TRANSFORMERS MP-26 MASTERPIECE ROAD RAGE REVIEW

TRANSFORMERS MP-26 MASTERPIECE ROAD RAGE REVIEW

 

TRANSFORMERS MP-26 MASTERPIECE ROAD RAGE

 From TFWiki.net: Road Rage (ロードレイジ Rōdo Reiji) is the bodyguard/advisor of Cybertron ambassador Crosscut. She is well-versed in alien cultures and generally cheerful, making her a very good diplomat. However, a chronic short-out in her vehicle mode causes her to live up to her name; in car mode, she is a snarling, swerving speed machine with little regard—if not utter contempt—for anyone else on the road with her. This is pretty embarrassing for her once she reverts to robot mode.

Up for review is the Transformers MP-26 Masterpiece Road Rage action figure. This figure was released by Takara Tomy in late December of 2015 and was a mass release in Japan. This figure retailed for 7,560 yen (about $70.00 USD).

This figure is originally based off the Takara's Diaclone robots toy first introduced in 1982.

The back history on the original is pretty extensive as the original car robot was issued in a red color and was recolored in blue to be used in the popular Transfomers line as the character, Tracks.


While the blue Tracks had a mass release in the North American market, there are some copies of a red Tracks in Transformers packaging that were available for the European market. The 1985 artwork that traditionally appears on the back of some Transformers packages, also depicted Tracks in a red color scheme instead of blue.

When Takara began reissuing some of the original Transformers in the early 2000's, they also released repainted versions of the figures as exclusives with some of them based on their Diaclone colors. Takara also included tech specs biographies to give the figures backstories and to incorporate them into the Transformers G1 continuity, including Road Rage

So, the history of the red Tracks has come full circle with the recent release of Masterpiece Road Rage. To also note, this is the first time a female Transformer has been released in the Masterpiece line. I'm hoping this paves the way for future female characters down the road.


PRESENTATION
Road Rage comes in the standard Masterpiece style box with its basic black design and similar graphics to previous Masterpiece figures. This version is designated with MP-26. The Masterpiece figure is pictured on the front of the box with both his robot and vehicle modes being shown. The front of the box also has the licensed Chevorlet Corvette car company logo along with text describing the vehicle mode for Road Rage. In this case, she is a Corvette Stingray C3.

On the back of the box, Japanese text is shown along with several more pictures of the figure in both modes, with pictures demonstrating some of the features along with her accessories.



FIGURE

Once removed from the box, Road Rage comes in vehicle mode inside her plastic tray along with her tech specs biocard, instructions manual, and some accessories.



In robot mode, the figure stands about 7 inches from head to foot. If you add in her back piece in robot mode, she gains another 1/2 inch in height.

In vehicle mode, the figure measures in length about 6 inches from front bumper to back bumper. In flight mode, the wing span measures about 5 and 3/4 inches.
 
DESIGN

Road Rage is a heavily retooled and repainted figure of the Masterpiece MP-25 Tracks mold. While the vehicle modes are virtually the same, most of the changes were made in robot mode to give Road Rage a more feminine look to the figure.

Like Tracks, Road Rage has a very slender look in robot mode with many of the parts being retooled. Those parts include a completely new head & face sculpt, collar, biceps, hands, waist plate, and thighs. Some of the parts were made to appear thinner or rounded to convey a more female look.

Road Rage still retains a lot of Track's recognizable features including the overhead missile launchers, large wings from the flight mode jutting out behind each shoulder, and the large flaming autobot logo adorning the hood of the car.
 
The windows on Road Rage are done in a slightly tinted translucent plastic to help hide some of the robot bits in vehicle mode. They're a little darker than Tracks, and it does a nice job breaking up the mainly red color.
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PAINT

Road Rage is mainly done in red plastic with some minor paint applications. Most of the applications are done silver, white, red, light blue, and orange  Road Rage also has two Autobot symbol tampographs with the flaming symbol on the hood of the car, and the other on a flip panel located on her chest. The chest symbol can be flipped over to hide it in vehicle mode. 


Overall, the paint apps are well done, but minimal compared to Tracks. I state that, because the main body for Tracks has been painted with a blue metallic flake paint. This gave a Tracks a premium look that I really like to see on the Masterpiece figures, and I feel Road Rage would have benefited with similar red paint applications. The red plastic color just doesn't pop as well when comparing the two.

                                                                                                                                                                  ARTICULATION

Road Rage sports a good amount of articulation with at least 26 points counted including the ball jointed head, shoulders,  elbows, arms, wrists, fingers, waist swivel, legs, thighs swivels, knees. and feet.

The arm articulation can be limited due to the way the back portion of the car attaches to the upper back of the robot mode. Along with the wings, these can press against the back of the shoulders hindering their movements. Also, the chest tabs into the shoulders at an odd angle and can pop out when moving the arms.

I can still get the figure in a number of poses, but the shoulder configuration has me wanting the design to be done a little more securely.

TRANSFORMATION

Road Rage transforms into a Chevorlet Corvette Stingray C3 vehicle. The transformation is somewhat straightforward, as it mimics much of the transformation with the G1 figure. You mainly flip up the  back top of  the vehicle to reveal the arms and wings, the side doors fold out and tab into the back of the figure, the hood of the car splits in the middle while folding out some panels to reveal the legs & feet. and the head flips out from underneath the chest of the robot mode.
 


Like Tracks, Road Rage sports a flight mode. The arms and wings fold out to the sides of the vehicle into her flight configuration, with the arms tabbing into the sides of the car. She also has tailfins that unfold from the back of the vehicle to give her a more aerodynamic look. Missiles also unfold from the back underside of the vehicle mode, and her laser ram accessory can attach to the front of the vehicle. To add to her arsenal, the plasma discharger rifle accessory can attach to the underside of the vehicle.

Some observations about the transformations: When placing the head in robot mode, I noticed the base of Road Rage's head doesn't lock into any particular position. With Tracks, there is a point where the base of the head will lock into position and will stay that way. While not being floppy or loose, the head can still move in and out of position, when trying to pose it.

ACCESSORIES

Road Rage comes with some accessories including a Twincast boombox accessory, 2 sets of side mirrors, plasma discharger, and the laser ram.

 
 

One advantage that Road Rage has over Tracks is the plasma discharger rifle accessory. This accessory is a homage to the original accessory that came with the G1 Tracks toy. Many collectors were hoping Tracks came with the weapon, rather than his small pistol. Takara Tomy played it smart by including it with Road Rage making the figure more attractive to collectors if they wanted to give their Masterpiece Tracks a more "toy" look.

Also, be sure to remove any excess plastic when removing the side mirrors from the sprue. The side mirrors may fall out of the side doors, if there is excess plastic on them and can easily fall out. I'm glad extra side mirrors were included.
 


QUALITY CONTROL

Overall quality is good with tight joints and good paint applications (for the little that is there). I would say more about the shoulders not locking in well, but I believe that is more of a design choice, rather than a quality control issue.

Once back in car mode, everything tabs in nicely and securely.


OTHER FEATURES
 
While compatible with the flight stand that comes with Masterpiece Tracks, Road Rage does not come with one. Instead, Takara Tomy is now offering a similar stand to purchase that can be used with Masterpiece Tracks, Road Rage, Ironhide, and Ratchet.

OVERALL

  Your mileage may vary with her. I didn't get that "premium figure" feeling, like I did with Tracks due to the lack of paint, and the flaws of the mold stood out more because of it.
 
Still, I would recommend Road Rage if you are either a completist or a Diaclone enthusiast. I am both, so she'll go nicely with my Diaclone team!

 


 For additional pictures of Masterpiece Road Rage, please check out my FaceBook page with the link listed below. Please "Like" if you want as well.

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TRANSFORMERS MP-30 MASTERPIECE RATCHET REVIEW

TRANSFORMERS MP-30 MASTERPIECE RATCHET REVIEW

 

 

TRANSFORMERS MP-30 MASTERPIECE RATCHET

Up for review is the Transformers MP-30 Masterpiece Ratchet action figure. This figure was released in late April of 2016 and was a mass release in Japan. This figure retails for 7,180 yen (about $64.00 USD).

This figure is based off the character Ratchet of the popular animated series "The Transformers" which first aired on TV in 1984.

Ratchet is a character that brings back a lot of memories and has been a personal favorite of mine.

Unlike many of the Autobots of the first season, Ratchet didn't transform into a sports or race car, but instead transformed in an ambulance, which was reflective of his function with his team.





In the TV series, he was the chief medical officer to the Autobots and had helped Wheeljack with his many inventions and ideas, including inventing the Dinobots.

If any Autobot needed medical attention, the wisecracking medic would repair them including Optimus Prime.

Where the character really shined and received much character development was the Marvel comic book of the same name also released in 1984.

SPOILER: Early on in the book, most of the Autobots became incapacitated. Ratchet was still active and the only one able to rescue them. He had to face off and outsmart Megatron in order to reactivate his friends. The situation became very dire, and Ratchet was prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice to beat Megatron.

This became a theme with Ratchet as he faced off with Megatron a couple more times throughout the series even more than Optimus Prime, including the final issues.

I was very happy when I heard Takara Tomy was going to give Ratchet the well deserved Masterpiece treatment! As I'm putting together this review, we'll see if the figure lives up to expectations.




PRESENTATION
Ratchet comes in the standard Masterpiece style box with its basic black design and similar graphics to previous Masterpiece figures. This version is designated with MP-30. The Masterpiece figure is pictured on the front of the box with both his robot and vehicle modes being shown. The front of the box also has the licensed Nissan car company logo along with text describing the vehicle mode for Ratchet. In this case, he is a Nissan Cherry Vanette.

On the back of the box, Japanese text is shown along with several more pictures of the figure in both modes, with pictures demonstrating some of the features along with his accessories.



FIGURE

Once removed from the box, Ratchet comes in vehicle mode inside his plastic tray along with his tech specs biocard, decal sheet, instructions, and and many additional accessories.



 


In robot mode, the figure stands about 8 and 3/4 inches from head to foot, which is pretty tall when comparing to the other car robots. The animation model shows him and Ironhide being some of the taller car robots, and it's reflected in the figure.


In vehicle mode, the figure measures in length a little over 5 and 1/2 inches from front bumper to back bumper. Width is about 2 and 1/4 inches with a height of 3 inches if you include the vehicle's light bar.
 
DESIGN

Ratchet is a slightly retooled and repainted figure of the Masterpiece MP-27 Ironhide mold. Most of the changes were minor,as both figures share the same vehicle mode and have similar animation models.

Ratchet has a pretty basic look in robot mode with his blocky arms and legs with minimal details. Many of the vehicle parts fold into and are hidden away in robot mode. 

He is easily recognizable with the large front windshield becoming his chest in robot mode. Ratchet also sports his iconic head crest, which many other versions of the character throughout other Transformers series have retained.

Most of the windows on ratchet are done in a blue translucent plastic with some frosted distortion to help hide some of the robot bits in vehicle mode.

One nice nod to the original G1 Ratchet figure is the front of the vehicle mode. Takara Tomy pays homage to the sticker face that the figure had. With the Masterpiece version, you can see the large G1 face behind the front windshield.

 
PAINT

Ratchet is mainly painted in glossy white paint, which really gives the figure a premium look to it! He also comes with some silver, red, blue, and black paint applications highlighting some of the sculpted details, along with some chrome paint applications. Ratchet also has the traditional Autobot symbol tampograph on the front of his vehicle mode. 


Overall, the paint apps are decent on my figure. The white paint looks pretty amazing, but I do see some minor blemishes with some of the chrome paint applications..

                                                                                                                                                                  ARTICULATION

Ratchet sports a good amount of articulation with at least 26 points counted including the ball jointed head, shoulders,  double-jointed elbows, arms, wrists, fingers, waist swivel, legs, thighs, knee swivels, knees. and ankle tilts. 

The double-jointed elbows are somewhat limited due to the design hindering the articulation. This also applies to the shoulders as the arms can be raised straight up to a point as they become obstructed. To get past the obstruction and raise the arms higher, the arms need to be spread outward. Overall,  it can pull off a number of poses, but some of the design choices can make it difficult.


TRANSFORMATION

Ratchet transforms into a Nissan Cherry Vanette ambulance. The transformation is somewhat intricate but relatively easy. You mainly flip up the top of the vehicle over to the front, flip out the sides to expose the arms, legs pull out from the bottom with panels covering some of the vehicle bits.


Some observations about the transformations: When unfolding some of the panels on the legs, there are tabs on the legs that give minimal clearance to allow the panels to fold completely flush against the robot leg. I would advise caution when flipping the panel past the tab to avoid paint chipping.


I also notice when locking in the shoulders, there are tabs on either side of Ratchet's head that fold down into the top of the shoulders, locking them into place. I point this out, because my 3rd party Daca Toys Kronos figure has a similar shoulder locking mechanism. I just thought it was interesting that they were similar.

One thing that may look out of place are the side panels that sit above the front tires in vehicle mode. While the front tires tab into the back of the figure, those side panels sit at the hips with really no place for them to go in robot mode. It kind of breaks up the flow of the robot mode, and I wish they were hidden just a bit better.
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ACCESSORIES

Ratchet comes with an amazing amount of accessories including 2 laser pistols, a static laser gun, x-ray blaster, laser scapel, arc-welder, repair beam emitter with beam effect, missile launcher with missile, cyber spanner, two magno wrenches, plastic sled, a cardboard EKG readout, decal sheet, and alternate face.

Ratchet can hold most of his accessories in his hands. The repair beam emitter plugs into his arm, while the arc welder can plug into an exposed tab on his wrist when you flip the hand into his arm. The beam effect can be applied to some of the accessories for added effect.

The missile launcher can plug into Ratchet's back.

The cardboard EKG readout sits inside Ratchet's chest for an added effect of monitoring another Autobot's life signs.

All of the accessories can plug into the plastic sled for easy access and storage. The alternate face can store underneath the sled.

Also, the laser pistol can plug into the top of the vehicle mode, and both laser pistols can store on the underside of the vehicle.
 
 



The decals can be applied to Ratchet, however you may have to cut some of the stickers before applying, if you are looking to make Ratchet more cartoon accurate.
Ratchet had red crosses on his shoulders in robot mode and some smaller crosses in vehicle mode. With the way the decals are designed and cut, you cannot peel a plain red cross to apply to the figure with making additional cuts to the decal.

I believe Takara Tomy printed these intentionally to avoid any copyright issues with Red Cross, who owns the rights to the red cross symbol and are very protective of it.

I cut my decals, but not as well as I would have liked. I'm hoping Reprolabels comes out with a better set of decals for Ratchet.



QUALITY CONTROL

It's a bit of a mixed bag for Ratchet regarding quality control. On one hand the white glossy paint looks incredibly nice and uniform on the figure, however I do have some blemishes with some of the chrome paint. I'm also hearing issues of the chrome chipping or rubbing off after a short time.


Joints are pretty solid, and everything tabs in well. The right arm is slightly loose compared to the the left, but can still hold when posing.

One note, the robot head may be difficult to snap into it's corresponding hole. It will lock in place, but you may need to exert a little more force to lock it in.


OTHER FEATURES
 

One thing I do like about the Masterpiece line is compatibility. Like other Masterpiece car robots, many can fit into MP-10 Masterpiece Optimus Prime's trailer, and Ratchet can do the same.

When placing in the trailer, the light bar can be pressed down inside the vehicle and lock in place. This allows clearance, so the vehicle can fit in the trailer. Once taken out, the light bar will pop back up.

 
OVERALL

I really like Masterpiece Ratchet. He fills a huge gap in my G1 Masterpiece collection, and I really wasn't expecting to see this character along with Ironhide, in the Masterpiece line anytime soon.

Despite some of the design choices, I think he looks good in my collection. The play value alone with all of Ratchet's accessories allow for many poses or display options. So much to the point, that I plan to get Ironhide next, given his similarities and accessories.

I do recommend getting Ratchet, if you think this still fits into your G1 Masterpiece aesthetic preferences. I certainly do.
 

 For additional pictures of Masterpiece Ratchet, please check out my FaceBook page with the link listed below. Please "Like" if you want as well.

Thanks for checking out the review!

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