Takara Tomy Transformers Masterpiece MP-21 Bumblebee Prototype Revealed - Includes Spike's Exosuit!

Wow this is going to be one tiny Masterpiece!
Going by the persons thumb, Id guess this works out about 6 thumbs high, head to toe, making this smaller than most of our Classics deluxe figures!
A Deluxe Masterpiece?

Looks good from what I can make out.

I wonder why the face comes off -- perhaps an interchangeable toy-accurate face; or another cartoon one with a cheerful expression?

'Bee will add even more variety to the colour scheme and heights of the Autobot MP lineup.

So how did Takara manage to license the Beetle from Volkswagen? I thought the car manufacturer didn't want to be associated with war machines.

BATTLEMASTER IIC wrote:So how did Takara manage to license the Beetle from Volkswagen? I thought the car manufacturer didn't want to be associated with war machines.

Honestly, I don't know. I'd imagine it was one pricey deal, though.

BATTLEMASTER IIC wrote:
So how did Takara manage to license the Beetle from Volkswagen? I thought the car manufacturer didn't want to be associated with war machines.

Maybe Volkswagen watched the TF movies and realised that the Autobots and Bumblebee are are force of good that only want to bring peace and harmony to Earth, or maybe Takara gave them a briefcase stuffed with cash. I don't know, it's a tough one.

i need this.

Looking alright from the pics, let's hope we don't have to wait too long for something more high res and coloured.
(Though we have a few good guys on this site who can digitally colour alright)

BATTLEMASTER IIC wrote:So how did Takara manage to license the Beetle from Volkswagen? I thought the car manufacturer didn't want to be associated with war machines.

Maybe they just ... changed their stance?

The exosuit looks better than the 3rd party version - at least it's properly in scale.

BATTLEMASTER IIC wrote:So how did Takara manage to license the Beetle from Volkswagen? I thought the car manufacturer didn't want to be associated with war machines.

Maybe there's a new guy in charge of that.

BATTLEMASTER IIC wrote:So how did Takara manage to license the Beetle from Volkswagen? I thought the car manufacturer didn't want to be associated with war machines.

Autobot032 wrote:Honestly, I don't know. I'd imagine it was one pricey deal, though.

Venoose1 wrote:Maybe Volkswagen watched the TF movies and realised that the Autobots and Bumblebee are are force of good that only want to bring peace and harmony to Earth, or maybe Takara gave them a briefcase stuffed with cash. I don't know, it's a tough one.

Actually it's none of those things, it has to do with the merger of TOMY with Takara. Here is a quote from the last interview with the MP Designer S. Hasui.

- Any hardship to obtain vehicle licence?
H: Actually, thanks to Tomica brand, we can negotiate with many car manufacturers such as Fiat. This is a great result of merger (of Takara and Tomy). I had a Lancia Stratos Tomica when I was little. The style and colour scheme is very unique and hard to forget. It was my favourite but as I was young, I don't think I remembered the name.

BATTLEMASTER IIC wrote:So how did Takara manage to license the Beetle from Volkswagen? I thought the car manufacturer didn't want to be associated with war machines.

That's just a myth that's circulated through the fandom for years. It's always been about the money. It the past they parties just couldn't arrive at the right numbers to satisfy both parties. And as Trailbreaker77 mentioned the Tomica deal has apparently opened new doors.

hopefully it'll still be priced around the fairlady ones in spite of the additional exo suit and also that the exo suit isn't some special exclusive...

Okay, I'm gonna say it, I was hoping for Chibified Bee, but I like this, and I understand for various reasons it could have gone either way.

I like how the they got the tire on the back, similar to the animation model, not sure why it sits so high up on the back though?


If they are adding stuff to justify the price point I hope we get more than 2 replaceable faces, I hope we get a couple facial expressions besides a G1 toy face.


I don't think I will buy a MP Cliffjumper now though. To me CJ's Chibi model hardly resembled the vehicle at all, it will be unrecognizable.

Trailbreaker77 wrote:Actually it's none of those things, it has to do with the merger of TOMY with Takara. Here is a quote from the last interview with the MP Designer S. Hasui.

- Any hardship to obtain vehicle licence?
H: Actually, thanks to Tomica brand, we can negotiate with many car manufacturers such as Fiat. This is a great result of merger (of Takara and Tomy). I had a Lancia Stratos Tomica when I was little. The style and colour scheme is very unique and hard to forget. It was my favourite but as I was young, I don't think I remembered the name.

This right here.

It's all thanks to Tomica that Takara is able to get all these car licenses more swimmingly than Hasbro, and Volkswagon was an admittedly tough one for them to get, but they got it and that's awesome!


Though, not sure why this news needed its own thread instead of continuing on from the existing one.

Obviously we have to wait until we have finished version pics but right now I really don't like it. Bee is one of those guys you will never get cartoon accurate in both modes due to the way he was animated. (Somehow the hood and front fenders folded into feet with no lights or hood kibble on the cartoon) He also had a rounded and plump car mode but slimmed down considerably in robot mode. Due to all this the use of this version of the Bug just makes the figure look old and bland. Though it wouldn't be accurate I would much rather have the alt mode made from one of the newer Bug models.






Just a comparison with the newer model to show what I mean

looks awesome

As a counter argument, I really like this bee precisely because it is an original old model VW but has a toonish bot mode. Growing up in the 80's, I remember getting him for $3 at the local toy store. Nothing about that toy looks like what he was in the show, but I didn't care at all since in my mind he was the same. These masterpieces are the toys I imagined I was playing with when I was a kid. Tomy is banking on this nostalgia heavily. Realistically, they are luxury, collector toys aimed at my generation who has disposable income.

Judging by the interview, this line is selling very well since they don't have to repurpose molds. I suspect this line will go on for a long time since guys like me will consistently buy them all. Unfortunately, this also means they will gradually crank the prices up since we are captive addicts.

his face looks kind of fat... also is that a wheel on his back?

any chance this actually comes with spike? that would be awesome!

Doc bot wrote:As a counter argument, I really like this bee precisely because it is an original old model VW but has a toonish bot mode. Growing up in the 80's, I remember getting him for $3 at the local toy store. Nothing about that toy looks like what he was in the show, but I didn't care at all since in my mind he was the same. These masterpieces are the toys I imagined I was playing with when I was a kid. Tomy is banking on this nostalgia heavily. Realistically, they are luxury, collector toys aimed at my generation who has disposable income.

Judging by the interview, this line is selling very well since they don't have to repurpose molds. I suspect this line will go on for a long time since guys like me will consistently buy them all. Unfortunately, this also means they will gradually crank the prices up since we are captive addicts.

Don't get me wrong....I love the Masterpiece line. It's just that to me they were always going for cartoon accuracy and not toy accuracy (Wheeljack for example looks exactly like his cartoon appearance but not so much like the actual toy). I just feel that if Bumblebee was never accurate to that version of the Volkswagon Beetle in the cartoon why use that version now? This to me more reminds me of a Gobot I had as kid in vehichle mode. (Can't remember his name....think it was BugBite)

Darkman20xx wrote:Obviously we have to wait until we have finished version pics but right now I really don't like it. Bee is one of those guys you will never get cartoon accurate in both modes due to the way he was animated. (Somehow the hood and front fenders folded into feet with no lights or hood kibble on the cartoon) He also had a rounded and plump car mode but slimmed down considerably in robot mode. Due to all this the use of this version of the Bug just makes the figure look old and bland. Though it wouldn't be accurate I would much rather have the alt mode made from one of the newer Bug models.

The 3P guys seem to have hit the cartoon look pretty well in both modes:

mooncake623 wrote:his face looks kind of fat... also is that a wheel on his back?

Yep, just like in the cartoon.

Aw SHIT man! This is marvelous. Absolutely marvelous!

rpetras wrote:

Darkman20xx wrote:Obviously we have to wait until we have finished version pics but right now I really don't like it. Bee is one of those guys you will never get cartoon accurate in both modes due to the way he was animated. (Somehow the hood and front fenders folded into feet with no lights or hood kibble on the cartoon) He also had a rounded and plump car mode but slimmed down considerably in robot mode. Due to all this the use of this version of the Bug just makes the figure look old and bland. Though it wouldn't be accurate I would much rather have the alt mode made from one of the newer Bug models.

The 3P guys seem to have hit the cartoon look pretty well in both modes:

That actually does look very good though it looks too small for a Masterpiece figure. Pretty awesome though.

If they ever do a Masterpiece Wheelie or a new Hot Rod that's in scale with these new car Autobots, it had better come with Daniel.

Sabrblade wrote:

mooncake623 wrote:his face looks kind of fat... also is that a wheel on his back?

Yep, just like in the cartoon.

Well if that's a wheel instead of a yellow circle sure...

I'm guessing that for an international company like Tomy, it's easier to pursue the VW license than to risk lawsuits by making a pretend VW Beetle to look like the show. Just look at all the lawsuits that fly around whenever they try to make a new Jetfire.

Licensing is a big deal. If you take the Corvette as an example, GM is estimated to earn 70 million in royalties a year from that one car alone without doing anything. Maybe VW wants more of that free cash.

This thing is SO bought on sight. The engineering for the robot torso is AMAZING.

I wonder if we'll get Daniel with an exosuit when they re-release this mold as Cliffjumper?

mblase75 wrote:when they re-release this mold as Cliffjumper?

NO!

Super Megatron wrote:This thing is SO bought on sight. The engineering for the robot torso is AMAZING.

I agree! Unlike the 3rd party figure, he has all those windshields in robot mode like in the cartoon.

Can't wait to see how the MP-21 transforms.. looking at the car and the robot standing next to it, it looks almost impossible. There's so much thought behind those Masterpiece toys.


MP Bumbelee would have looked good as either a realistic car or a chibified one, probably because the VW Beetle is kind of a "chibi" car anyway. I wonder how Cliffjumper will look as a realistic Porsche 924 though. But that's ages from now.


btw, the wheel/disk on his back is black in the AKOM episodes.
http://www.seibertron.com/images/cartoo ... f09306.jpg

Sabrblade wrote:

mblase75 wrote:when they re-release this mold as Cliffjumper?

NO!

To clarify: G1 Cliffjumper is not a Volkswagen Beetle (rather a Porsche 924 Turbo, despite transforming the same way as Bumblebee. He did keep his weird toy proportions in the cartoon, however.
Should MP Cliffjumper be in the works, I'm expecting either a new mold, or a vehicle reshell of MP Bumblebee

Regarding potential redecos, I found this awesome GIF of ideas:

damn thats a small MP figure, looks like they're getting like hasbro now & making everything smaller. Im curious about the face gimmick, will there be a toy face & a cartoon face or just different expressions? Might also be their way of making this easy to repaint into cliffjumper or whoever else they want.

Bee's gonna be tiny. Using the guy's hand for scale in the last pic, he looks smaller than most deluxes.

Other than a red version, and possibly a gold-chromed Goldbug, doubt we'll see this remolded into a different character. They already said these guys are selling so well that they can invest in bespoke molds. A very good thing.

Megatron Wolf wrote:damn thats a small MP figure, looks like they're getting like hasbro now & making everything smaller.

Where were you when Bumblebee was among the smallest Autobots in the whole G1 cartoon? He even claimed to be the smallest back in episode 2. You're seriously surprised that he's smaller than the rest when everything the Masterpiece line has been doing since MP-10 up to this point has been adhering to the official scale guide of the G1 cartoon?

I think VW finally gave in to capitalize on the TF cash cow. They finally realized that WWII is in the history books and its time to move foward. Now the question is how will scale factor in to the car mode. The whole mini bot concept worked for kids toys, but not so much for real car scale in comparison to other real life cars. Bumblebee might have to be just under sideswipe and prowls height.

Okay, this just went from 'nice Bumblebee' to 'OMG I NEED THIS NOW'. He does look tiny but that's accurate and the inclusion of the Exo Suit is something I did not see coming at all. And yes, the engineering looks amazing and the wheel on the back is a nice touch. Well done, Takara.

I think the top of Bumblebee's head will reach the bottom of Smokescreen's car chest. About 12 cm high.

Sabrblade wrote:Regarding potential redecos, I found this awesome GIF of ideas:

I wonder if Takara will try to retool the mold into Goldbug. They are rather different.

rpetras wrote:

Darkman20xx wrote:Obviously we have to wait until we have finished version pics but right now I really don't like it. Bee is one of those guys you will never get cartoon accurate in both modes due to the way he was animated. (Somehow the hood and front fenders folded into feet with no lights or hood kibble on the cartoon) He also had a rounded and plump car mode but slimmed down considerably in robot mode. Due to all this the use of this version of the Bug just makes the figure look old and bland. Though it wouldn't be accurate I would much rather have the alt mode made from one of the newer Bug models.

The 3P guys seem to have hit the cartoon look pretty well in both modes:

Only in alt-mode, the bot-mode is super inaccurate to the cartoon though. So it's the Takara just in reverse.

I just love this thing, and I can't wait for the HLJ pre-order to hit.

To those being baffled about him being tiny, he's going to be smaller than a Deluxe sized toy, this is not about Takara shrinking down the line to make more money, this is in line with the mission statement of the MP line since MP 10, which is cartoon bot-mode scale. And BB was tiny, if you're going to complain about BB being tiny, go and also complain about the Cassettes being too tiny to be MPs.

I'm curious to see how they'll handle the spare tire on his back, toy accurate black, or toon accurate yellow. Personally I would prefer a combination of the two, the back being yellow while the spare is just a tyre.

I like it. And of course he's going to be small, he's Bumblebee! Spike is added to justify the cost and to say "Aw shit! What are we going to do now?"

(I also like how we were having the "1984 ONLY" discussion and the next day, BAM, the Movie.)

Clearer image!

I havn't commented on anything here in months but finally something has brought me back to the table LoL. Its good to see 'ol Bee sporting his original look again (and lets face it, most likely the last time as an entire new generation will always identify with him as a Camaro now).
But what I actually wanted to comment on that I havn't noticed anyone else mention is the fact that he appears to be a vintage Super Beetle.... interesting. I should first point out that I'm an avid VW enthusiast and have participated in (along with my dad) the restoration of over a dozen different types of "bugs" since coming of driving age in the mid 90's. I currently own a yellow '72 Beetle Sedan that was passed down to me that I never plan to part with...back in the day I used to tool around in it with my dad running errands in the mid eighties carrying my trusty G1 Bumblebee along for the ride. As a kid who was exposed to more VW knowledge than the average Joe would care to know I used to always wonder if Bumblebee was a Sedan model or a Super Beetle. It was important to me you see because of my dads car, I wanted to know if we were driving a real Bumblebee or not? It was always difficult to tell based on the original "penny racer" style toy and his animated portrayal never really helped with specifics either. There would be clues here and there over the years (like taillight lenses and bumper shapes) but often they would contradict one another thus portraying his alt mode as some kind of amalgamated bastard creation. In my teens I finally surmised (accepted more like it) that he must be a Super Beetle, it just made the most sense to me, which kinda bummed me out a little because I wanted to turn my standard sedan into a BB replica for car shows, botcons, and what not. In 2007's Bayformers there was the infamous scene where Bernie Macs character tries to show Sam a yellow bug thus prompting Camaro-Bee to condescendingly ram it with a passenger door (which in hindsight was probably where I decided that Bay could go F himself, but I digress). Anyway that yellow bug was a super beetle thus lending credence to my assumption that Bee was indeed a Super.
But finally here, at last, we're getting a more definitive answer that only the Masterpiece line could prompt an answer to. Folks, we have a Super Beetle. I'm glad and sad at the same time...it kinda confirms to me that I would just be wasting my time trying to convert my classic into a Spike & Carlie "lovebug". The way I figure it, Takara and VW would have to be specific to a particular make and model year in order to grant a copyright usage.
*And now just to be specific, this mold appears to be either a 1971 or 72 Super Beetle...because of the bulbous wide nosed front bonnet (or hood on American cars) and the fact that it seems to have a flat, not curved, front windshield which only existed on Super Beetles for those two years. I'll have to get a better look at the taillights to confirm this, they should be slender solid red with clear bottoms...I swear if it ends up being the "elephant foot" taillights I'm going to call shenanigans

And just to confirm the thought most of you are having by now, yes I have too much time on my hands, yes I ramble, and yes I am a freaking Geewunner...and proud of it!

They made his horns too Unicron-y.

Hmmm, looks kinda small, I wonder how well this would fit in with classics figures, based on the picture showing the guys hand lookes about the same size as Classics Bee.

leakin' lubricant wrote:Hmmm, looks kinda small, I wonder how well this would fit in with classics figures, based on the picture showing the guys hand lookes about the same size as Classics Bee.

The problem isn't that Masterpiece is too small it's that Classics has always been too big!

zodconvoy wrote:

leakin' lubricant wrote:Hmmm, looks kinda small, I wonder how well this would fit in with classics figures, based on the picture showing the guys hand lookes about the same size as Classics Bee.

The problem isn't that Masterpiece is too small it's that Classics has always been too big!

I dont know to be honest, he stacks up quite well with the rest of his Classics brethren, apart from Prime who is to small. I dont have a problem with Masterpiece Bee being around the same size as Classics Bee, ive been looking for a more show acurate Bee for my Classics collection for ages.

Hope MP-24 is Cliffjumper. Maybe they could also do Hubcab as MP-24H?