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GalaxyPaladin Profile
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TRU Masterpiece Optimus 2.0 Review & Pics


Its been almost a decade since Masterpiece Convoy first came out & gave the TF fandom a new gold-standard series for superb recreations of G1 icons, changing the view of Transformers toys forever. Anyone who picked up that first legendary figure would probably agree that, while it does serve as an excellent representation of the character, Masterpiece #1 was not a very fun toy.

After a variety of releases and some business negotiations, Hasbro & Takara have released an all new version of Masterpiece Optimus Prime! Exclusive to Toys R US stores and now available (if you can sort through the awful distribution right now.) How did this release turn out? Let's take a look!

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Optimus starts off in Vehicle Mode using the outdated cab-over tractor trailer design that "purehearted" fans still clamor for at every occasion. Its a fairly impressive concept recreation right down to the little details like rearview mirrors & space for a driver.

Transformation is difficult without being totally frustrating (a major improvement on Version 1) and after completing the process we have the iconic face of TFs-

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Optimus Prime, the Once and Future King. This design is nearly all plastic while MP-01 releases incorporated diecast bits that weighed down several parts. New Optimus is a very articulate figure- incorporating fully functional shoulder, elbow, knee, waist and neck joints.

Masterpiece Prime once again comes with his trademark weapon-

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the Ion Blaster, which is now collapsable (similar to "MechTech" weapons except not spring-loaded so the deployed form is default).

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Prime's Energon Axe (made of a softer plastic than previous releases so the axe-head refuses to stay in place, sadly)

And last but certainly not least-

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a diecast Matrix of Leadership! This Matrix is sealed shut but Optimus can still hold and pose with it using either hand.

This new release does include one bonus feature of sorts- Optimus Prime's trailer!

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I've never seen the trailer as an essential part of Optimus; I will admit this one is an excellent recreation of the G1 play set but in the end its just a big gray box that'll probably just wind up in a storage bin to clear shelf space for other, more interesting toys.

This is without a doubt the best representation of Optimus Prime to date, a fantastic blend of detail and play value for a relatively affordable price point. Its the kind of figure I could only wish for back when I first started watching Transformers. Highly recommended!

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iacon45 Profile
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Re: TRU Masterpiece Optimus 2.0 Review & Pics


Three big things I like about him over MP-01 are the fact he has non-circumcised smoke stacks and I like that his face is about dead on with how his face looked in the cartoon. Also NO "oops, I left a few back smudge" battle damage paint apps.

I have not read up on MP-10 so this is the first time I actually read a review about this mold, more than likely, they took out his light up chest which is actually a good thing since I hardly ever used it and the little action button on the back of his head so his face plate could "talk".

But I did see where it was mainly die-cast. Was MP-10 die-cast and Hasbro went the "Alternator" way or was he always plastic from to begin with?

Last edited by iacon45, 10/15/2012, 4:10 pm
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Re: TRU Masterpiece Optimus 2.0 Review & Pics


MP-Optimus looks pretty good (especially w/ his pricepoint in the states)...but I've got to admit that seeing these pics and reading this well-done review make me yearn that much more for MP-Soundwave...

that being said, he surely looks to be the best of the Primes that I've ever viewed. :drool

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Opprime Profile
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Re: TRU Masterpiece Optimus 2.0 Review & Pics


Interesting note. As far as I know. He is the first tf Hasbro toy made not in china, but Vietnam. I know that hasbro said they were going to start shifting factories there, but everything I have seen is still made in China. He is, to my knowledge, is the first.

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Re: TRU Masterpiece Optimus 2.0 Review & Pics


Well actually all the Prime Cyberverse toys bear the Vietnam label. Interestingly enough, the Cyberverse toys are the portion of the toylines that quality and the price has been kept under control.


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11/1/2012, 10:35 pm Link to this post Send Email to MachSabre   Send PM to MachSabre AIM
 
Trium Shockwave Profile
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Re: TRU Masterpiece Optimus 2.0 Review & Pics


Uh... don't tell me Chinese workers are now as fat, complacent, lazy and overpaid as we are now? We have to go to Vietnam to find a workforce we can exploit and keep costs down?

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11/1/2012, 11:00 pm Link to this post Send Email to Trium Shockwave   Send PM to Trium Shockwave AIM
 
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Re: TRU Masterpiece Optimus 2.0 Review & Pics


That's not too much of a joke. It's kinda been on the world news for a while now. Production costs have been increasing, and quality control has been decreasing in China. We often hear jokes about lead based paint, or shoddy plastics and paints used in the toys, but it's kinda all over in Chinese production as of late. (Some of the horror stories from inside China itself is rather frightening.) On the toy front, it's one of the reasons Mattel has had so many problems as of late. Lot of Japanese companies, like Bandai for a quick example, I believe have started production out of India.

Seriously though, speaking as a Libertarian Capitalist here: This is a good thing. Vietnam is still a largely rural country, they don't have the human rights violations reputation that China has, and wages for the workers (as well as production costs) can be kept lower, without it being exploitative on the workforce there. Also Vietnam doesn't really have the political problems China does. (I know it's not reported here in the US news very often, but China and Japan's relationship, while never happy and chipper, has been extremely stressed as of recent days. And where's Tomy/Takara located at?)

Realizing this, this would be a huge factor into why there's been fewer and fewer toys released lately and it's mostly been on the Cyberverse front. Hasbro's shifting away from the China facilities. This is good news for us as toy collectors. It means that prices will level out, and at the very least, possibly go down a bit. (How much, if at all? We don't know. After all, Hasbro and Tomy/Takara has been with the Chinese factories since the Beast Wars. (The later G1 toys were produced in Macau, which was one of those special regions of China given Autonomy.)

The fact that they were able to produce a toy of this quality, size and caliber and manage to keep the price at around $100 (give or take), tells me that we're already seeing a difference.

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Trium Shockwave Profile
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Re: TRU Masterpiece Optimus 2.0 Review & Pics


I figured China's economic boom would eventually bust. They have the same mentality Japan did back in the 80's, that they could ride the wave forever, because it's all due to how economically brilliant they are. Well, as the Fundamental Attribution Error teaches us, you are not as responsible for your success as you think you are. Circumstance is key, and economic booms always bust. I'd say I hope for the sake of their population they can get it together and pull it out, but that's not generally how these things work.

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