Official Stock Photos for MP-46 Masterpiece Blackwidow (Blackarachnia) from Takara Tomy Mall
Tuesday, May 14th, 2019 1:15PM CDT
Category: Toy NewsPosted by: Wolfman Jake Views: 22,862
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What do these latest images make you think of the latest Masterpiece offering for the Beast Wars series of Transformers history? Have the new pictures of a seemingly more correctly transformed beast mode changed your mind on the overall quality of the figure? Let us know in the comments below, and stay tuned to Seibertron.com for the latest news on all things Transformers!
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Posted by Ironhidensh on May 14th, 2019 @ 1:16pm CDT
Posted by Malicron on May 14th, 2019 @ 1:22pm CDT
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on May 14th, 2019 @ 1:28pm CDT
Malicron wrote:Man, they really didn't try at all when it came to the beast mode, did they?
Indeed. So much for thinking there was mistransformation with the previous images
Posted by william-james88 on May 14th, 2019 @ 1:38pm CDT
AllNewSuperRobot wrote:Malicron wrote:Man, they really didn't try at all when it came to the beast mode, did they?
Indeed. So much for thinking there was mistransformation with the previous images
There was some mistransformation, but as I wrote, it was never gonna be enough to change people's minds over paying $130-$150 for this.
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on May 14th, 2019 @ 1:42pm CDT
Posted by Sabrblade on May 14th, 2019 @ 1:51pm CDT
Posted by william-james88 on May 14th, 2019 @ 1:53pm CDT
AllNewSuperRobot wrote: If they could achieve that way back in 1996/7/8, it is unacceptable to leave most of her gold legs visible on what should be a solid black abdomen.
I am with you on the dissapointment and I know where you are coming from but I do take issue with the text I bolded. It's apple and oranges because the toys came first back then. So of course it was fine. But then the character designer based her model on a stripper and made the character look nothing like the toy.
Now, we are basing the toy on the show model, which we can all agree is a rather peculiar one.
The better comparison, if you want to make one would be how different the toy looks to the show model between then and now. This toy is inifitely better in that respect.
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on May 14th, 2019 @ 1:53pm CDT
Sabrblade wrote:Thing is, Blackarachnia didn't have any backpack in the show. Her back was lean and skinny.
So was Dinobot's. I was specifically talking about the mini backpack on the MP figure. The numerous mini panels that Megatron's backpack stores, show that they have the know-how to do it, but chose not to.
Posted by Sabrblade on May 14th, 2019 @ 1:56pm CDT
Dinobot wasn't a stick in the show. He had muscle and bulk. BA's back curved inward, even.AllNewSuperRobot wrote:Sabrblade wrote:Thing is, Blackarachnia didn't have any backpack in the show. Her back was lean and skinny.
So was Dinobot's.
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on May 14th, 2019 @ 1:57pm CDT
william-james88 wrote:AllNewSuperRobot wrote: If they could achieve that way back in 1996/7/8, it is unacceptable to leave most of her gold legs visible on what should be a solid black abdomen.
I am with you on the dissapointment and I know where you are coming from but I do take issue with the text I bolded. It's apple and oranges because the toys came first back then. So of course it was fine. But then the character designer based her model on a stripper and made the character look nothing like the toy.
Now, we are basing the toy on the show model, which we can all agree is a rather peculiar one.
The better comparison, if you want to make one would be hod different the toy looks to the show model between then and now. This toy is inifitely better in that respect.
I was generalising the difference in aesthetic in Beast Modes, back then. Less so for individual characters. There was always some "cheetor" visible in his Beast Mode, as with the rest of the Maximals. Waspinator, Scorponok, Tarantulas etc Typically their bot legs were only visible if you turned the toy upside down.
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on May 14th, 2019 @ 1:58pm CDT
Sabrblade wrote:Dinobot wasn't a stick in the show. He had muscle and bulk. BA's back curved inward, even.AllNewSuperRobot wrote:Sabrblade wrote:Thing is, Blackarachnia didn't have any backpack in the show. Her back was lean and skinny.
So was Dinobot's.
True..
But it didn't look like that in the show either.
Posted by Black Bumblebee on May 14th, 2019 @ 2:00pm CDT
Don't get me wrong, I love the bot mode on Blackarachnia, and I'm sure that she will have great possibility. But this is supposed to be a Masterpiece figure. If they couldn't engineer her properly to look like how she looked on the show... then they probably should have just put out a robot mode action figure and done an MP figure of someone else.
As it stands, I think that the Takara recolor of Animated Blackarachnia works better
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on May 14th, 2019 @ 2:02pm CDT
Posted by william-james88 on May 14th, 2019 @ 2:02pm CDT
AllNewSuperRobot wrote:Waspinator, Scorponok, Tarantulas etc Typically their bot legs were only visible if you turned the toy upside down.
So what? Are you saying you would rather have that and compromise the robot mode? I dont understand what you are complaining about. Those original toys still exist if this one isn't doing it for you.
Posted by william-james88 on May 14th, 2019 @ 2:06pm CDT
AllNewSuperRobot wrote:I think, as it stands, her Beast Mode makes her potentially the weakest of the MP Beast Wars designs so far. Including Shadow Panther, that isn't even a Panther...
But there is no such thing as a panther species, it's just a toy deco homage.
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on May 14th, 2019 @ 2:23pm CDT
william-james88 wrote:AllNewSuperRobot wrote:Waspinator, Scorponok, Tarantulas etc Typically their bot legs were only visible if you turned the toy upside down.
So what? Are you saying you would rather have that and compromise the robot mode? I dont understand what you are complaining about. Those original toys still exist if this one isn't doing it for you.
When sat on your desk, they were designed to form a seamless Beast Mode. Everything pegged in to form a uniform alt-mode.
Maybe a G1 example would make it a bit clearer the point (not "complaint") I am making. Imagine G1 Prime's cab. Looks like a truck, yes?. Now open the chest, flip his head over and pop his hands out, so they are visible in truck mode. Now, he doesn't look like a believable truck.
The initial mode was the Predacon Beast Modes. The latter example, both the Maximals (initial and MP versions) and now Blackarachnia.
Nor would it have been a "compromise" to make minor panels fold out from the small backpack the MP figure clearly has, to conceal the gold in her legs. Again, Megatron's flush, intergrated backpack says so.
I don't care about the character herself. I've never liked Blackarachnia. The whole sexualized design was quite repellent to me, even back in the day.
I am concerned what her lacklustre Beast Mode says about the future of this line. The figures to come should be the easiest to conceive in fully integrated Beast and Bot modes, this is supposed to be the MP line, after all.
If you wouldn't excuse MP Prowl's legs hanging out of his car mode, don't make excuses for them here.
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on May 14th, 2019 @ 2:27pm CDT
william-james88 wrote:AllNewSuperRobot wrote:I think, as it stands, her Beast Mode makes her potentially the weakest of the MP Beast Wars designs so far. Including Shadow Panther, that isn't even a Panther...
But there is no such thing as a panther species, it's just a toy deco homage.
To give the visual discrepancy between a Cheetah and Panther's actual body shape, paralleled by the MP figures.
Posted by ZeroWolf on May 14th, 2019 @ 2:28pm CDT
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on May 14th, 2019 @ 2:30pm CDT
Posted by sol magnus on May 14th, 2019 @ 3:37pm CDT
AllNewSuperRobot wrote:william-james88 wrote:AllNewSuperRobot wrote:I think, as it stands, her Beast Mode makes her potentially the weakest of the MP Beast Wars designs so far. Including Shadow Panther, that isn't even a Panther...
But there is no such thing as a panther species, it's just a toy deco homage.
To give the visual discrepancy between a Cheetah and Panther's actual body shape, paralleled by the MP figures.
A Panther is a black leopard. Not a cheetah.
Posted by SpikeyTigertron on May 14th, 2019 @ 3:38pm CDT
The fact all these bot modes (and beast modes for the most part) stepped right out of the show should be appreciated. While a lot of the original toys were great toys..... they weren’t 100% show accurate either.
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on May 14th, 2019 @ 3:49pm CDT
sol magnus wrote:AllNewSuperRobot wrote:I think, as it stands, her Beast Mode makes her potentially the weakest of the MP Beast Wars designs so far. Including Shadow Panther, that isn't even a Panther...
A Panther is a black leopard. Not a cheetah.
That was the point I was making.
Posted by Jelze Bunnycat on May 14th, 2019 @ 3:52pm CDT
AllNewSuperRobot wrote:I dunno, that sounds like an apologistic excuse. They can do better. They have the capability, especially in this line. The abdomen should be all black, other than the widow mark. It's not rocket science or a feat beyond MP-36 level wizardry to achieve.
Would anyone accept a big backpack in robot mode?
Posted by ZeroWolf on May 14th, 2019 @ 3:57pm CDT
Posted by Rtron on May 14th, 2019 @ 3:58pm CDT
Also, knowing how dificult it is to shuffle engineering, accuracy and budget when designing what is ultimately a luxury item for a huge company, I can't fault the designers at all here, they did a great job. If anything, the quality control flaws on MP BW Megatron is a hundred times more of an issue than this, as those could have been solved through design and, well, quality control. But this beast mode honestly looks like the best possible version for a price under 200 dollars.
Posted by Sabrblade on May 14th, 2019 @ 5:01pm CDT
The difference is that Megatron at least had a backpack of beast mode kibble in the show. Blackarachnia did not.ZeroWolf wrote:AllNews argument is that there would be panel folding shenanigans ala beast meg's backpack.
Posted by Autobot Roadburn on May 14th, 2019 @ 5:23pm CDT
Posted by D-Maximal_Primal on May 14th, 2019 @ 5:25pm CDT
Dunno, will need to look at her more
Posted by Wolfman Jake on May 14th, 2019 @ 6:10pm CDT
Posted by D-Maximal_Primal on May 14th, 2019 @ 6:21pm CDT
Wolfman Jake wrote:Blackarachnia is a regression to the mean, not a drop in effort or quality. Megatron is a clear outlier in our limited data set.
Dinobot and Megatron are the only 2 I got, so this makes some sense to me
Posted by Evil Eye on May 14th, 2019 @ 6:38pm CDT
I just hope for the pricetag we don't get breakages/QC errors out the wazoo.
Posted by william-james88 on May 14th, 2019 @ 6:39pm CDT
AllNewSuperRobot wrote:william-james88 wrote:AllNewSuperRobot wrote:I think, as it stands, her Beast Mode makes her potentially the weakest of the MP Beast Wars designs so far. Including Shadow Panther, that isn't even a Panther...
But there is no such thing as a panther species, it's just a toy deco homage.
I dont get it, that's just a picture had a black leopard, you can even see its spots.the original shadow panther wasnt based on a leopard and doesnt have spots as part of its deco.
Hence its a toy only redeco of cheetor.
Also, yes, i am 100% being facetious.
Posted by william-james88 on May 14th, 2019 @ 6:57pm CDT
sol magnus wrote:
A Panther is a black leopard. Not a cheetah.
A black leopard is a black leopard. Diffrent species can have a black coat, like the Jaguar, which we should know since thats the animal G1 Ravage is based on.
So "black panthers" dont exist as a species with a truly specific body type and there is non such thing as an actual black panther with a plain black coat, like these toys, since all those real big cats still have visible spots.
The deco, as seen on shadow panther, is not found in nature, it only refetences the original toy. So i dont get why anyone would take issue with this toy not representing a species that doesnt even exist.
Posted by Emerje on May 14th, 2019 @ 7:19pm CDT
Ironhidensh wrote:16200 yen = $147.79. They can get the **** out of here with that price.
That's not the price any of us should be paying. Amazon Japan knocks off as much 29% of the MSRP or MP preorders (as they currently are on MP-45 Bumblebee), and then knocks off an additional 8% included sales tax that isn't charged on exports bringing the total down to 10,582 JPY or about $96.50. Factor in around $10 for 3 day shipping and the price is a lot more manageable.
Personally I like the figure and while the beast mode isn't perfect I never expected perfection on a figure this small to begin with. I'm just glad the gun does indeed fill in the massive gaps in her spider mode as expected.
Emerje
Posted by Nemesis Maximo on May 14th, 2019 @ 8:32pm CDT
Sabrblade wrote:The difference is that Megatron at least had a backpack of beast mode kibble in the show. Blackarachnia did not.ZeroWolf wrote:AllNews argument is that there would be panel folding shenanigans ala beast meg's backpack.
Also the fact that Megatron is three times larger than Blackarachnia.
Posted by SpikeyTigertron on May 14th, 2019 @ 8:37pm CDT
ZeroWolf wrote:AllNews argument is that there would be panel folding shenanigans ala beast meg's backpack.
Fold it where?! And Megs back pack isn’t all that ting, compact.... not thin
Posted by william-james88 on May 14th, 2019 @ 8:38pm CDT
I just found the arguments a bit odd. Like comparing to an old toy that doesnt look like the show model, or comparing to a real animal when the original toy wasn't any more zooligically accurate.
In the end, we get a Blackarachnia which is closer to the show model than anything we ever got and we have another deco for cheetor referencing a deco we got for the original cheetor mold.
Personally, I dont know if I will get this blackarachnia. I like the character and the bot mode, but not a fan of the price or alt mode. Will you be getting it?
Posted by Immortal Starscream on May 14th, 2019 @ 9:41pm CDT
AllNewSuperRobot wrote:william-james88 wrote:AllNewSuperRobot wrote: If they could achieve that way back in 1996/7/8, it is unacceptable to leave most of her gold legs visible on what should be a solid black abdomen.
I am with you on the dissapointment and I know where you are coming from but I do take issue with the text I bolded. It's apple and oranges because the toys came first back then. So of course it was fine. But then the character designer based her model on a stripper and made the character look nothing like the toy.
Now, we are basing the toy on the show model, which we can all agree is a rather peculiar one.
The better comparison, if you want to make one would be hod different the toy looks to the show model between then and now. This toy is inifitely better in that respect.
I was generalising the difference in aesthetic in Beast Modes, back then. Less so for individual characters. There was always some "cheetor" visible in his Beast Mode, as with the rest of the Maximals. Waspinator, Scorponok, Tarantulas etc Typically their bot legs were only visible if you turned the toy upside down.
hate to point this out, but blackarachnia did have bot parts showing, part of her calves, and all of her huge purple feel were showing, as well as her "anchor" which stuck out of her butt. the calves are much more noticeable on her 10th anniversary show colored version, being bright gold and all
Transformers Beast Wars Blackarachnia (Black Widow) Gallery
while I do agree that some kind of covering panel would have been preferable, given her size (she should be shorter then cheetor based off the show models) said panels would tiny be fragile as all hell. unless they just detached and became something.
Posted by Stargrave on May 15th, 2019 @ 12:49am CDT
Posted by Stargrave on May 15th, 2019 @ 12:52am CDT
william-james88 wrote:sol magnus wrote:
A Panther is a black leopard. Not a cheetah.
A black leopard is a black leopard. Diffrent species can have a black coat, like the Jaguar, which we should know since thats the animal G1 Ravage is based on.
So "black panthers" dont exist as a species with a truly specific body type and there is non such thing as an actual black panther with a plain black coat, like these toys, since all those real big cats still have visible spots.
The deco, as seen on shadow panther, is not found in nature, it only refetences the original toy. So i dont get why anyone would take issue with this toy not representing a species that doesnt even exist.
You guys are killin' me here...hilarious...
Posted by blackeyedprime on May 15th, 2019 @ 2:58am CDT
Posted by SpikeyTigertron on May 15th, 2019 @ 3:00am CDT
blackeyedprime wrote:Since I only ever had the repaint I never realised the toy colors were scorponocish. If this mp gets toy color I'll likely end up getting that too (way down the line when I can afford it). Not sure what repaint tarantulas could have, and whilst I never imagined him to be a tarantula, something like a joro spider might fit it better made up spider wise alt.
technically Black Widow was the repaint of trantulus… but that obviously wouldn't work for the MP. They could pull a curve ball and do an "arcee" version that's white and pink.
Posted by SpikeyTigertron on May 15th, 2019 @ 3:04am CDT
Oddly enough... that works with her beast mode... though I do think her "show" version was quite different.
Posted by Barricade.it on May 15th, 2019 @ 3:11am CDT
This said, I think this figure is awful in beast mode: TRex Megatron and Cheetor are the only two figures worthy in this MP group, I think.
Posted by blackeyedprime on May 15th, 2019 @ 3:14am CDT
SpikeyTigertron wrote:blackeyedprime wrote:Since I only ever had the repaint I never realised the toy colors were scorponocish. If this mp gets toy color I'll likely end up getting that too (way down the line when I can afford it). Not sure what repaint tarantulas could have, and whilst I never imagined him to be a tarantula, something like a joro spider might fit it better made up spider wise alt.
technically Black Widow was the repaint of trantulus… but that obviously wouldn't work for the MP. They could pull a curve ball and do an "arcee" version that's white and pink.
Maybe an arcee version that or the one in animated that got turned into a spider, can't remember who it was now (I'm thinking she was blue and white) but tha might be a bit too obscure.
Posted by SpikeyTigertron on May 15th, 2019 @ 3:43am CDT
blackeyedprime wrote:SpikeyTigertron wrote:blackeyedprime wrote:Since I only ever had the repaint I never realised the toy colors were scorponocish. If this mp gets toy color I'll likely end up getting that too (way down the line when I can afford it). Not sure what repaint tarantulas could have, and whilst I never imagined him to be a tarantula, something like a joro spider might fit it better made up spider wise alt.
technically Black Widow was the repaint of trantulus… but that obviously wouldn't work for the MP. They could pull a curve ball and do an "arcee" version that's white and pink.
Maybe an arcee version that or the one in animated that got turned into a spider, can't remember who it was now (I'm thinking she was blue and white) but tha might be a bit too obscure.
Re animated black arachnia- I swore it was arcee… but I recall her showing up with the whole subplot with bulkhead/siri/omega.... unless i'm confusing it with prime.... maybe it was elite one?
Posted by SpikeyTigertron on May 15th, 2019 @ 3:45am CDT
Barricade.it wrote:I hate the BW line.
This said, I think this figure is awful in beast mode: TRex Megatron and Cheetor are the only two figures worthy in this MP group, I think.
Hate the line as Masterpieces or as an IP in general? Kenner basically saved the Transformers franchise with it... so even if it's not your cup of tea... it's worth giving credit where it's due.
I think Black Arachnia will be a lot better "in hand" once people start reviewing her. The beast modes were always secondary anyway for the most part... they're still extremely difficult to pose organically, but they're not *quite* the bricks the original toys were.
Posted by ZeroWolf on May 15th, 2019 @ 5:24am CDT
SpikeyTigertron wrote:Barricade.it wrote:I hate the BW line.
This said, I think this figure is awful in beast mode: TRex Megatron and Cheetor are the only two figures worthy in this MP group, I think.
Hate the line as Masterpieces or as an IP in general? Kenner basically saved the Transformers franchise with it... so even if it's not your cup of tea... it's worth giving credit where it's due.
I think Black Arachnia will be a lot better "in hand" once people start reviewing her. The beast modes were always secondary anyway for the most part... they're still extremely difficult to pose organically, but they're not *quite* the bricks the original toys were.
As long as the reviews don't reveal the plastic to be in the same state as MP Beast Megs.
Also in Animated it was Elita One who was turned into Blackarachnia, she blamed Optimus and Sentinel.
@Will do you still think that about the price after Emerje's calculations?
Posted by BluePhirePB on May 15th, 2019 @ 8:02am CDT