TFcon has become the go-to source for incredible third party Transformers reveals over recent years and this weekend’s event in Los Angeles proved to be on par with that! There were numerous new products unveiled over a range of scales and aesthetics, to the immediate delight of collectors online.
Today, we’re taking a look at those reveals to specifically cater towards the Masterpiece crowd in terms of design (give or take!) and ranking them in order of which were the most exciting (at least in my opinion anyway, no doubt you’re mileage will vary!).
Check out the full set of presentation slides over at TFW2005.
#20: Iacon 3D Labs TF-06 chest piece for Robot Paradise Acoustic Wave
A simple one this but still fun! It’s an insert piece for FansTo– er, Robot Paradise Acoustic Wave to give the chest a more cartoony vibe, including a cell-shaded effect on the screen and a 3D-sculpted Decepticon logo. Could be the finishing touch for those that like the look!
#19: Vectronlab VL-02 Metatron
In a reveal precisely no one would have anticipated, it seems a new third party company, Vectronlab are planning on releasing a Masterpiece-scaled Megatron at some point soon. Yep, that’s right, Megatron, the dude who already has an official figure to his name, not to mention countless 3PMP attempts. Seriously, remember ‘the Megatron wars’ before MP-36 was eventually revealed? Looks like these folks are on for round two. How is this one going to shape up? Time will tell, although I have to say, I don’t know if I’m convinced of the need for it yet.
#18: HTB Toys Hound VAMP
HTB Toys teased a Masterpiece-scale G.I. Joe crossover Soundwave figure a few years back (more on that below!) but this weekend was our first look at another release to go alongside it, with Hound reimagined as the classic Joe VAMP vehicle. The idea has some previous merit, having already been realised in official toy form back in 2013, although this is the first time we’ve seen a transformable version. It looks a little basic in some respects currently but still, there’s enough here to keep us intrigued for now.
#17: MB-14A Flamebreaker / MB-14B Arson
Fans Hobby’s Kap was only released recently but to little surprise, they’re back at it again with the corresponding Hosehead-esque repaint. Known as Flamebreaker, this version will use grey parts instead of white, so it’s not exactly the most startling change for anyone who owns the original but might be a tempting prospect for some.
Also recently unveiled was another repaint (and retool) of the mould, known as Arson. This figure was exclusive to TFcon and represents the late-G1 character, Pyro. The original toy’s notorious gold parts have been reinterpreted to yellow here, making for quite a jazzy colour scheme! The new head sculpt looks pretty swish though.
#16: BingoToys BT-02 Windgirl
Alright, one thing I didn’t expect to see was a 3PMP Windblade, especially as the initial BingoToys reveal from earlier in the year had somehow passed me by. It’s a character I’ve enjoyed in cartoons such as 2015’s Robots in Disguise and Cyberverse, although to my eye this appears to be a very stylised take on her IDW appearance if anything. Perhaps it’s no surprise then that similar to some other Windblade reveals in recent memory, this one seems to be catching a fair bit of debate online, most notably to do with the more anatomically-correct aspects of the robot mode.
Still, the jet mode looks kind of cool and the paint applications all seem well done so I’m sure this will find an audience, just as I’m sure others will be waiting for the day we see a more ‘classic’ 3PMP take on the character.
#15: FansToys Ultra Magnus
Like a lot of collectors, I was recently surprised to see X-Transbots provide an update on their upcoming Ultra Magnus figure, Commander Stack, if only because I’d sort of assumed the project was dead and buried after so much time. What’s even more unexpected is to then see FansToys tease their own take on the City Commander with this very blurry silhouette reveal! Presumably, both companies feel enough time has passed since MP-22 landed for them to have another crack at him. I am intrigued to see how this shakes out although given what a tour de force the official toy is, FansToys will need something very impressive to topple it.
#14: Ocular Max PS-19 Grifter
I was a bit late to the party with Ocular Max Hellion, only recently getting the Alternative version in hand. That was partly because there were other Cliffjumper options at the time but regardless, something about a Hubcap reveal makes me want to sit up and listen all the more. I think it’s the vibrant canary yellow on offer or maybe just the fact the character is so underutilised in general and I do love a good underdog. Either way, this looks lush.
#13: HTB Toys Soundwave HISS Tank
As mentioned above, HTB first shared a peek at their G.I. Joe crossover design back in 2019, and whilst we’ve still yet to see the actual product, this weekend brought a fresh bit of artwork at least. The toy promises to be in scale with the Masterpiece line and will come packaged with minifigures of G.I. Joe’s Destro and a Cobra HISS driver. As with the Hound VAMP design, this one does have some precedent already and I’m sure will capture the current excitement of such an idea following the recently-announced official Megatron HISS Tank figure. Let’s hope for more before too long.
#12: Maketoys MTRM-EX04 Skyclone
Maketoys may be the company that has had more resurrections than the character this mould originally portrayed but still, they’re back, back, back again with yet another repainted release! I was only speculating the other day about their final two Conehead retools and here we are with an expected purple version.
I’m sure to some this will be an easy one to skip over but actually, I find myself being rather up for it! After all, we’ve never had a take on Hotlink (the purple lad from the pilot episode of the original cartoon) done in either official or 3PMP form so at least we’ve broken a little bit of ground with this one. It’s also yet another sign that Maketoys is still kicking, which hopefully means we may even see more from them before too long! And besides, it looks lovely in that purple colour scheme, no?
#11: Moon Studio Radiatron
We’ve had a fairly regular dose of updates from Moon Studio on their Radiatron set, which is good considering this thing needs to go head-to-head with the official Masterpiece Raiden that’s now also on the way! Still, now several members of the team are out and a complete and final look at both the full set and the combined mode is available, it has to be said this looks to be a mighty offering overall.
I’m not quite convinced the train modes fully live up to the majesty of what we’ve seen from TakaraTomy’s efforts thus far but I am at least sure that won’t be enough to dissuade many collectors this set isn’t still a good way to go, given it also shapes up to be notably cheaper than the official version overall and it promises to be complete a lot sooner!
Perhaps the only thing giving me real pause then is the combined mode face, which doesn’t quite do it for me aesthetically. Still, overall, Radiatron appears to be a real beast on a level with stuff like Toyworld Constructor, so I’m sure I can get on board.
Be sure to check out part 2!
TTFN