Thanks to 2005 Board members Mondochuk we can report that the new Transformers Masterpiece Movie MPM-12 Optimus Prime out at Target stores.
The Masterpiece Optimus Prime, as seen in the Bumblebee Movie, was found at Target in Warrington, Pennsylvania for $125.99. Remember that this figure is a Target exclusive in the US market.
Happy hunting!
Dah Padre
Okay, I can agree with that. I think my perfect description of of MPM prime would be like comparing evasion mode prime voyager to evasion prime leader. That’s I’ll say studios series is to MPM. MPM is an upgraded voyager to leader class.
Shin Densetsu
I’ll agree that MPM07 Bee feels more MP but not on the way more part, that’s just me though. I do like MPM12 a lot more but I prefer how MPM7 feels. The joints on MPM7 have better and more consistent tolerance.
Dah Padre
Don’t mean to double post, but damn good job on the spreadsheet. I agree 100%
Dah Padre
Owning both, they both have hand flaws, but if I saw and handled both at the same time, for the money I’m walking away with ToyWorlds. I like the MPM, but it does not scream MP. The only thing that makes it’s mp is the box and the price point. MPM Bee even tho not screen accurate is way more MP than this prime. Either way whichever your preference or “deal breaker” your winning by getting what you prefer.
jtanimator
Lol I figured the question might come up. It was one of those “I guess I’ll pick it up if I see it in stores, but it’s not worth ordering online” figures. Funny thing is, after I couldn’t find it anywhere, i suddenly developed a passionate need to find it simply because of the challenge that existed around finding it. Anyways, short answer is I like toy hunting haha.
crazee928
holy crap dude, why didn’t you just order from target’s site when it was available? lol. anyhow, glad you finally locked one down!
jtanimator
Just created and attached a VS. chart comparing the pros and cons of both MPM Optimus Prime And Toy World Freedom Leader. For anyone who doesn't want to watch the videos out there comparing them, here are my thoughts in written form. This took way more time to make then I should have spent on it, so please enjoy lol.
jtanimator
Both true and not. Yes, the hands can hold the gun much better than the TW version, but at the cost of having some of the ugliest hand designs I’ve yet to see on ANY transformers figure, especially a Masterpiece one. Personally, although the MP’s hands are easier to deal with overall, I’ll take the TW articulated fingers and flexibility any day. Not to mention the the MP’s wrists are way too floppy to hold up the gun on my copy.
Fallout
nailed it!
jtanimator
Holy. Freaking. crap. Finally boys, finally. To make a long story short, I’ve traveled from Idaho to Utah to Las Vegas and stopped at just about EVERY target along the way this weekend in looking for this guy. I kid you not, I checked upwards of 10 targets and only just FINALLY, FINALLY found him. Sky pointe Target, Las Vegas. Wasn’t on the shelves, but I gave them the dpci and they had one in the back. Sweet mother. This has been a tedious journey. Finally my reward. Apparently most of the Midwest just doesn’t stock him, The Ark, commander classes or anything above leader class. Out of 10 targets I checked, only 2 of them even had the label for him on the shelves. Pray I can now find the ark.
chuckcjc
I have the MPM, and they are so much better better. At least he can hold his gun solidly. The wrists dip a bit, but the crying about it has been ridiculous. The Toyworld wrists will really make you cry however.
Dah Padre
I saw this in twitter and really wonder if it’s a real repack. It sucks if it is, but sometimes people want attention for the wrong reason.
AndreyOfDoom
Woooow. No shame with some people.
Paladin
certainly hope THIS isn't a widespread issue…
https://twitter.com/orionpax5000/status/1430317405264302080
Shin Densetsu
Got my copy. I do feel like all the MPMs were overpriced a tad. More on that in a bit. This one feels lighter than I was expecting.
The cat ears, knees mounted high up, dark lightpiping, soft ears, ear placement, sideways gun storage in truck mode and legs in truck mode were turn offs once I saw the early pics online. In person, most of it isn’t as bad. I still do prefer how well SS38 cleans up in truck mode. That’s a testament to how good some of the SS voyagers have been.
The lightpiping does actually work if you have a very bright light behind it. What killed it was molding it in such a dark blue plastic. I aimed light at an angle from the top and managed to get the eyes to light up. Given that, the lightpiping actually would’ve worked very well had a light blue plastic been used. I think I know what the designer went for with the dark blue…to have the outer eye dark like in the movie but have the inner eye very bright. However, given how small the eyes are, they should’ve just used a lighter blue plastic. Had it been lighter blue it probably would’ve worked just as well as it did on SIEGE Shockwave and Soundwave. Tempted to use my light blue Posca marker and toothpick to apply light blue pupils.
This is 1 of the easiest MPM figures to transform and for that, 1 of the more pleasant to handle. I don’t have Jazz, Ironhide or Megatron yet but have most, if not all of the rest. It’s a mix of Evasion Prime without as much bare minimum clearance issues and G1 Prime(the toy). The instructions are confusing, transformation felt a lot more intuitive after watching some videos online(what got me stuck was how the feet transform initially, it’s actually pretty clever). Only hangups in transformation for me, are when going to truck mode as when it’s close to finished, you can barely see if the tabs and slots are aligned correctly and you have to feel your way through. I think the instructions make the transformation seem more complicated than it actually is.
This brings me to the next point as it does tie in with transformation. The joint tolerances are inconsistent and kind of fight you during transformation. The bicep swivels are extremely tight. Left shoulder detents are very resistant when clicking inwards if the shoulder is pivoted outwards all the way but not as tight once pivoted inwards(confusing but if you move it it’ll make sense). Wrists have a soft detent which helps keep the hand up when holding the gun. Butterfly joint on the right side is loose. Elbows are very tight when bent more than 90 degrees(seems like there’s a soft locking mechanism for 90 degrees in either direction as it’s used for transformation when bending the elbow backwards). Feet can pivot upwards a little, not so much downwards. Ankle tilt is good. Ab crunch and double jointed knees would’ve helped. I don’t mind the change in shoulder articulation compared to SS38. I like how the top part of the shoulder remains static all throughout rather than bending when the arm is moved and having to be folded back down(this was annoying on SS38). However, the side panels are springloaded and automatically conform to the upper arm like a self-closing mechanism, but can get stuck at a slight angle when the arms are neutral. Minor tidbit but noticeable. Really wish the fingers had knuckle joints. The hands are made out of a tough blue plastic with rough texture. It can be tricky to get poses where the gun is held with both hands. This is due to the chest getting in the way of the butterfly joints and the wrists not being able to pivot sideways when holding the gun(not enough clearance between the gun and hand to do so). The shoulders on mine feel like they have or had soft detents but you can barely feel them click when rotated. They aren’t loose but the gun adds weight. Hopefully it won’t sag in the long run. MPM04 poses better overall but this one isn’t bad. Mainly wish this had double jointed knees. It does pose better than MP-10.
There isn’t too much diecast metal. I appreciate metal when used well for structural purposes(not just cause). The matrix is metal and looks bland, a separate core made of translucent light blue plastic would’ve improved the look.
The reds look a bit bright to me and possibly the blues but in person the deco is okay to me. I much prefer the initial colored prototype with the washed out reds. I’m glad the gunmetal grey stayed though, that to me, is important for movie Prime toys. It’s something that seems to work well between Bayverse/Knight Primes. Be careful with the arm panels with the windows as they’re molded as 1 translucent blue piece but painted very well. I didn’t even realize the entire panel was painted(except for the window) until I transformed it.
I think this is worth getting. You have options. Yes there’s more accurate 3rd party options. However, unlike the recent official G1 MPs compared to G1 3p figures, this one isn’t all that expensive(and costs less than some of the 3p versions…usually it’s the other way around). For $125.99+ tax, it’s not perfect for sure, but that’s like a pre-2018 MP price. $99.99 would’ve been the sweet spot for me. For an MPM, it feels more pleasant to handle than previous MPM figures with a more intuitive transformation that doesn’t seem dumbed down. Hopefully Kunihiro gets tapped to work on more MPMs as this one he designed is a good step in the right direction.
This figure is like Takara’s 3rd attempt at making a fully articulated Optimus from the Bumblebee movie. This is what their Legendary Optimus(leader size Evasion) figure should’ve been. Of the 3(Legendary, SS38, MPM12), this is my favorite one, mainly due to size, detail and transformation.
Rob
Great review. I think its very fair
Dah Padre
Are the wrists the deal breaker for you with the TW version? If that’s the case the MPM is not much better.
chuckcjc
I was extremely let down by the Toyworld offering. It gets heaps of praise, but has some of the worst wrist pegs I have ever witnessed. He can't even hold his fucking gun. Pathetic. Easily my most disappointing figure purchase this year. No question, not even close.
all are dead
Wow, good on TRU Canada. That will earn them some good will
Paco Grande
This is more of a Toys R Us post but it has to do with MPM-12 so I guess I’ll put it here.
A few weeks ago Toys R Us in Canada had some sort of website issue and tons of preorders were canceled including MPM-12. Not a great situation and at the time they seemed to be saying, “Good luck finding it in store, here’s a 10% off coupon for your trouble” which was also not great.
But this week they started calling everyone that lost a preorder and letting us know that they are holding MPM-12 for us at the closest TRU store to our location and they don’t appear to be putting them on the shelves until the preorders are taking care of. This is not an automated process with a prerecorded message. It’s a live person from each store in customer service manually calling the whole list.
The TRU website absolutely sucks and needs to be fixed, but I was really impressed with that customer service.