REVIEW: TakaraTomy Masterpiece MP-48 Lio Convoy (part two)

It’s time for part two of our look at the latest Masterpiece figure to hit release – it’s MP-48 Lio Convoy! In case you missed it, be sure to check out part one of this review where we took a look at the beast mode, as well as the initial unboxing video that covers a lot of background on the character too. Once you’re all caught up let’s leap into action!

So if you have watched that unboxing video you’ll know that I found the initial transformation for MP-48 to be a bit of a mixed affair, with a couple of confusing moments and a few bits that definitely required some special attention. Since then I’ve given it a go more than a couple of times and I think I’ve got the hang of the nuances involved, though sadly I have noted that paint rub continues to be a problem. It’s not as pronounced as at first (where I could quite obviously see red paint flaking onto my hands), but I have noticed a few red smudges on the white parts around the joints and at least a couple of paint chips in the red itself since. That’s not a great look.

It’s a shame as actual the transformation isn’t all that bad once you get the hang of it. There are a couple of parts involving thinner pieces in the top body section that I’m not so keen on (and definitely require some due care and attention) but on the whole everything is at least simple in principle. I did find that the mechanisms holding the lion head and tail sections in place for the robot mode never quite want to sit completely flush where they’re supposed to in robot mode, but it’s not a major problem either. Overall it’s a transformation that I’ll be taking some care over next time I have a go, but at least the result of getting him into robot mode is more than worth it!

Hot stuff! Once you have him all converted he looks simply breathtaking in this form. It’s a design I’ve always appreciated, so seeing it recreated so wonderfully is a definite treat. I really like the way the lion head converts to a more robot form, aping the animation to a tee.

In fact it’s such a good-looking ‘bot form that it’s kinda hard not to forgive MP-48 for at least a fair few of the misgivings I may have had about the beast mode and transformation. He’s a handsome lad with plenty of charm, and he uses it well.

Even a rear view is amazingly clean overall, with the back of the robot itself looking immensely tidy. The only downside here is how cumbersome those lion legs are hanging off his robot mode arms. It’s a tricky one as they obviously have to go somewhere (despite the cartoon model for Lio Convoy sort of magicking them away into non-existence) and it’s hard to know how they could have collapsed out of the way more without compromising their use for the beast mode, yet they’re still rather unwieldy here. There really isn’t any way of positioning them to look tidy, so you just have to solve the issue with posing for the most part.

Still, make no mistake there’s a lot to like here overall, as Lio Convoy’s robot form is lithe, well-proportioned and quite incredibly articulated. I’m a big fan of the tapered body shape they’ve achieved which portrays this lad very much as the traditional hero-archetype he’s meant to represent. The legs look extremely powerful and the beast mode bits and bobs on his top half manage to look enough like armour (as opposed to a chap with half a lion hanging off him) that it works. I do wish the “organic” beast mode head didn’t poke out so obviously from within his shoulder section though – once you notice it, it’s very hard not to spot it!

In terms of how poseable he is there’re more than enough points of articulation to go super happy with, leaving you with no problems as far as getting him into any number of heroic-looking positions. He has a very welcome ab crunch and multiple points on the legs which allow for quite a wide range of motion, and I was especially pleased to see my old personal fave – the outwards heel tilt, which always enables some more extreme posing in terms of stability.

The arms are surprisingly stiff in places but will move just fine with a bit of care, with perhaps the only bum note here being how much the lion head on his shoulder can impede the character’s range of head motion, especially as it would logically be obstructing his eyeline a lot of the time! You can manoeuvre it slightly backwards though.

As I say, it’s really hard not to be enamoured with this robot mode on looks alone, especially as the overall fit and finish looks very premium and shiny. Putting the paint rub and chipping issues to one side there’s a very nice and shiny look to the red paint and even the white sections have an almost “pearly” quality to them which looks awesome. All of the applications on my copy seem to be really crisp too, meaning that he’s nothing short of a visual treat (despite being one to handle with care!). I am really feeling that robot mode head too, especially those prominent yellow eyes and the almost-furrowed brow. What a dish.

So yeah, he’s by no means perfect, but once you get him all posed up and ready-to-roll all of that kind of melts away a little bit, if you see what I mean!

Oh, but there’s more! MP-48 is absolutely loaded with robot mode gimmicks! I mentioned in my unboxing vid that there were almost too many features listed on the box to count, and that certainly turned out to be true in hand. First up are the claws stashed in his front lion legs, which can also be deployed in this form. If anything they work way better here and look much more natural than they do for the lion mode. Very menacing!

Next we have the lion head’s missile launchers, which again can be utilised in this form too. I really like how the lion head looks almost like a riot shield here, with Lio Convoy able to protect himself behind it whilst still deploying his own arsenal.

There’s also a feature listed where he can wield his lion tail as a weapon too. It’s one of those where it no doubt looks better in the animation than on the toy, but hey, at least it can happen.

The energon matrix feature in his chest can also be revealed by opening up a small panel on the left side (in essentially the same way as his original toy). The box photography had made it look like this was potentially a light-up feature but perhaps as expected it’s just nicely painted. Still, it looks good all the same.

Next up we have one of my favourite gimmicks which are the missile launchers stowed away inside the lion mane sections on his forearms. Simply flip them over and plug in the (non-firing) missiles and you’re away!

I’ve always been a big fan of pop-up weapons on a robot form, and perhaps for this reason these missile sections really appeal to me. They’re well-hidden-away when not in use but still look really awesome when deployed.

It’s also a lot of fun to pose Lio Convoy with his missiles on show, as they make him look like a true warrior with many a trick up his sleeve!

Oh, but speaking of weapons we’re not nearly done yet! He also comes with his signature handheld blaster which connects to his hand via the typical peg-in-palm method (although it’s slightly tricky to get his fingers positioned round the handle properly) as well as a holder for four of his various missiles which can be wielded as a separate firearm.

The blaster is really well done, with some attractive gold paint apps and some nice sculpting, and the missile holder looks surprisingly good as a weapon in its own right. If you read a lot of my reviews then you might know that I appreciate any ‘bot that can dual-wield so effectively, and MP-48 makes every use of it. Just look!

As if he wasn’t handsome enough and stacked-to-the-rafters with gimmicks already, the lad goes and takes it all the way by looking effortlessly cool with his double weaponry. It’s at this point that posing this toy goes from being a simple-to-execute affair to an all-out pleasure.

In fact just indulge me whilst I continue to post pictures of Lio Convoy looking magnificent with guns, won’t you?

I mean, C’MON.

Ahem. So anyway, yeah, he’s a bit of a looker. More than that though, he shapes up really nicely next to the likes of MP-38 Legendary Leader Convoy (which of course is the Beast Wars II version of Optimus Primal), with the two of them sharing a very similar aesthetic that makes them a terrific double act. MP-38 seemed like a bit of a random purchase at the time, but now he’s come into his own alongside MP-48.

As I mentioned in part one, it will be extremely interesting to see if TakaraTomy choose to bring us more BWII designs in Masterpiece-form in the future, but even if these two remain as all we’ll get then it’s not a bad place to be.

Another surprisingly fruitful comparison is with the recently-released Encore version of the original Big Convoy toy. Whilst not intended to slot alongside the MP line necessarily, the updated anime-accurate colour scheme on that figure goes an amazingly long way to making you think that someone behind the scenes had MP-48 in mind when it was being designed. They look quite incredible together, and should we never get a Masterpiece version of Big Convoy then this works well enough for my tastes.

In truth Big Convoy is a smidge too small (standing just a bit shorter than MP-48 at head height) but with some creative display I think you could compensate for that. Besides, the sight of the three Beast-era leaders decked out in such fine form is truly an awesome thing to behold.

MP-48 does of course also display nicely with a lot of other Beast Wars MP toys, despite the finish being quite different given how the design seeks to emulate the cel animation-style over the other characters’ CGI roots.

All in all, MP-48 does a great job at bringing a rather unique character to life. If Beast Wars II is your thing then I’m pretty sure you’ll find a lot to appreciate with this figure, but even if you have no connection to the series then I can see him working for you if you’re just a fan of awesome-looking robots.

WHAT’S HOT? The robot mode is sex-on-legs levels of hotness, whilst the beast mode is decent enough at least. The finish on the toy also looks amazing (despite needing to be handled with care) and he’s tons of fun to pose and absolutely loaded with gimmicks.

WHAT’S NOT? My copy also has a couple of notable paint chips and some paint rubbing around the joints, so he’s definitely one to be careful with. The lion mode is not as tidy or poseable as I’d like, and there are a couple of nitpicks such as how the lion mode legs sit in the robot mode to be aware of.

SHOP FOR THIS TOY AT TFSOURCE

TTFN