Photos have emerged via ACTOY.net, showing Masterpiece Lambor/Sideswipe out of package and in-hand. The photos aren’t big, but they are clear and convey an excellent sense of what we can expect from the final retail product. The packaging is compact, follows the standard Takara Masterpiece format, and displays the Lamborghini logo prominently. MP-12 is due out towards the end of this year.
Staff Edit: The original source, with additional photos, is here.
Sweeny
All of it, bring it on. Oh and whilst being greedy add in the MP Shockwave. It all sounds plausible and so long as collectors keep buying in sufficient numbers then Takara can keep knocking the ball out of the park.
HnH
got them also on pre-order and paid in full
joshua
I have two of these on preorder from Robot Kingdom with the Amazon Exclusive Pile Shovels.
And they are already paid for, so I'm all set!
Star Saber
Damn, looks really nice, can't wait to get Sideswipe!
OptimushedPrune
Having the smaller Autobot cars as steady releases throughout the year and the bigger bots around xmas suits me fine, I can see the 'Bots outnumbering the 'Cons fairly quickly though but really looking forward to what 2013 brings. And I agree that it seems to be the older 3rd party collectors who are ok with the prices.
Raiju
The silhouette of Shockwave–prank or teaser? It's hard to tell when it comes to Takara's MP releases. XD
Peanut04
Also, remember when they did the Soundwave reveal they showed a silhouette of Shockwave. This tells me they know we want him. I would be highly shocked if we didn't see or hear anything on him in the coming months.
Cyclonus79
Which is perfect in my case. Im tired of these huge monstrosities of boxes these figures come in. Yes its understandable , but its also a nice break from the norm.
Transbot90210
Exactly this. The MP line is Takara's proverbial 3P line. Smaller runs = higher prices. All things discussed in the early days of 3P.
If you read the MP spec thread in the TF Toy Discussion forum the list of smaller bots is big. Going off of things heards and things seen, the list already looks like this.
MP-15 and 16 will be Cassettecon 2 packs.
Sunstreaker was brought up by a designer, to paraphrase " We are aware that Sideswipe and Sunstreaker are two different bots". With Takara aquiring Lamourghini rights, I think it is safe to assume Sunstreaker will be getting made and will be a new mould or heavily remoulded Sideswipe.
The newest rumour to pop up is..wait for it…PROWL and with Prowl comes the Dutsan twins so Smokescreen and Bluestreak/Silverstreak. (Thats 3 more)
Ultra Magnus we all know he is coming at some point.
Then you have the remaining, long rumoured but obviously got lost in the shuffle with the MP revamp, Megatron v2.0 and Galvatron.
That is 9 MP's on deck (7 skipping old rumours) and I would assume thats all out in the next year or year and a half. Add that to the 3 we will be getting soon and you start seeing that 5-6 a year.
Do it Takara, the more steam you add to a line the more it will sell.
Peanut04
I would like to add that if anyone is on the fence, just preorder it so you have it. If you don't like it after you have it in your hand, you can just sell it and maybe even make a small profit.
I said pretty much the same thing in an earlier post (great minds think alike, lol). When factoring in the price for this we also need to remember that the MP line is a niche line for a niche market. We should be grateful it's getting the attention it is receiving. It will never be highly profitable for TT. We have to pay higher prices for them to be able to make money on the MP line. All of the R and D cost is spread out thinly in the cost of an entire main line. They will sell so many toys they know they will make their money back. With MP figures, they wont sell as many, so we see it reflected in the price. That is the same reason 3rd party stuff is more expensive than a retail item from Hasbro/TT. 3rd parties will never sell tons of an item, so the cost has to be higher in order for them to make their money back with a small profit.
I read a rumor awhile back that TT was planning to bring out 4-6 MP figures per year. They are planning to release the smaller figures throughout the year with a big figure being released around the holidays. I for one, definitely hope it's true. I sold all my mainline figures about a year ago. Now I only buy MP and the 3rd party stuff I know TT/Hasbro wont release. The idea of being able to get a nice steady stream of MP figures released is fantastic to me
Stepper
A MP box of smaller size than the usual huge MP box.
Transbot90210
After reading these pages full of love and hate I was tempted to comment on all those complaining about size vs price. I was going to follow up with 3P talk and then I realized something. Doing a poll in the 3P forum I discovered we 3P collectors are generally 25+ in age.
I will gather that those complaining about the price are those who also do not collect 3P items and are not use to paying higher than retail for figures.
I like the size for the fact that they are working on scale, the collectors dream situation for any TF series (is it even possible to achieve? , time will tell). Takara had to pay for that license to bring us a true to G1 Sideswipe so that automatically increased the price. Add details and engineering and you got yourself a winner.
This is obviously not a TF for a retail only collection but for those with a little more disposable income, this thing is a true gem.
I would like to see Takara kick out about 6 MP's a year. Between the two scales (possible more due to meeting scale) and repaints this can be easily achieved. I'm sure if the number look good from the three next, quick, releases that we will see an annual release number close to 6. Every other month works for me.
thebigdb
I’ll get this… but I am not going to do the mad dash to get it though. I generally like the Japanese releases more the American (due to quality & overall display), but I have gotten every figure that has come out… & not right when it came out. It looks like he’ll come with plastic wheels (which I think is kind of a bummer), but I am looking forward to this guy.
[Wing_Saber-X]
cup noodles for the next few months!
Sai
Loving the nice compact packaging and look,i'll definitely be snapping this up…would love for someone to make a jetpack for him too
Billzilla
It's pictures like this that remind you what's really important.
HnH
yes take all of our money
[Wing_Saber-X]
MP-12, MP-13 and MP-14…all smexy. all awesome.![[IMG]](https://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m8lqlwrrfE1r4zff2o2_500.jpg)
Takaratomy just…
stevej
Said it before but I'd love a fully scale accurate line, say 1/32 Alternity scale but with Prime as a truck, Megs as a tank and huge-ass F-15 seekers. But this is definitely the next best thing. Seriously happy with how this line is going in terms of sizes now.
hoosierdaddy04
As much as ll and I have disagreed before I'm going to say that she's correct here except for the whole Botshots comment that was a bit uncalled for as everyone has the right to determine what he or she thinks their is worth based on size and quality but any how. There is no guarantee that Hasbro will obtain The Lamo license. I don't think they will have an issue obtaining it other than price as DOTM Mirage/Dino was a Ferrari and Mattel has exclusive toy rights for them. I know they are owned by the same company but, it is separate licensing. It most likely will be a TRU exclusive and easily $40+ and again people will still complain that thats too much… and they will be harder to get for the average person. I mean right now there are several sites to preorder from and that guaranties you one. Just that alone is worth the extra $20 to me and it would cost me $20 in gas to get to and from the closest TRU to me and lets not even go into TRU's website. Plus the fact that Hasbro's plastic and paint apps "usually" look cheaper. These are Lamborghini's I want them to look pristine showroom condition and not like some kit car. That's my take at least. If you're on the fence I say go for it for the rest, I hope that you don't decide you want these later as you will probably pay twice as much. These new SS and RA looks so sharp if Hasbro ever does release them I'll pick those up as well and leave my Takara versions in alt mode. Man I cannot wait till these come out.