Thursday 25 December 2014

Comparison review for MP-21 and Toyworld BII ( TW-03)





        Well hello again Transformers fans, today will be the first time I'm doing a comparison review for any figure and they are Masterpiece MP-21 Bumblebee and Toyworld's version of not Bumblebee. I think this two are very great figures and they have their own pros and cons. Both of them scale very well with the other Masterpiece series and both closely resembles G1 Bumblebee.

        In G1 cartoon, Bumblebee was one of the most popular character in the series made even popular by Micheal Bay in the Transformers movies where he became a "Bayformers" Bumblebee is one of the original crew members of the Ark. Though he is one of the smallest Autobots and weakest Autobot, he does not lack courage. He will go head to head with any Decepticons any given day. His size makes him an excellent scout and that is usually his primary function. He was later upgraded in season 3 into Goldbug. ( Probably the Quintessons take pity of his old Volkswagen Beetle form lol ).


Here are some pics I've took from the net.



G1 Bumblebee.


A good friend of Spike. 


"Watch out! Decepticons!"


A picture of Goldbug. Looks better? I think so.


Goldbug is also a member of the Trottlebots.


And then in the movie he became this......... no comments. Not going to start a Transformers Fans war here.... lol



And here we can see MP-21 Bumblee's box.
Design is the same as the rest of the MP cars, with a nice Volkswagen logo and he does come together with spike in his Exo-suit.


Back view of the box.


He does comes with instruction manual, collector's card,  rear view mirror. 
Some other MP-21 does comes with MP-21 exclusive coin and battle mask, sadly, mine does not.
Not a big deal, but feels like something's missing.


Here we have his collector's card.


Here we have some stats, I do agree that Bumblebee's fire power is 1 and strength is 2.


Here is MP-21 out of the box. Spike covers more space than Bumblebee, lol. He also comes with his blaster, changeable face and a spare tyre. ( not sure the importance, but will take it anyway) 


Here we have Toyworld's version of not bumblebee. We can see BII through the transparent plastic, holding his gun. Good thing about packaging like this is that we can see the condition of the toy. What you see is what you get. Other that that Toyworld's BII does not come with any other accessory other than his instruction manual and collector's card.


Side and back of the packaging.


He does have a collector's card. 


The stats are just random I guess. Firepower 6/10?


He also has his instruction manual, but it's a very poorly done instruction manual in my opinion.
Not very helpful. 


A quick review for spike in his Exo-suit.
Well he does look OK as a whole, colors are nicely done, good paint job. Articulations are limited, both his hands pop off quite easily and can be a nuisance.


Side view.


Back view.


Well, again, I don't understand why Takara can't draw a face for their human figures...... such a let down. I mean they have already did an exo-suit for him which can transform, but they cannot draw a decent face for spike. Seems like Dr. Wu is already on the case and will be producing a spike head with a face from some information that I gather from the internet.


Spike's exo-suit can transform similar to Transformers The Movie when Daniel transform it for the first time on screen.


Front view.


Side view.


Back view.


Top view.


Here we can see him side by side with Bumblebee.




Abduction can be perform till 180 degrees.


He has a hinge shoulder connected to a ball joint elbow




His hands can be flip over to suit different poses.


His hip flexion is limited, about 45 degrees.


He can do a hyper-extension of his knee as it is part of his transformation.


Limited elbow flexion about 40 degrees


Hip abduction allows him to do a perfect split.


Here we can see him with MP-10's Spike figure. I think it is a little bigger than it should be.


Anyway, back to our Bumblebee figure review, here are the 2 Bumblebee figures in their alternate mode. Both are trying to resemble Volkswagen Beetle. Here is a picture I got from the net. 













From what I see so far, Masterpiece Bumblebee resembles the original Volkswagen Beetle more as a whole, whereas BII is a more cartoon like Volkswagen beetle. BII 's anterior part of his alternate mode better resembles the original Beetle. I prefer the way BII stores his other robot parts under his alternate mode. Windows, tyres and car size ration is better in MP. But MP's beetle is a little bit elongated than it should be. Both have their pros and cons, in the end, I guess it is up to personal preferrence.


Bellow are some more pictures for you to compare both of them side by side with other MP cars.























Here we have MP-21 Bumblebee in robot mode. As a whole, he looks really good. Good body, head and limbs ratio. Hands and legs look a little skinny, just slightly. Paint job for mine is excellent, no paint blemishes. He is a more darker yellow if you compare with BII. His windows are more realistic, a slightly transparent dark blue. 


Side view looks ok, but his back-pack looks slightly bigger than it should.


Back view looks nice and clean.


Face design looks nice here no complains. He does not have any light-pipping. This is his neutral face.


This is his smiling face. I prefer this face then the original. 


There is a black plastic on his back which can be detach to put on his spare Tyre, also applicable in his alternate mode. Not really sure about the significance, so I don't think I'll put on the spare tyres in either mode.




Attached spare tyres.


Here we can see BII in his robot mode. He looks slightly more bulky that MP Bumblebee. Not bad as a whole. The windshield on his chest would be more G1 accurate if it was the other way around, but not a very big issue. Paint job is excellent as well. He has a lighter tinge of yellow color, and his windshield are blue in color. 


Side view looks ok, he also has a back pack, but a smaller one compare to MP Bumblebee.


Back view looks nice and clean too.


Head scalp is not too bad, but MP Bumblebee resembles G1 more in this case.


The advantage that BII has is that he has light-pipping while the MP Bumblebee does not. 


Here they are side by side. Which one do you prefer?
Transformation for MP in either mode is quite enjoyable but transforming BII from robot to alternate mode is quite a nightmare as he has a poorer plastic quality than MP, and a lot of fiddling and patience is required as some parts snap off quite easily if you push too hard, and with too little force, you cannot align the parts together nicely. 


To make it fair, I've included an Autobot symbol for BII.


He can do a full 360 head rotation.


Head tilting is almost similar. In this matter, MP bumblebee has a more stable head whereas BII's head sometimes drop down on its own on certain angles.


Both Bumblebee can abduction their shoulder till 90 degrees.


Both of them have a 360 degrees shoulder rotation.


Elbow rotation and internal rotation as also almost similar.


MP Bumblebee has very sturdy joints as a whole. BII has very tight ratchet joints at his elbow and knees but shoulder joints are a little loose and his ankle joint is not stable.


Here we can see one of the flaws on MP bumblebee. His forearm has a hollow part which I don't like as he is a MP figure. Wish they would make it more like MP-12's transformation. BII however, has a solid forearm.


Also due to this transformation, MP bumblebee is unable to rotate his fist. Both do not have finger articulations. 


Both can perform a full 360 degrees rotation at their hip.


Back of their foot looks ok, but BII has stress marks on it.


Here we can see BII's ankle joint is joint by a small grey plastic on the anterior side.


As for MP Bumblebee, he has sturdy leg and ankle joints.


Back view for both their heads. Here we can see the transparent light blue plastic at the back of Bii's head.


Both can do the perfect split.


Anterior split as well.


They roughly have the same idea for their foot transformation, but MP's wheels are better hidden.


Both can flex their knees to about 90 degrees.


BII has more tilting on his foot compare to MP.


Some rotations over the thigh.

Stability as a whole goes to MP, but BII can perform MP Bumblebee's poses as well , but requires more patience to pose him.


BII wins in the side to side ankle tilt 




 Next we move on to their weapons. Both of them look good in their own way, but BII's weapon has more details on them, but his gun can be unstable and swings around, as it can be transformed to become BII's exhaust. MP Bumblebee's weapon is painted blue with a black handle.



Some poses for both of them.







One shall stand, one shall fall.


Here we have some side comparison with other transformers.
Here they are with Frenzy.


Here they are with Quadruple U.


Rovelver core.


And Prime.


Prime:"No matter where you were constructed, or what tinge of yellow you are it does not matter. You both have the same right to be on this good earth. you are both Autobots to me and I welcome you with open arms. Do not fight to the end to see who is the better Bumblebee as freedom is the right of all sentinel beings."









As a summary: ( just my own opinion, in the end, it all comes down to personal preference )
Box design: Tie
Instruction manual: MP
Body ratio, head and limbs ratio: Toyworld
G1 accuracy alternate mode: MP
G1 accuracy robot: Tie
G1 color accuracy: Toyworld
Paint quality: MP
Plastic quality: MP
Articulation: Tie
Stability: MP
Price: Toyworld
Transformation: MP

Masterpiece Bumblebee: 
Pros: Better quality plastic and paint. Better stability. More accessories. Scale well with other MP series.

Cons: NO light-pipping, hollow forearm, no wrist rotation. Slightly more expensive. 

Toyworld BII:
Pros: Cheaper, more accurate tone of yellow. Good body to limbs ratio. Has light-pipping. Scale with other MP series.

Cons: Weak ankle joints, tend to fall backwards, annoying transformation from robot to alternate mode.





Thank you for reading.