Convoy

I believe I suffer from Tranformerholicolism. It’s in the dictionary, or at least it should be. I always try and convince myself that I am only a casual transformers fan. It’s almost like when alcoholics say that they don’t have a drinking problem yet they constantly drink. Supposedly I’m only a casual fan but yet my collecting diet consists of many transformable goods. Also, Is it possible to be a casual fan when you plop down $250 on a preorder for a yet unknown Masterpiece Transformers figure? Well, that’s what I did. I didn’t even know who MP-10 was going to be when I placed the preorder. When word got out that it was another Convoy/Optimus Prime that was smaller with much less diecast, I was ready to cancel. Thank goodness I didn’t.

I usually like to start off with the box, but due to my impatience to open up my figures when I review them, I end up shooting the boxes last. By the time this is live on this site, I will be in a far away land on vacation and wouldn’t you know it, I never got to shoot the box. It will be updated upon my return to the US of A.

This is the MP-10 Convoy otherwise known as Optimus Prime. Once you pop him out, you get one of the most beautiful renditions of Optimus Prime. I will admit I had a knot in my throat because I was wondering where my money went. This guy is almost entirely plastic. Diecast is minimal and only for structural purposes unlike the MP-01 which was a diecast showoff.

The longer I spent with it, the better I felt about the purchase. This is truly one of the most impressive Prime’s I’ve ever had the pleasure of handling. Sure, it’s smaller than the impressive MP-01, but bigger isn’t always better. His fingers are articulated although his index finger is the only independent one. The thumb is fixed and the other three fingers are molded together. Care must be taken when extending his index finger. Go too far and it pops off. Luckily, it is easily reattached if you are lucky enough to find it in your shag rug.

This Prime is much more articulated than the tall heavy MP-01 and believe me, this figure is not even breaking a small sweat in this conservative pose.

Spin him around and check this out, his blaster is concealed in his backpack. How is this you ask? The blaster folds neatly into this back compartment. To unfold it, just press a little grey button and it unfolds using spring-action!

You’ll be happy to know the Energy Axe is included. To use it, you simply make sure that Optimus Prime’s hand is in the fist position. Then you align the axe over the fist (I obviously didn’t). The axe is made of a soft rubbery PVC material

One of my favorite features on the MP Primes is the Matrix compartment. Not only does this figure have a compartment for the Matrix, but the Matrix itself is chromed diecast. Really nice. The center round piece is painted a candy colored copper-orange which seems to chip easily or is sloppily painted.

While it’s obviously smaller than the MP-01’s Matrix, it does scale up nicely in his hand like seen in the movie.

Tired of seeing this pose yet? It’s everywhere. It is nice to know they can shake hands though.

As most of us already know, Optimus Prime does have an alternate mode which is a truck. The transformation on this figure is light years ahead of the G1. It even makes the MP-01 look simple. The transformation is more involved but its an entertaining process. The engineering is very well done. A lot of the truck bits are hidden in his chest and replace the outer bits. This allows Prime to look accurate in both modes. Usually transformations like this require parts-swapping on other figures out there, but Takara worked overtime to make this work well.The end result is a nicely sized truck mode. Very subtle and understated.

I had mentioned that I had a knot in my throat and was left wondering where my money went. The truck mode made the knot bigger because the size to price ratio was off. Then I remembered…oh yeah, there’s more stuff in the box! Once I had the trailer in hand, the price made a bit more sense. The trailer definitely adds more fun to the set. It mounts easily to Optimus Prime. It’s actually quite impressive.

Some people complained about the location of the Autobot logo, but depending on what you reference it to, it’s accurate. The logo itself is raised and painted.

When not hitched up to prime, you can pull out the support jacks up front and the support arms out to the sides. The arms on the side extend and retract when swung in and out. It adds to the level of detail. The finish on the arms is a matte black with small metallic flakes.

The trailer adds so much to this alternate mode because you can actually store deluxe size figures out back. Here you’ll see Wheeljack (Not included) coming out to play.

Although Wheeljack is not included, Roller is. Notice the intricate detailing of the interior of the trailer. Oh, and who’s that in the driver’s seat?

His name would be Spike Witwicky.

Yes oh yes, an included Spike figure. This set just keeps getting better and better. He’s rather plain and generic without any detailing, but he is articulated in the shoulders, hips and knees.

When I take silly pictures, you know I’m having fun.

Here is the back of roller with clear-red light detail. You want to engage Roller in battle? You can attach Prime’s blaster out back. Just open the rear hatch and attach the gun. Sweet.

Want to know where Optimus Prime’s trailer goes when it disappears? I like to think Roller takes the responsibilty. Again, open the hatch to reveal a hitch. This is too cool.

You are wrong if you think this is the end of the fun. The trailer opens up of course to reveal an extendable driver’s seat and articulated repair arm.

The driver’s seat is of course for our little pal Spike.

You can leave it as is, or close the trailer up around it and have him hanging out top to help.

Spike also has the option of two other seating areas.

The fun doesn’t stop there folks, you can stand the trailer upright to create a repair bay. Prime rests up nicely against it when he is ready to be freshened up. Notice that the weapons can be fixed to each side of the trailer when not in use.

The claw arm can come down to do the necessary repairs.

Even Spike can join in to help.

If you need to dig in deeper for repairs, you can always open up Optimus Prime’s chest and make things a bit more interesting.

And yes, Spike can help.

The big question is this. Is this release worth $250+ dollars? Let’s assume the figure alone is in the typical $70 range. That makes the trailer a very expensive accessory. That being said, casual fans may look it over and think of what else they can buy for this price. Chogokin fans will balk at the price because this price can buy some high end heavy gokins. Transformers fans are probably too poor from buying up every other figure they can find so they will wait for a US release or sale. Hardcore Transformer fans will buy it no matter what. For me? The price tag hurt, but after a couple of weeks of ownership, the pain has gone away and I am comfortable with my purchase. I am very happy with my new Optimus Prime. I would gladly buy it all over again. If you don’t care for the trailer and don’t want to spend loads of your hard earned dough, just save up for the inevitable $60-$70 Hasbro release. If you must have the trailer, prepare for the hurt.