First look at Miniature Masterpiece-05 Megatron

If they did a mini of Optimus, they are sure to do a Megatron. I would expect them to work on doing the seekers and a repaint for Magnus. But it looks pretty sweet.

1. Stop ripping off other peoples work. Its a good way to lose favour with us fans. Do something original.

2. The whole point of the oversize Megatron handgun was to help make it obvious to customs/the law that Masterpiece Megatron wasn't a real gun. Making a voyager size version must put the alt mode in the realms of being actual size.

Ironically this may have less of a legal hurdle to go through than the mini-Masterpiece Convoy, since Hasbro never released a version of Masterpiece Megs they have less of a leg to stand on in trying to shut this item down.

I just hope iGear has the sense to include an orange tip so it won't be as likely to run afoul of gun laws.

I'll take two, and also keep my original Masterpiece Megs.

I wish these mini-Masterpiece figs would spur Takara and/or Hasbro into releasing versions of these molds in this size so they'll better match MP Grimlock and the MP Seekers. I'd rather buy "official" versions, but in the absence of those I'll gladly add these to my collection, just as I have the WST Dinobots and the upcoming WST Blaster and Shockwave.

Since it's unlikely that anyone with half a brain is going to be "fooled" into buying these instead of "legitimate product", I really don't give a flip about any possible IP infringement. These will do virtually nothing to hurt Hasbro or Takara's immense bottom lines. No harm, no foul.

I wonder what these guys will tackle next. I'd like to see a Masterpiece Dirge....

It will only be a few more years until we can fabricate these at home with the rapid advance of rapid prototyping and 3d printers anyway. Beautiful days ahead.

Ravage XK wrote:2. The whole point of the oversize Megatron handgun was to help make it obvious to customs/the law that Masterpiece Megatron wasn't a real gun. Making a voyager size version must put the alt mode in the realms of being actual size.

The whole point of making Masterpiece Megs so oversized was so he would be the same size as Masterpiece Convoy in robot mode.

Since the item was designed for sale within Japan I'm pretty sure Takara wasn't that concerned about gun laws outside of Japan.

I am assuming that the intention behind this is to create a realistic sized alt mode, whilst having todays "toy-technology" for the robot mode. The ultimate homage to the original design intention of the Microman line if you will.

If that is what they are trying to do then great, I do see what they are trying to accomplish. I still think that they are on dodgy ground tho'.

I will be interedted to see what colour schemes they use, given the variations on Megs' over the years.

Pretender Skywarp wrote:I am assuming that the intention behind this is to create a realistic sized alt mode, whilst having todays "toy-technology" for the robot mode. The ultimate homage to the original design intention of the Microman line if you will.

I'd guess that it's more to give us a Megatron scaled to go along with mini-Masterpiece Prime and MP Grimlock and the MP Seekers. The more realistic size of the gun mode is simply a fringe benefit.

It wuld be nice if iGear made a stock and silencer for this while they were at it. I wonder how hard it would be to adapt these parts from a G1 Megs?

metaphorge wrote:

Pretender Skywarp wrote:I am assuming that the intention behind this is to create a realistic sized alt mode, whilst having todays "toy-technology" for the robot mode. The ultimate homage to the original design intention of the Microman line if you will.

I'd guess that it's more to give us a Megatron scaled to go along with mini-Masterpiece Prime and MP Grimlock and the MP Seekers. The more realistic size of the gun mode is simply a fringe benefit.

Both ideas have merit at this point, it would be nice to see some info from i-gear so we can stop guessing

That's pretty awesome. I'll pick that up for sure. I really want the translucent mini-mp Convoy and I hope they try and do something like that with this too.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the fusion cannon for Mini-Megs looks to be scaled a little better to him than the original. I never really liked how MP Megs cannon was almost as tall as he was, it made him look a little ridiculous.

Is it me or have they made the size of the fusion canon smaller than it should be?

I find it really interesting that none of the online retailers will touch these. Why will they carry the rip-off trailer, roller, and Sharkticon but not these "Partner Products" We all know they're iGear pieces so what's the difference?

I can't wait for someone to get a production Optimus or Megatron in-hand and post a review.

Sorry Zetatron, I didn't see your post before I clicked reply.

DevastaTTor wrote:I find it really interesting that none of the online retailers will touch these. Why will they carry the rip-off trailer, roller, and Sharkticon but not these "Partner Products" We all know they're iGear pieces so what's the difference?

Because the other Knock Offs are not beloved cornerstone characters, are mostly miscellaneous accessories, and therefore slip somewhat under the radar. Compared to these Knock Offs (and they ARE Knock Offs) of HasTak's big guns (pun intended), the two most identifiable characters in the entire 25 years of the Transformers franchise at any rate.

This Megatron KO is the reason I was hoping HasTak would shut down these mini-MPs. I would actually like to get them, but I'd never get the Megatron KO past customs, and therefore there's entirely no point getting the mini Convoy KO. Yes, you heard it - if I can't have them, nobody can. The fun part is that I can (and will) claim the moral high ground anyway due to them being KOs.

Boo! Hiss!

Deathsanras wrote:This Megatron KO is the reason I was hoping HasTak would shut down these mini-MPs. I would actually like to get them, but I'd never get the Megatron KO past customs, and therefore there's entirely no point getting the mini Convoy KO. Yes, you heard it - if I can't have them, nobody can. The fun part is that I can (and will) claim the moral high ground anyway due to them being KOs.

I totally disagree with you. You don't care if others might like them? And you wish mini Convoy would be cancelled because he's not worth getting if you can't get mini Megatron? Seriously, you may claim moral high grounds some day, but not social high grounds.

I like the mini Masterpieces because they would fit better with the other transformers lines I have.

If HasTak is "hurting" from these 2 products when they get out, it means they should've made them themselves instead of making hundreds of repaints.
If HasTak made them I would've bought them from them ofcourse, but they don't.
And I won't be getting them if the quality is bad or the price to high which will probably be the case :p

This is bold, and I'm not talking about the legal side of things. MP Megatron is claimed be many to be their most complicated transformer to transform, so downsizing it may make it even more difficult.

I won't be getting these myself as I already have the real deal, but I'm happy for anyone who wants them or even just wants a Megs & Prime that are more in scale with the other masterpiece figures.

I must admit the idea of a 1:1 ratio alt mode MP-Megs is tempting, very tempting. On the other hand I really don't want to support such a blatant KO.

I must admit that I like the idea of a small MP-05 with a more scaled Fusion Cannon. I would love for HasTakTomy to make one or even maybe the same group that made the stock & silencer kit for it to make a more in-scale Fusion Cannon. I would eat it up. But as far as buying this, I just can't do it. I know what it's like to have your work, that you came up with and put blood, sweat & tears into ripped off by people for their own gain. And knowing that I just can't get behind this or the MP-1 miniature knock-off, because that's just what it is. An extremely overpriced Knock-Off, nothing more, nothing less. I have MP-1 & MP-5 and they are wonderful figures, i'll admit I don't really mess with them much due to the price I paid for them, but I do enjoy looking at them if nothing else, y'all know what I mean. Bottom line, imagine that you designed something as beautiful & complex as the Masterpiece figures and now imagine someone ripping them off. Would you really want people that are supposed to be loyal to your work supporting said KOs?? That's all.

I have owned the original MP Megs since it was first released and I am STILL afraid to transform it. It is the only transformer in my vast collection that I have not yet transformed. I read too many horror stories of MP Megs breaking easily during transformation. Compared to MP Optimus/Convoy, MP Megs is flimsy as hell.

I really don't blame Takara so much, as it is indeed an engineering challenge to produce an accurate walther P-38 AND have a robot mode that looks like the original cartoon character. MP Optimus is much more simple and hence they could use a lot of die cast.

If MP Megs is flimsy and easy to break, I would imagine this one would all the more be easily breakable, since the quality of these KO's typically is much worse than the official releases.

revengeofstarscream wrote:I have owned the original MP Megs since it was first released and I am STILL afraid to transform it. It is the only transformer in my vast collection that I have not yet transformed. I read too many horror stories of MP Megs breaking easily during transformation. Compared to MP Optimus/Convoy, MP Megs is flimsy as hell.

I really don't blame Takara so much, as it is indeed an engineering challenge to produce an accurate walther P-38 AND have a robot mode that looks like the original cartoon character. MP Optimus is much more simple and hence they could use a lot of die cast.

If MP Megs is flimsy and easy to break, I would imagine this one would all the more be easily breakable, since the quality of these KO's typically is much worse than the official releases.

MP Megs isn't nearly as bad as some people say. I've transformed mine a few times without incident, but I was exceedingly careful while doing it. I just don't grab him at random to transform as stress relief. I've been using my ROTF scouts for that lately. Those little guys are marvelous.

revengeofstarscream wrote:I have owned the original MP Megs since it was first released and I am STILL afraid to transform it. It is the only transformer in my vast collection that I have not yet transformed. I read too many horror stories of MP Megs breaking easily during transformation. Compared to MP Optimus/Convoy, MP Megs is flimsy as hell.

I really don't blame Takara so much, as it is indeed an engineering challenge to produce an accurate walther P-38 AND have a robot mode that looks like the original cartoon character. MP Optimus is much more simple and hence they could use a lot of die cast.

If MP Megs is flimsy and easy to break, I would imagine this one would all the more be easily breakable, since the quality of these KO's typically is much worse than the official releases.

I can understand your reluctance to transform him, but don't let all the horror stories keep you from enjoying his wonderfully complex transformation. I remember when I first got mine, at that time I hadn't read any of the horror stories, as soon as I had him out of the box I set to transforming him. It took me about an hour, because I could tell from handling him he was a delicate piece. Some pieces didn't want to move, but I didn't force them. When I got frustrated I sat him down and walked away. After the initial transformation, probably transformed him 4 or 5 times, with no problems. Then I came across a horror story, whick lead me to research the topic further. After reading reading several heartbreaking stories of stripped screws and broken legs I was afraid to transform mine anymore, which sucked because he was in alt mode at the time and I really wanted to display him long term in bot mode. After several months of him sitting their in alt mode I said to myself, "I've transformed this thing multiple time with no problems, I'm not going to live in fear." Transformed him to bot mode no problem, he's been that way since, not because I'm afraid to transform him I just prefer him in bot mode. Go for it.

El Duque wrote:I can understand your reluctance to transform him, but don't let all the horror stories keep you from enjoying his wonderfully complex transformation. I remember when I first got mine, at that time I hadn't read any of the horror stories, as soon as I had him out of the box I set to transforming him. It took me about an hour, because I could tell from handling him he was a delicate piece. Some pieces didn't want to move, but I didn't force them. When I got frustrated I sat him down and walked away. After the initial transformation, probably transformed him 4 or 5 times, with no problems. Then I came across a horror story, whick lead me to research the topic further. After reading reading several heartbreaking stories of stripped screws and broken legs I was afraid to transform mine anymore, which sucked because he was in alt mode at the time and I really wanted to display him long term in bot mode. After several months of him sitting their in alt mode I said to myself, "I've transformed this thing multiple time with no problems, I'm not going to live in fear." Transformed him to bot mode no problem, he's been that way since, not because I'm afraid to transform him I just prefer him in bot mode. Go for it.

Thanks for the advice. I might give it a try when I have an hour or two of free time. I just checked youtube and there are a few videos I might reference should I get stuck.

Also, does anyone recommend that third party add-on with the extended barrel and the stock? It looks cool, but I am afraid it will be fun once I get it, but I will never touch it again and it will take up valuable shelf space.

I have a baby boy coming in about a month and I will quickly face a crisis where I will need to find a place to store my transformers where they are out of reach and out of sight of my son, but at the same time in a place where I can enjoy them. There are too many small pieces he can choke on.

revengeofstarscream wrote:Also, does anyone recommend that third party add-on with the extended barrel and the stock? It looks cool, but I am afraid it will be fun once I get it, but I will never touch it again and it will take up valuable shelf space.

Yeah, it's good but it is only useful when displaying him. If you mount it on the wall in gun mode it looks fantastic.

ahh ive been waiting for this. i really would love to get one of these, mp megatron always looked great but it was so large it looked a bit unmanageable. i regret it is a knock off but hasbro isnt really offering me a way to get the real mp megatron so i will just get the size i want.
this guy will likely be my first import and first third party transformer product.

Down_Shift wrote:That's pretty awesome. I'll pick that up for sure. I really want the translucent mini-mp Convoy and I hope they try and do something like that with this too.

I'm passing on MMP-1 Prime but I'm going to get this. G1 Megatron toy sucks.

to go slightly off the original topic, it bugged me slightly when the toy was first released how fo so many people the cannon was too big in robot mode-excuse me if i sound a little rude but aren't people forgetting that he does have a gun mode and that said fusion cannon has to be a properly proportioned scope for said mode?

This isn't an old animated cartoon where solid objects can shrink and morph at will-this is a toy very much in the real world governed by that world's laws.

and as for being ko's-yes they are, but I don't see them stopping too many peeps having the originals.
I'd never buy one of these in place of the originals-rare or not.
And I don't think this is the answer to the problems of those unfortunate enough to be restricted by customs and toy laws-it should pose the same problem.

Just my thoughts

I live in oregon USA and I ordered and recieved the origonal masterpiece megatron and the reissue G1 megatron with no problem at all. you may not buy these toys at any retail store here
but there is nothing keeping americans from buying them online and receiving them through mail or parcel service.
so it is not as hard to come by as they say

I spent $100 on this mold on the real thing. I will just stick with that.

Why is called "miniature" when it appears to be almost the same size? Looks like it's about 7:8 scale. Not exactly "miniature". Am I missing something?

I can't wait for this and I hope they provide optional more-toon-accurate heads like they showed for Prime.

GuyIncognito wrote:Why is called "miniature" when it appears to be almost the same size? Looks like it's about 7:8 scale. Not exactly "miniature". Am I missing something?

Because it is smaller than the original MP Megatron. It should scale with their mini MP Prime, which was about 3/4 the height of the original MP Prime.

The images here are a bit out of perspective. Since the mini version is posed in front of the original, it will appear a bit larger in comparison.