This new MP-18+ Bluestreak is no exception, with some nice little tweaks to sweeten the package. Click through below to watch my full video review on the Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel. Hope you can give the video a thumbsup and subscribe to stay tuned for upcoming reviews!
The included set of accessories isn't all that extensive, but what you do get is of decent quality. I love the swap out face sculpts that really open up the options for display and poses with the figure. My favourite is definitely the smiling face that gives the character a lot of expression on display next to his stoic Autobot friends.
The blast effect pieces are good for the odd photo opportunity, but I don't think look all that great on display. There is an extra small piece that the instructions say are related to the upcoming MP-44 Optimus figure in some way, so it will be interesting how that works.
Collectors against the "+" series point out that they hate the matte style of the paint application. This new Bluestreak is perhaps the one that stands out most in that regards due to the amount of grey. But I was pleasantly surprised to see that the grey has a nice subtle metallic sheen to it, so it's not just a dull flat grey. It's very similar to the grey finish on the MP-36 Megatron and I think looks nice in hand.
If the dark grey hood was just a shade darker, it might look a tad better, but they really went with as much cartoon accuracy as they could here. The windows are blue, the wheels are grey, and I love the three or four different shades of grey on various parts of the body that give it more differentiation. The original is almost too dark in places, although the high gloss black hood looks great.
In car mode against the others, I think the original and the MP-18B version stand out as the best. Those definitely look as close to real world gorgeous Nissan Fairladies as you can get. The darker wheels, grey windscreens, and high gloss/metallic finish really work best in this car mode.
Where the MP-18+ shines, as with all other "+" figures, is in bot mode. I didn't struggle as much as with MP-20+ Wheeljack to get him into bot mode, which was great. Once in bot mode, the joints are still nice and tight, and nothing felt overly delicate. The head sculpt was a more difficult to swing past the hood during transformation due to a slightly larger head sculpt, but be careful in fitting it through and you should be OK.
In direct comparison to the original in bot mode, you will definitely see a marked difference in how much darker the original paint application looks. It's the only reason I think it would looks slightly better with a darker hood.
But similar to car mode, the various shades of grey actually give more differentiating aspects to the figure, especially around the chest. The head sculp too is far superior to the original sculpt, which was only slightly different to the MP-17 Prowl sculpt. The new sculpt really makes this figure it's own character.
For fans of the figures and of the cartoon, I certainly recommend these "+" figures, especially if you're going to continue collecting the series for the forseeable future. They blend in well with the latest crop of figures.