joints need to support. However, I don't think for the size of these ankles there's enough space to incorporate strong enough ratchets to support the body weight. Imo that's why the designers went with non-ratcheted and offered a display stand. So I'm okay with this decision, and getting him to stand on his own is not all that difficult even for some more dynamic poses. You just need to beware where his center of gravity is and keep the feet planted flat all the time. The tail having multiple points of articulation is impressive considering it splits apart.



He looks a bit too big in beast mode compared to Primal and Cheetor--again a compromise for robot mode scale, they look great together.

Transformation:

I find it funny how people are saying how third party company Unique Toys came up with the "inside out" transformation scheme with their not Lockdown. It was an incredibly clever engineering and their upcoming not AoE/TLK Optimus looks just as impressive, but Evasion mode Optimus did this trick way back, and TT followed up with MP G1 Ironhide, which used multiple surfaces of the same part brilliantly to tuck vehicle kibble away or change colors between modes. Here the raptor opens up and folds over on himself to create the entire upper body. Looks like an exploded mess but it's actually quite intuitive to do in hand. I especially love how on the dino rib cage splits open and underneath are the actual rib details for 'bot mode!

TT had the balls to release in my mind two of the most difficult designs to engineer in G1 Megs and BW Dinobot, within such a short span of time; goes to show how scary TT's capabilities are.

I've got the faulty left shoulder ratchet. Admittedly I didn't use the dish soap/shock oil trick preemptively, and the tab bends after the first try to move the joint. But I think it would've mattered because it was incredibly stiff to move and when I tried the gears wouldn't even open, meaning the mechanism was that tight it probably wouldn't make a difference with lubrication. It's basically become a friction joint with the remainder of the tab left in there so it holds up fine for the time being. With the effort that went into designing we can clearly see, I'm surprised that this hasn't been ironed out. Not sure if it's a design oversight or assembly error, I'm quite disappointed that it happens at this price point.

'Bot mode:







Its' an engineering feat to achieve this level of accuracy to the source material. It's just incredible to see all the minute details faithfully recreated here. The legs do all kinds of tricks to break apart and compact down for raptor mode; here in 'bot mode you can see not a single detail on the legs is missed. Again, all three of the head sculpts are fantastically executed.









The LED eyes work wonder, especially with the beam effect part. Like MP-36 Megatron, Dinobot oozes personality and is very photogenic.







Pose-ability is great. He has limited thigh rotation just below the hips, and one rotation just above the knees doubling for transformation. At first I thought it's doubling up on thigh joint but then realized the thigh rotation is actually for the thigh armor to rotate out of way and clear the waist so you get a better split on the hips. Very thoughtful design. However, no ratchets in the ankles again. He'd be a top heavy bot just by virtue of his character design, and I find the decision here baffling. There should be enough room in there as opposed to the thin dino ankles. The only reason I can think of is transformation, but I'm not sure this is the only way to collapse the lower legs and not have ratchets. Then again, just like the raptor mode, you just need to be aware of where his center of gravity is and utilize the ankle rotation, front to back and side to side tilt to keep the feet planted firmly on the ground.





With the squad. I can't wait for more.

Overall:

He's an engineering marvel and clearly labor of love. IMHO he's on par with Megs in terms of accuracy and engineering, but Megs beats him on tactile feelings as an action figure. Megatron is so fluid and smooth to pose, where Dinobot has various degrees of limitations in articulation, either by virtue of the character design, or engineering, or odd design choice.

I paid about AUD$340 including shipping (21340 yen + shipping) from amiami (this also includes the bs 10% GST). If he didn't have the shoulder issue and had ratcheted ankles at least in 'bot mode. I'd say he's well worth the money. As is, objectively he's not a value for money purchase, even considering the incredible accuracy to source material and fantastic engineering.

But, with my subjective feelings towards the character, this is easily my top 3 MP figure.

[Lord_Zed]

He's a flawed Masterpiece alas, but so far I have no regrets getting him high price point and all. He pushes TF engineering to the next level, I would say even above the last MP Megs who still is mostly still made up of rectangular shapes. And yet still he is pretty fun to transform.

If they could somehow iron out all the small bugs and find a way to reduce his articulation limits created by the complexity of his design, he'd be the best MP ever bar none.

That said with his organic textured alt mode and amazing engineering he's like a breath of fresh air in the MP space, in terms of engineering an almost magical shift between beast and robot mode, the only was I see them topping this is is they do the spiders.

[GoktimusPrime]

I'm not getting this toy but looking at pictures and reading your comments, I can appreciate the immense difficulty that they must've gone to in order to make this toy. I remember when the BW cartoon came out and I looked at the show model that stripped away so much of the toy's beast kibble in robot mode that making a show-accurate toy would've been impossible (just as making a show-accurate G1 Ratchethide seemed as well). And yeah, even trying to pull this off is certainly a bold endeavour. I think that one thing we need to be mindful of is that organic beast modes are harder than vehicle modes because a vehicle only needs to look good from 5 out of 6 angles. The bottom of the vehicle can have a lot of robot parts exposed because nobody cares about the underside of car. A beast on the other hand is attempting to look good from every angle, and this obviously ramps up the level of technical difficulty. Stack on top of that a show model which "mass shifts" a lot of its alt mode kibble into thin air, and you have a challenge that's way tougher than MP Ratchethide was.

While this is a toy that I personally am not interested in purchasing, I certainly wouldn't mind checking it out IRL just to appreciate the level of engineering that's gone behind it. In the meantime I will enjoy it vicariously through photos and comments.

[Magnus]

While a lot of people complained or balked at the price TakaraTOMY were charging for Dinobot, looking at pictures and particularly a video review shows me that the price might be justified. The development of this figure could not have been easy or quick, and the sheer part count for such a complex transformation, with associated painting and assembly, would quickly drive up the price.

[GoktimusPrime]

Oh absolutely. My initial thoughts when I see any toy reaching the $300 mark is that it's personally the most that I've ever paid for a Transformer toy, and each time I've paid $300 for a toy that toy's name ended with "Maximus." But of course, with Fortress Maximus you're really paying for it's size and bulk. The actual transformation of Fort Max is relatively simple; he lies down to become a battleship and curls up to become a city. Even TF Jr. Fort Max's transformation from robot to battleship mode is more or less the same as the full blown toy. But we can see that with toys like MP Dinobot that the technical level of engineering, complexity and parts count is off the scale. And yeah, he's a pretty darn big looking toy for an MP. Okay, not at par with Fortress Maximus, but with this toy you're paying for the tech level poured into the toy, not just a big and bulky yet fairly simple play set.

And let's face it $340 for an MP Dinobot is most likely loads more value for money than any of the Cyberverse toys! At least it looks like TakaraTOMY have tried really hard to make a good toy. With Cyberverse it's clear that Hasbro aren't even trying. Cyberverse are lazy, lazy toys. There's nothing remotely lazy looking about what's been done with MP Dinobot here. It doesn't sound like any of the flaws or drawbacks on this toy can be chalked down to just carelessness or a lack of basic effort.

[MayzaPrime]

What an awesome review! I have been thinking the same thing but could not articulate it more than 'this figure is awesome'

[Bemblebuu]

Thanks for sharing the photos and giving your review, doublespy!

[loophole]

I put a vote for yes if you are a bw fan, my biggest complaint was getting his backpack right for everything to fit nicely.
Otherwise I nice very nice figure