Friday, August 4, 2017

MP-32: Optimus Primal (Beast Convoy)

Intro:
I'll be completely honest, at one time I never thought there would be Masterpiece Beast Wars figures. I certainly dreamt and desired them, but because they weren't G1 characters, I basically accepted the reality of the situation of the time. Then one night on Twitter I saw the news and that was the first time I actually cried over a Transformers reveal. I was so shocked at the moment.
 
This figure became the first ever day one preorder of an Masterpiece figure for me. When I got the figure in November 2016, it was just so surreal. For years I heard stuff like "There's nothing a Masterpiece figure could do that the 2006 reissue hasn't already done." You know what, those people are so wrong. This figure is what I saw as a kid on TV. This is what I wanted back when I was a kid. All my issues I had with the 1996 version isn't here now and I love that. It is just so nice to move an arm and the other one doesn't move the other way.
 
Beast Mode:
The beast mode is nearly perfect, if one looks towards the front. On the back though, there are hints of the robot mode. Though that is too be expected with a figure like this. Can't really hide it on the underside like the MP Autobots and Decepticons. Other than that, this beast mode is far better than the original 1996 and the retool 2006 reissue. 
 
Head can rotate around and comes with two optional faces. Just pull the face off and add either the angry face or the smile face. One has the option of standing the figure up on two legs or hunch over with the arms on the ground. The hands can open up along with the index finger being separate pieces. Nothing in the knee area due to the robot mode transformation, but the feet can tilt.
 
Transformation:
Before even doing anything, remove the entire beast mode head. That is needed to have access to the battery area. You'll need to unscrew the back of the ball socket and insert two LR-44/A-76 batteries. Once that's done, then reverse it and start the transformation
 
Robot mode:
For me, it is just so surreal to look at this robot mode. It brings back so many memories from when I was kid. To take it outside for pictures, I just really expect to hear Garry Chalk's voice coming from it. I can't get over how much it looks like it walked off the screen.
 
The figure comes with four total faces. The standard, faceplate, anguish, and smile. To swap the faces, just push back the antennas and remove the face from the side of the head. To access the light up feature, just press down on the head. The eyes will remain glowing for several seconds. Though I do personally wish they could remain on until pushing down on the head again. To make accessing the arm guns easier, look at  side of the arm facing the body. There's a button that you can push with a fingernail to lift the guns up a bit. That will also make the upper arm panel push up slightly and just grab that and raise up all the way. Then extend the guns. Like on the show and the old toy, the figure does have canons that can swing from the back.
 
Articulation is really great in this mode. Head can look up, down, and to the sides. Though what really has benefited the most are the legs. They have a lot of articulation now. Legs can rotate a bit to the side. Has an excellent range in the knees with two separate bends. As for the feet, they can tilt to the side and now can go up a bit and down.
 
Should one get this?:
Personally I don't care about this whole G1 vs BW mindset. If you are a Masterpiece collector that like great figures, this is a must have. This is the best figure from the line that I've messed with since Masterpiece Soundwave. If one never got into the Masterpiece line, this figure is a good sample of showing how great the Masterpiece can be. 
 

MP-32: Optimus Primal (Beast Convoy)

Intro: I'll be completely honest, at one time I never thought there would be Masterpiece Beast Wars figures. I certainly dreamt and d...