I haven’t got to talk much about this, or update the MP checklist, but Takara has shot an arrow straight at my heart by taking one of my all-time childhood favorites and adding him to the Masterpiece collection! Plus, Sam had a rough night and there just wasn’t time for a review today!)
I’m sure that I’ve told the story a million times before, but when I was a kid my parents took me on a multi-city toy run with one mission: “Find Optimus Prime”. It’s one of the earliest toy memories that I remember vividly. It seemed like we traveled forever, though we never really got more than an hour from home. It seemed like we saw just about every Transformer ever, but not Optimus Prime.* We ended the day at what I’m pretty sure was the K-Mart in Springfield, Missouri. It was at that point that my parents through in the towel. I would not get Optimus Prime, but I would get any Transformers I wanted, provided it was at the K-Mart in Springfield, Missouri.
I don’t recall who I left behind. Blaster was there and I held that candle for a long time. I think maybe Smokescreen too. But, there was no doubt about my pick. I had a thing for Corvettes as a kid. Somewhere around there are pictures of me sitting in one when I was three or four. And right there on the shelf? Tracks. I loved that toy. I still have… most of it. I’m sure that I’ll find the other arm somewhere, some day. The stickers are destroyed. He was and is well loved. There’s a stand-in nowadays, a reissue in pristine condition, but they’re both out on display. I get this question a lot “Why are there two Tracks?” and then I launch into this same story.
So, you can imagine how giddy I was when I ran across these new pics at TFW2005. There is in an indescribable joy in seeing the pictures below. The corvette alt mode is gorgeous. The robot mode looks fantastic. I do have to say that my love is for the G1 Toy – I miss the face plate. I had reservations about that animation accurate yellow square. But I don’t even care. I love it. I’ve already pre-ordered two so I can display him in both modes. Heck, I kinda want a third one so I can do the flight stand pose – a flying corvette, come on, but I’ll save something for a possible Hasbro release.
Alright, I’ve gushed enough. Check out these great pics from TFW2005:
He’s got boosters now? Didn’t it just use to be the wings?
I was looking at the new Hotshot(?), and he’s got the same coloring: blue vehicle mode, white head, red face, definitely not a corvette, tho.
“There are two Tracks!” could be your “There are FOUR lights!” 😉
Nah, he’s always had “boosters”: The arms were attached, so if you flipped out the wings, you had a flying corvette with robot arms next to it. The cartoon made them intakes/boosters, but colored them blue for cohesion. The MP can’t do that.
The tailfins though? That’s all cartoon.
Not only is AOE Hot Shot a Corvette, he’s a licensed Corvette.
(Also: clearly decoed as Tracks, down to the flames on the hood of some of the preproduction copies.)
is it AoX? I’ll check tomorrow/later today when I’m back in town.
WM just throws stuff in there, all helter skelter.
I empathize with the desire for the G1 faceplate. In general, I’m one of the few that think that the MP series goes a little bit too far towards the cartoon looks particularly with Wheeljack. Still, this guy turned out well; MP engineering and proportions have been thankfully so good at certain times that they still turn out awesome despite my preferring they went in other directions stylistically.
I’m so excited for this, and the fact that they designed it with the flight mode in mind makes such a huge difference. When I picked up the Classics Tracks figure, I was definitely disappointed that you could only somewhat cobble together a flight mode. It was still a fun toy, but any Tracks figure needs to have a real flight mode.
The Faceless Raoul does kind of bug me, though. It’s an unneeded accessory for me, but this is a Masterpiece Toy. Everything should be there for a reason. No face makes it seem like it was a Takara afterthought.
Looking forward to this guy. I’ll have a Blaster to go with the Soundwave from my SDCC Shockwave / HISS Tank. I’ll have a Raoul I can paint eyes and eyebrows on. I’ll have a sweet Tracks which looks amazing. And I’ll have a reason to dust off my Thurston Howell III impression.
I like that he is cartoon accurate but a faceplate would have been nice.
I just figured out why I don’t like this guy. It’s the grey.
I mocked up what it would look like with blacklegs and arms and silver thighs, and I like it a whole lot better. Like, a LOT.
I know, I know, cartoon accuracy and all that, which I just don’t care about.
I want the bot to look better (to me and only me), and that means more like the toy.
But if I wait to see if Hasbro will bring it to the US with a more toy-accurate deco, as they are known to do, then goodbye fancy metallic blue for sure.
The real draw though is the Corvette. I’m a life-long fan and I really want it for the alt mode, plus flying car mode, that is so bosso.
But really, I just want that little Blaster.
Gotta say I was floored when heard this news. I did own a Tracks though arms broke on mine and bye bye. SawbthebRTS one but meh. Now MP looks nice. I have enjoyed the toon likenesses alot. The funnh, he has no mirror I remember him being a little vain (sp?) and think that woulda been funny. Get a better money flow and who knows. My luck time I have it Jazz finally gets announced.
The rumors were going forever before this guy’s reveal. Seeing him now fully makes me hopeful then that the MP Ironhide and Galvatron that were rumored along with him will be true as well.
I am so very curious to know how they’ll tackle Ironhide/Ratchet in MP form. After Bumblebee, and even Ultra Magnus, I really have few doubts of them pulling something off that will be awesome.
In the meantime…TRACKS! XD Now make a full size Transforming MP Blaster, Takara.