Anyone else frothing at the mouth for MP09?

[Goktimus Prime]

I think MP Convoy/Optimus Prime was a marvel of engineering and for 10290JPY ($126) was much better value than say MP Grimlock, which is a nice toy but just not worth the $150 I paid for him. I skipped MP04, even when it was released locally as a Target exclusive, since I already had MP01. And quite frankly, I didn't want to shell out for a trailer. MP Rodimus Convoy looks nice, but I can't justify paying 17640JPY ($215) + shipping. And as I said before, due to the large size of the toy being 1 per case, you can't bulk order with friends to save on shipping (which is what I almost always do when ordering TFs from Japan).

 

Best case scenario, Hasbro Australia might release the Japanese MP Rodimus Convoy here as a Target Exclusive (as they did with Ultra Magnus and MP04 Convoy). Otherwise they might release the Hasbro version and I might consider getting it if the price is comparable with TOMY's (which is already overpriced anyway). But if they're gonna be stupid like they did with the TRU exclusive Ghost Starscream toy which is STILL shelfwarming now with its ridiculous price tag of $250, then I'll just pass on the toy. Maybe wait a while and get a cheap one loose.

[Yotsuyasan]

You know, I've seen a lot of complaints about Rodimus's alt mode being a shell-former, what with half the cab being incorporated into the trailer. Yes, this is true. But really? To all those complaining, I'd like to see how they would solve the problem of having the two different alt modes have their two completely different cabs without adding massive amounts of kibble to the robot mode. I may not have any special toy engineering skills, but I can't personally fathom how else they may have done this.

 

Myself, I am much anticipating this! Not sure where I'm going to fit it. (May need to retire some figures I currently have on display.) But it will be mine! And the only minor gripe I have (pre-release) is that it would be nice if there wasn't that hole in his roof in front of the spoiler in Rodimus alt-mode. But that is, as stated, just a minor gripe.

 

Consider me just a wee bit frothing.

[Timothy.R]

plus, the engineering on this looks incredible.

 

Uhm, exactly what part of the engineering looks incredible to you?

 

The Hot Rod to Rodimus Prime changes in robot mode are nothing special: face changing, increasing size by not fully transforming the legs, and changing the angle of the wing. Well, you can do the same thing with the MP seeker mold.

 

The Rodimus Prime altmode is about 90 percent (or more) shell with a Hot Rod altmode stuck in backwards and some parts folded up. Making something transform into a specific altmode by putting a shell over it, isn't that special. (that's saying that the G1 pretender Beasts features amazing engineering because they turned into lifelike beast -- it was just a pretender shell over a folded up robot.)

 

The Hot Rod alt mode is about 50 percent shell: the second half of the hood, the roof and the tailpart is all one shell. A shell that folds up and with huge gaps in between forms his upper body.

 

Engineering wise...it's one big cheat.

 

you have got to be kidding me right?

 

have you seen the G1 movie? guess not. that is how he transforms. the top of the car becomes his torso and his back.. how is that cheating? the engineering is great because they solved a problem and made each mode great and accurate. without the flip out rodimus cab, none of the modes would be able to be as perfect as they are. titanium scourge is a shellformer. not hot rod. this figure is absolutely nothing like a pretender. so.. WFC prime is a shellformer? WFC bumblebee is a shellformer? universe ironhide and ratchet are shellformers? masterpiece grimlock is a shellformer? universe smokescreen, prowl, and bluestreak are shellformers? animated blurr is a shellformer? animated swindle is a shellformer? no.. and if you consider them all terrible shellformers.. then you must have an extremely small collection.

 

i think you're getting what i said mixed up. the WHOLE FIGURE features great engineering. not just one mode. the figure has a hot rod robot mode, a slightly taller, different faced rodimus mode (and oh again, have you watched the movie, that's all that changes between hot rod and rodimus), a hot rod car alt mode, and a rodimus prime alt mode. now. to have one figure that not only does all that, but is accurate in each and every mode, and has a toon accurate transformation.. YES, THAT IS GREAT ENGINEERING.

 

so, your pretender analogy is nixed, your shellformer argument is nixed, and saying that this entire figure is one big cheat is well.. ignorant. sorry.

[Timothy.R]

You know, I've seen a lot of complaints about Rodimus's alt mode being a shell-former, what with half the cab being incorporated into the trailer. Yes, this is true. But really? To all those complaining, I'd like to see how they would solve the problem of having the two different alt modes have their two completely different cabs without adding massive amounts of kibble to the robot mode.

 

they wouldn't be able to solve it. and i bet you that if this figure were engineered differently so that there was no flip out cab.. people would be complaining about why the hot rod mode looked terrible, or the rodimus alt mode looks too much like a car with a trailer, or that the robot mode isn't accurate enough.

 

i swear that the price is why so many people are complaining. i sense a lot of people finding the dumbest thing wrong with the figure just to justify to themselves that it's not worth it. hell, i've even seen people complain about it being TOO accurate.. are they serious? TOO accurate?? saying that they wish it was a more updated version, or there should be more mold detailing and what not. .. remember when universe powerglide wasn't red.. i thought the internet was going to explode due to the complaining. (yes, i know the internet isn't a tangible thing)

 

it's like hey, the top of an alt mode becomes the robots torso and back.. so it's a shellformer.. does that mean the chest is part of the shell? or, does that mean the spoiler on his back is excess kibble? no.

 

oh well. for some people nothing is ever good enough.

[Rawhide]

you have got to be kidding me right?

 

have you seen the G1 movie? guess not. that is how he transforms. the top of the car becomes his torso and his back.. how is that cheating? the engineering is great because they solved a problem and made each mode great and accurate. without the flip out rodimus cab, none of the modes would be able to be as perfect as they are. titanium scourge is a shellformer. not hot rod. this figure is absolutely nothing like a pretender. so.. WFC prime is a shellformer? WFC bumblebee is a shellformer? universe ironhide and ratchet are shellformers? masterpiece grimlock is a shellformer? universe smokescreen, prowl, and bluestreak are shellformers? animated blurr is a shellformer? animated swindle is a shellformer? no.. and if you consider them all terrible shellformers.. then you must have an extremely small collection.

 

i think you're getting what i said mixed up. the WHOLE FIGURE features great engineering. not just one mode. the figure has a hot rod robot mode, a slightly taller, different faced rodimus mode (and oh again, have you watched the movie, that's all that changes between hot rod and rodimus), a hot rod car alt mode, and a rodimus prime alt mode. now. to have one figure that not only does all that, but is accurate in each and every mode, and has a toon accurate transformation.. YES, THAT IS GREAT ENGINEERING.

 

so, your pretender analogy is nixed, your shellformer argument is nixed, and saying that this entire figure is one big cheat is well.. ignorant. sorry.

 

You know what amazes me? Everytime there’s critique on this figure, it’s always dismissed by two comments: 1) the critic probably is angry because of the price of the figure, and 2) they probably haven’t seen the movie and/or season 3 of the G1 cartoon.

 

Well, the price isn’t an issue for me. $ 200? I have it and can spend it. (Not because I’m rich, but I don’t have a family to support, know exactly what my monthly expenses are, and never liked putting myself in debt (except the mortgage) meaning I didn’t buy things I couldn’t afford and now have debts to pay of.) I’m also not a stranger to spending large sums on TF’s because they are 2-3 times as expensives where I live (a deluxe here costs more than a voyager in the US, and a voyager costs here about as much as a leader in the US) and I also switched to more collectable (and expensive) figures instead of buying each and every TF that I kind of like. I did do that, but it grew stale after a few years causing me to sell off a few hundred TF’s none of which I regret selling and some I even just threw away.

 

As for the G1 movie/cartoon...I have seen it, many times, and own it on DVD (cartoon partly).

 

And thus I can tell you that 1) in season 3 RP was also a different color than HR, more darker (which also features in TT promotion pics for the MP, btw), 2) HR never transforms the same in the movie twice, 3) both RP and HR are not shellformers in the cartoon/movie (heck, even the trailer sometimes transforms into RP his legs :P).

 

Oh, Shellformer = “the majority of the alternate mode is a "shell" that closes completely (or close enough) around the robot parts, with the robot mode having very little genuine integration of the alternate-mode parts.” So those examples you named to counter the shellformer argument aren’t shellformers because they incorporate (most) of their altmode in robot mode, while the altmode incorporate robot parts.

 

However...

- The HR mode: the arms are part of the altmode and so is the lower part of the chest...and that’s it.

- The RP mode: the arms are part of the altmode...and nothing else is. Everything else is covered up a shell that is not part of the robot mode.

 

That makes it a shellformer. And for a deluxe or a voyager...well, no problem. Got a bunch of those famous shellformers and I have no problem with it. But this is a MP figure. Again: this is a MASTERPIECE figure. And I can safely say that we all agree that a MP figure cannot be compared to a regular retail figure. It should by definition be more.

 

 

 

Rodimus Prime is with Optimus Primal my two favourite good guy leaders. MP Prime, sure nice, but you know what I was really hoping when MP Prime was announced? That we’d get an MP Rodimus Prime. Not a MP Hot Rod, but a Rodimus PRIME. A good MP Rodimus Prime and I would've sold my MP Optimus Prime without a moments thought. A good MP Rodimus Prime would easily be worth $ 200 to me.

 

This figure is called MP Rodimus Prime, but it’s designed to be a MP Hot Rod, with as bonus a Rodimus Prime mode.

 

(And you know, despite these problems that bug me, I'm still so tempted to buy him. Simply because it's a new MP mold and it's effing Rodimus Prime.)

[Rawhide]

You know, I've seen a lot of complaints about Rodimus's alt mode being a shell-former, what with half the cab being incorporated into the trailer. Yes, this is true. But really? To all those complaining, I'd like to see how they would solve the problem of having the two different alt modes have their two completely different cabs without adding massive amounts of kibble to the robot mode. I may not have any special toy engineering skills, but I can't personally fathom how else they may have done this.

 

Good point.

 

The difference is that since this is MP Rodimus Prime, I would’ve placed the focus on Rodimus Prime.

 

In season 3 of the cartoon we only saw a few times that the trailer remained behind. One instance was, I think, in “The Burden Hardest to Bear”. The front part of the RP alt mode drove out of the trailer. Although this was a Hot Rod like car, it clearly was the front of the RP alt mode (had the colors of s3 RP, no exposed engine block and other minor details).

 

THAT would’ve been my basis for a MP Rodimus Prime.

 

The RP robot would’ve transformed into the front part of the RP altmode: hood=chest, back= window. Maybe the legs still extended (like the G1 toy) under the trailer. For transformation into the HR altmode the legs would then fold up to form the back of the HR car, the spoiler would move backwards to the HR place, and maybe hinge the window/cab backwards to give him a larger hood and to add a engine block. (This would probably require some collapsible parts on the robot’s legs to mimick the trunk of the HR altmode, but not too much and perhaps it could fold up inside the leg.)

 

This would’ve given us a perfect MP RP robot mode that actually transformed into the RP altmode. The HR altmode would then be less accurate but still recognisable.

 

The robot changes between HR and RP should then still be possible.

 

 

That way we’d get a MP Rodimus Prime with a bonus HR mode. (while now it’s the other way around)

 

If I buy this, it will definitely be the HasTak version. As for the "shell", I'll simply do like with MP Megs: take the kibble and revert it back to its' original positions on the body. I'll also repaint the chest so that the maroon goes right up to his flames, mod the head a bit do it more approaches the G1 toy (without being a "Motorhead", glue the face so whiny Rodimus doesn't ever see the light of day again, and even print up some decals to add more G1 flavor.

 

Insane? Maybe. "Geewone"? Definitely.

 

Settling for another shellbot? Not a freakin' chance, kimosabe.

Hey WV, curious what exactly you then plan to do?

 

Me I was thinking of probably going for the hasbro version (and hoping it has the RP gun) and adding a trailer like the Fansproject thing. Just a trailer, nothing more.

 

of course, the really big wish would be to scratchbuild a MP Rodimus Prime myself. Wouldn't make him too big, more voyager/ultra sized. Still out of my expertice...

[Yotsuyasan]

The (Hot Rod) altmode would then be less accurate but still recognisable.

 

Where as with this (what I at least consider) minor cheat, we get pretty dead on accurate altmodes for both. But I sense this is one of those things where you can't please all of the people all of the time, and I suppose I should just be happy that I like it.

[sgt__york]

looking forward to getting this new mold. I have 2 on preorder - just like grmlock - so i can pose him in both modes. $400. Sounds like a lot, but it's the "ONLY" TFer i've bought in the last year. Now it's not so much taken into budget. Because I didn't buy 50 TFers that cost $10/ea - i can get 2 of this one and save money. It's all perspective.

[Timothy.R]

york, first, if you watch the movie again, hot rod does transform the same way twice. in the beginning when he picks up daniel he transforms the same way he does at the beginning of the hot rod galvatron fight, then he transforms when they're in the court room and transforms that way again in the middle of the galvatron fight.

i think you misunderstood what i was saying. i was listing figures that pretty much have the same amount of shellforming as hot rod.

 

you say..

 

"Oh, Shellformer = “the majority of the alternate mode is a "shell" that closes completely (or close enough) around the robot parts, with the robot mode having very little genuine integration of the alternate-mode parts.” So those examples you named to counter the shellformer argument aren’t shellformers because they incorporate (most) of their altmode in robot mode, while the altmode incorporate robot parts."

how is the top of hot rods alt mode and the hatchback (or whatever you want to call it) account for a majority of its alt mode? the whole front of the car and the sides are all parts of the robot that can be seen from the front view. that's like saying that universe prowl is a shell former, the entire sides windshield and roof are a shell.

plus, all that being said. if you want to call it a shellformer.. fine, but how is that a detraction? the way he transforms, is almost exactly the way he does in the movie. those parts go to the same place they go in the movie when he transforms. not only do we get incredible accuracy in each mode, but we get a very great toon accurate transformation. same as grimlock, who is a perfect figure.

to be able to design a figure like this that looks incredible in each mode, achieve a pretty toon accurate transformation, especially with all of the curvy sleek lines if great engineering. there is no way of sticking another completely different rodimus cab on this figure without sacrificing robot mode accuracy. this was the right way to solve the problem, and it looks great. plus. if engineers were able to use some kind of magic to achieve a double cabbed accurate robot mode.. these people complaining about the price would still be complaining about the price and find something else to nitpick about. the people who don't want to spend the money on the full figure should be thanking the designers.. because now they can get the bare bones hot rod from hasbro and won't have any extra rodimus pieces in the way anywhere (other than the head)

"This would’ve given us a perfect MP RP robot mode that actually transformed into the RP altmode. The HR altmode would then be less accurate but still recognisable. "

why in the world would anyone want that? most people like hot rod more than rodimus. hence.. most people waiting for the hasbro release. i don't see anyone wanting a hot rod mode that'll basically look like an afterthought. plus. it's not like rodimus's alt mode cab is a completely separate piece that you can take off and lose and what not. it is a part of the trailer that can obviously be hidden when you use the defense bay.

 

anyways, bbts now has an exact date of january 26th for arrival. i wish that were an arrival to customers date, but oh well. hopefully they'll process the orders quickly and we'll get them in about two weeks or so.

 

i'm way excited.

[sgt__york]

york, first, if you watch the movie again, hot rod does transform the same way twice. in the beginning when he picks up daniel he transforms the same way he does at the beginning of the hot rod galvatron fight, then he transforms when they're in the court room and transforms that way again in the middle of the galvatron fight.

i think you misunderstood what i was saying. i was listing figures that pretty much have the same amount of shellforming as hot rod.

 

you say..

 

"Oh, Shellformer = “the majority of the alternate mode is a "shell" that closes completely (or close enough) around the robot parts, with the robot mode having very little genuine integration of the alternate-mode parts.” So those examples you named to counter the shellformer argument aren’t shellformers because they incorporate (most) of their altmode in robot mode, while the altmode incorporate robot parts."

how is the top of hot rods alt mode and the hatchback (or whatever you want to call it) account for a majority of its alt mode? the whole front of the car and the sides are all parts of the robot that can be seen from the front view. that's like saying that universe prowl is a shell former, the entire sides windshield and roof are a shell.

plus, all that being said. if you want to call it a shellformer.. fine, but how is that a detraction? the way he transforms, is almost exactly the way he does in the movie. those parts go to the same place they go in the movie when he transforms. not only do we get incredible accuracy in each mode, but we get a very great toon accurate transformation. same as grimlock, who is a perfect figure.

to be able to design a figure like this that looks incredible in each mode, achieve a pretty toon accurate transformation, especially with all of the curvy sleek lines if great engineering. there is no way of sticking another completely different rodimus cab on this figure without sacrificing robot mode accuracy. this was the right way to solve the problem, and it looks great. plus. if engineers were able to use some kind of magic to achieve a double cabbed accurate robot mode.. these people complaining about the price would still be complaining about the price and find something else to nitpick about. the people who don't want to spend the money on the full figure should be thanking the designers.. because now they can get the bare bones hot rod from hasbro and won't have any extra rodimus pieces in the way anywhere (other than the head)

"This would’ve given us a perfect MP RP robot mode that actually transformed into the RP altmode. The HR altmode would then be less accurate but still recognisable. "

why in the world would anyone want that? most people like hot rod more than rodimus. hence.. most people waiting for the hasbro release. i don't see anyone wanting a hot rod mode that'll basically look like an afterthought. plus. it's not like rodimus's alt mode cab is a completely separate piece that you can take off and lose and what not. it is a part of the trailer that can obviously be hidden when you use the defense bay.

 

anyways, bbts now has an exact date of january 26th for arrival. i wish that were an arrival to customers date, but oh well. hopefully they'll process the orders quickly and we'll get them in about two weeks or so.

 

i'm way excited.

 

 

Umm... I think you intended this for someone else. I didn't say any of that.