Takara Tomy Masterpiece Hound 

You know that a figure is not the greatest when Robert D, the man that gets everything. Passes up on the release

When Bobby whispers, “it broke” you can just feel it in the video lol

"...transform it once, set it on a shelf, and never touch it." I have this figure and it looks exceptional, but only because the above is almost exactly what I do with my figures. My copy was clean, the tolerances feel really good, and there are no stress marks or breakages. It looks amazing and the articulation is great, giving you infinite posing options. The materials are thin, though, and it's feather lightweight in general. The negatives are there and I can't disagree with any of your grievances, Skully, but the proportions are near perfect, there isn't a backpack to speak of, and it has tremendous shelf presence. A figure of extremes is bang on here. If sculpt is what you're after, it's worth it - especially if you missed out on Fans Toys Willis and haven't had a great alternative since then. If you like to play with your figures, transform them a lot, and get your dawg paws all over 'em, then know that it won't stand up to it. This is one delicate figure and the transformation is very involved. It's going to be polarizing, I think.

16:27 Hounds face is representational of Bobby's feelings on this bot.

Glad to know that I'm sticking with my Maketoys version of Hound.

It’s gotten weird when people look to the KOs for improvements and not official.

If Origami did Transformers.....this would be the result.

“listen for it to snap... so to speak” - Bobby ::holds breath and cringes awaiting break” - me ::does not break:::: can breath again- me

Robert was probably just waiting for that phone call haha.

My copy was perfectly fine. I was able to transform it 3 times with no issues or cracks.....yet lmao

Long time viewer, first time commenting. I feel ya, I broke mine the exact same spot. And I was being so careful watching your video and feel off. Keep up the great reviews.

Is it me or has the MP range taken a sharp nosedive since Sunstreaker?

Uh oh, that ominous intro is giving me TFC Detective flashbacks!

Mine was one of those that broke right out of the box, the materials are cheap as chips and for the price it's nuts, good review 👍

transformed mine a couple of times, no issues at all.

Yeaaaaa, i'ma just wait for the KO one.

The absolute state of Takara Masterpieces. this is embarrassing.

best figure of the year simples

I didn’t like the gundog, I missed out on the FT Willis only option left for me was Takara and so far haven’t had any issues with it.

Good looking bot. Everything else makes my palms clammy

Luis is a good man, EastCoastToys recommend from me.

Great video I'm sticking with in my Bobby voice Faaaaantoooooys !!! Willis .

“Side pieces” lmao, you’re a fool. Good stuff and thank you for helping me save my money.

This is shit pie son, and I ain't hungry. Props to you and how you handle a bad situation though. Probably one of the largest reason I watch your channel. You are always on the level no matter the situation. For the figure, I have pretty much signed off on HasTak MPs. No diecast, no articulated hands or swappable and no rubber wheels are kinda my grips. If 3rd party can do it, so can they.

What about a Tuesday Bobby? Actually you covered every fear I had of this figure. I don't care for the cartoon aesthetic, but I was willing to get over that because Hound was always a personal favorite of mine in the series. I look forward to your Fanstoys side by side comparison. Great job as always.

Takara better get their game up. With companies like Fans Toys out there they seem to be getting lazy and left behind

A cloth shield, brilliant.

27:42 I do agree. I like this figure, but his build quality reminds me of MP-28 Hotrod. Thin plastic, very light, easily breakable. The difference is that MP- 28 was like 12 easy steps to transform and Hound is 49 tedious steps that even required a correction sheet for steps 4, 24, and 45.

I got super anxious watching it articulate after that intro

It broke because you manhandled it. Watch Emgo to see how it's done properly and safely.

If you do a vs. with the hound offerings i think a 3 way vs. with the maketoys hound would be interesting

Interesting how a figure can be different for different people. I respect your opinion you think what you think and that is fine also you did not just touch a little bit the part that broke... All I want to say for all people that don’t have this figure yet I also want to say my opinion . It’s awesome. It’s easy and fun to transform, scale in my opinion is great. Almost all things can be stored in robot mode. That the figure is light does not matter for me. It looks like it just came out of the cartoon. Both modes looks awesome. I can also recommend to watch emgos video for transformation. It’s still entertaining to see scullface struggle with it though :D haha I collect FansToys but for me it’s easy. Takara wins so easy in this one. The gimmick on the head is not a prob on my copy it’s not even hard to take out on mine. I have transformed mine 10 times back and forward not a scratch in the paint, still looks as new. Actually this is one of my favorite Transformers figures of all time that is how good I think it is. Top 3.

great vid but completely disagree. my top fig of 2019

I’m just going to wait for the reissue

I LOVE Fanstoys, but wow! There is absolutely no competition here, Takara Hound just destroys Willis. Mine is on its way to me right now, cant wait! I'll exactly what you said and transform it then display it.

Hey man, enjoyed the review, shame about the figure but always glad to have your opinion on him. looking forward to the Willis comparison. Thanks for the video

What a shame for me that looking good just isn't enough. I'm constantly handling my figures, transforming them, posing them, etc., the apparent frailty of this figure just wouldn't do it for me. Thanks for the honest and accurate review as always!

Nah... I'm still very happy with mu Gundog!

Thank you for that great review. I did pre-order this and I have been afraid to transform it. I won't purchase any more pre-orders for Takara products as I have lost trust in this company.

Thank for posting this bud. I still stand by what I posted on your facebook about current hastak MPs. I'm not really sure how to feel about these current official MP figures.

I actually AM the kind of guy who's likely to transform it once, put it on a shelf, and never touch it. But I just can't justify spending a dime on this toy after this review and all the other pictures I've seen from people reporting breakages.

Can we expect a VS between this and Willis? It's definitely something I'd like to see.

Key for ravage. Thanks!. It looked familiar, but couldn't place it. Wondered what this was in the box.

I prefer the look of Gundog myself, I consider it an improvement on the cartoon design.

It's too bad you don't have MT Gundog to include in your Versus comparison. Many feel the 2N (toon) version of MT Gundog is the superior Hound and still is. A 3-way comparison would be best, if you can appreciate Gundog's positives.

I got it and have transformed it only once and put it on the shelf

All the way up like remy and fat joe😂😂😂ur references are uncanny

Just got one, Transformed it fine. Not sure how you broke it but yeah, the parts do feel fragile so you definitely have to be patient and careful. No hamfist allowed.

Agreed... I just received mine about 3 days ago... Could not get his right shoulder to 'foop' into place... Plastic felt cheap as if i was going to break it... he does look good on the shelf though... I personally have more cons than pros for this figure... Engineering was well thought out, however, if the parts do not fit/snap into place as they should, then as a Masterpiece figure i am gonna give this guy a 3 or a 4 out of 10....

Did the exact same thing with mine on that back bumper/tailgate piece. Snapped right off and I wasn't even putting pressure on it. They call this "long life design"? Not on this one. Trying to get a replacement for the whole thing from the vendor. Always good to watch your videos, thanks again.

I love the engineering, but the plastic is weak and flimsy

I do hope when you do the VS you include Maketoys Gundog...

I felt same way the figure is amazing looking but the transformation was a nightmare and it feels like im gonna break it every time I touch it.

Well, I tried to find a Willis on the 'Bay for less than this was on Amazon.jp, couldn't, and well...now this is my Hound. It's...fine. Real talk, these plastic wheels and flimsy panels are killing Takara MPs for me. Anyone break their MP-10? Nope. Got parts falling off MP Prowl? Nah. This toon accurate craze has made this crap so fragile because vehicles can't turn into shitty animation models without a billion panels and folding...everything.

It's not just you. He feels light and junky, especially all the flaps in the legs and feet. I haven't broken mine yet but I'd be shocked if he lasts a year without one of those tiny hinges cracking.

#justice4gundog

Kinda wish you did a Montague of still shots with the figure, broken piece, you doing a shocked expression, then holding you head in shame expression at the end of the vid🤙

Tracks and Hound were my childhood favourites and I never had a G1 Hound. My original policy on MP was to wait for Takara to have 'first go' before resorting, if necessary, to 3P options. Waiting for Hound has been a real test of patience. On the strength of the prototype images, I sought out Gundog on ebay. It seemed like more of the same from Takara - overengineered, gratuitous, panelly transformations. If someone were to tell me I bought the wrong one, I wouldn't disagree. Given that there are lengthy development cycles to these, maybe Takara have been listening to those of us who have been complaining but it took this long to 'turn the corner'. The one thing I can't judge from afar is quality but the design, whilst complex (perhaps still excessively so), is not gratuitous, I like all the gimmicks and it is a clear win over MT and FT. Takara, for the first time in a long time, have made an MP that I actually want. Just not at that price. But it does give me hope for whichever carbot they attempt next year.

I broke the tailgate and the front-right tire during the very first transformation. Though both are easily concealed in robot mode, I bought another. Calling it a lesson. Haven’t even opened the box. Otherwise, Hound looks amazing in both modes. I just wish it was die cast.

the leg broken little piece also happened to me on the spare tire side, I was able to insert it with the tire and close it

dude their proportions of the fans toys is way better

Same exact spot was broken on mine out of the box. They are sending me a replacement leg though.

My tailgate fell off the first time I transformed mine as well : / I don't even know how it happened. I just saw it laying in my lap.

When the pictures for this released I wanted to pick it up, but after this I think I’m good. I know I’ll break it, and Hound isn’t an end-all be-all of my collection

Just got it in today and I seem to be one of the lucky ones who got a sturdier copy. But I could easily see al the potential problems while going through the Transformation, so I'm not blaming anyone who suffered breaks in their copy. When it gets down to it, 80% of this piece's problems are due to the material: this is the type of plastic you'd expect from a lower-end Revell model kit. Also, the paint finish on my CHUG Hound looks better than on this MP, so take that as you will.

You pulled the back flap of the trunk too far that's why it broke, it's only supposed to go so far

Willis stays on the display.

Do you ever take a break during a challenging video? Like a quick cup of tea, or glass of wine, then come back an hour later - or just plough on when in a bad mood :) On a side note this backs up my decision to sell up following the revised Prime and Bumblebee also being overpriced and disappointing ( to me). This Hound is another overpriced attempt that doesn't seem as solid as the FT Willis I had a while ago. Top video as always sir !

Love the fig , transform it a few times no issue's, replace my Fanstoys , but materials are terrible, can't even compared to inferno/grapple materials..

A bucket of extremes. lol

I’d argue that this Spike scales more appropriately with the MP line 🤷🏾‍♂️

One angle not discussed is the price point. This thing represents a new price point for autobot cars at 150 bucks. That’s a 50 percent increase in price and yet a reduction in all hardware across the board. Just wow. Takara is really sticking it to Collectors. I think most sensible folk would gladly accept the price jump if they felt they were getting what they paid for. Doesn’t seem up for debate with this figure, we aren’t.

Oof... glad I already have Willis and have never felt the need to replace him.

I wonder if they are going to make a darker green toy color version. I prefer the darker green of the toy. Also the Binal tec version was the first to use the arm filmic as a part of the motor and that was 10-15 years ago. The motor looked more realistic in that version but at the cost of toon accuracy. That was the only Binal tec I wish I didnt sell.

I missed out on Willis, and I'm not going to pay a late tax, so Takara it is.

It appears they need to replace many of the plastic parts with stronger metal ones to fix some of the stress issues and break points.

I think what's happening with the Takara MP line is that the complexity of the engineering required to make these figures look the way they do has resulted in extremely finicky transformations and delicate figures. Paint chipping sucks, but with so many small moving parts of these figures it seems inevitable unless the absolute utmost of care is taken during transformation. Paint isn't magic, it's only so durable. The tiny size of many of the moving parts is also going to make them inherently fragile. I think we've simply reached a point with the official MP line where these are not "toys" at all anymore. They're expensive, delicate display pieces.

Gotta disagree with Bobby Gorillahands on this one. Love this figure. Looks great on the shelf. No issues with breaking or scratching. A true masterpiece unlike Bumblebee and Tracks. Takara captures the face and proportions really well and that’s very important to me. Really glad I plunged. Can’t always depend on reviews. Sometimes you just gotta find out for yourself. Glad I did.

It s only when i put them side by side that i thought that tt hound looks so much better than fanstoys'. Still, i won t upgrade. Somehow i like fanstoys' facesculpt better, the TT gun looks stupid whereas houds' gun is very iconic to me. Funny, i like the front half of TT hound best, the back seems weird, it needed some ridges on the backload or something. But i do love the dynamic look and articulation of the TT hound! Those legs look great!

I agree with every thing Skullface said, even though I never had one in hand it actually looks a bit flimsy and I trust what Skullface said about the materials not being the best. I agree it looks better then the Fans Toys version but for the price point Takara is charging I'm not getting it. I would buy it for 90USD shipped but not a penny more so I'm probably never going to get it unless it happens as it did with that out of the package 100% original MP-45 Bumblebee for less then half the price. Thanks for the review Mr. Skullface.

Can you do an episode about posing Transformers?

Takara coulda got away calling this an Alternator and it would of gotten a ton of praise.

I'm not surprised that you have negatives to say that the other 8 reviewers I've watched don't have. This is pretty typical. My main reason for watching your reviews is that you are much more critical than the other 8 You Tube Transformer toy reviewers I watch & I like the contrast. Sometimes I feel like you're overly critical, but I apreaciate your point of view. Thanks. As a note, the only negative that most of the other reviewers had in common is the head. This next part is for viewers who read the comments. In regards to the piece you broke....I've transformed mine numerous times with zero signs of breaking. Now mine is only 1 copy, but I must say I'm surprised that E.C.T. said that they're plagued with that problem. I'm surprised to hear this from a distributor/seller because when I hear/read of a widespread breakage problem with any MP Transformer, be it Takara, Fans Toys, MMC, Zeta etc...and I don't have the same breakage I get curious and I search You Tube, Facebook, and other sources of Transformers toy videos & discussions trying to ascertain just how widespread the breakage problem really is, and more than 70% of the time I find that there are far less reports of a so called widespread breakage problem from actual owners of the toy compared to the number of copies that do not have that breakage problem. What I do see is that those people with the so called widespread breakage problem are far more vocal compared to those without the breakage problem and people that don't even own a copy listen to the complaints and spread the word that there's a widespread problem. Meaning that the number of complaints is greater than the actual number of problems. This word of mouth spreading of a negative experience, which is not supported by the actual number of negative copies of a product, is very common and I have seen it over and over again in my 20+ years in retail and customer service. As an example in my current position I can talk to a potential customer and they will tell you that the company I work for is crap....and yet they are not a customer and don't know even 1 single customer of ours. And the total number of negative reviews, from actual verified customers, across multiple review platforms accounts for less than 1%(yes that's accurate) of our total customer base. And we find that over 50% of all our negative reviews accross multiple review platforms are NOT actual customers,(or at least they are unable/unwilling to verify their purchase). My point being that people who are not actual customers spread negative reviews and it creates the illusion that a product/service/company is worse than they actually are and that people should take any review with a grain of salt. Sorry for the rant....I felt a specific need here because I would give this Hound a solid 8.5 out of 10.

Huh, I don't have an MP Hound yet but I honestly prefer the look of the Fanstoys. I think it's the metallic paint vs the tan. Definitely seems overpriced, think I'll try to get the Maketoys cheap or hold out for the KO.

Jesus I was going to buy this...thought it looked great....but I had anxiety during the entire transformation. Just insane.

Did you get a new camera? Maybe new lights? Whatever you're doing different looks really good!! Maybe I'm crazy and nothing has changed. Bummer that TT prices are going up while quality seems to be going down. I'll stick with my Willis.

The robot mode looks really good but this guy (IMO) is overpriced for what it is. Compare like this: Jabber is also known for some breakage but is not all plastic ( I know weight isn’t everything but) and Jabber is $55 cheaper. Another excellent figure, Roadking which is only $20 more and phenomenally much better than Hound. Great review.

Was there enough room on the arms not to do the arms how they are done normally? I sold my Willis a while ago. I wish I had held on to it

Hate that the prices are going up but no diecast or ratchet joints, I sort of forgave them for no diecast or ratchet joints on the V2 Bumblebee but I would definitely have expected it on this guy as he is a larger figure, disappointing to say the least, Takara can do way better than this. Thanks for the honest review as always bro 🤘😃🤘

Robert knew

I am no "detective" , but you seem to have trouble with Jeeps ....am I right ? lol

Heavy hands = a heavy heart!

LOL "What'd you break?" they know you ;-) I do believe it's prone to break, since some other reviewers (Emgo? Kevin?) broke his as well. Fun review to watch as always! The one thing I prefer about this is the integrated shoulder cannon, that's one thing I've always disliked most MPs (Willie in this case). The quality and design on this one is just in general so subpar compared to FT, it's.. disappointing.

Thanks! Great review! I was thinking about getting this, not anymore!!!! TT can't charge these ridiculous prices for low quality materials

✌️😁✌️🗯Had To See It For Myself Word On The Net Was B.💀 Broke It.

This is undeniably the best mp hound for me

Oh shit, I didn’t know the breakage was so widespread 🤦🏻‍♂️

Im afraid to transform it back to jeep mode after the nightmare I went through out of the box transforming him into robot mode.

Where can we get one of those flippers?

Who else forgot this thing released lmao