MP-12T: Masterpiece Tigertack!

Several years ago, I saw on BigBadToyStore a preorder for Tigertrack,  I looked right at him and said something along the lines of "Stupid repaints!  Why don't they just reissue more G1 figures?"  I was stupid back then.  I often look back at that time with a sense of wonder over how I could have been so idiotic.  C'est la vie, I suppose.  This is still a figure I haven't gotten, and I do plan on getting him, but at $300, he's going to be down the line.  Thank goodness TakraTomy has decided to sate my Tigertrack hunger with this repaint of the awesome Masterpiece Lambor mold.

There really isn't a lot to say about this mold that hasn't been said about the originals, but I'm going to highlight the differences between Tigertrack, Red Alert and Sideswipe.

The first thing I'd like to talk about is the box.  I've seen online where it's referred to as a black and white box, but it's actually black and silver.  It's been given a nice metallic sheen and of course instead of a shot of the actual figure there's an illustration of Tigertrack.  I'm not sure who did the art, but it's very Dreamwave-like. 

Here's the back of the box.  I love the silhouette.  I couldn't get the lighting right, so this picture is a little uneven.  Enough about the box.  What does the figure look like?

Sunstreaker?

According to TFWiki, this is what Sunstreaker should look like.  Apparently Sunstreaker and Sideswipe got their bios swapped.  This is what Sunstreaker should have looked like.  Whatever the case, Tigertrack looks marvelous.  The yellow, black, red, and white really compliment each other.  Two Autobot insignia decals are included that can be added to the chest.  One is the larger size that Sideswipe came tampographed with, and the other is the normal size that was tampographed on Red Alert.  I've opted to not use either.  I kind of like the plain chest. 

There are a few touches to this release that distinguish him from the previous versions.  First, we have the head:

TakaraTomy did something a little different for Tigertrack's head.  The helmet is obviously Sideswipe's, but his face is Red Alerts!  Here's a closeup of Red Alert's face:

And a closeup of Sideswipe's:

The other detail that's been added to Tigertrack would be a paint application to the feet:

I don't know why, but that little paint application just really made the figure for me.

Here's Tigertrack with his pile drivers.  These are the same pile drivers that the Amazon Japan Sideswipe came with, only these are not chromed.  I actually prefer the smaller pile drivers that the regular version of Sideswipe comes with.

I've never been a fan of yellow cars.  As a matter of fact, I'd go so far as to say I hate yellow cars.  But by Primus does the Lamborghini mold look great in yellow.  It somehow looks sleeker than Sideswipe's red.  Just gorgeous.

The panels don't line up perfectly, but that's been a known issue in every iteration of this mold.  It still doesn't detract from the greatness of this figure.

 Here's all three of the Lamborghini brothers released thus far lined up together.  There's still a Super Tuning Lamborghini missing, but I'm sure he'll turn up eventually.

 Finally, a shot of the three in robot mode.

Masterpiece Lambor

Oddly, there isn't one picture or review on the entirety of the Internet about the newly released Masterpiece Lambor, also known as MP-12 and Masterpiece Sideswipe. I guess this makes this the only blog or website to talk about him. He must not be popular or something. Try doing a Google search for MP-12 Sideswipe and not a thing pops up.

In all seriousness, this is probably the 534,698th review of this figure and most likely will wind up being the least read. Oh well.

I'm not going to go into all of the detail that everyone else has or will everywhere else. Why beat a dead horse? This will mainly be pictures.

I will say a few things about the figure before I start with the pics. After learning about the lack of die-cast, I was a little apprehensive. I understand that all-plastic figures are sturdier than those featuring die-cast parts, but I like the heft of a metal figure. That being said, for an all-plastic construction, this guy is solid. The lack of rubber tires had me concerned as well, but the plastic tires still look sharp.

I've seen online where MP-12 was essentially the size of a Classics figure which worried me greatly. Having finally gotten mine, I can say that the heights may be the same, but Sideswipe definitely has more girth and substance than a Classics figure. Just the poseability alone makes Sideswipe a worthy purchase. I love this figure. On to pics!

Gorgeous!

Wonder who's side he's on?

Dynamic!

Even the back is gorgeous

How's this scale?

The in-scale gang

Couldn't find my MP-10 box for comparison.  MP-09 will do.

Mine came with 2 cards!?