{"id":32101,"date":"2015-10-23T00:33:01","date_gmt":"2015-10-23T05:33:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=32101"},"modified":"2015-10-23T00:33:01","modified_gmt":"2015-10-23T05:33:01","slug":"transformers-masterpiece-exhaust-review-mp-23","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=32101","title":{"rendered":"Transformers Masterpiece
Exhaust Review (MP-23)"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> “No Participating Manufacturer may take any action, directly or indirectly, to target Youth within any Settling State in the advertising, promotion or marketing of Tobacco Products, or take any action the primary purpose of which is to initiate, maintain or increase the incidence of Youth smoking within any Settling State.”<\/em> – Master Settlement Agreement, 1998.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Totally unrelated to Exhaust, but I was reading up on my Wheeljack review to refresh my thoughts on the mold, transformations, etc. for this figure, a repaint of Wheeljack. I had totally forgotten that I wrote my Wheeljack review while I was in the hospital. Well my wife was *in* the hospitable after having given birth to our first son, Sam. I was just there because they tend to let the Dad hang around for moral support. Anyway, that was a year and a few weeks ago. That blows my mind. Time flies! <\/p>\n

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As for Exhaust, there was a time that I was pretty positive I\u2019d never own this figure. The original Diaclone car was based on the Lancia Stratos Turbo. If you google that race car, you see two decos right away. One featuring Alitalia and one featuring Marlboro. Diaclone made both into toys. Hasbro turned the Alitalia car into Wheeljack. They left the cigarette car well enough alone for one reason or another. <\/p>\n

Thirty years later, when Takara was looking to get some mold reuse out of Wheeljack, the Marlboro deco was an easy alternative. It would just need a new head, which Takara took the opportunity to make a new character, Exhaust, and add a Decepticon to the Masterpiece ranks. At least they thought it would be an easy alternative. <\/p>\n

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Enter Phillip Morris USA. The obvious thing is that using Marlboro logos would be rights infringement (the Diaclone got crafty with a Marlboor logo), but in reality it\u2019s that toys can\u2019t be construed to advertise cigarettes in any way. And while I may be in my thirties and you may be in your thirties, Exhaust is still\u2026 a toy. US Retailers couldn\u2019t legally sell it and Phillip Morris even tried to force the issue overseas. For a while it looked like Exhaust wouldn\u2019t come out at all. <\/p>\n

TakaraTomy dealt with all this by making slight changes to the deco, making Exhaust look slightly less like a pack of cigarettes (& I do mean slightly). So there was hope! Still though, I missed the pre-order windows, US retailers wouldn\u2019t carry him, the second-hand prices were dumb, and I again figured I just wasn\u2019t going to get Exhaust. Then, I happened to catch Anime-Export at the right time to get a sweet deal on the reissue and, well, here we are! <\/p>\n

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The funny thing about all the gnashing of teeth over getting Exhaust is that I don\u2019t totally love Wheeljack. He\u2019s not bad; he looks pretty awesome as a race car and the transformation is slick, but I don\u2019t love him. I\u2019ve had time (a year!) to sort it out and I think it\u2019s just an overall lack of paint. It just makes him more pedestrian when he\u2019s placed on the MP shelf. He\u2019s still Wheeljack and he\u2019s awesome, but he\u2019s just a shade less so than the others. Continue to Page 2…<\/a><\/p>\n

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So Exhaust? Same great alt mode that features what is arguably the second coolest deco we can get on this car. Even with the alterations to avoid legalities, the figure ended up with a great look and, moreover, the two cars look great together. What areas are painted look fantastic and it\u2019s a fun toy to keep in the alt mode. <\/p>\n

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The transformation is the same as Wheeljack and it\u2019s pretty easy. I still get a little fidgety moving the wings around the rear wheels and folding his chest up, but it\u2019s a well-engineered process. In his robot mode, the deco fades away a bit. The chest is simple reddish-orange with the D-logo in a white box. There\u2019s some unique design on the legs, but Wheeljack just kinda beats him out in bot mode. <\/p>\n

For the sculpt, the only new bit is the head and I think it seals the deal for me. It nails the original toy\u2019s head and updates it well. It\u2019s kind of an odd 80s design in way, but the massive visor and grumpy expression give the figure a ton of personality. Wheeljack is kinda similar with his trademark head sculpt, so it\u2019s really nice to see Exhaust branch out successfully from being a repaint. <\/p>\n

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The main difference other than the head is the accessories. I didn\u2019t get a picture of the pistol, but it\u2019s the one carryover from Wheeljack. Brand new are two shoulder-mounted missile batteries. These actually homage the original toy, so you can get them to Wheeljack instead of his cartoon-accurate launcher, but I like them here on Exhaust just fine. The missiles are removable, but the launchers are not spring-loaded, which is cool with me even if the sculpted buttons fake me out. <\/p>\n

The other accessory is also kinda more for Wheeljack too. It\u2019s the Immobilizer from the classic episode \u201cThe Immobilizer\u201d. It\u2019s one of WJ\u2019s wacky inventions. This one, wait for it, immobilizes people. It\u2019s a faithful rendition of the cartoon version. It\u2019s kinda nice to finally start getting accessories like this from the old show. It adds a dimension to TF Collecting that we don\u2019t see often enough. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \t

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