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[Cyberpath]

That photo just doesn't do his face sculpt justice. This is better --

[Va'al]

It started all the way back in Diaclone, through the Transformers, and is now incarnated in plastic Masterpiece form with MP-27 - Ironhide is ready to pre-order at a number of our online retail site sponsors! Rounded up below are the listings we have received through retailers and fellow Seibertronians (Burn, carytheone among others). Take a gander below and place your orders now!

Note: Post updated as more listings become available.

Transformers Masterpiece MP-27 Ironhide - TFSource; $89.99 USD, January 2016.

Transformers Masterpiece MP-27 Ironhide - BigBadToyStore; $89.99 USD, January 2016.

Transformers Masterpiece MP-27 Ironhide - Premium Collectables; $85AUD (pre-order) / $109.95AUD (when in-stock), January 2016.

Transformers Masterpiece MP-27 Ironhide - Kapow Toys Full Price, £59.99 GBP; Deposit, £1.50 GBP.

[BumbleDouche]

So much for "Do not copy"...

[Emerje]

Big in Japan - 7,500JPY (US$63)

Emerje

[leakin' lubricant]

Pre ordered on Kapow, my Cons better get ready to get their Deceptichops busted!

[Burn]

Pre ordered on Kapow, my Cons better get ready to get their Deceptichops busted!

Well hey now, that's not exactly fair given the ratio of Autobots to Decepticons in the Masterpiece line.

[-Kanrabat-]

Big in Japan - 7,500JPY (US$63)

Emerje

Thanks for pointing out this new store for me!
AAAAANNNNNNNNDDDDD PREORDERED! 105$CAN shipped is a perfectly reasonable price for me. I imagine he would be 90$CAN+tx at TrU in a year or so at the very least, whitch would make it 103.48$CAN locally. Not bad, I say. Not bad. Still, in a year, MPs may be more expensive at TrU so we never know.

[fenrir72]

Pre ordered on Kapow, my Cons better get ready to get their Deceptichops busted!

Well hey now, that's not exactly fair given the ratio of Autobots to Decepticons in the Masterpiece line.

1 'con ususally is the equivalent of 5 Autobots in the show. Except for Optimus that is.For him, he could whoop 3 Seekers with one hand tied on his back. But really, should it be time for official Coneheads this time? Or Reflector?

[leakin' lubricant]

Pre ordered on Kapow, my Cons better get ready to get their Deceptichops busted!

Well hey now, that's not exactly fair given the ratio of Autobots to Decepticons in the Masterpiece line.

1 'con ususally is the equivalent of 5 Autobots in the show. Except for Optimus that is.For him, he could whoop 3 Seekers with one hand tied on his back. But really, should it be time for official Coneheads this time? Or Reflector?

Yeah more Con's needed, I'm sure Takara will get around to it, in the mean time 3rd Party's have got it pretty well covered.

[Doctor McGrath]

The head sculpt is what bothers me most. I'm not splitting hairs, it just doesn't look good. I could probably deal with the rest of his flaws if his head was spot on to the Ironhide head, which is really simple to draw, not sure what this was such a challenge for them to get right.

Can I ask what's not right about the head sculpt to you? It looks fine to me, and I think some of the promotional photography gives it a bit of a "stretched look," but "in hand" pics show it to be a little more proportional. The head and face look like Ironhide to me, and not like anyone else, so I'm not sure that's "wrong" with it to some.

ironhide-face-differences.jpg

It's Ironhide's face ... it's just not right! The jawline needs to be more squared off, his face is too thin, it slopes down toward his chin, instead of being a more rectangular face. This is another example of where they take the source material too seriously ... I don't think anyone would have complained about him having a silver face, but instead they gave him this oddly painted face similar to what they did with Bumblebee which dulls the details such as the facial lines. The eyes aren't big enough. The nose isn't wide enough. The bottom of the nose is too close to the upper lip. The nose is also too long. The lines along the side of his face should be very defined yet they can hardly be seen, same problem on Bumblebee's face.

If you guys can't see the many things wrong with Ironhide's face, not sure what to tell you guys. The smallest details can make the biggest differences. Masterpiece Prowl and Wheeljack set the bar ... Ironhide is a disappointment after them. It especially sucks with Ironhide because we keep hoping we'll get a great Ironhide/Ratchet toy at some point but continue to be disappointed with release after release.

Maybe some people remember it differently Ryan?

[tk7261]

Yea IH changes so much from episode to episode. Maybe everyone just has a different episode they think of when they think Ironhide. cause to me this is sculpt is way better than sideswipes head or rumbles. I would be bummed if they made any changes to it at this point. I like how it looks. Unless they really think they can get it closer.

[Sabrblade]

Guys, they don't need to use the cartoon with all its inconsistencies and animation errors as a frame of reference for designing these figures when they instead already have a consistent, error free frame of reference to draw from: The production animation models themselves.

Why is it so wrong for those of us dissatisfied with the look of this MP Ironhide to wish that it looked less like it does and more like this?

^This right here is what we want. What have wanted for 30 years! What we got is not close enough.

Yes, this is a great-looking figure. We're not saying that it's 100% awful and no good. What we're saying is that, despite how good it is, it isn't as good as we were wanting, wishing, and hoping it would be. Many of us have been wanting an MP Ironhide ever since the line became what it is, and now that we're finally getting one and see that it isn't what many of us were wanting/wishing/hoping for, we are let down and saddened by the result, regardless of how objectively well done it is.

We want MP Ironhide to look like the cartoon character we all know and love. This toy, however, looks like it took the original design of the animation model and shrunk down his chest windshield a bit, angled it from being a rectangle to a trapezoid, gave him a beer gut, enlarged his waistpiece to resembling a diaper, enlongated his face, squinted his eyes, stretched out his nose, strapped car kibble on his hips, carved out hollow sections into his back, and slapped wheels onto his butt cheeks.

With how awesomely accurate the majority of the Hasui-designed MPs were, why should we settle our satisfactions for anything less than the animation model-accurate greatness that has come before?

[shajaki]

Big in Japan - 7,500JPY (US$63)

Emerje

Beat me to it, but I'll still echo it

[huryochagi]

Maybe there will be an alternative third party rectangular chest without bumper on eBay.

[tk7261]

Oh wow, how is it so cheap from Big in Japan? Theres isn't like a second charge when it comes out is there, crazy shipping cost, or something sneaky is there?

[-Kanrabat-]

Oh wow, how is it so cheap from Big in Japan? Theres isn't like a second charge when it comes out is there, crazy shipping cost, or something sneaky is there?

Japanese figures are always cheaper from Japanese stores. I bet the other stores must compensate for an extra shipping cost when they import them to sell them. So, istead of paying a shipping quote twice, just buy from a Japanese store. Also, mane put them on sale in preorders like Amiami. I guess the strategy is to presale as much as possible as quickly as possible to guarantee a profit rather than sitting on a large inventory that sell slowly. That's why most TFs at these shops get sold out so quickly. It's a way to not lose money over leftover stock.

The lesson here is when the preorders are up, BUY NAO!

[william-james88]

Oh wow, how is it so cheap from Big in Japan? Theres isn't like a second charge when it comes out is there, crazy shipping cost, or something sneaky is there?

No hidden fees, it will come out to 80$ US shipped BBTS and TFSource are getting wise on us buying from sites like this which is why their mark up is quite minimal this time around. I think thats a really good sign.

With how awesomely accurate the majority of the Hasui-designed MPs were, why should we settle our satisfactions for anything less than the animation model-accurate greatness that has come before?

Yeah, it really shows that Hasui is no longer part of the MP line. MP Magnus wasnt that bad though right? I believe its the same team that is working on this guy. Here`s hoping MP Optimus Primal will be better.

[william-james88]

[I guess the strategy is to presale as much as possible as quickly as possible to guarantee a profit rather than sitting on a large inventory that sell slowly. That's why most TFs at these shops get sold out so quickly. It's a way to not lose money over leftover stock.

The lesson here is when the preorders are up, BUY NAO!

I dont think thats the whole strategy because the 20-30% discount at Japanese retailers (HLJ, big in Japan, Amiami, AnimeExport) never ends, even when the toy is released. You could buy Takara's Menasor or G2 bumblebee for the same discount. Thats because that MSRP is not what these toys sell at retail in Japan. We know now that these toys sell for the same US$ amount in Japan. So a deluxe is about 15-17$ and a voyager is 25$ there and here. These discounts reflect those prices. The high MSRP is only ever maintained when you buy from Takaratomymall, where you can get exclusives.

I believe that the high MSRP is there for the wholesaler importers. The rule of thumb for wholesale prices is usually about 50% of MSRP. So they make more money by increasing the MSRP for when a wholesaler imports and yet keep their locally distributed toys at a more sensible price (aka the same price that Hasbro toys sell for here) but to keep appearances (and business sense), that is instead portrayed as a perpetual discount.

[Sabrblade]

Yeah, it really shows that Hasui is no longer part of the MP line. MP Magnus wasnt that bad though right? I believe its the same team that is working on this guy. Here`s hoping MP Optimus Primal will be better.

Ironhide was designed by someone named Hisao Nishimoto. A quick Google search brings up this interview with him and Hisashi Yuki talking about DOTM Striker Optimus Prime/DOTM Leader Sentinel Prime/the Cyberverse line, and passing mentions on TFWiki of his having attended BotCon 2011/Toy Fair 2012/Toy Fair 2015. As far as can be told, it looks like Ironhide is the first MP that he's designed.

[-Kanrabat-]

I believe that the high MSRP is there for the wholesaler importers. The rule of thumb for wholesale prices is usually about 50% of MSRP. So they make more money by increasing the MSRP for when a wholesaler imports and yet keep their locally distributed toys at a more sensible price (aka the same price that Hasbro toys sell for here) but to keep appearances (and business sense), that is instead portrayed as a perpetual discount.

So, it's a fake discount then. No matter, it's still cheaper than the competition and that new store is not charging 40$ of shipping for it. Only 20$. And that's in CAN$. So, I'm all for it.

As I said, 105$CAN shipped is a very acceptable price from Big in Japan. Also, no customs because the value is less than 10000Y. Buying it from BBTS, it would ammount to 139$CAN! Add a sureshot 25$CAN in customs and it would cost me a whopping 164$CAN.

That's around 60$CAN saved just by buying from a Japanese store rather than an American one. That's around a Leader figure saved! The difference is HUGE.

[Doctor McGrath]

A statement was made that someone didn't know how the people who like this figure couldn't see what was wrong with the head. My point for the pictures was maybe the head is how we remember it based on whatever episode reference comes to mind. I certainly don't think to line art when I'm asked about a character. That was my only point Sabrblade.

[Burn]

Pre ordered on Kapow, my Cons better get ready to get their Deceptichops busted!

Well hey now, that's not exactly fair given the ratio of Autobots to Decepticons in the Masterpiece line.

1 'con ususally is the equivalent of 5 Autobots in the show. Except for Optimus that is.For him, he could whoop 3 Seekers with one hand tied on his back. But really, should it be time for official Coneheads this time? Or Reflector?

I'm surprised we haven't seen Thrust, Ramjet and Dirge yet. They've settled into a regular release of new figures so the designers have a regular gig, but surely if they wanted to get a couple more figures out with very little effort required they could just do the Coneheads.

[-Kanrabat-]

Pre ordered on Kapow, my Cons better get ready to get their Deceptichops busted!

Well hey now, that's not exactly fair given the ratio of Autobots to Decepticons in the Masterpiece line.

1 'con ususally is the equivalent of 5 Autobots in the show. Except for Optimus that is.For him, he could whoop 3 Seekers with one hand tied on his back. But really, should it be time for official Coneheads this time? Or Reflector?

I'm surprised we haven't seen Thrust, Ramjet and Dirge yet. They've settled into a regular release of new figures so the designers have a regular gig, but surely if they wanted to get a couple more figures out with very little effort required they could just do the Coneheads.

I'm really curious how they will integrate the cone part of the head with the MP-11 mold?

[Burn]

Pre ordered on Kapow, my Cons better get ready to get their Deceptichops busted!

Well hey now, that's not exactly fair given the ratio of Autobots to Decepticons in the Masterpiece line.

1 'con ususally is the equivalent of 5 Autobots in the show. Except for Optimus that is.For him, he could whoop 3 Seekers with one hand tied on his back. But really, should it be time for official Coneheads this time? Or Reflector?

I'm surprised we haven't seen Thrust, Ramjet and Dirge yet. They've settled into a regular release of new figures so the designers have a regular gig, but surely if they wanted to get a couple more figures out with very little effort required they could just do the Coneheads.

I'm really curious how they will integrate the cone part of the head with the MP-11 mold?

All they really need to redesign is the head/cone, the wings and weapons. Probably the sort of thing they could be doodling about during lunch.

Now come on HLJ, where's your pre-order for Ironhide? Everyone else has beaten you to the punch.

[Cyberpath]

I'm surprised we haven't seen Thrust, Ramjet and Dirge yet. They've settled into a regular release of new figures so the designers have a regular gig, but surely if they wanted to get a couple more figures out with very little effort required they could just do the Coneheads.

They're just now getting to Skywarp..

Maybe Takara doesn't want to overdo it with the jets. (Though they did release five versions of the "Datsun Z" mold, but then again at 13,000 yens the jets are much more expensive..)