Transformers Masterpiece MP-39 Sunstreaker

What a long time it's been waiting for an official Sunstreaker! So long in fact that many thought it was never going to happen! MP-12 Sideswipe released around the 2012 timeframe, and it was thought that Takara would take advantage of the Lamborghini licence and release a Sunstreaker quickly after.

But after years of waiting, all hope seemed lost until Takara finally announced it back in 2017. And what an amazing figure it is! Absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt, well worth the wait! Click through below to check out my thoughts over on the Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel - make sure to subscribe and give the video a like :)

The set comes with a small array of accessories, along with the usual collector card and coin. The swap out face sculpts and alien mask show how Takara really have stepped it up to provide many options to replicate scenes from the original G1 cartoon series.

The car mode is absolutely spectacular. The engineering in this toy is astounding at times, and together with MP-36 Megatron really showcase a new era in the Masterpiece series. The designers have stated in past interviews that their focus has shifted to greater cartoon accuracy, greater articulation, greater moving parts, and greater use of paint. MP Sunstreaker brings those aspects in spades!

The classic car mode of Sunstreaker with the chromed engine at the rear is faithfully replicated. But the amazing thing is that they were able to design in a transformation sequence in the rear to be able to flip that exposed engine and revert it back to standard Countach mode!

Many speculate that this is one of the challenges that took Takara years to overcome in order to obtain official Lamborghini licencing for this character. Regardless, the fact they've been able to do so in such a seamless manner is an incredible feat of toy engineering.

The ability to fold the doors up and the head lights are the little attention to details that sets this figure apart. Not just from 3rd party figures, but also from his own MP brethren.

The transformation is bot mode was daunting for me. It takes me forever to transform MP figures, and with the higher level of complexity on Sunstreaker, it took me close to 40 minutes to complete the transformation the first time.

There are some scary parts that I discuss in my video review. The rotating windscreen requires finesse to get by what tiny clearances there are around the waist. I'm not even sure how I managed it, but it took me several attempts and some swearing to get it done!

The other scary part was the rotation of the backpack mechanism. Luckily I had read some reports of breakages at the location of the rotation. So I heeded the advice and rotated the part before clipping the backpack sections together. This certainly seems to require less force on the joint.

But there are aspects of the transformation that are a joy, and worthy to be noted as "Masterpiece Moments". I love the leg and feet transformation, and the final result alone makes this Sunstreaker far better than any of the 3rd party version. The way they've incorporated all the folding parts and the ability to tightly fold and clip it all together is amazing. It creates a beautifully streamlined lower half that none of the other versions have.

The "fake" windscreen doesn't bother me at all. The cartoon itself was a cheat that magically moved his Autobot insignia from the bonnet of the car to the roof of the car in the transformation. The way in which Takara have replicated that "cheat" is ingenious, and again creates a perfect cartoon accurate aesthetic in bot mode.

The articulation in bot mode is amazing! Everything nicely holds together, with firm joints in all the right places. With ratchet hips, butterfly shoulders, pivot wrists, and all the other usual articulation points, you will be able to get this figure into some incredible poses. It far exceeds that of previous MP figures, and sets a very high bar for future MPs.




Together with his brother Sideswipe, Takara have given us two incredible Lamborghini Countach figures. The first spawned a new age in the MP series back in 2012 along with Soundwave. And now the second in Sunstreaker helps launch this new era that takes Transformers engineering to the next level.

If Takara are able to announce long awaited characters like Jazz, Hound, Mirage, and Trailbreaker in this new style, it will continue to be an amazing time for Transformers fans.

Transformers Masterpiece MP-12+ Sideswipe (anime colour edition) comparison

With Takara's push for more cartoon accurate Masterpiece figures, these "+" repaints are another easy way for them to justify a new repaint of an existing figure. They started with MP Red Alert, and now the latest is Sideswipe. I'm sure there'll be more repaints to come.

Overall, the choice of whether you pick up this new version will really depend on in which mode you prefer to display your Transformers, and whether you have the original release.

For a closer look, click through below to check out my review on the Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel. Make sure to subscribe and stay tuned for my MP Sunstreaker review!

The box and contents should be all familiar to MP collectors. The revised coin is another nice addition to the coin collection too. It comes with all the accessories that have been included in a number of previous MP Lambor repaint releases.

The difference in bot mode is where the new anime colour really comes to the fore. The more cartoon accurate paint scheme blends in aspects that were broken up by difference colours in the original. For example, the white elbows and the black ankles make the arms and lower legs more seamless.

The biggest improvement for me however it actually the white glossy paint app on most of the white surfaces. The forearms, torso, thighs and feet all have a very nice glossy premium paint app. Coupled with the white plastic elbows and white plastic hip joints, the overall look in bot mode is much better than the original release.

However, the original itself is much better in the car mode. In its quest for cartoon accuracy, Takara made the new version with blue, more transparent glass, which only allows the interior of the car to show through. This ruins the look by clearly showing the feet through the windscreen. The original has very classy dark glass that hides the interior, and just makes the Lamborghini Countach mode look sleeker and classier.

It also has extra black detailing around the air intakes and grooves along the back and rear of the car. So it makes for a much more realistic car mode. The black wheels are also nicer on the original, whereas the new version has grey wheels so that the bot mode has the grey parts on the sides of the legs as he did in the cartoon.

So as I said, if you display your collection mostly in bot mode, then I would say MP-12+ is the better choice. But if you prefer the car modes, then I would pick up the original if you don't already have it. Either option, Takara has to make some compromise in the aesthetic in each mode, so at least they're giving collectors an option to pick up either.

This old MP-12 mold is ageing a little now compared to the amazing engineering of the newer releases, but it still holds its own fairly well. A great figure in the MP series, so pick any version up I say!

Comparison of MP-12 Sideswipe re-issue and original version

For those who missed out on the original Takara MP-12 Sideswipe release a couple of years ago, here's a better option than picking up an KO version! They have re-issued the figure, albeit with some minor differences. Overall, a classic figure that helped kick the MP line into the stratosphere!

Here's my comparison video between the original and re-issue versions. Hope you can check it out :)

I get all my MPs from Robotkingdom! Click the link below to head on over to the order listing for this re-issue that comes with a newly designed coin too!

Robotkingdom - MP-12 Sideswipe re-issue with coin

Transformers Masterpiece - "Masterpiece Moments"

It's been a while since I went through my Transformers Masterpiece collection, and Maz from the TFSource forum inspired me with his term "Masterpiece Moment" to get my collection together.

So here's my video on what my "Masterpiece Moments" are with each of the figure molds. Each one has at least one awesome feature that I love!

Hope you can check it out, subscribe, like, and comment with what your personal "Masterpiece Moments" are!

New reviews for Transformers Masterpiece Bumblebee and Ultra Magnus

Finally got my order of MP-21 Bumblebee and MP-22 Ultra Magnus from the great folks at Robotkingdom! And both turned out to be every bit as awesome as I had hoped!

For my full video reviews of both of these figures, click the links below to check them out on the Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel!

MP-21 Bumblebee review:

MP-22 Ultra Magnus review:

Hope you can check out the videos above, subscribe, like, and comment with your thoughts on these two latest additions to the fantastic MP line!

Here are some unboxing pics :)

Together with the other MP Autobot vehicles, they all look simply incredible!

Takara Masterpiece Transformers commercial! VIDEO OF THE YEAR!!!

If you're a G1 Transformers fan, you HAVE to check out this incredible video by Takara featuring the new MP-22 Ultra Magnus figure. This is definitely my pick for VIDEO OF THE YEAR!! Amazing stuff!

I'll be getting my MP-21 Bumblebee and MP-22 Ultra Magnus next week, so stay tuned for the full video reviews and photos! :)

Check out these AMAZING custom repaints of the Transformers Masterpiece Lambor mold!!!

Wow, I found these photos of custom repaints over on the Toys Daily Chinese forum! They are incredible!!

MP-12 Sideswipe

MP-12G G2 Sideswipe

MP-12T Tigertrack

MP-14 Red Alert

Repaint hell continues with MP-11S Sunstorm and MP-12T Tigertrack!!

Slap me for ever saying I would not get into Takara repaints, because I am pretty much now Takara's bitch on anything and everything Masterpiece related!! I recently did the reviews on the black repaints for MP-9B Black Rodimus Convoy and MP-10B Black Convoy. Both look pretty damn sweet, but I wasn't totally convinced these yellow repaints would live up to that. All I can say now is, man these are pretty damn AWESOME too!!!

MP-11S Sunstorm

MP-11S comes in the usual black matte finish box expected of the Takara Masterpiece figures, and is pretty much identical to the MP-11 Starscream release. As always, I love the box art.

MP-11S does come with a repainted version of the coronation gear that came with Starscream, this time with a purple crown and more pearlescent paint app on the cape. All in all it looks nice enough, but I don't think many collectors will display Sunstorm in this garb.

Inside the box is the usual clamshell holding the contents, and he comes in robot mode. As with MP-10B, I was pleasantly surprised by how nice the paint app is on the figure! The original MP-11 is quite plasticky, with lots of grey and red plastic and little paint. However, on MP-11S, Takara have done a very nice paint app to get different shades of yellow, orange, white, and greys that are painted. It gives the figure a little extra quality to make it stand out a bit and have some more shelf presence. It also comes with a nice chromed pilot instead of the transparent blue plastic pilot of Starscream.

The alt mode is beautiful, and really shows off the paint app to great effect on the wings and rear. I love the flaming accents too. Getting the MP-11 mold to transform between modes as always troubled me, and this was no exception. Pushing the legs into the hip area to form the jet mode was particularly frustrating, bordering on me thinking I was either going to break something or have to leave it in robot mode. Fortunately they finally gave way and I was able to complete the transformation. I think I'll definitely be keeping this one in alt mode for a while.

All in all, I think this is a great repaint, and definitely looks better in hand than in pics. For a quick video review, check out the Kool Kollectibles channel review linked below! :)

MP-12T Tigertrack

Takara must have paid a bucket load for the Lamborghini license, and this repaint is a further attempt to recoup that cost! But the MP-12 mold is just so awesome, I'll probably end up getting the MP-12G G2 Sideswipe repaint too!

The Tigertrack release is the first time Takara goes with a monochrome concept for the box art, which I have no idea why. But it's done in a nice glossy finish unlike their usual matte black finish, so all in all it still looks pretty nice. 

They deviate again from the norm on the back of the box, this time just showing a silhouette of the figure instead of a photo of the actual figure.

Inside, as always, it's packed in the clamshell, and this time it comes with glossy black piledriver versions of the chromed Amazon Japan exclusive piledrivers for Sideswipe. I thought that was a nice touch. The shoulder launcher also breaks up the plain white of Sideswipe's with nice glossy black paint on the base that connects to the shoulder.

Also notice that it does not come with tamped on Autobot insignia, but has a couple of stickers you can add. I for one actually like that they gave us the option, and I'll definitely be leaving mine without any stickers. The plain look makes for a great alt mode.

The alt mode is as awesome as it always was with Sideswipe and Red Alert. I love that the front doesn't have the Autobot symbol, and it just looks like a bad ass Lamborghini model instead.

Having all three current Lambors together just shows how awesome the mold is, and just makes me want the three Nissans more (can't wait for Dec to come so RK can hurry up and ship me my order of all three!!).

The paint app overall is probably an improvement over the original Sideswipe and Red Alert releases, with minimal slop. It doesn't have the same pop value that MP-11S or MP-10B have, but still even in robot mode it looks pretty amazing. I do like the little blue accents on the feet, and the overall look combined with the poseability just make this one awesome figure to have!

So again, this is another repaint that Takara have knocked out of the park. Now I'm just praying that they do a proper MP Sunstreaker while they have the Lamborghini license! There'll need to be engineering changes to make that a reality, so hopefully the incredible Takara designers are hard at work making that happen!

For a quick video review of Tigertrack, check out the Kool Kollectibles channel video linked below! Hope you can subscribe, like, and comment to let me know your thoughts too! :)

Transformers Masterpiece MP-14 Red Alert

Well, when I ordered MP Sideswipe and Soundwave last year, I decided against getting Red Alert too since I wasn't that big a fan of the character. But after hearing rumours that Takara would only be doing one run of the release, and prices were increasing significantly, I decided to get him just to get another Lamborghini mold!

And am I glad to get him or what!!! :)

The mold is almost identical to that of Sideswipe, with some kool little differences to make him as accurate to the G1 cartoon as possible. Essentially the transformation is the same, but he does have the fake wheels on his shoulders in robot mode as per the cartoon, and also the white pegs at the top of his chest.

As you can see below, the alt mode is damn sexy!!! If they never release a Sunstreaker, at least I'll have this awesome mold in Sideswipe and Red Alert. The paintwork is a little sloppy in places, particularly around the windows, but I guess it's nothing too obvious from a normal viewing distance.

In bot mode, apart from the differences I mentioned before, his head sculpt is also slightly different to Sideswipe's. He also comes with a kool accessory in the sparks that can be attached over his head to reenact his circuits frying from the cartoon :)

Since I ordered him late, I ended up paying about $25 more than I should have if I had just ordered him with Sideswipe and Soundwave. But now that I have him in-hand and next to Sideswipe, I really can't complain too much :)

So if you're on the fence about getting MP-14 Red Alert, definitely don't wait much longer! I'd jump onto Robotkingdom or BBTS or even ebay to try and get the cheapest price right now!!