RUMOR: TakaraTomy Transformers Masterpiece Chetas / Cheetor - Next Beast Wars MP

Well, that's... certainly out of the blue and out of nowhere.
I'm not entirely sure how to take this - or maybe, I am sure, it's just it's brought about a thousand thoughts buzzing in my mind and I'm having a hard time deciding where to start.
Okay, so... Primal wasn't a one-off thing? I mean, on his own I can't see I'd care for an MP Cheetor - bring on an MP Dinobot or Megatron imo - but... if this is implying a whole MP sub-line or something that runs alongside MP just to make MP versions of the original 10 Beast Wars cartoon cast? ... screw it, bring it on. I'd love that. I might even be a little more interested in getting all of them over all the G1 MPs; I mean with G1, it's a little overwhelming - there's more characters in the first G1 episode than there is in the entirety of Beast Wars. The idea of just the original 10 Beast Wars guys as MPs is appealing partly because it's an easy, finite number while G1's could conceivably go on until they've made every single character from 1984-1986. And of those there's only a select few I could see myself getting - I really loved BW and I love all the characters, so having a display of all 10 of the original cast is a nice idea.

But... again, is this implying the original 10? Or are they just making Cheetor and maybe a couple others on top of Primal? If it's not going to be the original 10 I'd at least hope for - and kinda expect - Megatron.

This is probably a bit too much speculation going off of a simple rumour, but, uh... wow. I was expecting another conehead or Jazz or Hound or something to be the next MP after Inferno/Primal, but... actually, no, I put it fine the first time. Wow.

I really wish the BW MPs would be a separate numbering system

I think this is the right choice for MP treatment. Cheetor doesn't really have a good toy representation. I like the original toy, but the Generations update's attempt at a more definitive version was a swing and a miss.

Interesting...would've preferred Megatron before Mr. Kid-Appeal, though I can deal with this. I hope this means that Masterpiece will be expanding its horizons. Who knows, maybe we'll start getting Masterpieces from the Unicron Trilogy.

I like this! Cheetor may not be my bag but, as Scotty pointed out, he's never gotten a decent toy of his season 1 show model. Still, least favorite BW character (and maybe second least BM character).

That said, I'll be really happy should they give me MP of any BW guy/gal. The season 1 characters are great because they've never had good toy versions except Rhinox and Rattrap and even those could use a little improvement. Just as long as the rest don't have chaps like Primal.

And someone please give Megatron a rubber ducky that fits in his hand.

kurthy wrote:And someone please give Megatron a rubber ducky that fits in his hand.

You just skyrocketed my opinion of a possibility of BW Megatron from "that would be really cool and would eventually pick up" to "MAKE IT RIGHT NOW"

A little... unexpected for number 2. I'll start being a little concerned if we don't have Megatron by the 5th BW MP. Tigatron will likely be following Cheetor and I wouldn't mind getting Dinobot before Megs. Hopefully we'll get at least the original crews at some point.

Oh man. Simultaneously overjoyed that MP BW isn't a one time deal, and furious that Cheetor is being released before Dinobot. The only one I'd have accepted is Megatron.

Still overjoyed though

Desslok2201 wrote:I really wish the BW MPs would be a separate numbering system

That's where I was with Star Saber, but now it just doesn't matter.

WHY? Why though?! Why ISN'T IS MEGATRON DAMMIT?!

WE. HAVE. TOO. MANY. HEROES.

We need more villains. Seriously. Every shelf ever is absurdly unbalanced.

If this is true, then YES! Cheetor was my favorite character of the show as a kid (nowadays it's much harder for me to pick just one as my favorite) so this pleases me very much.

DecepticonFinishline wrote:WHY? Why though?! Why ISN'T IS MEGATRON DAMMIT?!

WE. HAVE. TOO. MANY. HEROES.

We need more villains. Seriously. Every shelf ever is absurdly unbalanced.

There's a longstanding belief that good guys are more marketable/popular/successful than bad guys in Japan. If you look at a lot of Japanese toylines, there's a distinct lack of bad guy figures in comparison to how many good guys there usually are, with a lot of any anime and/or manga series that tie into those lines having a lot of non-toy villains.

I'm not surprised that Megatron wasn't next. Hasbro and Takara both tend to make more good guys than bad guys, sometimes to an extreme degree.

However, I am surprised that they're doing another BW character at all. Are they running out of Autobot cars and alternate Seeker color schemes or something? Is something other than G1 really starting to be important, even if only in Japan?

Zeedust wrote:However, I am surprised that they're doing another BW character at all. Are they running out of Autobot cars and alternate Seeker color schemes or something? Is something other than G1 really starting to be important, even if only in Japan?

They're doing BW MPs this year in celebration of the 20th anniversary. Come about another year or two and the MP line will likely go back to being solely G1 characters.

Awesome, hopefully it works out, the design (a lean cheetah) doesn't lend itself to a 'big transformer'. It's almost like TT's taunting me, offering a tantalizing taste at the BW crew I always wanted - but they're going to be so expensive

Also, there's a typo in this thread's title. Cheetor's Japanese name is spelled as "Cheetus".

DecepticonFinishline wrote:

Desslok2201 wrote:I really wish the BW MPs would be a separate numbering system

That's where I was with Star Saber, but now it just doesn't matter.

WHY? Why though?! Why ISN'T IS MEGATRON DAMMIT?!

WE. HAVE. TOO. MANY. HEROES.

We need more villains. Seriously. Every shelf ever is absurdly unbalanced.

Unless it's someone like Char Aznable "villains" always get second billing.

Sabrblade wrote:Also, there's a typo in this thread's title. Cheetor's Japanese name is spelled as "Cheetus".

Has there ever been an "official" romanisation of the name, straight from TakaraTomy and not licensed merchandise? If not, there can't be typos, as we don't have a "correct" spelling at all.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:Also, there's a typo in this thread's title. Cheetor's Japanese name is spelled as "Cheetus".

Has there ever been an "official" romanisation of the name, straight from TakaraTomy and not licensed merchandise? If not, there can't be typos, as we don't have a "correct" spelling at all.

At first I thought there wasn't, but after some quick research, turns out yes there is.

fenrir72 wrote:

DecepticonFinishline wrote:

Desslok2201 wrote:I really wish the BW MPs would be a separate numbering system

That's where I was with Star Saber, but now it just doesn't matter.

WHY? Why though?! Why ISN'T IS MEGATRON DAMMIT?!

WE. HAVE. TOO. MANY. HEROES.

We need more villains. Seriously. Every shelf ever is absurdly unbalanced.

Unless it's someone like Char Aznable "villains" always get second billing.

Even though said heroes wouldn't exist without those villains. Makes me miss MOTU, G.I. Joe, and M.A.S.K. from the '80s. You can't have a proper war on your floor if you only have one side.

But I actually understand the economics of the situation. Both factions will be bought by more well-to-do families because they can afford more than one and don't want to buy the same figure. But if you can only buy one for your kid, are you going to buy a good guy or a bad guy? The kid is probably going to want the good guy first and foremost (please don't forget that low income families far outnumber middle and upper class families). Hence, they will sell more Optimus Primes and Bumblebees than Megatrons and Starscreams. Basically, the assumption is that most families will buy a OP or BB, some families will buy a smattering, and very few families will only buy a Megatron/SS.

And that's great logic for the lower end of the spectrum. But when it comes to MPs, they are cost prohibitive from the beginning and not targeted at families, so when it comes to that, GIVE ME MY QUEEN AND LET THE REST BURN!

kurthy wrote:

fenrir72 wrote:

DecepticonFinishline wrote:

Desslok2201 wrote:I really wish the BW MPs would be a separate numbering system

That's where I was with Star Saber, but now it just doesn't matter.

WHY? Why though?! Why ISN'T IS MEGATRON DAMMIT?!

WE. HAVE. TOO. MANY. HEROES.

We need more villains. Seriously. Every shelf ever is absurdly unbalanced.

Unless it's someone like Char Aznable "villains" always get second billing.

Even though said heroes wouldn't exist without those villains. Makes me miss MOTU, G.I. Joe, and M.A.S.K. from the '80s. You can't have a proper war on your floor if you only have one side.

But I actually understand the economics of the situation. Both factions will be bought by more well-to-do families because they can afford more than one and don't want to buy the same figure. But if you can only buy one for your kid, are you going to buy a good guy or a bad guy? The kid is probably going to want the good guy first and foremost (please don't forget that low income families far outnumber middle and upper class families). Hence, they will sell more Optimus Primes and Bumblebees than Megatrons and Starscreams. Basically, the assumption is that most families will buy a OP or BB, some families will buy a smattering, and very few families will only buy a Megatron/SS.

And that's great logic for the lower end of the spectrum. But when it comes to MPs, they are cost prohibitive from the beginning and not targeted at families, so when it comes to that, GIVE ME MY QUEEN AND LET THE REST BURN!

True, but that doesn't prevent it from being a value and tradition being deep-rooted into decision making and how fans of such markets perceive things. It's very complicated and would likely get into psychology so I'm just gonna skip to the other more obvious point.
There were much fewer decepticons then autobots in the first couple years of G1, and of those they were the most notorious mold re-users (10 decepticons of 1984 and Megatron, Ravage and Soundwave are the only ones who had unique molds). They got a whopping 6 main characters out of the general Plane mold, the Bird cassette and Robot cassette each had two uses, and by that point you're left with the two gun molds, the cassette player mold, the two triple-changing molds, the three insect molds and the panther cassette mold. Not to count the combining molds which Takara have stated will never see use.
Meanwhile, the Autobots still haven't burned through their 17 characters of 1984.
Believe I want more 'cons; I'd love to have a Blitzwing and I much prefer the lineup - hell, I think I prefer the 'cons not despite their smaller number but because of their smaller number. It's much easier to remember, group and differentiate them while I always forget at least 3 guys from the original Autobots. But yeah, that's just the way things are...

kurthy wrote:

fenrir72 wrote:

DecepticonFinishline wrote:

Desslok2201 wrote:I really wish the BW MPs would be a separate numbering system

That's where I was with Star Saber, but now it just doesn't matter.

WHY? Why though?! Why ISN'T IS MEGATRON DAMMIT?!

WE. HAVE. TOO. MANY. HEROES.

We need more villains. Seriously. Every shelf ever is absurdly unbalanced.

Unless it's someone like Char Aznable "villains" always get second billing.

Even though said heroes wouldn't exist without those villains. Makes me miss MOTU, G.I. Joe, and M.A.S.K. from the '80s. You can't have a proper war on your floor if you only have one side.

But I actually understand the economics of the situation. Both factions will be bought by more well-to-do families because they can afford more than one and don't want to buy the same figure. But if you can only buy one for your kid, are you going to buy a good guy or a bad guy? The kid is probably going to want the good guy first and foremost (please don't forget that low income families far outnumber middle and upper class families). Hence, they will sell more Optimus Primes and Bumblebees than Megatrons and Starscreams. Basically, the assumption is that most families will buy a OP or BB, some families will buy a smattering, and very few families will only buy a Megatron/SS.

And that's great logic for the lower end of the spectrum. But when it comes to MPs, they are cost prohibitive from the beginning and not targeted at families, so when it comes to that, GIVE ME MY QUEEN AND LET THE REST BURN!

Kind of sad too. Starscream got the re-issue/improved(?) design first (maybe because of the potential to repaint the mold to infinity) and his "popularity" over an improve MP Megatron G1. Sorry if I hurt BW fans but if they, TT does issue a Megatron, let it be a G1 version first the BW Megs

I'm very happy to see the mp bw line continue and with cheetor. It's important cheetor is next in my opinion because the mould can be reworked into tigatron and maybe ravage, although ravage did have transmetal cheetors body. This has more remould and repaint potential than anybody else aside from tarantulas.

I'm genuinely surprised at the apparent dislike of cheetor but I loved the character. The character evolved from juvenile rookie to competent leader. Growing up at the time of beast wars and beast machines definitely drew me to cheetor and I took inspiration from him.

Happy to see him next and after all it means more time for takara to figure out a flawless dinobot, megatron and tarantulas.

Prowl4 wrote:I'm very happy to see the mp bw line continue and with cheetor. It's important cheetor is next in my opinion because the mould can be reworked into tigatron and maybe ravage, although ravage did have transmetal cheetors body. This has more remould and repaint potential than anybody else aside from tarantulas.

Shadow Panther's the most likely candidate since Tigatron would have to be upscaled if Takara cares anything about cartoon scale since Tigatron was much taller and beefier than Cheetor was.

Something along the lines of Super Link Galvatron/Galvatron G and Energon Megatron/Galvatron.

Prowl4 wrote:I'm very happy to see the mp bw line continue and with cheetor. It's important cheetor is next in my opinion because the mould can be reworked into tigatron and maybe ravage, although ravage did have transmetal cheetors body. This has more remould and repaint potential than anybody else aside from tarantulas.

I'm genuinely surprised at the apparent dislike of cheetor but I loved the character. The character evolved from juvenile rookie to competent leader. Growing up at the time of beast wars and beast machines definitely drew me to cheetor and I took inspiration from him.

Happy to see him next and after all it means more time for takara to figure out a flawless dinobot, megatron and tarantulas.

For me it's less that I dislike Cheetor - I love all the BW characters and would pick any of them up - it's just that out of everyone aside from Terrorsaur and Scorponok... he's probably the last one I'd pick up. I just like the other ones better is all; Cheetor's cool and I like him but he's kinda that "just there" character for me. You know, the one that the team wouldn't be the team without but he's not exactly your favourite despite that.
I'd still buy the hell out of him.

fenrir72 wrote:

kurthy wrote:

fenrir72 wrote:

DecepticonFinishline wrote:

Desslok2201 wrote:I really wish the BW MPs would be a separate numbering system

That's where I was with Star Saber, but now it just doesn't matter.

WHY? Why though?! Why ISN'T IS MEGATRON DAMMIT?!

WE. HAVE. TOO. MANY. HEROES.

We need more villains. Seriously. Every shelf ever is absurdly unbalanced.

Unless it's someone like Char Aznable "villains" always get second billing.

Even though said heroes wouldn't exist without those villains. Makes me miss MOTU, G.I. Joe, and M.A.S.K. from the '80s. You can't have a proper war on your floor if you only have one side.

But I actually understand the economics of the situation. Both factions will be bought by more well-to-do families because they can afford more than one and don't want to buy the same figure. But if you can only buy one for your kid, are you going to buy a good guy or a bad guy? The kid is probably going to want the good guy first and foremost (please don't forget that low income families far outnumber middle and upper class families). Hence, they will sell more Optimus Primes and Bumblebees than Megatrons and Starscreams. Basically, the assumption is that most families will buy a OP or BB, some families will buy a smattering, and very few families will only buy a Megatron/SS.

And that's great logic for the lower end of the spectrum. But when it comes to MPs, they are cost prohibitive from the beginning and not targeted at families, so when it comes to that, GIVE ME MY QUEEN AND LET THE REST BURN!

Kind of sad too. Starscream got the re-issue/improved(?) design first (maybe because of the potential to repaint the mold to infinity) and his "popularity" over an improve MP Megatron G1. Sorry if I hurt BW fans but if they, TT does issue a Megatron, let it be a G1 version first the BW Megs

I'm not opposed to that. Since we're getting Delta Magnus instead of a bad ass Shadow Magnus (kill me, amirite) I need an imposing figure to lead my MP Decepticon/Predacons. I don't mind a G1 Megs first. But. We do need both, now.

Prowl4 wrote:I'm very happy to see the mp bw line continue and with cheetor. It's important cheetor is next in my opinion because the mould can be reworked into tigatron and maybe ravage, although ravage did have transmetal cheetors body. This has more remould and repaint potential than anybody else aside from tarantulas.

I'm genuinely surprised at the apparent dislike of cheetor but I loved the character. The character evolved from juvenile rookie to competent leader. Growing up at the time of beast wars and beast machines definitely drew me to cheetor and I took inspiration from him.

Happy to see him next and after all it means more time for takara to figure out a flawless dinobot, megatron and tarantulas.

I like all the Beast Wars characters. However, I expected that they would only bother with the leaders and not make MP molds of the rest of the team (actually, as a cynic, I expected ONLY the Autobot Maximal leader and nothing else). But if they make a supporting character to add to the hero ranks and don't even make the leader of the Predacons at all, it feels like a massive middle finger. It's kind of akin to the way Pokemon treats Grass-types in relation to Fire- and Water-types.

Sabrblade wrote:

Zeedust wrote:However, I am surprised that they're doing another BW character at all. Are they running out of Autobot cars and alternate Seeker color schemes or something? Is something other than G1 really starting to be important, even if only in Japan?

They're doing BW MPs this year in celebration of the 20th anniversary. Come about another year or two and the MP line will likely go back to being solely G1 characters.

I guess I was overestimating the amount of time it'll take them to get Cheetor finished and released.

And I'm still surprised they're doing more than just Primal in any case. I guess I'm just used to non-G1 stuff being marginalized, if it's even acknowledged at all.

Zeedust wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Zeedust wrote:However, I am surprised that they're doing another BW character at all. Are they running out of Autobot cars and alternate Seeker color schemes or something? Is something other than G1 really starting to be important, even if only in Japan?

They're doing BW MPs this year in celebration of the 20th anniversary. Come about another year or two and the MP line will likely go back to being solely G1 characters.

I guess I was overestimating the amount of time it'll take them to get Cheetor finished and released.

And I'm still surprised they're doing more than just Primal in any case. I guess I'm just used to non-G1 stuff being marginalized, if it's even acknowledged at all.

Why not only did BW save the franchise, but it has a huge fan base behind it, they just also happen to like G1 stuff, so they don't necessarily say much.

As for G1 Mp's left to be made, apart from combiners and triple-changers, I would like to see a chart of figures made into mp's and possible character (from the show, I assume) that still need a MP toy. trailbreaker, hoist, pipe's orange repaint, and the insecticons come to mind, but not much else jumps to mind

Hellscream9999 wrote:Why not only did BW save the franchise, but it has a huge fan base behind it, they just also happen to like G1 stuff, so they don't necessarily say much.

As for G1 Mp's left to be made, apart from combiners and triple-changers, I would like to see a chart of figures made into mp's and possible character (from the show, I assume) that still need a MP toy. trailbreaker, hoist, pipe's orange repaint, and the insecticons come to mind, but not much else jumps to mind

A lot of mini-bots (Windcharger, Warpath, inevitable Cliffjumper, Powerglide -and it's Decepticon repaint (Hopefully- just to get more 'cons)), Perceptor, Hound, Skyfire, Dinobots. If they reeeealllly wanted to go all the way, we could get the femmebots that appear in that one Season 2 Episode.

Hellscream9999 wrote:

Zeedust wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Zeedust wrote:However, I am surprised that they're doing another BW character at all. Are they running out of Autobot cars and alternate Seeker color schemes or something? Is something other than G1 really starting to be important, even if only in Japan?

They're doing BW MPs this year in celebration of the 20th anniversary. Come about another year or two and the MP line will likely go back to being solely G1 characters.

I guess I was overestimating the amount of time it'll take them to get Cheetor finished and released.

And I'm still surprised they're doing more than just Primal in any case. I guess I'm just used to non-G1 stuff being marginalized, if it's even acknowledged at all.

Why not only did BW save the franchise, but it has a huge fan base behind it, they just also happen to like G1 stuff, so they don't necessarily say much.

As for G1 Mp's left to be made, apart from combiners and triple-changers, I would like to see a chart of figures made into mp's and possible character (from the show, I assume) that still need a MP toy. trailbreaker, hoist, pipe's orange repaint, and the insecticons come to mind, but not much else jumps to mind

Weeell...

1984 Autobots:-
Brawl, Cliffjumper, Windcharger, Huffer, Gears
Hound, Jazz, Mirage, Trailbreaker, Sunstreaker

1984 Decepticons:-
None, actually. Soundwave, all three seekers and all the Cassettes are done. But I bet you anything everyone wants an actual Megatron remake since the original MP Megs is pretty crap.

1985 Autobots:-
Beachcomber, Cosmos, Powerglide, Warpath, Seaspray
Blaster, Perceptor, Jetfire
Slag, Sludge, Swoop, Snarl
Skids, Hoist, Grapple (I bet we can score Grapple off the list very soon...)
There's also Omega Supreme, the Omnibots, Whirl, Roadbuster, Topspin and Twintwist; but I doubt they'd be made because Omega is way too big and the other guys were never in the cartoon.

1985 Decepticons:-
Kickback, Shrapnel, Bombshell
Astrotrain, Blitzwing
Dirge, Thrust (again, I bet we can score these off the list very soon)
There's also the deluxe insecticons but again, were never in the cartoon... or anything, really.

It'd be pointless to note the 1986 guys since they literally only have Hot Rod and Ultra Magnus from then. ... and, um, Ratbat. But it's probably worth noting that Galvatron is what I'd say is one of the top picks for the next MP Decepticon that's not a repaint/retool.

I guess it might also be worth noting that while MP combiners are never gonna happen, Swindle on his own has enough prominence and popularity to maybe warrant an MP of his own. Maybe. That's just complete conjecture on my part. I guess if you wanted to expand on that idea of singular combiner component MPs that don't combine you could also say Scrapper as the leader of the Constructicons, Silverbolt because he had his own little character arc and First Aid... because he had his own episode. I'm really grasping at straws here.

Kurona wrote:

Hellscream9999 wrote:

Zeedust wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Zeedust wrote:However, I am surprised that they're doing another BW character at all. Are they running out of Autobot cars and alternate Seeker color schemes or something? Is something other than G1 really starting to be important, even if only in Japan?

They're doing BW MPs this year in celebration of the 20th anniversary. Come about another year or two and the MP line will likely go back to being solely G1 characters.

I guess I was overestimating the amount of time it'll take them to get Cheetor finished and released.

And I'm still surprised they're doing more than just Primal in any case. I guess I'm just used to non-G1 stuff being marginalized, if it's even acknowledged at all.

Why not only did BW save the franchise, but it has a huge fan base behind it, they just also happen to like G1 stuff, so they don't necessarily say much.

As for G1 Mp's left to be made, apart from combiners and triple-changers, I would like to see a chart of figures made into mp's and possible character (from the show, I assume) that still need a MP toy. trailbreaker, hoist, pipe's orange repaint, and the insecticons come to mind, but not much else jumps to mind

Weeell...

1984 Autobots:-
Brawl, Cliffjumper, Windcharger, Huffer, Gears
Hound, Jazz, Mirage, Trailbreaker, Sunstreaker

1984 Decepticons:-
None, actually. Soundwave, all three seekers and all the Cassettes are done. But I bet you anything everyone wants an actual Megatron remake since the original MP Megs is pretty crap.

1985 Autobots:-
Beachcomber, Cosmos, Powerglide, Warpath, Seaspray
Blaster, Perceptor, Jetfire
Slag, Sludge, Swoop, Snarl
Skids, Hoist, Grapple (I bet we can score Grapple off the list very soon...)
There's also Omega Supreme, the Omnibots, Whirl, Roadbuster, Topspin and Twintwist; but I doubt they'd be made because Omega is way too big and the other guys were never in the cartoon.

1985 Decepticons:-
Kickback, Shrapnel, Bombshell
Astrotrain, Blitzwing
Dirge, Thrust (again, I bet we can score these off the list very soon)
There's also the deluxe insecticons but again, were never in the cartoon... or anything, really.

It'd be pointless to note the 1986 guys since they literally only have Hot Rod and Ultra Magnus from then. ... and, um, Ratbat. But it's probably worth noting that Galvatron is what I'd say is one of the top picks for the next MP Decepticon that's not a repaint/retool.

I guess it might also be worth noting that while MP combiners are never gonna happen, Swindle on his own has enough prominence and popularity to maybe warrant an MP of his own. Maybe. That's just complete conjecture on my part. I guess if you wanted to expand on that idea of singular combiner component MPs that don't combine you could also say Scrapper as the leader of the Constructicons, Silverbolt because he had his own little character arc and First Aid... because he had his own episode. I'm really grasping at straws here.

We both, also, forgot Reflector. That is something that has deserved a proper update.

And I don't know about -NEVER- on the combiners. Hiiiiiiiiiighly unlikely, and definitely not anytime soon. But it would be ridiculously lucrative for them to release, at least, Devastator. Maybe two Constructicons at a time, like the MP Cassettes. But yeah. Probably never going to happen.

If they did Astrotrain and Blitzwing, I would feel sad if they didn't finish off the main six. I know Astro and Blitz were the only two in the show pre-movie. But still...

DecepticonFinishline wrote:

Kurona wrote:

Hellscream9999 wrote:

Zeedust wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Zeedust wrote:However, I am surprised that they're doing another BW character at all. Are they running out of Autobot cars and alternate Seeker color schemes or something? Is something other than G1 really starting to be important, even if only in Japan?

They're doing BW MPs this year in celebration of the 20th anniversary. Come about another year or two and the MP line will likely go back to being solely G1 characters.

I guess I was overestimating the amount of time it'll take them to get Cheetor finished and released.

And I'm still surprised they're doing more than just Primal in any case. I guess I'm just used to non-G1 stuff being marginalized, if it's even acknowledged at all.

Why not only did BW save the franchise, but it has a huge fan base behind it, they just also happen to like G1 stuff, so they don't necessarily say much.

As for G1 Mp's left to be made, apart from combiners and triple-changers, I would like to see a chart of figures made into mp's and possible character (from the show, I assume) that still need a MP toy. trailbreaker, hoist, pipe's orange repaint, and the insecticons come to mind, but not much else jumps to mind

Weeell...

1984 Autobots:-
Brawl, Cliffjumper, Windcharger, Huffer, Gears
Hound, Jazz, Mirage, Trailbreaker, Sunstreaker

1984 Decepticons:-
None, actually. Soundwave, all three seekers and all the Cassettes are done. But I bet you anything everyone wants an actual Megatron remake since the original MP Megs is pretty crap.

1985 Autobots:-
Beachcomber, Cosmos, Powerglide, Warpath, Seaspray
Blaster, Perceptor, Jetfire
Slag, Sludge, Swoop, Snarl
Skids, Hoist, Grapple (I bet we can score Grapple off the list very soon...)
There's also Omega Supreme, the Omnibots, Whirl, Roadbuster, Topspin and Twintwist; but I doubt they'd be made because Omega is way too big and the other guys were never in the cartoon.

1985 Decepticons:-
Kickback, Shrapnel, Bombshell
Astrotrain, Blitzwing
Dirge, Thrust (again, I bet we can score these off the list very soon)
There's also the deluxe insecticons but again, were never in the cartoon... or anything, really.

It'd be pointless to note the 1986 guys since they literally only have Hot Rod and Ultra Magnus from then. ... and, um, Ratbat. But it's probably worth noting that Galvatron is what I'd say is one of the top picks for the next MP Decepticon that's not a repaint/retool.

I guess it might also be worth noting that while MP combiners are never gonna happen, Swindle on his own has enough prominence and popularity to maybe warrant an MP of his own. Maybe. That's just complete conjecture on my part. I guess if you wanted to expand on that idea of singular combiner component MPs that don't combine you could also say Scrapper as the leader of the Constructicons, Silverbolt because he had his own little character arc and First Aid... because he had his own episode. I'm really grasping at straws here.

We both, also, forgot Reflector. That is something that has deserved a proper update.

And I don't know about -NEVER- on the combiners. Hiiiiiiiiiighly unlikely, and definitely not anytime soon. But it would be ridiculously lucrative for them to release, at least, Devastator. Maybe two Constructicons at a time, like the MP Cassettes. But yeah. Probably never going to happen.

If they did Astrotrain and Blitzwing, I would feel sad if they didn't finish off the main six. I know Astro and Blitz were the only two in the show pre-movie. But still...

IIRC, when Takara was asked about the possibility of an MP Devastator, the answer was straight-out "No".
Good catch on Reflector though. I always use the North American release dates of each transformer to keep track of the cast (hence why I was listing guys like Roadbuster), but Reflector was an error in being in the cartoon cast since his toy wasn't available until being a mail-away in 1986... gg Hasbro. But yeah, I'd definitely expect an MP of him somewhere down the road. Honestly since there were so few pre-movie Decepticons, aside from of course Thrust and Dirge being Ramjet retools I'd expect either Galvatron or a redone Megatron for the next MP Decepticon. I mean otherwise they have to go with Bombshell and consign themselves to making all three Insecticons who on their own are nothing to fuss about, or work their asses off to make a triple changer. ... or Cyclonus, Cyclonus works too.

I'm going to make my opinion really simple.

Beast Wars deserves the Masterpiece treatment, Cheetor ahead of Megatron however is just a bad move.

Kurona wrote:

Prowl4 wrote:I'm very happy to see the mp bw line continue and with cheetor. It's important cheetor is next in my opinion because the mould can be reworked into tigatron and maybe ravage, although ravage did have transmetal cheetors body. This has more remould and repaint potential than anybody else aside from tarantulas.

I'm genuinely surprised at the apparent dislike of cheetor but I loved the character. The character evolved from juvenile rookie to competent leader. Growing up at the time of beast wars and beast machines definitely drew me to cheetor and I took inspiration from him.

Happy to see him next and after all it means more time for takara to figure out a flawless dinobot, megatron and tarantulas.

For me it's less that I dislike Cheetor - I love all the BW characters and would pick any of them up - it's just that out of everyone aside from Terrorsaur and Scorponok... he's probably the last one I'd pick up. I just like the other ones better is all; Cheetor's cool and I like him but he's kinda that "just there" character for me. You know, the one that the team wouldn't be the team without but he's not exactly your favourite despite that.
I'd still buy the hell out of him.

I don't think he was just there though he grew and became the leader of the maximals after all. This is the starting point of a possible mp evolution figure.

DecepticonFinishline wrote:

fenrir72 wrote:

kurthy wrote:

fenrir72 wrote:

DecepticonFinishline wrote:

Desslok2201 wrote:I really wish the BW MPs would be a separate numbering system

That's where I was with Star Saber, but now it just tdoesn't matter.

WHY? Why though?! Why ISN'T IS MEGATRON DAMMIT?!

WE. HAVE. TOO. MANY. HEROES.

We need more villains. Seriously. Every shelf ever is absurdly unbalanced.

Unless it's someone like Char Aznable "villains" always get second billing.

Even though said heroes wouldn't exist without those villains. Makes me miss MOTU, G.I. Joe, and M.A.S.K. from the '80s. You can't have a proper war on your floor if you only have one side.

But I actually understand the economics of the situation. Both factions will be bought by more well-to-do families because they can afford more than one and don't want to buy the same figure. But if you can only buy one for your kid, are you going to buy a good guy or a bad guy? The kid is probably going to want the good guy first and foremost (please don't forget that low income families far outnumber middle and upper class families). Hence, they will sell more Optimus Primes and Bumblebees than Megatrons and Starscreams. Basically, the assumption is that most families will buy a OP or BB, some families will buy a smattering, and very few families will only buy a Megatron/SS.

And that's great logic for the lower end of the spectrum. But when it comes to MPs, they are cost prohibitive from the beginning and not targeted at families, so when it comes to that, GIVE ME MY QUEEN AND LET THE REST BURN!

Kind of sad too. Starscream got the re-issue/improved(?) design first (maybe because of the potential to repaint the mold to infinity) and his "popularity" over an improve MP Megatron G1. Sorry if I hurt BW fans but if they, TT does issue a Megatron, let it be a G1 version first the BW Megs

I'm not opposed to that. Since we're getting Delta Magnus instead of a bad ass Shadow Magnus (kill me, amirite) I need an imposing figure to lead my MP Decepticon/Predacons. I don't mind a G1 Megs first. But. We do need both, now.

Prowl4 wrote:I'm very happy to see the mp bw line continue and with cheetor. It's important cheetor is next in my opinion because the mould can be reworked into tigatron and maybe ravage, although ravage did have transmetal cheetors body. This has more remould and repaint potential than anybody else aside from tarantulas.

I'm genuinely surprised at the apparent dislike of cheetor but I loved the character. The character evolved from juvenile rookie to competent leader. Growing up at the time of beast wars and beast machines definitely drew me to cheetor and I took inspiration from him.

Happy to see him next and after all it means more time for takara to figure out a flawless dinobot, megatron and tarantulas.

I like all the Beast Wars characters. However, I expected that they would only bother with the leaders and not make MP molds of the rest of the team (actually, as a cynic, I expected ONLY the Autobot Maximal leader and nothing else). But if they make a supporting character to add to the hero ranks and don't even make the leader of the Predacons at all, it feels like a massive middle finger. It's kind of akin to the way Pokemon treats Grass-types in relation to Fire- and Water-types.

A middle finger is harsh. This character eventually became leader of the maximals so I'm pretty happy with him. As I said it gives more time for takara to do a perfect dinobot, megatron etc. Dinobot is my favourite character but I'm just going to be patient because I don't want a sub par figure rushed out the door. I think this could be the start of a nice evolution from bw to tm to tm2 to beast machines. I'm happy with the choice.

Prowl4 wrote:

Kurona wrote:

Prowl4 wrote:I'm very happy to see the mp bw line continue and with cheetor. It's important cheetor is next in my opinion because the mould can be reworked into tigatron and maybe ravage, although ravage did have transmetal cheetors body. This has more remould and repaint potential than anybody else aside from tarantulas.

I'm genuinely surprised at the apparent dislike of cheetor but I loved the character. The character evolved from juvenile rookie to competent leader. Growing up at the time of beast wars and beast machines definitely drew me to cheetor and I took inspiration from him.

Happy to see him next and after all it means more time for takara to figure out a flawless dinobot, megatron and tarantulas.

For me it's less that I dislike Cheetor - I love all the BW characters and would pick any of them up - it's just that out of everyone aside from Terrorsaur and Scorponok... he's probably the last one I'd pick up. I just like the other ones better is all; Cheetor's cool and I like him but he's kinda that "just there" character for me. You know, the one that the team wouldn't be the team without but he's not exactly your favourite despite that.
I'd still buy the hell out of him.

I don't think he was just there though he grew and became the leader of the maximals after all. This is the starting point of a possible mp evolution figure.

Oh yeah, I get that; it's just that's what he was for me. I saw his character development, his traits, his evolution and it's all well and cool; but he just didn't stand out for me as much as the other guys. That's all I meant; not an objective study of the characters, just how they worked for me personally.

More than anything I'm just ecstatic that there'll be a second Beast Wars Masterpiece toy, I legitimately thought Primal would be the only one. I don't even mind that it's not Megatron or Dinobot, because Cheetor has always been a personal favourite of mine. I can't wait to see how Masterpiece Cheetor turns out.

Burn wrote:I'm going to make my opinion really simple.

Beast Wars deserves the Masterpiece treatment, Cheetor ahead of Megatron however is just a bad move.

The way it should go is Primal > Megatron > Dinobot.

Also y'all talking about G1 Decpeticons, you forgot the Insecticons too.

The way I see it, the cartoon casts that need the MP treatment the most, in the order of which each cartoon was made, are the G1 cast, the Beast Wars season 1 cast, a small amount of the Beast Wars seasons 2-3 cast, the Beast Machines cast, the Armada cast, a small amount of the Energon cast, and the tiniest amount of the Animated cast.

Sabrblade wrote:The way I see it, the cartoon casts that need the MP treatment the most, in the order of which each cartoon was made, are the G1 cast, the Beast Wars season 1 cast, a small amount of the Beast Wars seasons 2-3 cast, the Beast Machines cast, the Armada cast, a small amount of the Energon cast, and the tiniest amount of the Animated cast.

I can get behind the first part... though fsr it'd feel a bit weird to have a dedicated MP BW line and get Trailbreaker before Tarantulas or whatnot.

Why the Energon cast? Like... that's the thing almost everyone universally agrees is bad, and unlike Armada having Starscream it doesn't at least have a fan-favourite character everyone points to as one thing they liked about it. I'd say TFP's main cast deserves the treatment personally, but, uh... maybe too soon.

Armada I could only really see Optimus, Starscream and Hot Shot. Maybe Megatron, no-one else is really that memorable or loved. Maybe Red Alert? IDK. I can't see there being an interest in Armada Masterpieces beyond a few characters.

Animated at least, like Beast Wars, started off with just the five autobots and just the five decepticons. And for the most part, it kind of stayed to that same cast without changes unlike Beast Wars. So all of 'em would make sense. Masterpiece Lugnut sounds sexy.

And since it's a Japanese line, it's G1-centric and we already have Star Saber, I'd say the main protaganist and antagonist each of Headmasters, Masterforce and Victory (maybe also Victory Leo since Star Saber was designed with the idea of combining in mind) makes sense.

Kurona wrote:And since it's a Japanese line, it's G1-centric and we already have Star Saber, I'd say the main protaganist and antagonist each of Headmasters, Masterforce and Victory (maybe also Victory Leo since Star Saber was designed with the idea of combining in mind) makes sense.

...that reminds me, has anyone made a third-party Victory Leo to go with MP Star Saber?

Sigma Magnus wrote:

Kurona wrote:And since it's a Japanese line, it's G1-centric and we already have Star Saber, I'd say the main protaganist and antagonist each of Headmasters, Masterforce and Victory (maybe also Victory Leo since Star Saber was designed with the idea of combining in mind) makes sense.

...that reminds me, has anyone made a third-party Victory Leo to go with MP Star Saber?

A quick google search brings up only the G1 toys, the Robot Master toys, some promotional art, and a digibash of TFP Voyager Dreadwing into Star Saber that I don't know what to think about.

Kurona wrote:

Sigma Magnus wrote:

Kurona wrote:And since it's a Japanese line, it's G1-centric and we already have Star Saber, I'd say the main protaganist and antagonist each of Headmasters, Masterforce and Victory (maybe also Victory Leo since Star Saber was designed with the idea of combining in mind) makes sense.

...that reminds me, has anyone made a third-party Victory Leo to go with MP Star Saber?

A quick google search brings up only the G1 toys, the Robot Master toys, some promotional art, and a digibash of TFP Voyager Dreadwing into Star Saber that I don't know what to think about.

Huh. You'd think someone would've by now...

Kurona wrote:IIRC, when Takara was asked about the possibility of an MP Devastator, the answer was straight-out "No".
Good catch on Reflector though. I always use the North American release dates of each transformer to keep track of the cast (hence why I was listing guys like Roadbuster), but Reflector was an error in being in the cartoon cast since his toy wasn't available until being a mail-away in 1986... gg Hasbro. But yeah, I'd definitely expect an MP of him somewhere down the road. Honestly since there were so few pre-movie Decepticons, aside from of course Thrust and Dirge being Ramjet retools I'd expect either Galvatron or a redone Megatron for the next MP Decepticon. I mean otherwise they have to go with Bombshell and consign themselves to making all three Insecticons who on their own are nothing to fuss about, or work their asses off to make a triple changer. ... or Cyclonus, Cyclonus works too.

Hopefully they change their mind. They could make a G2 version that I don't want.

I dunno. I could see Devastator happening. Not now, of course. Not so soon after Combiner Wars. But I could see it happening.

DecepticonFinishline wrote:

Kurona wrote:IIRC, when Takara was asked about the possibility of an MP Devastator, the answer was straight-out "No".
Good catch on Reflector though. I always use the North American release dates of each transformer to keep track of the cast (hence why I was listing guys like Roadbuster), but Reflector was an error in being in the cartoon cast since his toy wasn't available until being a mail-away in 1986... gg Hasbro. But yeah, I'd definitely expect an MP of him somewhere down the road. Honestly since there were so few pre-movie Decepticons, aside from of course Thrust and Dirge being Ramjet retools I'd expect either Galvatron or a redone Megatron for the next MP Decepticon. I mean otherwise they have to go with Bombshell and consign themselves to making all three Insecticons who on their own are nothing to fuss about, or work their asses off to make a triple changer. ... or Cyclonus, Cyclonus works too.

Hopefully they change their mind. They could make a G2 version that I don't want.

I dunno. I could see Devastator happening. Not now, of course. Not so soon after Combiner Wars. But I could see it happening.

Unless there's a massive upgrade on engineering, Takara's budget, peoples' wallets and ways to cheat the laws of physics, I really don't see it ever happening.

Burn wrote:I'm going to make my opinion really simple.

Beast Wars deserves the Masterpiece treatment, Cheetor ahead of Megatron however is just a bad move.

When I first saw this thread I would've totally agreed with you Burn, and I still kind of do, but Season 1 Cheetor hasn't had a good representation of that design in plastic yet. Megatron on the other hand, arguably has a pretty good toy for his Season 1 design. So I can kind of see why Takara would prioritize Cheetor. G1 Megatron was MP-5, we got two repaints a of Prime before Megs, we just need to give them time.

I don't know if it was mentioned yet, but if we get a MP Cheator, wouldn't that almost garunteed a MP Tigatron?

Ironhidensh wrote:I don't know if it was mentioned yet, but if we get a MP Cheator, wouldn't that almost garunteed a MP Tigatron?

I'd imagine it'd require a bit of work since in the cartoon, Tigatron was a bit taller and bulkier than Cheetor. So... probably, but it would - or should - have quite a bit of retooling involved.

Ironhidensh wrote:I don't know if it was mentioned yet, but if we get a MP Cheator, wouldn't that almost garunteed a MP Tigatron?

Only if they cheap out. They could use the exact same engineering, but he would have to be upscaled.

shajaki wrote:

Ironhidensh wrote:I don't know if it was mentioned yet, but if we get a MP Cheator, wouldn't that almost garunteed a MP Tigatron?

Only if they cheap out. They could use the exact same engineering, but he would have to be upscaled.

The original toy was the same size, a straight repaint. We all know how they love to make repaints.

Kurona wrote:Why the Energon cast?

Because some of that line's toys were genuinely awful and are in dire need of being remade to be as good as the rest of the toys in that line that were legitimately good/great, which the MP treatment could easily deliver upon.

Kurona wrote:Like... that's the thing almost everyone universally agrees is bad,

Not the animation models. People don't hate on those.

G1 had plenty of terrible episode stories yet you don't see people harping the G1 MPs for their mere existence.

Kurona wrote:and unlike Armada having Starscream it doesn't at least have a fan-favourite character everyone points to as one thing they liked about it.

I'd say Shockblast was awesome and his original toy definitely needs a redo.

Kurona wrote:I'd say TFP's main cast deserves the treatment personally, but, uh... maybe too soon.

I strongly disagree with that because practically every member of the of the TFP cast already has a close-enough-to-show-accurate toy. There are very very few of them who do not.

Kurona wrote:Armada I could only really see Optimus, Starscream and Hot Shot. Maybe Megatron, no-one else is really that memorable or loved. Maybe Red Alert? IDK. I can't see there being an interest in Armada Masterpieces beyond a few characters.

Virtually everyone from Armada needs the MP treatment. Their original toys were horribly compromised by the Mini-Con gimmick. Unicron and Tidal Wave are probably the only ones who don't need MPs (all Tidal Wave really needs is a pair of knees).

Kurona wrote:Animated at least, like Beast Wars, started off with just the five autobots and just the five decepticons. And for the most part, it kind of stayed to that same cast without changes unlike Beast Wars. So all of 'em would make sense. Masterpiece Lugnut sounds sexy.

And yet, in spite of how show-accurate the vast majority of that line's figures were, a small amount of them were still so near yet so far. The MP treatment, however, could make those few go all the way.

Ironhidensh wrote:

shajaki wrote:

Ironhidensh wrote:I don't know if it was mentioned yet, but if we get a MP Cheator, wouldn't that almost garunteed a MP Tigatron?

Only if they cheap out. They could use the exact same engineering, but he would have to be upscaled.

The original toy was the same size, a straight repaint. We all know how they love to make repaints.

Yes, but the key idea with Masterpiece is show accuracy. I'm not saying they won't go for a straight repaint, disappointing as that'd be, but it's not like it's impossible for them to go with a bit of retooling for added height and bulk.
Heck, if you want an example already from the Masterpiece line, look at Road Rage - her original toy is a straight repaint of Tracks, but for MP they gave her an extensive retooling not just for the head, but for the collar, biceps, hands, hips, and thighs to give her a more feminine figure. And she was never even in the show!
So... yeah. Even if the original toys were just straight repaints, Road Rage says to me they don't use that as an excuse. They'll only make it a straight repaint if the character was depicted as such in the fiction.