The product page for the Takara-Tomy Mall exclusive MP-15 / 16 Cassettebot VS Cassettetron set has been updated with images of the toys in the set. The listing now shows color images of Nightstalker (Steeljaw remold), Stripes (Ravage remold), Enemy (Rumble / Frenzy redeco) and Wing Thing (Ratbat redeco). Nightstalker and Stripes are remolded based on their original molds, which reflect how the pair of cassettes included with the Encore Twincast figure swapped accessories compared to their better known Steeljaw and Ravage incarnations.
The exclusive set, which is due to release in December, is now open to preorders for Japanese fans. We’re personally excited at the inclusion of Nightstalker, which seems to be fairly clear evidence that Masterpiece Steeljaw is also in the works – and that probably means not only Steeljaw, but Blaster and his whole complement of cassettes, per an earlier rumor from a Chinese message board.
ChromeMagnus
Afterburner
Nightstalker has been out a year and still not even a silhouette of Blaster. They could use to refocus their energy on this line, especally now that the movies appear to be fully dying out.
darwin
Like i said … you are totally unable to accept the fact you're wrong and you're triggered by other peopke showing you're wrong.
I'd call a good doctor.
ChromeMagnus
Takara MP15/16-E set with collector coins price drop throughout Taobao.com.
TB seller Mong Kok Animation has it for about $78 USD EMS shipped to the USA.
You may need the seller to send you a private link with a different name for the listing in case Taobao halts the transaction due to banned buzzwords for overseas transactions (Transformers, Hasbro, Takara etc).
TAKARA 变形金刚 大师级 限量 MP15E MP16E 15e/16e 磁带套装-淘宝网
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ChromeMagnus
Like I said….triggered by the two letter word.
darwin
No it's just your third wrong assumption in a three posts row (good score!).
KOs have been here from the start so they've always been part of the equation, so to speak.
In the meantime still waiting for the ko of these particular cassettetrons you predicted with absolute and total certainty.
Please make me a call when it's out.
Thanks!
ChromeMagnus
Again, Einstein I my point is not how fast they get KO'd, it is that they likely will be at some point.
I'm taking your passive aggressive tone to indicate that the post triggered you because of the prospect of yet another Takara product being KO'd.
It's ok, your secret is safe with me.
darwin
Look how ALL the other cassetticons were KOed at the speed of light, my dear Super Genius
…maybe it's 'cause some take shorter than others, idk (i'm not genious and prescient enough).
ChromeMagnus
And when did you hear me say it would take a year and a half, Einstein?
Look how long it took for MP13 and MP22 to get KO'd.
Some take longer than others.
mista2x
2020 most likely
darwin
Aaaand more than half an year later …
NO KO IN SIGHT!!!
good job nostadamus!
Sammael
There is no way that MP Blaster is not in the works. They would not have developed an all-new Steeljaw mold for nothing. My guess? We'll get him late next year, along with a + version of Soundwave.
TargetmasterJoe
Masterpiece Blaster when????????
Balzari
I own Buzzsaw, Frenzy, Laserbeak, Ratbat, Ravage and Rumble and whilst I appreciate the engineering for figures so small I've always felt the Cassetticons were overpriced.
I understand a lot of money is spent on the R&D of the Masterpiece line but the Cassetticons are just so light and the QC is average at best.
I ended up grabbing a FT-23 Dracula, I might have paid a bit more but my God I feel like I have value for money when I hold it in my hands and the QC is just something I have rarely ever got from a TT product.
ChromeMagnus
Man, where've you been?
ShadowStitch
These had been tempting me for months, and I finally bought a set for a decent price from Agabyss on Black Friday.
I got them in yesterday, and I couldn't have been more disappointed.
It's no fault of Agabyss, they were impossibly professional, but I can't say the same about Takara.
These tapes are simply overpriced trash. These tiny "Masterpiece" figures are no better made than dollar store legends figures. Everywhere I look, each figure exemplifies shoddy workmanship; huge gouges in the plastic where they were snipped off the sprues, untrimmed nubs interfering with assembly, haphazardly applied paint and tampos, and crooked pins causing misaligned joints. As usual, the figures feature ambitious engineering that their factories simply aren't able to reproduce accurately. Hasbro/Takara can't manage decent, consistent quality in any of their products, and any exceptions are just up to luck. I don't know why I ever expect any differently. Across the board, their products are increasingly poor as the years go on, even as far up as the Masterpiece series, which one would presume is constructed with slightly higher tolerances than dollar store junk. But it's clearly not.
Enemy: This figure was, for the most part, the best of the lot. The paint wasn't too bad, there were only a few nicks in the gold chrome, the logo tampo was perfect, and all of the parts seem to line up properly in tape mode. I had to trim off a sprue nub on the back of one fist that was preventing it from folding out all the way, but that sort of fix is minor and practically expected. The most egregious error was that the sprue point on the chest, directly in front of the head, was cut so deeply it gouged into the chest detail, making it look like he's wearing a V-neck shirt. "Masterpiece" figures should be held to a higher standard than this. 4/5
Wingthing: This was my most anticipated addition, and while he's mostly okay in bat mode, there are some serious construction flaws in tape mode. There was some sloppy overspray on one eye, which I cleaned up, but otherwise his limited paint applications means there's less for them to screw up. The main issue I had is that the wing construction is somehow warped, so that tape mode will not lay flat when folded up. The edges are perpetually cocked 2mm below the rest of the torso, and there's no way for me to fix it. He will never fit in the chest gimmick or any of the tape cases, and the seamless back deco will never look right. 2/5
Nightstalker: This was, perhaps, the most exciting addition, being a whole new mold. Unfortunately, again the factory can't manage such ambitious engineering, leading to new and exciting flaws. The silver paint apps have plenty of chips and gouges, which is preferable to construction issues, though this figure has them too. In addition to the sprue gouges and nubs present on all four figures, half the joints on this figure are too floppy to allow him to even stand upright without careful posing. At least the tape mode on this one folds flat properly. 4/5
Stripes: This was by far the worst of the four; an absolute shitshow that never should have made it past any level of QC check. This figure is, in a word, defective.
The black paint was just oversprayed and slopped everywhere, which I cleaned up to the best of my ability, but that was the least of my problems.
There was so much leftover mold flash that the two halves of the screwed-together torso wouldn't fit together, and had a sizable gap. So many pins were misaligned (as evidenced by all the dents from missed factory punches) that literally nothing on this figure works properly. The nose hinge is crooked and so won't fit in the head in either mode. The head hinges are crooked and won't lay flat in tape mode or snap together in cat mode. The rear hinges are also crooked, leading to some horrifying kind of hip dysplasia. The end result of all these crooked pins means the tape mode won't hold together at all. Plugging one side together makes the other side pop loose, and the entire figure appears torsioned, twisted and warped. I've done the best I could to straighten the pins, but it's never going to transform correctly, and I'd be a fool to try and shove this into any chest storage.
I own 3 other iterations of the MP Ravage mold, including a KO of the MP version, and even that one is better than this pile. 1/5
If you'd told me this was a set of cheap KOs, I would have believed it. I would have been furious I spent this much on them, but I'd believe it.
As it stands, they're actual, legit takara figures and I still spent this much on them, which is no less infuriating.
I think Agabyss has some sort of exchange system for defective toys, but I sincerely doubt any replacements I got would be any better, judging from the other complaints in this thread.
ChromeMagnus
I picked up a KO ratbat a while back and have had no issues with it whatsoever. Could have been the batch.
BenjaminXavier
The KOs of the cassettes are really shit quality though. I've bought 3 RatBats and none of them work right. Either misfired pins or something is slightly off so they don't transform right. Its really hit or miss with the KOs, especially the ones with tiny parts.
Toolala
true, I think I will end up getting this set anyway, if they KO it and its cheap enough I might buy it as a spare.