Via Weibo user 蓝色正午 we can share for you in-package images of Beast Wars Masterpiece MP-34S Shadow Panther and the Collectible Coin included with this figure.
The figure is a black repaint of previous MP-34 Cheetor which includes a new battle mask (homage to the original toy), a communicator arm band and multiple face. Shadow Panther is a homage to the old Takara Beast Wars D-7 Shadow Panther which was a straight repaint of the first BW Cheetor toy.
The box features Shadow Panther in both modes in the front, while the back is similar to Cheetor’s box showing poses and all the accessories. We have our first look at the collectible coin for these Masterpiece. A cool cover which resembles a black panther head.
Shadow Panther will be a Takara Tomy Mall exclusive. It’s scheduled to be released late in August 2018 for 8,000 yen. Click on the bar to see the mirrored images and then join to the ongoing discussion on the 2005 Boards!
stad
Because a lot of people – for whatever reason – will read the reports, and start passing it along as if it's a common occurrence, and often word it as if it happened to them as well.
Sam
Well I don't know how you can 'exaggerate' breaking – in the cases of the people it happened to it obviously happened. But yeah, a lot of people whose 34S didn't break obviously don't feel the need to come online to report that.
In any case, I'm ordering the MP-34 reissue from Amazon Japan, since they have the best return policy in case of a QC issue like this still happening with Cheetor.
Gamerlingual
Unless it’s MPM6 Ironhide. No way those flops are exaggerated
Afterburner
The issues are almost always exaggerated. Glad to confirm that's the case as I too would like to give this figure a shot when I have some extra funds.
Gamerlingual
May have to give this one a shot, then. Got all other Beast Wars MP and variants. Thanks, guys.
PoweredConvoy
No issues here.
Dinotrap
I haven’t had a single issue with mine, I’ve transformed him enough times to forget how many times I actually transformed him, and he’s still in mint condition
Definitely going to pick up another one for beast mode display
Gamerlingual
Ok. So the frequency of breaking, is it exaggerated?
Verno
He sure does look good. I'm still torn about whether to pick him up or not. Maybe when we get a look at Grimlock and Lazorbeak.
mcart
Yup
Gamerlingual
Anyone else own this guy and he is still in one piece?
PoweredConvoy
I called him being the first. Easy redeco .
Digger
Lol damn yeah.
Bob 121
Mines still boxed up. I'll probably not even transform him back and forth once, just leave him in bot mode. Can someone explain where exactly he's breaking?
Mr H
^^^ I just realized this was the first MP Predacon we've gotten from Takara, and he's not even in the show! Megatron can't get here soon enough…
Mr H
alldarker
I opened mine two weeks ago, transformed it once from alt mode to bot mode and back, and noticed the very very tight joints, especially on the arm guards. Mine didn't have any issues on that first transformation cycle, but having read about the issues mentioned here, I'll be both very wary of transforming him again or even getting him out of the box. Only reason I ordered him is because I have two black cats at home, and I do like the Cheetor mold, but as far as I'm concerned, he doesn't really fit in with my display of regular BW characters.
PrimalPrime007
It's very troubling that TT hasn't taken ANY steps to resolve this very wide spread issue..
Octopunch
Drat! Me too! The little internal ring is cracked on his left shoulder. What a bummer. At least his arm hasn't fallen off yet. I can't imagine this guy is popular enough to warrant a third party investing the resources in a replacement piece, but it would sure be nice.
Rakzo
And guess who arrived!
View attachment 28105780
As I mentioned before, I'm not really a fan of the MP Cheetor mould because of the overly-finicky transformation, bad implementation of his weapons and QC issues but I just couldn't say no to yet another MP Beast Wars figure and Shadow Panther has always been a favorite of mine. Hell, I was planning to get the original BW toy even before this was announced because of how cool it looked (despite that I'm not a fan of the original Cheetor mould either), the black paint-scheme makes the character look really good and in that regard he's also really striking here.
The combination of colours is well-implemented thanks to the nice combination of black and silver, even the yellow parts help to break out the abundance of black and make it look more balanced. That being said, is not perfect due that I believe they could have used more silver paint apps like painting the classic Cheetor moulded details inside of his legs.
And of course, everyone who has gotten this particular version know that this is a fragile release and is one of the reasons why I'm not going to touch this toy that much because I'm afraid of breaking it and this is not really something easy to avoid because some of the parts in the transformation and articulation are overly-stiff and I'm always afraid of making the wrong move.
View attachment 28105781
And here he is along with his nemesis. Repaints were something classic during BW but I believe that the MP line is the best way to pull that off due that it offers different details that make the figures look distinct from one another. For example, I'm giving Shadow Panther a more "evil" looking face to differentiate him from Cheetor and the communicator gives him a different look as well. I love the addition of the Mutant Head but at the same time, I don't think I'm really going to use it that much since I prefer the normal look.
However, the purchase of this figure made me confirm that I don't like the MP Cheetor mould, like, at all. Sure, Shadow Panther suffers from even worse QC issues because of the bad use of plastic but at the same time, I feel like many of those issues also come from the original mould like the complicated transformation that forces you to move too many parts and use more strength than necessary to put everything in place (the stiff joints don't make things any better, particularly the ones concerning the shoulders). I was thinking that I wouldn't mind another repaint like Nightprowler but now I think I'm okay with that not happening.
View attachment 28105782
And here he is alone fighting a bunch of Maximals. I hope that MP Megatron arrives soon to fight alongside this lonely Predacon.
As a whole, Shadow Panther looks good… and that's it. You can't really play with him that much because of how fragile he is and even if that wasn't the case, he still can't hold his weapons properly just like the first release so I don't see the point of even touching him.
However, I'm all for more repaints of MP BW. I hope that we eventually see MP Primal in Universe colours to make him a brand new character, Dinobot being used for BW Grimlock and the upcoming Megatron being repainted into T-Wrecks.
Oh, and for the love of GOD, make a brand new mould for Tigatron. Cheetor was just badly-executed.