Toy Review - JP MP-24 Masterpiece Star Saber

[BruiseLee]

I'm just trying to imagine an MP Scale Fort Max....

"We're going to need a bigger shelf..."

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

Mine just arrived today. I've only gotten as far as playing with Sabre at the moment and I frikking love the carp out of him. Surprised with the amount of posing options for the little guy.

I don't really have nostalgia for him either, but I did like the cartoon and just have a love for robots joining with other robots, and then joining with other robots. I thin this is great!. Shiny big swords, bright colours.

Yup, I'm a happy chappy ATM

[koolkollectibleskhai]

Here's my review of the new Transformers Masterpiece MP-24 Star Saber! I didn't expect it to run so long at 45 minutes, so I have rambled a little bit LOL!! But there were a lot of different things to go through with the figure.

I still don't love the figure like I do the other MPs, purely because of my lack of nostalgia towards the character. But overall, it's still a pretty decent addition to the MP ranks.

Transformers Masterpiece MP-24 Star Saber - YouTube

Hope you can check out my review, subscribe, like, and comment with your thoughts on this Autobot Commander

[DELTAprime]

Dam it! I can't get Saber to combine with his giant robot body.

EDIT: Ok, got it, didn't realize I had to just clip him in, not line up the clip.

Do the ratchets in his elbows not work for anyone else? Mine can't hold his shield up.

[Trent]

Opened mine last night and I have to say I'm underwhelmed. The lack of paint apps combined with the colour scheme really doesn't do the figure any favours. Ultra Magnus had minimal paint apps and yes, it was noticable but the figure still managed to achieve (if just) that premium MP look. Star Saber doesn't do that at all. To me it just looks like a really big toy. Yuki mentioned is a recent interview that the lack of paint apps on star Saber was being used to test the waters with MP collectors to see how they'd react and that if the reaction was favourable, then the reduced cost of not painting the figures could lead to an increased MP production schedule. Personally, I'd prefer they continue with paint apps in most cases. To me, Wheeljack and Ultra Magnus are good examples of where minimal paint apps don't have a huge effect on the end result. However in Star Saber's case the lack is glaring (to me, anyway. Which I believe is a result of the colour combinations/ratios and why it is so noticable).

There is nothing in the transformation that makes me go "wow!" or even "cool." It just transforms exactly as you'd expect it to. Saber's transformation is simple. Like G1 simple. Pull off plane nose, expand shoulders, pull down wrists and hands, extend legs and fold up tail fins, insert breastmaster. Star Saber isn't much better. I guess I expected something that would amaze me, but maybe I've been spoiled by some of my recent 3rd party purchases.

On my copy, Saber's knees don't ratchet properly. It doesn't affect his transformation or posability, but one knee only ratchets one way and the other has no ratcheting clicks at all. Also, the sword/gun doesn't fit securely in Star Saber's hands. It reminds me of the V1 MP Rodimus in that the fingers are what is holding the gun in place and if you bump it, it comes loose.

On to the good:

He's huge! taller than Ultra Magnus, this guy only just fits in my cabinets and absolutely towers over MP-10. Posability is good, not as good as MP-10 but better than Magnus. Although the sword poses are somewhat limited due to the wide sword guard and his wrist flares. Head and face sculpt look like he fell out of the cartoon.

Overall, I really like the character so I bought this, but now I understand some peoples reaction to MP Ultra Magnus in that if you aren't a fanboy of that character, I can see how certain things would be disappointing. He still makes an impressive addition to my collection and I hope we get Victory Leo soon.

Iwould recommend him, but not at the AU$300 TrU will have it for.

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Dam it! I can't get Saber to combine with his giant robot body.

EDIT: Ok, got it, didn't realize I had to just clip him in, not line up the clip.

Do the ratchets in his elbows not work for anyone else? Mine can't hold his shield up.

Mine are a tad loose too. The sword and gun are fine, but the shield is a bit too heavy for him - he can hold it up, but you need to get the angle just right and if you so much as brush against his arm he lowers it again.

EDIT - has anyone managed to find a storage solution for his blue sword hilt parts in V-Star mode? I'm hoping for something a bit more elegant than 'just leave them to rattle around inside his calves'.

[DELTAprime]

I think I might display him in V-star mode cause I feel let down by the combined robot. Is there a storage place for his extended sword handle and shield handle?

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

Yuki mentioned is a recent interview that the lack of paint apps on star Saber was being used to test the waters with MP collectors to see how they'd react and that if the reaction was favourable, then the reduced cost of not painting the figures could lead to an increased MP production schedule.

Hmm, that is interesting. The lack of paint apps on this guy don't bother me so much and I think the reason why is that is because he has an unrealistic vehicle mode and I only really know his model from the cartoon and Robot Master version, not the original toy.

If there's something I know (Like Wheeljack as an example) that has a more detailed paintjob, I'd feel a bit gipped to be honest. The reason I like the MPs is because they make a good jump between show and toy.

I see a reduced paint applications thing as making them less toy and more show. I think Wheeljack would probably look a bit plain and boring with just his show colours.

As much as I like SS, I think I would like him less if I had to pay TRUs $300. I see him as good value for money as I actually paid less than half that. Which is a bit of a shock!!

[autobreadticon]

dont want to sound like 'one of those guys' but can someone please tell me the height of this toy from toy to bottom in robot mode, !cheers!

p.s measurement on first post but need exact measurements

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

I measure him as being 34.5 cm to the top of his shoulder lasers.