Masterpiece Shouki gets its first real photo, opening TakaraTomy’s MPG combiner line at about $160 to $180 per Trainbot. Don leads the worries about Masterpiece QC, while the crew debates price, timing and a $1,000 Raiden.

HasLab Star Saber nears its final stretch goal, and designer Hisashi Yuki reveals Kunio Okawara’s role in the original design. The Golden Disk Collection brings Terrorsaur, and a leaked slide points to a Titan class Cybertron Metroplex.

News

Star Saber on HasLab

HasLab Victory Saber has funded and sits near 15,000 backers with four days left. Tiers bring the V-Lock cannon and blast effects at 17,000, then the shield and two Micromasters at 20,000. Don does not see a stand as a reason to back it, and would rather have a Jean figure than Micromasters. One host calls the tiers filler, though he predicted the Micromaster repaints. One host sticks with his 25,000-backer guess. In a Hasbro Pulse video, Hisashi Yuki says he is glad to lead the design, since he never made a Masterpiece Victory Leo. He confirms Kunio Okawara did the final animation design pass on Star Saber, which explains its Brave and Gundam feel. [Source: Hasbro Pulse]

RFC News Desk 151 – Golden Disk Collection Terrorsaur

Transformers Tuesday week revealed Terrorsaur, a Golden Disk Collection figure that takes engineering cues from Airazor. One host explains the pterodactyl head now folds onto the back, and about 90 percent of the parts are new. The crew likes it. Don wants Selects Fractal and Packrat next, and suggests a four-pack with Antagony and Sandstorm from upcoming molds. That leads into memories of the 1996 BotCon Onyx Primal variants. [Source: TFRadio]

RFC News Desk 152 – Masterpiece Shouki First Look

Masterpiece Shouki gets its first real photo as the start of TakaraTomy’s MPG line. It lists at 18,000 yen, about $160, or 19,800 yen through Amazon Japan. The crew had expected Constructicon-style simpler figures, but these are full Masterpieces. Six Trainbots at that price puts Raiden near $1,000, and later releases could cost more. Don and Brian, who own originals and a knockoff between them, note the arm and leg Trainbots transform alike. Shared engineering could save time and money. One host worries the line could take five years. Don cites recent Masterpiece breakage on Hound and Beast Wars Megatron, and fears a failure midway through the set. Diecast urges hope and says early buyers will not miss pieces. The crew compares the approach to Studio Series Devastator. [Source: TFRadio]

Leaked Slide Points to Titan Class Cybertron Metroplex

A leaked slide from a Hasbro retail presentation shows a Titan class Cybertron Metroplex at $189.99. The crew will not show it, since it carries personally identifiable watermarks. One host could not debunk the art and believes it is genuine concept art or a low-resolution model. Most of the crew is unexcited and would rather see Tidal Wave, an Omega Supreme train, Sentinel Maximus or Primus. They note the $20 price jump and how the Titan class keeps painting itself into a corner. [Source: not found]

What We Got This Week

Don got a Studio Series Galvatron with the correct shoulders, so he will return the one that is wrong. He also found Revenge of the Fallen Sideswipe, his favorite movie bot, and an unexpected Universal Studios Megatron at GameStop. Thanks to a Twitter tip, he also got Cyberverse Snarl.

Diecast used a $5 Best Buy coupon on the Bumblebee movie Studio Series Starscream, bringing it to about $20.

Brian got Cyberverse Snarl, which is nice but hollow and simplistic like most of that line. He also found a carded Henkei Ghost Starscream that he is fairly sure is genuine, and it will never leave the package.

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