First pics are starting to roll in from this year’s Tokyo Toy Show and courtesy of Planet Iacon and Tag Hobby we have our first looks at Masterpiece Ultra Magnus in color, as well as Cloud Shockwave and Rodimus. Shockwave looks to be a repaint of Generations Voyager Whirl in purple with clear weapons, while Rodimus is a repaint of Generations Voyager Springer. Keep an eye here for coverage from Tokyo Toy Show in the days to come!
Update – Trailer mode of Magnus (edit). New pic added, check it out!
Update 2 – in person shots of Evangelion Prime added, courtesy of TagHobby.
Update 3 – some additional shots from the Takara Tomy booth of the AoE figures.
All shots are currently tiny, stay tuned for better shots throughout the weekend.
JJohnson
Will this Ultra Magnus be able to carry a Matrix? That would be a cool feature.
Knightdramon
Yeah, which is EXACTLY what gets on my nerves and gets me all sarcastic and full of irony when talking with some people.
A few years ago, people would say "aaah…MP0Xwhichever sucks because it has loose hips/bad arm design/looks like crap", which is perfectly fine.
Due to a stupid sense of undeserved self-entitlement, nowadays some people can and do say "aaaah figure X is designed by Y I'm not buying it".
Afterburner
Yep. I'm guessing if we had never heard information on the lead designer most people wouldn't even know the difference between the two.
It is just a nature of most workplaces today that people rotate positions and jobs. The theory is this helps creativity and creates more well-rounded employees. Can also cause a lot of inefficiencies, but that is another topic.
But I doubt Hasui will ever be the exclusive lead designer on this line. Best get over it now.
Digilaut
I live on Kobayashi Planet, and it's beautiful.
peaces
what planet do you live on?
Afterburner
Well it seem like there is conflicting information. I would assume though they will not let the MP line be dominated by one designer, it simply isn't fair when they have so many who are qualified. Yes, everyone love's Hasui's work so far but let's see what is coming next. Maybe you'll love someone else even more as the line evolves.
Datsun87
LMAO
Prime135
I don't think we've seen the last of AOE, I have the dealing we're going to get some reveals at bot con and SDCC that won't be out until December 2013/January 2015.
Lbsammills51
IF there's a follow-up line to AoE, would Shogo Hasui stay on for that before moving back to the MP line? And even if there isn't, should we assume there'll be a brief period where he returns, only to leave again to work on the next movie line ahead of TF5?
Zambot
Yes, I would imagine because of production schedules, when Hasui announced he was working on AOE, the switch had already happened many months before.
So there is a good chance Hasui will be soon or already is in the early stages of another masterpiece design. But we might not see the proto until next year.
It would be helpful if we knew how long a typical design cycle is.
In feature animation, we have several projects overlapping one another with about a 4-5 year average cycle until release.
I would assume a toy is much simpler, haha, so maybe(wild guess) a year from early concept sketches to final production piece shipping to wholesale and retail?
botfan
We all remember what happened to speed racer when he took tentacle porn as his sponsor.
desuGoji
inappropriate sponsors?
We should all mostly be adults here haha.
botfan
This has not actually been totally confirmed. When Hasui left, it was to work on the TF4 line and Kobayashi stepped in. Now that the TF4 line is done and we've seen Kobayashi's contribution, it will be interesting to see how they move forward with the MP line.
Knightdramon
So you can be pre-determined to reject against a release you do not even know about?
Lbsammills51
Ah yes, that's right. It'd been a while since that news came out so I think I retroactively combined them into one person in my head. Kobayashi, who did the earlier MP releases, is taking over for Shogo Hasui.
Afterburner
Yuki-san is doing Star Saber, Kobayashi-san is doing the regular MP line.
I'd say Mirage and Jazz are the toughest licensees to get – at this point. But it is possible they will be easier than Wheeljack or Bumblebee were – those were both considered impossible. Hell even Sideswipe was.
I'd say the biggest challenges for Mirage and Jazz are the inappropriate sponsors – and their logo designs are directly part of the vehicles making it hard just to change the text. But then again TakaraTomy may not see it as an issue.
I think it is likely the biggest challenges at this point are probably:
1. Mirage (Ligier is rumored to be unfriendly)
2. Jazz (Have a VW and Lambo, Porsche in the same group but still yet to have one)
3. Cliffjumper (see above)
4. Sunstreaker (Countach concept – will Lamborghini approve? As time passes I am getting worried).
Most other characters either have made up modes or come from companies we know will work with TakaraTomy.
I can tell you for sure though, TakaraTomy would not have gone down this road if they didn't think they could complete the cast everyone is wanting to see.
As much as no one saw Wheeljack and Bumblebee coming, or Sideswipe back when he was announced – or Soundwave and tapes – is it possible MP-23 could still be a surprise in the same vein?
Lbsammills51
Creating a new numbering system doesn't bare any relevance towards getting more Victory MPs, period, let alone with a greater frequency. You appear to be inferring the possibility of a bunch of Victory MPs when there's no indication Takara's willing to release Japanese-originating characters out of Victory, Masterforce or other post-Season 3 G1 characters, let alone in a separate line and have two ongoing MP lines.
(That would be like continuing the Encore line for Season 1-3 stuff but creating a wholly separate reissue line for post-Headmasters releases…why bother?)
Yup. As Southtownkid covered here and in earlier posts, creating new numbering conventions won't get anyone anything faster. That fan poll Star Saber won was for a single MP, not for a line of MPs from a particular cartoon.
The other guy who designed the earlier MPs is on the MP line with Star Saber while Shogo Hasui is working on other stuff.
Stepper
For them to release Jazz should not be an issue since they have the VW license but for Mirage,it is still unclear.
Lazerwave
Mirage and Jazz are probably the most difficult licensing to get.
Datsun87
This, I need my doomed shuttle crew. Prowl can't man the shuttle by himself.
And yet we still haven't gotten Sunstreaker, just how long does Takara have that Lambo license for anyway?