More images of Takara Tomy's Transformers Masterpiece MP-18 Streak in vehicle mode after the introduction in the previous posting. ^^
Closeups on the details:
As shown on its box, Streak's vehicle mode is based off Nissan's Fairlady 280Z-T, one of the second generation "Z-car" variants from that Japanese automobile manufacturer. ^^
Image of an actual Nissan Fairlady 280Z-T.
Image is from Nissan.
Automobile aficionados should be able to tell more accurately the likeliness between this Transformers Masterpiece figure as compared to the actual car model. ^^
For me, even before looking at the picture of the actual Fairlady 280Z-T, the sleekness of the vehicle mode, as well as the beautiful color contrast between the glossy black front and top sections, with the dark metallic silver painted on the side and rear portions of the car are amazing visual elements. ^^ There are obviously seamlines on the car that indicate separable, transformable components, but they are being integrated so well with the overall silhouette of the car that they don't look obtrusive at all, except for the large split right down the middle behind the car maybe. Besides that, the most notable parts on the car, like the hood, windscreen, roof, and doors look "complete", so you can appreciate the beauty of this Transformers figure as a scaled model of Fairlady 280Z-T. ^^
Despite its likeliness with the actual Fairlady model, there's no car-related function on this figure, other than its four rolling wheels that is. XD The hood, and doors are not designed to be accessible, unlike those from another two Transformers lines from Takara Tomy, the Alternity series, and its spiritual predecessor, the Binal-Tech series. There's a bit of irony here I think, as the previous Alternity figure I reviewed was Megatron Blade Silver, and its vehicle mode is also from the same sport car line as Streak, but with some of the car functions mentioned above included. Then again, a direct comparison between the three different Transformers series is not exactly accurate I think. Figures from the Alternity, and Binal-Tech lines focused more on designing Transformers characters from actual vehicle models - the robot mode components for a particular model were designed to integrate with vehicle components while retaining the latter's functionalities. Take Alternity Megatron Blade Silver for example, while its vehicle mode has quite a few gimmicks, this version of Megatron is an original design based off the car (Nissan Fairlady Z). The same can be said about Binal-Tech BT-22 Convoy featuring Dodge Ram SRT-10. The vehicle mode of that version of Convoy is a very realistic replica of Dodge Ram, but the robot mode certainly doesn't represent any version of Convoy we've seen prior to its release. ^^ Streak on the other hand, like MP-17 Prowl, is designed with emphasis on realizing its robot mode as anime-accurate as possible in my opinion. The car hood forming the chest, doors hanging behind the shoulders, and blocky legs formed from the rear section of the car are evidences of that design emphasis I guess. The bottom line is, the realistic representation of Nissan's Fairlady 280Z-T as Streak's vehicle mode is a huge bonus to the figure, as the design does well in blending the sport car's actual look with Streak's robot mode. ^^
The lack of car gimmicks on the model is probably a blessing in disguise as well. Since there's no hollow space inside the car to simulate driver and passenger seats, the vehicle mode feels really solid. There's no major visible gap between some of the transformable components, as all the movable parts are tabbed in very securely. ^^ Through the front and rear windshields, some of Streak's red parts that are mainly visible in robot mode can be seen. However, most of its red components are hidden beneath vehicle mode though. ^^
Some of the robot mode components, like the folded up arms, and hands, and the abdomen plate can be seen, but their appearance aren't very obvious.
A look at Streak's only handheld weapon: Disperser Rifle.
Length of the rifle: a bit over 8cm.
The handle can be hinged forward for 90 degrees, and stored inside the rifle's body. A hook is revealed from the top end of the handle.
A connector piece right in the middle of the roof can be used to mount Disperser Rifle, but accessing it is not a straightforward business. ^^;
(Left) The entire rear end of the car needs to be bent downward for a slight degree to get to that connector piece.
(Right) Interestingly, the door window is actually connected to the rear end of the car, instead of (conventionally) the door itself.
A square connector port can be hinged upward.
The hook beneath the rifle can be tabbed into the square port.
As odd as it may look, you can get a rifle-equipped Streak in vehicle mode with the minor weapon configuration shown above. ^^
Since the hook itself is connected to the hingeable handle, the rifle's position on top the vehicle can be adjusted. ^^
As odd as it may look, you can show off Streak in vehicle mode in some kind of "action poses" XD
Comparison with United Rodimus Prime, and Alternity Megatron Blade Silver:
In vehicle mode.
In robot mode.
As you can see, Streak as a Masterpiece figure has just about the same size as United Rodimus Prime, and Alternity Megatron Blade Silver. It's arguably smaller than the latter actually. ^^ When it's able to show off all of its compacted robot mode components, I wonder how the three are going to look like in another side-by-side comparison. ^^
Moving on to Streak's transformation design next. ^^
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