MP-12

      Hello again, I know its kind of late to do MP-12, Lambor aka Sideswipe's review, but I'll proceed anyway, what the heck, lol. He is one of my favorite  character in the G1 series as he looks cool in both alternate mode and robot mode, and he has a shoulder canon! Kind of sad to see thet Optimus had to rely on minibots to fight by his side when I was little, I always ask myself why does he even bring them to battle, they are suppose to be scouts right? At least bring sideswipe along as he has a shoulder canon for crying out loud! ( 8 year old venting ).

      Anyway, Takara did a very good job for this masterpiece sideswipe and he looks as if he jump right out of the T.V into my hands! He is that accurate! His vehicle mode looks awesome! and very accurate with the Lamborghini  Countach. It was the coolest supercar during that time time. Manufactured by Italian automakers from 1974-1990. 

      His robot mode is also accurate with the G1 cartoon and I really really love their design. Articulation is much better improved compare to generation 1 toy. Body, limbs and head ratio is top notch and he is designed to be the same scale as the other masterpiece characters. ( Same story with MP-4 to MP-10 ).

Here are some pictures I've taken from the net...... Lamborghini  Countach!

Generation 1 cartoon Sideswipe. I think the cartoon version is quite accurate to the real thing.

and here we have Sideswipe in the G1 cartoon. 

He comes in a nice small box, slightly smaller than I anticipated, but still ok. It has some character introduction and transformation guide. Has a nice collecter's card and he comes together with a set of pile drivers, a gun and a shoulder canon.  It is even licensed by  Lamborghini, how cool is that! 

The accuracy and detail in vehicle mode with a real Lamborghini Countach is amazing! Just wish the doors can be open like the one in real life ;)

He does not have rubber tires, but its not a big deal. The plastic ones roll around just fine.

Both his shoulder canon and gun can be attach to the top of the vehicle mode

You can choose to have 1 or both his weapons on top of his alternate mode

Transformation can be kind of tricky the 1st time, but will be easier once you get the hang of it. His shoulder canon can be attach to either side of his shoulders. In the cartoon, its on his left shoulder, ut in the end, it all comes down to personal preference. As you can see, there is no extra bits hanging out after transformation. It looks clean and sleek. Looks more, humanoid, lol. Very accurate figure. 100% loving it! Lives up to the Masterpiece name.

Side view.

Back view.

His face sculpture looks very very nice and accurate, and the details they put into this figure is just phenomenal. Though he does not have any light-piping, he still looks awesome.

His shoulder canon have some degree of up and down tilting. 

and yes, it can be fitted in either shoulder.

His head can tilt up minimally and he can also look down slightly.

Head rotation is basically 360 degrees.

His shoulders rotate around 360 degrees.

Full aduction.

Biceps swivel and elbow flexion.

He does not have articulation in all his fingers, instead, his 4 fingers moves as 1 unit, and his thumb is fixed.

He has 360 degree waist rotation.

Full hip extension. You will have to lift up his crotch piece to fully extend his hip.

Knee flexion.

All the way back.

He can perform a perfect split.

Some thigh internal rotation.

 You can basically filp his whole foot around, as it is part of his transformation.

The back part of his foot can also be manipulated which allows him to stand on uneven terrain.

A quick look at the G1 counterpart. 20 years of evolution. But for a 1984 toy, he already looks awesome!

He fits nicely in to MP-10 Optimus's trailer even with his weapons attach.

Prepare for battle!!!

Size ratio with MP-10

He does kick @$$!!!

Pile drivers fit nicely into his hands once you fold the fist back

Get ready to rumble!

I'm fortunate enough to get the Amazon exclusive pile drivers and love the shiny chrome.

Bring it on Decepticons!

Some nice drawings of sideswipe with his bro Sunstreaker.

As a summary, I think MP-12 is a very nice and by far the best sideswipe figure in the market currently, in both vehicle mode and robot mode. If you are a sideswipe or generation 1 transformers fan, you wont hesitate to buy this figure. Price range for this figure currently is about USD 90-110. 

There is another release called " MP Tigertracks" which is basically the same mold, but different colouring. Not sure if its suppose to be Sunstreaker, but to me, he is not. lol. If you really have the extra cash, you can go grab one. For me, its a no. (unless I earn 10,000-20,000 per month haha! )

The box is grey in colour and is slightly cheaper then MP-12. 

Takara also recently release a G2 Sideswipe, also the same mold, but different colour scheme, guns and shoulder weapons. Priced at USD 80 now for pre-order. Nice collectible ( Again, if you hae the extra cash)

But for people like me that goes for originality, i'll go for MP-12. Saving up for other G1 accurate MP  

Thank you again for reading. Hope you enjoy it. TTFN