Apparently there’s a stand I missed. Disregard that from the criticisms. Overall view is the same. Enjoy your Sunday.

“Jesus take the wheel!” @21:40 LOL

It’s a breath of fresh air to have someone give a straight up honest review. No beating around the bush. New sub.

The mess in truck mode and the backpack in bot mode really kill it for me. I waited until all were out, ms, te, mp44, and I chose te-01.

We forget that MP-10 was $299 when imported at US MSRP. It wasn't until the Hasbro release when it was sub $200. I own this figure and am perfectly happy with it. Glad to see someone having an honest take on what value is vs worth.

DAMNIT Bubbeh.! Just when I was about fall asleep. This should be interesting. EDIT: The funny part to me is Bubbeh had to transform it to Vehicle mode to ship it back to the owner lol.

Final thoughts; You Do recommend this product but you cannot Justify the price tag. I completely agree.

I paid $320 but didn't get my 20% off Arby's voucher. Not going to complain :D As for the price. Considering MP10 sells for $150 a $175 price tag would only be $25 more than that for all the additional paint, accessories, hardware, articulation etc. I'd rather have paid $175, believe me and I do think $450 is crazy but I'd say a good price would be more around $250 than $175. $100 more than MP-10

What a reasonably grounded review this is.

Definitely origami Prime. It so hard to compare to the venerable Mp10 which has been our standard for so long it's ingrained as "our Prime".

That hunchback makes this a complete no-deal.

I think the reason that MP44 looks better than MS is because of three things. 1. Shape of the parts are tapered on MP44 vs blocks on Magic Square. This is much more toon accurate. 2. The overall proportions are more accurate. 3. The figure is fully painted. Ton achieve these three things increases the cost exponentially. Look at MP44 in truck vs bot mode. There are barely any parts that are visible in one mode to the other. This increases the parts counts dramatically. This has to happen because you can’t put together tapered parts cleanly, so the figure needs to invert itself. The engineering is quite amazing. So in regards to cost, I understand why this cost so much. However, maybe that’s not what the consumer is looking for.

It's an amazing figure and piece of toy-engineering, but what drew me to the Masterpiece line was the realistic/licenced alt-forms and the robot forms with just enough detail to make it believable while still being show-accurate and this 'toy' is really leaning against those borders. And that price, whoo! And I was waiting for MP-10 to drop below 100, because I want to actually play with my Transformers without fear of breaking a small fortune. At MP-44's price I expected a 18 karat gold matrix and an MP Elita-One, not an over-engineered and undersized MP-01 with a big gray box.

I agree, so glad i didnt buy him. He is super poseable, but to make that happen i feel he lacks in the looks department, his back is a mess, his shoulders are messy. Not worth 450 to me, i rather buy terminus giganticus for that money

Appreciate you keeping the same energy on cost. Despite admitting its the best Prime, hats off to you for your non recommendation. Takara definitely keeps their hands in fans' pockets.

Nice review. I've always liked the bulkiness of Magic Squares's Prime. I agree Takara's the best out there but I'm satisfied with MS01. All the Primes have their flaws but for the price, this guy should be almost PERFECT. 👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾

I been waiting for this review,it's a beautiful piece,not to sound cheap but I can't do the price for this,I'm still good with the M.P 10,thanks for the review.

I have many official MPs, and I would much rather spend money on the official product, but this is just asking too much. If I paid $450 for it, I wouldn't be able to enjoy it as part of my collection, it would always have a stigma attached to it. I would just look at it sitting there in my display case mocking me, like hearing a heartbeat under the floorboards. I might consider buying a KO of this at some point. The guilt I would feel from spending $450 on a somewhat unneccessary prime is much greater than the guilt I would feel from buying a KO.

Thanks very much for this review Bobby, and yes, it is not worth $450, that is why I am going for the TE with the g1 style head.

The clear adapter is for the Dinobot stand . You can also use the armature from the repair drone as another stand .

This is the first honest review of this figure I’ve seen (I’ve watched a lot of these and can’t get over the insanely complicated transformation and price point). So thank you for actually having an honest opinion & speaking the truth. It’s refreshing.

Thanks for reviewing this! I’ve been looking forward to this review for quite a while! You could say... I would’ve waited an eternity for this.

Here's the thing...options options options, everyone to their own taste and budget. There is no wrong answer, just the answer that is for you. Even if I don't care for a certain aesthetic, I can appreciate the time spent in the production of a product and ones happiness with their purchase of said product. There are way too many stresses in life and reliving and enjoying ones childhood shouldn't be one of them, marred by people who can't appreciate anything. So transform and roll out into the sunset with whichever Optimus Prime you have.

Ok, got my coffee. Time to settle in on the review I was waiting for.

If you break the antenna on the “NEVER!” Head then it will look even better!

I knew Bobby’s verdict the fact that he got a loner. Price tag is a precedent I’m not willing to support. It also influences 3rd party to raise their prices (which they are)

You forgot the first step of the transformation sequence. Pour yourself a shot and buckle up.

Wait, there was an Arby's coupon that I missed? As a portly, nerdy gentleman, I would love to transform him while eating a beef and cheddar sandwich. The yellow cheddar sauce and red catalina sauce that he would be covered in would compliment his already beautiful color palette. Well, off to Arby's I go.....

I'm glad that in spite of knowing, that you're going to ruffle some feathers, that you still keep your reviews, honest, real and are not afraid to share your opinion, even though so many seem to not be able to handle it. Great review man and although long, for what this is and all that comes with it, was necessary to give this figure accurate and thorough coverage.

37:55 isn't the display stand the thing from the repair bay? You can take out that top portion and it will have a notch to put Optimus on to do a flying pose with that jet pack.

Never been this excited for a Skullface video before

Great review as always. I feel just like you do except I do not feel like he is the best prime out there. I still like MP-10 as my prime. The nice thing about MP-10 is that he is a nope e combo of toon and toy and...he transforms much like the cartoon transformation. You could do stop motion transformation of MP-10 and almost mimic G1 cartoon transformation. MP-44 looks nothing like this. I also feel like new prime looks scrawny next to Megatron 2.0, with MP-10 looking a better strength match. New does have better articulation but overall not worth the upgrade to me.

Well done on understanding perpendicular and parallel. You’re probably the only person who gets that right. Fair objective review

People have probably already said this, but I'm too lazy to scroll through the comments. The reason the truck mode was so mangled in the front, and didn't stay together the best, is because the hands were improperly oriented. In truck mode you want the back of the hand in it's entirety to be visible with the side pealed off

interesting final thoughts and great review, you presented this figure really well

I was hesitant about getting MP-10, and then didn't bother when I heard about MP-44. Glad that I waited. One of my favourites in my collection.

Everything you pointed out, the pros and cons....spot on! And your final thoughts on that price tag, yuuuuup (Y) Great review! Cheers.

"...and now the trailer can take off." that's so funny to me. haha

Thank you!! I didn't know about the ab-crunch that connects to the whole lower hip! I thought we had to disconnect it from the front! My man!! Keep up the great work!

He makes MP Megatron's transformation look like a walk in the park.

People will probably hate you now with saying he trashes the TE. Can’t wait for the salt. Edit: I like all 3 by the way but the defense force is ridiculous. Really nice review overall though. The one I waited for the most.

Takara: EXECUTE ORDER MP-44!

Great review. I always appreciate honesty.

Thanks Bobby S for the in-depth review!

DEM DEES NUUUTS. & now I wait for the KO(s) to come out with the fixes & extras. thank u for putting this one out

I finally transformed him! Your vid helped out massively...thanks!

Finally! Great review sir. I hope your day gets better. 🙏

Agree on 175 too. The best yet for the price im sticking to TE01. Great comprehensive review

Next to MS-01, MP-44 looks like he's constantly sucking in his belly for the photo to look like he's really in shape.

Nice review, hope your day gets better!

Have a better day today, Skully!

Takara SEEKERS V3! U blew my mind!

Yeesh, that transformation… at this point I'm considering just having a non-transformable robot and a really cool truck to display together.

🐸 very honest review Bobby I really enjoyed it . 👍

This review reinforces my opinion that I made the right choice getting the Magic Square Optimus. Still the best Prime on the market, in my opinion.

great review thanks for ur input

I totally agree with you Bobby Skullface I think he's beautiful but nowhere near worth the price tag they are asking for AMAZING REVIEW AS ALWAYS KEEP UP THE AMAZING WORK

Great review once again. The paint and engineering looks pretty great (though that seems to ask for more consistent QC than they have seemingly been willing to spend, as knee issues, and some out of the box paint issues testify), he's poses great, and the accessoires are mostly very well done, and quite extensive. Though the end result is looking quite panel heavy for my liking, the transformation is quite clever here and there and less of a struggle than I expected. If that's what I'd want, yes, it would be a lot of money, but will probably might make quite a few people very happy to have. For me personally, the result is a lot of effort for something that seems different from what I want.

Wait, there was a 20% coupon for Arby's? DAMNIT! For the most important character in the franchise? I had to splurge. It's gorgeous and fun to pose. Any other character, no way. And not at the $400+ point - $300 was my "no more" point before I knew the price, but I couldn't pass for another $25.

Great review. It's nice that there are a few Primes to pick from. TE-01 looks great on my shelf, almost as cartoon accurate and good build quality for a nice price. Personally, I can't get past 44's panels and gaps but maybe that's the trade of for superior articulation.

Great review Bobby

Easily one of your best reviews to date! My breakdown of the value for me and me alone. Figure alone(with gun, axe and matrix) but no other accessories and no voice clips) = $225. Trailer(including anti aircraft gun) = $25 Roller = $15 Mini figs = $15 Other accessories = $75 Sound Clips = $50 Total value = $405

Totally agree with you there, i truly love the alt mode and i adore the bot mode, but to me Prime has been done out the wazoo too many times for me to really care for something that costs this much. That transformation to me is not using the animation model transformation scheme and i dont think thats something i would like to sacrifice, and as a collector i dont think that the transformation should feel like a chore. Megatron gets a pass cause his alt mode is kinda useless alone and that he always flew when needing transport, so him being panely thats just something i wont see often. Thats why i got myself a P38 airgun and painted it as Megatron if i ever wanted to shoot something

Thanks as always. Love the review(s), love my MP44. Might have it buried with me when my number’s up.

I know you are going to get a shiz ton of comments about the stand but I agree with you completely. They added the part for the Dinobot stand but no stand.... Beast Wars Meatron same thing... at these prices they should include the stand. I mean it even looks like they where built to be added together. Anyways.... I couldn't agree more with this review and your final opinions. Its beautiful but not 600+ beautiful... that's the price north of the boarder. I hope your day got better and thanks for taking the time to put this out.

Can't believe people still complain after all this detail and accuracy. That's mankind for you. Never satisfied

I appreciate your view. I spent the money on it because when I seen it first in hand I had to have it. Fortunately I can afford it and it is worth it to me, but I understand why it would not be to another collector especially when funds may be tighter! Awesome fair review! FYI I want you to know I look forward to sit down Saturday every week! I appreciate al of your insight!

Respect your view Bobby, but in my opinion TE01 with the new head is the best looking prime G1 representation of prime. And that is without bringing price into it.

Hey, it's a give and take. I enjoy the extras and the fact that you can actually put spike and co inside the cab, however outside of how cleaned he looks in bot mode. It looks like hell getting him there, and it looks like he doesn't stay pegged in vehicle mode. And for $400 plus that should not be an issue

Thank you, great video as always. For me if money is not an issue, I would've bought it.

As soon as you showed mp-44 with magic square and then Megatron and said mp-44 is more mature in terms of proportions, a better thing, that it’s more sophisticated, that it’s the best Optimus prime on the market bar none, however you prefer the chunkiness of the magic square, I said to myself even though I’ve watched like 4-6 other reviews- that’s why I wanna see your review. Thanks for your no holds barred opinion and a great review. Damn that magic square does look beefy and heroic, at least I have a good starscream head for my maketoys meteor 😜

This is the definitive optimus prime no doubt its perfect...

Great review as always. I’m curious though why the Transform Element isn’t higher on your list though. It has the same aesthetic in many ways as MP-44 with the presence of the magic square. Plus the alt mode is the best of the lot for cartoon accuracy (IMO). Granted, I didn’t like the TE at first either, but now that it has that new head it’s just outstanding. Give it a second look if you haven’t with the new head yet.

Hey I've been ur sub for quite a while and have enjoyed all ur reviews, esp the inserted scene with ur family XD. btw the blue pod can be detached from the black tower and it actually becomes a stand that attaches to the groove on his back, but the instructions left it out, only the box art at the back shows it. So now he can be displayed with his jetpack on. Keep up the reviews and the Sit down Sat!

Solid review. It's beautiful and impressive, but absolutely not worth the price tag.

TE-01 for me for alt and robot mode but I’ll wait for FT to do their version until then MP10 is fine

Thanks for your thorough view as always, I definitely agree this is the Definitive toon mp prime, but I think for my money I will go with Magic Square thanks.

Can't wait to have my first Optimus Prime Masterpiece.👍

Man, I really need to think this thru now. I literally have until TFCon to make up my mind! This is the first time, being in this fandom, that I've had to actually rethink this purchase. Dammit, LOL! Nonetheless, this was a great review Bobby!

Agree 100% I definitely would have purchased this for $175-200. Until that changes, I'll be fine with MP10 or pickup a used or on sale TE-01.

I agree with you 100%. That price point is the turn off. But on the same hand, it's the best Prime out there.

Great review Bobby! I do like this figure, best Prime to date, but Takara needs to drop the price, i am not spending 400-450 on this.

"Bought'n". I've said that before too! 😂

I complete agree with it not being worth $450. A Takara masterpiece at this price should be absolutely flawless, and this one has quite a few cartoon inaccuracies. Unfortunately, you have some followers on here that think the price tag is something to brag about and just goes to show that they are not real TF fans, at all. However, as far as Te-01 and MP-44, TE-01 is the more cartoon accurate of the two. If thats all you're going to be concerned about, then TE is the right choice. The backpack of TE is far more cartoon accurate. Yes Prime has a bit a of backpack, but all you have to do is go back and watch any episode and you will see that even with the transformation, TE was able to practically copy the cartoon version perfectly both in size and style and design. The feet of MP-44 look as though he is standing on his toes at all times or that he is in heels. Cartoon Prime's feet go all the way to the ground, all the way around like big rectangle blocks. All of the panel gaps in the legs as well as too much red showing in the legs is a big mistake and is not up to par with the price tag. TE does not have any of these issues with the legs. The only thing keeping it from being 100% cartoon accurate in the legs would the slider pin seen on the sides. The matrix chamber in TE is so accurate that it looks like it was pulled straight from Prime's death scene from the 86 movie. MP-44's matrix chamber makes a good attempt but falls short and looks like a Dollar General knock off. This is unacceptable of a $450 Takara masterpiece. The only inaccuracies that I can see with TE-01 that keeps it from being the perfect Optimus Prime masterpiece figure, is that the grill in truck mode is split into 3 sections when the cartoon version just has two with a divide right down the center. MP-44 is the first masterpiece Prime that I have seen that does this successfully. The next issue with TE-01 is that its missing Prime's "blue thong" in the back, Instead you just get the truck mode bumper. MP-44 also does this successfully. And lastly, MP-44 does another thing that previous versions as well as TE-01 missed, the yellow indicator lights in the bumper in truck mode. The cartoon version of Prime has these two little triangle yellow indicator lights on the bumper under the headlights. No other figure has been able to match this. With that being said, MP-44 does hit some small points that TE-01 does not as far as just the aesthetics of a cartoon accurate Optimus Prime, these points do not help it surpass TE-01 as the more cartoon accurate of the two. The robot mode as well as the truck mode just screams G1 cartoon Optimus Prime whereas MP-44 is close, but not close enough. And thats even before you consider the price tag difference. I do not care if its official or a KO or a 3rd party. My collection goes solely for aesthetics of cartoon accuracy. That is just my preference.

Thanks for the review! really enjoyed it. I have MS, MP10 and TE, I think I'm OK for MP Primes for now. Unless it comes out without accessories and seriously cheaper that is, then I may be convinced. :)

Man your absolutely right about everything you said about the mp-44, the price point is definitely way too high, you can buy a 🚗 from Gettysburg PA, auto auction and have it driving for what they want for this, but hey if you’re ballin and think 🤔 it’s worth it do you big daddy. Anyway loved the review and just wanted to let you know how I felt on this issue too because I’m between a rock and hard place about MP-44, love it!, want it!, but it’s not worth the money 💵 they asking for it. At least to me...

I like it some more adjustments can be made. Wait for version 4.

Good review as always, I bought one and agree it is somewhat over priced however as you also said it is the definitive version of Prime out on the market

8:57 "Ion Blaster" that is. :)

Also agree with your overall assessment. Looks amazing, but I will not pay that much for it. Great video!

Great review Bobby I'm totally agree with you it's great a figure they kill it .. I can't see my self paying that price .he cost more than a combiner set ..

great video brother i hope you have a great day take care

27:50 - You have to raise the roof first to unlock the butterfly joints. 28:17 - You should untab the cab/crotch hook to free up room to lower the grill chunk rather than force those tabs out of it like the instructions say. 29:10 - The bumper chunk is a lot easier to lock into place after everything else and it keeps it out of the way. 29:45 - No rubbing required if you un-butterfly the shoulders first. Also, there is a tab that needs to be engaged. It is at the rear of those wheel chunks and they tab into the roof panels. This is my method: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/r7ypqMqSqNPYhn0.html

Man wish mine came in looking as good as this one. Paint was chipped heavily out of the box, chrome was flaking on the chest and bumper, both the knees were non functional out of the box, the voice box wasn’t wired properly so it didn’t work at all with fresh batteries, and it even had large pieces of the skirt armor broken off. And this looks like they broke in factory because they’re painted over. I agree with you on the point that this is the best looking Prime out there, but the fact that myself and a large portion of others have had so many issues shows me that the quality isn’t there. And quite honestly, given the numerous and widespread issues that this release has had, I’m considering canceling all my Takara preorders and just going 3rd party. I got rid of my MP-44 and will be purchasing MS’s Prime. He has his issues, but at least the quality control appears to be better than Takara. I just don’t feel that I should have to play Russian Roulette with these official figures while paying an overinflated price point.

I am more hyped for the ko to come out

If you pull the turret off of the blue base part, that ratcheted armature can act as a flight stand. So technically it does in fact come with a display base

While certainly overpriced, it's the best rendition of G1 cartoon Optimus Prime, complete with play-ability and soundbox (it contains clips by Peter Cullen!).

Great review Bobby. Thought you were gonna hate this prime .I love mine and everything that came with it...it's a bit over priced but worth the fun and looks

Totally agree price point is too high we need the price lower, hopefully at least one ko version comes out!

The engineering on these is amazing, since the animated versions were never thought through to transform. There's a ton of animation magic going on, hence the extremely complicated transformation and engineering. Never thought i'd see Transformer toys ever be able to pull off accurate alt and bot modes. Amazing. But I never transform these since it takes about an hour. The Macross Valkyrie designs are more playable because they were designed to transform simply, not being real world jets. But damn, these Masterpiece G1s are hot.