Transformers Masterpiece MP-17+ Prowl (anime colour edition)

I have the previous anime repaint editions for Sideswipe and Red Alert in this Transformers Masterpiece series. I was going to pass on this latest Prowl repaint, but I caved and preordered anyway. It's been such a slow year in the MP series, I had to get my fix somehow!

Click below for my full review over on the Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel. Hope you can give the video a thumbs-up and subscribe to the channel too! :)

Packaging and contents are all stock standard for the MP series. I did note that the quality of the box cardboard seemed a little off compared to MP-42 Cordon. Also, the collector card seemed to be cut off centre, so the grid doesn't look quite right. This was a drop in quality that I wasn't expecting from Takara, and I definitely hope it's not because of this one being made in Vietnam instead of China!

Straight out of the box I was actually a little disappointed. The white paint has a very matte finish, and I was expecting more gloss. Strangely when I compared it to the original release, that one had a fairly matte finish as well! The think the slightly off-white tint of the new paint app compared to the bright white finish on the original gives an impression of lower quality.

The black paint has the nice gloss, but the front of mine had a drop in quality with some stray hair/dust marks embedded in the paint. The original was perfectly clean. So again that disappointed in for the car mode.

The blue windows is more cartoon accurate, but in car mode I think the original clear grey windows looks better. The painted blue rear side windows doesn't look that great either. The black paint on the original doesn't seem to stand out as much as this light blue.

I do like the grey bumpers on the front and back though. They help to break up all the black on the original release, and again is more cartoon accurate. But of course the little Z insignia on the original is much nicer than the black nub that's on the new version.

The transformation to bot mode was a struggle with the feet areas, where it was very tight trying to pry the rear sections of the car open for the feet and shins. Once transformed though, I think the bot mode is where this anime version looks its best.

The grey front bumper looks great, and the blue windows this time highlight the lower legs really well. The little blue highlights in the front lights also looks great in bot mode. The matte grey finish on the face and thighs isn't as nice as the metallic grey on the original, but I guess that's in keeping with their cartoon accurate styling these days.

I do wish that they had put in the effort to make the black elbow joints a white plastic like they did with Sideswipe. That would've blended the arms much better. But overall, I think this anime repaint looks great in bot mode next to the other two anime versions. Now it's just the wait for the anime repaint for Wheeljack next year!