Japanese Preorders up for MP Ginrai and Super Ginrai + More Images

Overcracker wrote:But as it is, I'll just keep my Takara Legends Super Ginrai and God Bomber. As bad as those awkward feet are.

I know a way to make those feet stable and solid as a rock. PM me.

WHOA! Major news flash!



See that bullet-pointed note in the bottom half of the pic? This text:

「マスターピース」シリーズは100体目の発売を機に今作で終了となり、今後トランスフオーマーの最高峰ブランドは次世代最高峰ブランドである「トランスフォーマーMPG」に統一となります。

When translated into English, (courtesy of DeepL) it states the following:

The "Masterpiece" series will come to an end with the release of the 100th figure, and the highest Transformer brand will be unified with the next generation's highest brand, "Transformers MPG".

MP-60 Ginrai is apparently the final Masterpiece release, with Masterpiece Gattai formally taking over as its successor line.

Is there any point in that name change?

Or is it just an excuse to reset the numbers?

-Kanrabat- wrote:Is there any point in that name change?

Or is it just an excuse to reset the numbers?

No non-combiners allowed?

Sabrblade wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:Is there any point in that name change?

Or is it just an excuse to reset the numbers?

No non-combiners allowed?

Impossibru.

They'll keep making MPs no matter what, no matter the gimmick.

We probalbly gonna have a new Star Saber


Maybe even combiners.


Day 1561 of waiting for Transformers Armada Masterpiece news.

-Kanrabat- wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:Is there any point in that name change?

Or is it just an excuse to reset the numbers?

No non-combiners allowed?

Impossibru.

They'll keep making MPs no matter what, no matter the gimmick.

It's not a name change. MPG is a separate line that currently coexists with the MP line. Like how Studio Series 86 and Legacy are separate lines.

Sabrblade wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:Is there any point in that name change?

Or is it just an excuse to reset the numbers?

No non-combiners allowed?

Impossibru.

They'll keep making MPs no matter what, no matter the gimmick.

It's not a name change. MPG is a separate line that currently coexists with the MP line. Like how Studio Series 86 and Legacy are separate lines.

You just said that MP-60 is the FINAL MP release in that line and the MP line will be unified into MPG.

As if the Studio Series would be unified in SS86 and you'd get Bayverse figures in SS86.

Sabrblade wrote:WHOA! Major news flash!



See that bullet-pointed note in the bottom half of the pic? This text:

「マスターピース」シリーズは100体目の発売を機に今作で終了となり、今後トランスフオーマーの最高峰ブランドは次世代最高峰ブランドである「トランスフォーマーMPG」に統一となります。

When translated into English, (courtesy of DeepL) it states the following:

The "Masterpiece" series will come to an end with the release of the 100th figure, and the highest Transformer brand will be unified with the next generation's highest brand, "Transformers MPG".

MP-60 Ginrai is apparently the final Masterpiece release, with Masterpiece Gattai formally taking over as its successor line.

So, what does that REALLY mean?
Are you saying that they will stop making Masterpieces of the non combining characters?
No MP Kup, Scourge, Cyclonus, Galvatron, and so on?

I call bull.

-Kanrabat- wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:Is there any point in that name change?

Or is it just an excuse to reset the numbers?

No non-combiners allowed?

Impossibru.

They'll keep making MPs no matter what, no matter the gimmick.

It's not a name change. MPG is a separate line that currently coexists with the MP line. Like how Studio Series 86 and Legacy are separate lines.

You just said that MP-60 is the FINAL MP release in that line and the MP line will be unified into MPG.

As if the Studio Series would be unified in SS86 and you'd get Bayverse figures in SS86.

MPG is Combiners-only. That's what the G in MPG is short for. "Gattai". They are sister lines. The normal MP line will be ending while the MPG line will go on to continue on its own as a Combiner-centric line, which the normal MP line is not.

Sabrblade wrote:The normal MP line will be ending while the MPG line will go on to continue on its own as a Combiner-centric line, which the normal MP line is not.

And that's where I call bullsht.
They will keep on making "regular" MP. They will just pull another name out of their ass if need be.

I'm assuming if this is correct, they're counting the recolors, Masterpiece 00+s, etc in that number? Because if Ginrai is only MP-60, and they're going to 100, that would still leave 40 more figures to release to hit 100. There's still SO many G1 figures that don't have an MP release- Jazz, Mirage, Cliffjumper (whatever happened to that prototype and eventual color sample? ), Warpath, Brawn,.... most of the "minibots", now what I think about it.... Galvatron, Cyclonus, Scourge, Springer, Blurr, etc...I just can't see (or understand) them just stopping with Ginrai, calling it a day, and only focusing on combiners.

I've got lots of thoughts about this IF it's true. Emphasis on the "if".

I was recently expressing my frustrations about the Masterpiece line to one of my long time buddies who stopped by ol' Seibertron Headquarters recently. It's incredibly absurd that I've been collecting this line for TWENTY years and we are missing so many main characters. The Masterpiece line is incredible but I don't think I'm interested in collecting a line that isn't going to do the main characters until I'm in my 60s or 70s at this rate. If I had known 20 years ago that this line would never be finished or taken this long, I probably would have never collected it. I say that, and then think of some of the amazing figures we've gotten, but then just think back to how it's been soft-rebooted, 3 Masterpiece Primes, 3 Starscreams, 2 Bumblebees, and so on. No Headmasters, Galvatron, Blurr, Kup, JAZZ (!!!), various Mini-Bots, where's that Cliffjumper (???), Blaster (we got a Decepticon recolored Steeljaw but no Steeljaw!!!), Perceptor, Blitzwing, Astrotrain, SPRINGER!!!, Cyclonus, Scourge, Insecticons, the rest of the Dinobots (Grimlock was released FIFTEEN years ago) and so on. They don't even have to do licenses for most of those excluding Jazz and the Mini-Bots (but they had the opportunity with Jazz recently and didn't do anything with it). Just kind of frustrating at this point. I setup "8" detolfs recently, thinking I'd make some room for some Masterpieces and my first gut instinct was just to put out the "best" regular "Generations" figures. No room for Masterpieces.

First world problems, I know. But still kind of like "WTF" to the whole Masterpiece line at this point.

Sabrblade wrote:When translated into English, (courtesy of DeepL) it states the following:

The "Masterpiece" series will come to an end with the release of the 100th figure, and the highest Transformer brand will be unified with the next generation's highest brand, "Transformers MPG".

MP-60 Ginrai is apparently the final Masterpiece release, with Masterpiece Gattai formally taking over as its successor line.

That's basically what the text in Google Translate says. But I wonder if they might be rebranding MPG itself to Masterpiece Generations or something due to their specific use of the word in the text. I'm guessing we'll hear something official by the end of the year.



Anyway, I ordered both, came to just over $400. Keep in mind that these are not the final prices and will likely be further reduced. AmiAmi has them at 36,960 and 16,940 respectively and typically Amazon Japan's prices are lower.

Emerje

Bounti76 wrote:I'm assuming if this is correct, they're counting the recolors, Masterpiece 00+s, etc in that number? Because if Ginrai is only MP-60, and they're going to 100, that would still leave 40 more figures to release to hit 100. There's still SO many G1 figures that don't have an MP release- Jazz, Mirage, Cliffjumper (whatever happened to that prototype and eventual color sample? ), Warpath, Brawn,.... most of the "minibots", now what I think about it.... Galvatron, Cyclonus, Scourge, Springer, Blurr, etc...I just can't see (or understand) them just stopping with Ginrai, calling it a day, and only focusing on combiners.

Counting up all the TakaraTomy releases listed on the wiki, I count 76 standard releases (77 when counting MP-60 Ginrai), and 36 of the special editions, making a total of 113 (Ginrai included). So either their math is way off, or they're not counting 13 of those special editions.

If I were to guess which 13 they'd be not counting, these would be my guesses:

• MP-1 Convoy (lucky draw gold) - It's a lucky draw, which are usually treated as exceptional figures
• MP-1L Convoy Last Production - too similar to the original MP-1 version, I guess
• MP-11A Acid Storm - this one originated as a Hasbro release first, so it wasn't Takara's idea
• MP-10A Convoy (BAPE ver.) - with how many BAPE versions of MP-10 there were, Takara's probably excluding them all
• MP-12 Lambor (TFExpo 2014 exclusive) - likely not different enough from normal MP-12 to be counted separately
• MP-10 Convoy Mode "Eva" - Takara might consider the TF/Evangelion label separate from the main MP label
• MP-5G Megatron Gold Ver. - though sold under Takara's label, this was a Hasbro Asia release
• MP-10R Convoy (BAPE REDCAMO ver.) - another BAPE version
• MP-10K Convoy (BAPE BLACKCAMO ver.) - another BAPE version
• MP-711 Convoy (7-Eleven ver.) - probably considered in the same ballpark as the BAPE versions
• Golden Lagoon Convoy - was actually sold under the "Golden Lagoon" label instead of the MP label, and has no MP ID number
• MP-10ASL Convoy (atmos safari LEBRON Ver.) - this is definitely in the same ballpark as the BAPE versions
• MP-10DC Convoy (atmos safari DUCKCAMO Ver.) - so is this one

And after clicking on those last two, I see that there were even more Atmos Safari versions, so they've definitely gotta be omitting all of these gimmicky licensed tie-in versions.

And here's the announcement video for both figures:

The 40th anniversary of Transformers is bringing us a lot of big and new things, but one of the biggest staples of the franchise is coming to an end. With the release of MP-60 Ginrai, what they're calling the 100th MP figure when including certain special edition and limited releases they're calling it quits on the Masterpiece line as we know it. That's not to say we wont be getting anymore MPs at all, but the primary line that originated with MP-01 some 21 years ago will no longer Exist at the end of 2024. A blurb on the official website for MP-60 and MP-09 states that the line will continue with the MPG line moving forward. Whether this means all future MPs will be combiners of some sort or if the MPG line is being rebranded is currently unknown. What this might mean for the Masterpiece Movie line headed by Hasbro is also unknow, but probably wont be affected by this news, at least not outside of Japan. Until Takara Tomy clarifies further all we can do is speculate. Below you'll find the pertinent bit from the website as translated by Google.



With so many characters left undone it's hard to guess what the future might bring for the line. Thanks to Sabrblade in the Seibertron Energon Pub Forums for letting us know. And be sure to let us know how you feel about what may be sad news for many fans in the forums as well.

Well I hope it's just a rebranding because 2 Masterpiece Beast Wars Predacons is NOT enough! Especially since I decided to forgo getting any of the Maximals in order to focus on Predacons.

So they really left Blaster on the table after doing Nightstalker and Soundwave and now it's over? What, no Godbomber tease? Have they learned nothing from Star Saber?

Although I have to admit, the pricy nature and iffy quality led me to grab very few of these. Even resorted to a KO after hearing it's version of G1 Megatron has less paint scuffing issues than the real deal.

Ginrai is really tempting, though. He was my childhood Prime. They had one in Titans Return, but he was definitely NOT scratching that itch due to his vehicle mode size and not being a Powermaster. I guess, if you're gonna end the brand, ending on yet another version of Prime is fitting.

If Takara really does drop out of the Masterpiece figure game, then I have no reason to even look at their products again going forward. I'll give the MPG stuff a shot, but so far the figures from that line lack the quality and sculpt work I am looking for in a figure. I want something well engineered that looks good in a display shelf and not whatever those Trainbots were. MPG-9 looks... okay so far, but doesn't hold a candle to MP-44 or MP-10 when it comes to sculpt and the engineering looks downright basic so far.

Hopefully 3P companies will take this move as an opportunity to release better versions of older MP figures now that they won't be directly competing with Takara. DS9 looks like they've started down that road with their recently teased Sideswipe and Prowl figures but we'll see.

Lol 100th. They blew right past that awhile ago!

Wording on this is very weird, but I'm guessing they're just continuing the line as MPG instead of just MP. Why they feel the need to do this, I have no idea, but no way they're just dropping the line and we never get an official MP Jazz or other Predacons.

If I'm being hopeful, maybe they're going with a new name because they're changing styles and rethinking how they're handling these figures going forward. Outside of the Beast Wars figures, I haven't really liked the style they're going for with these since MP-44. I hate the super-cartoony look, and the absurd panel-heavy transformations they've done on a lot of these to make it work. They look bad, they feel bad, and all the extra parts and stupid accessories they included rocketed up the price.

Go back to the style that already worked well from MP-10 onward, when this was arguably the best toyline in the game.

Gauntlet101010 wrote:Although I have to admit, the pricy nature and iffy quality led me to grab very few of these. Even resorted to a KO after hearing it's version of G1 Megatron has less paint scuffing issues than the real deal.

Yeah, the QC on these has been iffy for a while. Wanted Hound, but he apparently breaks apart just due to normal transformation because they used garbage plastic (ironically making KO's the better version by default). MP-44 has the infamous knee issues. Tons of them have easily scratched paint. All this while charging 2-3 times what the earlier, often better figures cost.

Hopefully this shift to MPG is used as an opportunity for them to update how they handle these figures, because there's been a lot of crap MP's the past few years.

Spider5800 wrote: MP-44 has the infamous knee issues.

He does? He was too pricy and I already bought two MP Primes, so I skipped. I thought Roddy was the only one with bum knees (I haven't been paying attention, obviously). I picked one of mine up after years of standing there and his shins just stayed on the shelf. WTF, man? I picked up a loose one off TaoBao, but I was not amused (yes, it was the Japanese one). I haven't picked him up for a while, so who knows how he's doing?

Hot Rod is one of my faves so it was a big disappointment.

Gauntlet101010 wrote:

Spider5800 wrote: MP-44 has the infamous knee issues.

He does? He was too pricy and I already bought two MP Primes, so I skipped. I thought Roddy was the only one with bum knees (I haven't been paying attention, obviously). I picked one of mine up after years of standing there and his shins just stayed on the shelf. WTF, man? I picked up a loose one off TaoBao, but I was not amused (yes, it was the Japanese one). I haven't picked him up for a while, so who knows how he's doing?

Hot Rod is one of my faves so it was a big disappointment.

Oh yeah, he has this weird double knee with a loose floating part inside that can get caught in the ratchet and break. Absurdly common issue.

https://www.tfw2005.com/boards/threads/mp-44-general-fix-thread.1180965/

Their whole design philosophy with MPs since like 2019 has been bizarre to me. It all just feels like complexity for complexity's sake, not because it benefits the figures in any way.

Gauntlet101010 wrote:What, no Godbomber tease? Have they learned nothing from Star Saber?

Godbomber is a combiner, so he would be perfectly eligible for the continuing MPG line, just as Super Ginrai is.

Fires_Of_Inferno wrote:Well I hope it's just a rebranding because 2 Masterpiece Beast Wars Predacons is NOT enough! Especially since I decided to forgo getting any of the Maximals in order to focus on Predacons.

Exactly. They announce MP Rhinox after years of NOTHING and then pull this? Just finish the BW line! It's significantly closer than any other (non-movie) MP line. G1, they've dragging their heels on for 20 years. They literally could have finished every character that didn't require a license by now and chose not to.

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

Fires_Of_Inferno wrote:Well I hope it's just a rebranding because 2 Masterpiece Beast Wars Predacons is NOT enough! Especially since I decided to forgo getting any of the Maximals in order to focus on Predacons.

Exactly. They announce MP Rhinox after years of NOTHING and then pull this? Just finish the BW line! It's significantly closer than any other (non-movie) MP line. G1, they've dragging their heels on for 20 years. They literally could have finished every character that didn't require a license by now and chose not to.

Haha, yeah, their choices for this line has been baffling. We don't even have the first 5 Maximals yet as they never made a Rattrap. It's only 5 characters! Still can't have a completed display!

Optimus Primal released in freaking 2016. It's been 7 years and we've only gotten 8 characters total from the show (plus Leo Prime I guess, if you count BW2). I can't imagine trying to stick with this line long enough to get the entire G1 cast. No wonder 3P has eaten Takara's lunch on this market.

Spider5800 wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

Fires_Of_Inferno wrote:Well I hope it's just a rebranding because 2 Masterpiece Beast Wars Predacons is NOT enough! Especially since I decided to forgo getting any of the Maximals in order to focus on Predacons.

Exactly. They announce MP Rhinox after years of NOTHING and then pull this? Just finish the BW line! It's significantly closer than any other (non-movie) MP line. G1, they've dragging their heels on for 20 years. They literally could have finished every character that didn't require a license by now and chose not to.

Haha, yeah, their choices for this line has been baffling. We don't even have the first 5 Maximals yet as they never made a Rattrap. It's only 5 characters.

Optimus Primal released in freaking 2016. It's been 7 years and we've only gotten 8 characters total from the show (plus Leo Prime I guess, if you count BW2). I can't imagine trying to stick with this line long enough to get the entire G1 cast.

It should probably be pointed out that all of the Beast Wars MPs are part of the same main MP line as the G1 characters, as Takara doesn't treat them as a separate line despite being from a different show. Likewise, Star Saber, Soundblaster, and Lio Convoy were all from different shows too, but they as well were part of the main MP line. And even the likes of Ultra Magnus and Rodimus were from what was considered a separate show in Japan (G1 season 3 was treated as a separate cartoon called Transformers: 2010), and they too were part of the main line. And with the inclusion of MP-60 Ginrai, the main Masterpiece line consists of characters from seven different Transformers series in Japan, but all are counted as part of the same single MP line because all of these characters are from the same single continuity/universe. And had the separate-universe character Armada Optimus won the fan vote that Star Saber won, he too would have been part of the main MP line and not a separate line.

Spider5800 wrote:No wonder 3P has eaten Takara's lunch on this market.

Honestly, I think it's the opposite. HasTak have allowed the 3P market (for the most part) because they never had any intention of completing the Masterpiece line. At some point, perhaps around MP-10. I think the enormity (in scope and cost) of the task at hand must have become apparent. They just held up their hands and passed the buck to 3P's. While feigning disproval. Let 3P do Masterpiece Monsterbots, for example. Because Takara can't/won't.

I'm still hoping MPG is being rebranded so the G stands for Generations instead of Gattai. Basically it would become a sibling line to the regular Generations line and explain doing strange things like making Raiden the size of a Generations combiner rather than proper MP scale. It would also open things up more to other brands since traditionally the regular MP line has always been G1 based (which includes G2 and Beast Wars). The specific use of "generation" in the blurb doesn't feel accidental. The Unicron trilogy is now at the point with its youngest fans that G1 was at with its youngest fans when the MP line started so it makes sense if they want to start doing Armada Masterpieces without having to come up with new labels and numbering systems every time.

That's my prediction anyway, I don't think strictly doing MPs that combine moving forward is reason enough to kill the MP line.

Emerje

Emerje wrote:I'm still hoping MPG is being rebranded so the G stands for Generations instead of Gattai.

The G also stands for "Giant" and "Great".

Ohh? Perhaps if 'G' becomes Generations we are moving the MP line away from Sunbow and into the other 30+ years of Transformers?

Sabrblade wrote:It should probably be pointed out that all of the Beast Wars MPs are part of the same main MP line as the G1 characters, as Takara doesn't treat them as a separate line despite being from a different show. Likewise, Star Saber, Soundblaster, and Lio Convoy were all from different shows too, but they as well were part of the main MP line. And even the likes of Ultra Magnus and Rodimus were from what was considered a separate show in Japan (G1 season 3 was treated as a separate cartoon called Transformers: 2010), and they too were part of the main line. And with the inclusion of MP-60 Ginrai, the main Masterpiece line consists of characters from seven different Transformers series in Japan, but all are counted as part of the same single MP line because all of these characters are from the same single continuity/universe. And had the separate-universe character Armada Optimus won the fan vote that Star Saber won, he too would have been part of the main MP line and not a separate line.

I get that, but even with all the stuff they're pulling from, the line feels mismanaged. It's been over 20 years, and they still haven't finished the season 1 Autobots. Really think about that. A person born the year MP-1 came out can legally drink now, and there still isn't a full cast done. That's INSANE.

MP Dinobot came out in 2018, and then a two year wait for MP Tigatron, and then another FOUR years for MP Rhinox. That's absurd. People have quit collecting in that kind of timeframe.

I know it's a whole other beast, but Generations has been pulling from multiple continuities for years as well and never had this problem. Could get the entire BW S1 cast within 2 years. The lack of focus on the MP side is staggering.

Sabrblade wrote:

Emerje wrote:I'm still hoping MPG is being rebranded so the G stands for Generations instead of Gattai.

The G also stands for "Giant" and "Great".

Either way, it's been known as the combiner line, now it may be known as something else if they change what the G stands for.

Emerje

Spider5800 wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:It should probably be pointed out that all of the Beast Wars MPs are part of the same main MP line as the G1 characters, as Takara doesn't treat them as a separate line despite being from a different show. Likewise, Star Saber, Soundblaster, and Lio Convoy were all from different shows too, but they as well were part of the main MP line. And even the likes of Ultra Magnus and Rodimus were from what was considered a separate show in Japan (G1 season 3 was treated as a separate cartoon called Transformers: 2010), and they too were part of the main line. And with the inclusion of MP-60 Ginrai, the main Masterpiece line consists of characters from seven different Transformers series in Japan, but all are counted as part of the same single MP line because all of these characters are from the same single continuity/universe. And had the separate-universe character Armada Optimus won the fan vote that Star Saber won, he too would have been part of the main MP line and not a separate line.

I get that, but even with all the stuff they're pulling from, the line feels mismanaged. It's been over 20 years, and they still haven't finished the season 1 Autobots. Really think about that. A person born the year MP-1 came out can legally drink now, and there still isn't a full cast done. That's INSANE.

MP Dinobot came out in 2018, and then a two year wait for MP Tigatron, and then another FOUR years for MP Rhinox. That's absurd. People have quit collecting in that kind of timeframe.

I know it's a whole other beast, but Generations has been pulling from multiple continuities for years as well and never had this problem. Could get the entire BW S1 cast within 2 years. The lack of focus on the MP side is staggering.

Guess we can call it a testament of how poorly the MP line has sold over the years in Japan. Transformers is not as big in Japan as it is in the west, so it was always an uphill battle for the MP line to gain traction in the Japanese market (the line's primarily market). The number of new-mold MPs released each year has plummeted as the years have passed, with the bulk of releases each year being reuses of existing molds. 2022 and 2023 both saw only three new MPs released, and only one of those three each year was a new mold (Trailbreaker in 2022, Skyfire in 2023). This year we have five MPs, but only two are new molds and the rest are mold reuses.

Emerje wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Emerje wrote:I'm still hoping MPG is being rebranded so the G stands for Generations instead of Gattai.

The G also stands for "Giant" and "Great".

Either way, it's been known as the combiner line, now it may be known as something else if they change what the G stands for.

Emerje

It also stands for Gastric.

As Japanese video game developers are also discovering lately. Maybe relying on the home market to the detriment of the world beyond, wasn't the right play.

Meanwhile, ala Kapow Toys:


Transformers Masterpiece MP-60 Jinrai ( Powermaster Optimus Prime Cab ) - £149.99 £139.95

Box includes:

Jinrai Cab
Blaster x 2
Powermaster mini figure x 1
Blast effect x 2

Transformers Masterpiece MPG-09 Super Jinrai ( Powermaster Optimus Prime ) - £279.95 £269.95

Box includes:

Jinrai
Trailer x 1
Core Robot Blaster x 2
Super Mode Robot Blaster x 2
Powermaster Robot ( transforming ) x 1
Static Powermaster Robot x 1
Dual Cannon for Super Mode x 2
Blast effect x 2
Super Mode Lightning effect x 2
Super Mode Jinrai head x 2
Hands x 2

These items have a release estimate of January 2025 subject to delays.

Sabrblade wrote:Guess we can call it a testament of how poorly the MP line has sold over the years in Japan. Transformers is not as big in Japan as it is in the west, so it was always an uphill battle for the MP line to gain traction in the Japanese market (the line's primarily market). The number of new-mold MPs released each year has plummeted as the years have passed, with the bulk of releases each year being reuses of existing molds. 2022 and 2023 both saw only three new MPs released, and only one of those three each year was a new mold (Trailbreaker in 2022, Skyfire in 2023). This year we have five MPs, but only two are new molds and the rest are mold reuses.

Probably does not help that they kept trying to reinvent the wheel with the line every couple of years. MP-1 vs MP-10 vs MP-44 don't look like they they're even from the same toyline, haha.

Spider5800 wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:Guess we can call it a testament of how poorly the MP line has sold over the years in Japan. Transformers is not as big in Japan as it is in the west, so it was always an uphill battle for the MP line to gain traction in the Japanese market (the line's primarily market). The number of new-mold MPs released each year has plummeted as the years have passed, with the bulk of releases each year being reuses of existing molds. 2022 and 2023 both saw only three new MPs released, and only one of those three each year was a new mold (Trailbreaker in 2022, Skyfire in 2023). This year we have five MPs, but only two are new molds and the rest are mold reuses.

Probably does not help that they kept trying to reinvent the wheel with the line every couple of years. MP-1 vs MP-10 vs MP-44 don't look like they they're even from the same toyline, haha.

Perhaps the declining sales were why they kept trying to reinvent it, to spark new life into it to keep it from going under (until now).

I think it's also an EXTREME niche market. It's difficult to build a successful business model on niche clients, especially for larger companies who register success completely differently.

I dunno, I think the lack of overall focus really hurt the MP series as a whole as well as the QC issues.

Like ... Can you really call something a "masterpiece" if it suffers from shattering knee joints right out of the box? Or scuffed paint in normal transformation?

The argument's being made that there isn't a market for these, but there's numerous 3P MPs out there that seem to belie that.

I think if they put out a mission statement - and stuck to that - the line might have done better. Maybe if they had released a picture with the cast they intended to make then people could look forward to and plan for it. But, like, who have they done? Some Season 1, some Season 2, Hot Rod, Arcee, and Ultra Magnus. A few Beast Wars. Star Saber and Raiden(?). And, apparently, Raiden underwhelmed?! And now Super Ginrai. And, I guess, if we want God Ginrai we'll have to go 3P.

And the quality. You can't call it a "masterpiece" if it breaks too easily.

And the price. I mean it's one thing to say "Transformers isn't that popular in Japan", but how much is the average fan really going to pay for Hoist or Skids? I mean every TF is someone's favourite and all, but ... we got Skids and we didn't get Blaster. Or Jazz. I mean come on. There are some obviously popular characters and others that are less popular.

But, yeah. I mean if anyone really wanted an MP of whatever TF character would they wait a decade and, maybe, it never shows up? Or it shows up and is terrible? Or do they go 3P? Personally, I prefer to buy official for my faves, but if I waited on that MP Galvatron I'd be outta luck.

Gauntlet101010 wrote:And now Super Ginrai. And, I guess, if we want God Ginrai we'll have to go 3P.

Why wouldn't they simply put Godbomber in the MPG line when he's as much a combiner as MPG Super Ginrai?

Gauntlet101010 wrote:And the price. I mean it's one thing to say "Transformers isn't that popular in Japan", but how much is the average fan really going to pay for Hoist or Skids? I mean every TF is someone's favourite and all, but ... we got Skids and we didn't get Blaster. Or Jazz. I mean come on. There are some obviously popular characters and others that are less popular.

For Skids, it was less about the character and more about his altmode, which is a car type that is a much bigger deal in Japan than the rest of the world. Honda made a big deal about it.

Sabrblade wrote:

Gauntlet101010 wrote:And now Super Ginrai. And, I guess, if we want God Ginrai we'll have to go 3P.

Why wouldn't they simply put Godbomber in the MPG line when he's as much a combiner as MPG Super Ginrai?

I guess they could, buy why would I assume they would at this point? They haven't advertised it and, lacking any info that it's coming or in production, I'm going to assume it isn't a thing.

Gauntlet101010 wrote:And the price. I mean it's one thing to say "Transformers isn't that popular in Japan", but how much is the average fan really going to pay for Hoist or Skids? I mean every TF is someone's favourite and all, but ... we got Skids and we didn't get Blaster. Or Jazz. I mean come on. There are some obviously popular characters and others that are less popular.

For Skids, it was less about the character and more about his altmode, which is a car type that is a much bigger deal in Japan than the rest of the world. Honda made a big deal about it.[/quote]
[/quote]
Was it a success?

Gauntlet101010 wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Gauntlet101010 wrote:And now Super Ginrai. And, I guess, if we want God Ginrai we'll have to go 3P.

Why wouldn't they simply put Godbomber in the MPG line when he's as much a combiner as MPG Super Ginrai?

I guess they could, buy why would I assume they would at this point? They haven't advertised it and, lacking any info that it's coming or in production, I'm going to assume it isn't a thing.

They only just revealed Super Ginrai. It's not like every Autobot leader's Magic Mushroom partner gets revealed at the same time. The original Godbomber, CR God Magnus, Armada Jetfire, Armada Overload, Energon Omega Supreme, Energon Wing Saber, Cybertron Leobreaker, and Cybertron Wing Saber all came out long after their respective wearers, and each of those wearers never advertised any of their upgrade partners upon their initial releases either.

Gauntlet101010 wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Gauntlet101010 wrote:And the price. I mean it's one thing to say "Transformers isn't that popular in Japan", but how much is the average fan really going to pay for Hoist or Skids? I mean every TF is someone's favourite and all, but ... we got Skids and we didn't get Blaster. Or Jazz. I mean come on. There are some obviously popular characters and others that are less popular.

For Skids, it was less about the character and more about his altmode, which is a car type that is a much bigger deal in Japan than the rest of the world. Honda made a big deal about it.

Was it a success?

Apparently enough to churn out three more separate-character uses of the mold as Reboost (who was boldly released on the same day as Skids), Crosscut (who saw release a mere four months after the first two), and Burn Out (just under a year after Crosscut).

Sabrblade wrote:

Gauntlet101010 wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Gauntlet101010 wrote:And now Super Ginrai. And, I guess, if we want God Ginrai we'll have to go 3P.

Why wouldn't they simply put Godbomber in the MPG line when he's as much a combiner as MPG Super Ginrai?

I guess they could, buy why would I assume they would at this point? They haven't advertised it and, lacking any info that it's coming or in production, I'm going to assume it isn't a thing.

They only just revealed Super Ginrai. It's not like every Autobot leader's Magic Mushroom partner gets revealed at the same time. The original Godbomber, CR God Magnus, Armada Jetfire, Armada Overload, Energon Omega Supreme, Energon Wing Saber, Cybertron Leobreaker, and Cybertron Wing Saber all came out long after their respective wearers, and each of those wearers never advertised any of their upgrade partners upon their initial releases either.

Gauntlet101010 wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Gauntlet101010 wrote:And the price. I mean it's one thing to say "Transformers isn't that popular in Japan", but how much is the average fan really going to pay for Hoist or Skids? I mean every TF is someone's favourite and all, but ... we got Skids and we didn't get Blaster. Or Jazz. I mean come on. There are some obviously popular characters and others that are less popular.

For Skids, it was less about the character and more about his altmode, which is a car type that is a much bigger deal in Japan than the rest of the world. Honda made a big deal about it.

Was it a success?

Apparently enough to churn out three more separate-character uses of the mold as Reboost (who was boldly released on the same day as Skids), Crosscut (who saw release a mere four months after the first two), and Burn Out (just under a year after Crosscut).

You can't tell me that the reason some molds were made and other weren't had nothing to do with repaintability. Why did they make Starscream MP1? Because they knew Thundrecracker and Skywarp would sell afterwards. Then they added the coneheads. Then Acid Storm and Sunstorm. Optimus? Regular colors, anime accurate, Nemesis Prime, Shattered Glass. Hoist? Trailbreaker at the least. Skids? 4 repaints. WHy no Jazz? Really only 1 repaint possibility and even that isn't going to be popular. Jetfire? You KNEW that was going to sell if done well. The rest? All dependent on how many times they can use the mold. I'm also convinced that's why we haven't gotten more Beast Wars characters....there's minimal repaint potential.

Sabrblade wrote:

Spider5800 wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:It should probably be pointed out that all of the Beast Wars MPs are part of the same main MP line as the G1 characters, as Takara doesn't treat them as a separate line despite being from a different show. Likewise, Star Saber, Soundblaster, and Lio Convoy were all from different shows too, but they as well were part of the main MP line. And even the likes of Ultra Magnus and Rodimus were from what was considered a separate show in Japan (G1 season 3 was treated as a separate cartoon called Transformers: 2010), and they too were part of the main line. And with the inclusion of MP-60 Ginrai, the main Masterpiece line consists of characters from seven different Transformers series in Japan, but all are counted as part of the same single MP line because all of these characters are from the same single continuity/universe. And had the separate-universe character Armada Optimus won the fan vote that Star Saber won, he too would have been part of the main MP line and not a separate line.

I get that, but even with all the stuff they're pulling from, the line feels mismanaged. It's been over 20 years, and they still haven't finished the season 1 Autobots. Really think about that. A person born the year MP-1 came out can legally drink now, and there still isn't a full cast done. That's INSANE.

MP Dinobot came out in 2018, and then a two year wait for MP Tigatron, and then another FOUR years for MP Rhinox. That's absurd. People have quit collecting in that kind of timeframe.

I know it's a whole other beast, but Generations has been pulling from multiple continuities for years as well and never had this problem. Could get the entire BW S1 cast within 2 years. The lack of focus on the MP side is staggering.

Guess we can call it a testament of how poorly the MP line has sold over the years in Japan. Transformers is not as big in Japan as it is in the west, so it was always an uphill battle for the MP line to gain traction in the Japanese market (the line's primarily market). The number of new-mold MPs released each year has plummeted as the years have passed, with the bulk of releases each year being reuses of existing molds. 2022 and 2023 both saw only three new MPs released, and only one of those three each year was a new mold (Trailbreaker in 2022, Skyfire in 2023). This year we have five MPs, but only two are new molds and the rest are mold reuses.

The sales of Masterpiece have been all over since day one. Prime did well but Starscream didn't if I remember correctly because it wasn't what people were expecting. Then Megatron came and was, ok. I think the biggest tell that Masterpiece wasn't doing well was with Star Saber. It won a fan poll and set records upon release but ended up being one of the WORST-selling Masterpieces of all time. It's a shame since that was the last MP that I really enjoyed and didn't have to worry about breaking.

First-Aid wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Gauntlet101010 wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Gauntlet101010 wrote:And now Super Ginrai. And, I guess, if we want God Ginrai we'll have to go 3P.

Why wouldn't they simply put Godbomber in the MPG line when he's as much a combiner as MPG Super Ginrai?

I guess they could, buy why would I assume they would at this point? They haven't advertised it and, lacking any info that it's coming or in production, I'm going to assume it isn't a thing.

They only just revealed Super Ginrai. It's not like every Autobot leader's Magic Mushroom partner gets revealed at the same time. The original Godbomber, CR God Magnus, Armada Jetfire, Armada Overload, Energon Omega Supreme, Energon Wing Saber, Cybertron Leobreaker, and Cybertron Wing Saber all came out long after their respective wearers, and each of those wearers never advertised any of their upgrade partners upon their initial releases either.

Gauntlet101010 wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Gauntlet101010 wrote:And the price. I mean it's one thing to say "Transformers isn't that popular in Japan", but how much is the average fan really going to pay for Hoist or Skids? I mean every TF is someone's favourite and all, but ... we got Skids and we didn't get Blaster. Or Jazz. I mean come on. There are some obviously popular characters and others that are less popular.

For Skids, it was less about the character and more about his altmode, which is a car type that is a much bigger deal in Japan than the rest of the world. Honda made a big deal about it.

Was it a success?

Apparently enough to churn out three more separate-character uses of the mold as Reboost (who was boldly released on the same day as Skids), Crosscut (who saw release a mere four months after the first two), and Burn Out (just under a year after Crosscut).

You can't tell me that the reason some molds were made and other weren't had nothing to do with repaintability. Why did they make Starscream MP1? Because they knew Thundrecracker and Skywarp would sell afterwards. Then they added the coneheads. Then Acid Storm and Sunstorm. Optimus? Regular colors, anime accurate, Nemesis Prime, Shattered Glass. Hoist? Trailbreaker at the least. Skids? 4 repaints. WHy no Jazz? Really only 1 repaint possibility and even that isn't going to be popular. Jetfire? You KNEW that was going to sell if done well. The rest? All dependent on how many times they can use the mold. I'm also convinced that's why we haven't gotten more Beast Wars characters....there's minimal repaint potential.

You nailed it, milking the molds. Then when they're dry make 2.0 designs and start all over!

First-Aid wrote:You can't tell me that the reason some molds were made and other weren't had nothing to do with repaintability. Why did they make Starscream MP1? Because they knew Thundrecracker and Skywarp would sell afterwards. Then they added the coneheads. Then Acid Storm and Sunstorm. Optimus? Regular colors, anime accurate, Nemesis Prime, Shattered Glass. Hoist? Trailbreaker at the least. Skids? 4 repaints. WHy no Jazz? Really only 1 repaint possibility and even that isn't going to be popular. Jetfire? You KNEW that was going to sell if done well. The rest? All dependent on how many times they can use the mold. I'm also convinced that's why we haven't gotten more Beast Wars characters....there's minimal repaint potential.

I'm sure that's at least part of why they choose some, but they've done plenty of characters with limited repaintability before. Wheeljack and Tracks being the first ones I think of off the top of my head, both also only really having one repaint option.

I actually suspect Jazz has never happened because of licensing. Porsche is notoriously expensive to license from (I'm still shocked we got SS Mirage), and if they want accurate toy livery, they also have to work with Martini Racing. Probably a big ask, even with a popular character like him. It's almost certainly why SS 86 Jazz is not based on a real vehicle and has an innaccurate paintjob (missing stripes, different number, etc).

And even with regards to repaintability, the Skids mold still has at least three more options that haven't been made: The all-red Diaclone version (not to be confused with Reboost, who was the red and blue Diaclone version), Quantum Operative Skids (who is green), and Screech (who is orange with a silver Crosscut head).