Fancy Hands

Even with the great strides Takara has made with the Transformers Masterpiece line, one of the things that never really evolved along with the line were the hands of the figures. In fact, in a lot of ways, they've taken a step back. MP-01 Optimus Prime had individually articulated figures and thumb, though only at the first knuckle. In later figures in the line, the hands slowly gained a fixed thumb and fused middle through pinky fingers. While this works, it does limit posebility. Thankfully, unofficial, third-party companies have stepped up.

Original on the left. Replacement on the right.

Fused fingers on the left. Free moving on the right.

It's a bit of a wash when making a fist.

It's truly amazing that they can not only make hands with every joint, but at that scale. When balled up into a fist, those hands are about the same diameter as a penny.

Couldn't resist....

They provide a wide range of options for posing and really add a lot to the expressions of those poses.

In addition to the fully articulated hands, this set includes a larger, more cartoon-accurate rifle for Prime.

Original on top. Replacement on bottom.

One of the disappointments with this Optimus Prime release was the rather anemic rifle he came with. It's not without a purpose though, as it could fold up for storage.

Junk in the trunk

As nice as this set is, it's not without it's faults. It's a little hard to tell from the pictures, but the color match isn't exactly perfect. Another annoyance is that the finish on the plastic is a rougher, more matte finish compared to the smooth, glossy finish of the originals. Finally, the thumb on the replacement hands is shaped a little oddly. It tampers far too much, and seems almost like a talon, rather than a thumb.

Even with those issues, I'm really pleased with this set and will be picking up sets for other figures.

Very nice.