Hasbro Transformers Masterpiece MP-10 Optimus Prime Images and Comparisons to Previous Releases

When Hasbro announced a new release of MP-10 Optimus Prime for one of their Transformers Masterpiece releases this year, there was some uncertainty with regards to whether this new release would have changes from the previous 2012 Hasbro release of the toy. While some fans speculated about various potential changes, including variations that would bring the toy closer to the original Takara Tomy MP-10, the initial SDCC release and subsequent retail sightings this week haven't yet led to any firm answers to this question.

I picked up this figure yesterday afternoon and have taken a great deal of photos of it, along with comparisons to the aforementioned 2012 Hasbro release and Takara Tomy's MP-10 Convoy. While I'm not an expert toy photographer and found some things in the lighting I'd go back and fix if I did this again, I've taken what are hopefully some pretty clean shots (and left them generally untouched) to help fans decide whether to go after this latest release or track down one of the previous releases of the mold on the secondary market.

For comprehensive galleries that have the (much, much nicer!) Seibertron.com gallery treatment for the previous releases, look here for the 2012 Hasbro Masterpiece Optimus Prime and here for the Takara Tomy MP-10 Convoy.


To start with, check out the new release in robot mode.



You may have already noticed some slight differences with the 2012 version, but if not, here's a side by side look:

The reds on the releases are almost identical, and under most lighting these will look the same. The application and plan for paint apps is also roughly the same. One thing you may notice on my sample from even this shot and the previous one above is that the passenger side truck window has an opaque finish on it whereas the driver's side one does not. None of the other versions of the toy have this (unless the MP-10A Green BAPE version does, which is the only version of this mold I don't own), and it remains to be seen if this is a consistent design element or a factory mistake on my sample. The other differences you may have noticed are primarily visible from the waist down. With that in mind, enjoy this shot of awkwardly posed toys that helps illustrate these differences a bit closer.


The clear plastic pieces in the waist are noticeably different between these two releases, with the latest 2017 version featuring a bright yellow as opposed to the darker, more amber toned 2012 version. The grays of the thighs are also different, with the latest one being a bit brighter shade. The blues are actually a little different as well, but some other shots later will put this on display more effectively.

Just for completeness' sake, here are the same two pictures except with Takara's MP-10 Convoy as the comparison piece.




While many fans are familiar with the differences between Takara Tomy's release and the Hasbro releases, some newer collectors may not be. As seen above, the shades of color are similar yet completely different on almost every part of the toy. In my opinion, the Takara release remains the nicest, cleanest, and most "special" looking Masterpiece Optimus Prime, the Hasbro versions make some notable changes that are definite improvements. These include the painted eyes that help give Prime some much needed expression, as well as the painted yellow lights on the top of the truck cab.


Again, I'll start out with just some straightforward solo shots of the latest Hasbro MP-10 Optimus Prime.


Straight away, you may notice the driver side window piece not locking into place. Only this side does this, and this is the worst example of the piece not solidly locking into place that I can find among the 9 (10? Something.) versions of this toy in various colors in my house. Hopefully, this is again just something not done well on my particular sample and not a consistent issue with this run of Optimus. Let your fellow Seibertronians know in the comments if you have a quick fix for this problem!


And now, some comparison images.


I put the truck cabs in this odd side by side configuration to help illustrate the subtle difference in blues between the toys. The latest version of Hasbro's MP-10 Optimus Prime is, as speculated, a darker blue - but just barely. This isn't a dramatic difference and may not have been a planned one. In other words, this could just be a happenstance difference in shade caused by a small variance in how much blue polystyrene/etc got put in to the injection molding equipment this time as opposed to that other time. As more collectors get the toy in-hand, we'll have to see if this variation holds true as a rule.


Once again for the purposes of being thorough, here are (roughly) the same shots using Takara's MP-10 Convoy instead.


Most of the same previously identified differences are also evident here, with the choice of paint for the cab lights sticking out quite evidently in Optimus' vehicle mode. You can also see the slight difference in paint on the rear of the waist with Hasbro's use of red as opposed to Takara's use of blue. Please do not let me know which is more cartoon accurate, I'm good without pics of OP's rear.


Adding the trailer to the cab doesn't make anything jump out as immediately different between the three trailers. Nevertheless, below are images of each version with the trailer attached in alt mode.


While you may have noticed some subtle changes in each (not helped at all by my not-consistent-at-all placement of the cab and trailer in each shot), some more direct comparisons are helpful in distinguishing the trailers of the toys.


Taking the two Hasbro version trailers really only yields one difference, that being in the amount of white paint used in the outlines. There's another difference in the paint which is seen just below, but it was hard to capture on camera.


The latest release uses a gloss paint for the white on the trailer, while the first 2012 Hasbro Masterpiece release sees this in a matte white. Again, this wasn't easy to photograph but the difference is indeed there.


This same gloss coat/dull coat difference holds when looking at the Takara version's trailer, but you may also note the Takara trailer has smaller, and ultimately cleaner, white pin-striping along the side of the trailer's exterior. There's also a minor touch in how the white paint is applied to the Autobot symbol on Convoy to give it just ever-so-slightly a more "large-eyed-G1-faction-symbol" look.


There's not much difference at all between the three trailers when viewed from the back. The paint on the Takara trailer is either a slightly different shade of silver, or on thicker in general. The difference visible here is somewhat due to lighting but is somewhat evident in normal conditions as well.


The latest 2017 Optimus Prime release takes the "CE" and product ID tampographs off of the robot interior (as seen on the 2012 Hasbro release) and moves this to the bottom of the trailer. Outside of that, there's no difference in the part of the trailer you're likely never to look at, and this is a smart place to put this information - or at least it beats a very visible inner-Prowl leg.


One of the most well known differences between the initial Hasbro and Takara releases of MP-10 Optimus Prime was the silver paint present within the trailer of Takara's release that was absent on the 2012 Hasbro release. Fans had wondered if the increased price point of the new version for this year was indicative of this paint being restored. The answer turns out to be "yes!"


While the silver on the inner sides of the trailer is present, you may notice in the first shot of the base mode that it seems the silver paint on the mini-figure seats and inside the battle station is not there. The second picture here confirms this. One out of two isn't bad, but at the $160 asking price it feels like a cut corner. Another difference here to note is the canopy on the repair module/battle station command unit, which is much more transparent on this release. As you'll see below, the other versions of Masterpiece Optimus Prime feature a much smokier look for this canopy.


Here for reference is the initial Hasbro release of the toy, with the bare gray plastic interior of the trailer clearly visible. The new release does give a great improvement to this with the detail of the molding much more evident with a coat of paint to clean it up. The silver also provides the faintest amount of reflection, creating some contrast in the lines not present on bare plastic.


Takara's version is still the clear winner for details on the inside of the trailer (and out, in my opinion.) The extra accents along with the nice silver panels inside create a look that makes it feel special, especially so in the "Repair Bay" mode. All three "Repair Bay" modes are pictured below.


This was always an interesting mode to me, as it's reminiscent of a piloted mech being serviced before takeoff. Of course, given the Diaclone roots of the original Optimus Prime toy, this makes quite a bit of sense. Again, the extra details on the Takara version help this mode to pop, and it's in this mode where the lack of eye paint is actually somewhat beneficial, as it almost gives the look that Convoy is "powered down" while in this bay.


Just as a parting note on this part of the article - there's even paint inside the cockpit on this one! A very nice touch indeed.


The Roller included with the Hasbro release is blue as opposed to the silver of the Takara Convoy. Which Hasbro release am I referring to? Either of them.


The blues are a little different between the two Hasbro versions, with the latest one being just a hint darker. It's not as subtle as the blues of Optimus' legs, but it's not a dramatic difference either.


As seen here, the rifles aren't any different. The spring loaded mechanism on the newest release was a little bit looser, especially when storing it in the trailer, but not the worst sample of all the MP-10 based figures that I've seen. This is likely another case where one example of this latest Hasbro MP-10 won't be the same as others. You'll also notice Spike in there, who is the next topic in this look at these several versions of Optimus Prime.


The mini-figures included with these Masterpiece toys are just awful. Spike was the first, and is still as bad now as he was upon first release. This amorphous, vaguely human shaped blob is also included with the newest Hasbro MP-10 Optimus Prime, and is here to haunt your dreams with his no-face.


His boots are yellower this time, going from a construction site yellow to full on rainstorm preparation rubber boots. Thankfully, he's still easy enough to store in the trailer forever never to return to flop over lifelessly with his expression that has always been lifeless anyhow. Let's move on to more exciting comparisons.


If there's ever been a case of an accessory having variation where I don't think it was ever intended, it's with the different versions of the Matrix of Leadership that come with each of these versions of Masterpiece Optimus Prime. They're pictured just below, with the caption guiding you as to what's what.


The newest one has a nice brass-orange color around it, much darker than the original 2012 Hasbro Masterpiece release, but still different from the Takara Tomy matrix. I find this to be a fun variation, as this accessory is infinitely pretty to look at in almost every color its been cast in. The clear blues are different as well, and I cranked up the exposure a little in this next shot to illustrate it.


No matter which blue you prefer here, I don't think you can go wrong. Blue is blue. The contrast in the latest is nice, with the dark blue going along with the deeper orange. The first Hasbro release has the lightest of the three blue colors, with the Takara version coming somewhere in between them, yet still on the darker side of things. At any rate, it's always nice to see these included, and I hope other upcoming releases such as MP-711 continue to play around with different color schemes for this iconic little accessory.


As expected, this latest release also includes an energy ax accessory. There's not much to say about it, so let's get to the comparisons.


The ax included with this most recent Hasbro MP-10 Optimus Prime got big somehow, especially compared to the original Hasbro version. That bottom point of the blade looks like it could hurt - were this not made of soft plastic. Hopefully, this is made of some material that will hold up over time if stored within the trailer. It'd be unfortunate if plasticizer migration struck there, as it recently has on poor Revenge of the Fallen Voyager Class Bludgeon.


While transforming each of these into truck mode, I noticed one final odd variation. The newest version of this toy has a blue color to a piece that's not really visible in either mode once transformed. It's the painted diecast piece that sits just behind the truck's grille that is used to clip the torso to the lower body securely in robot mode. Being very hard to photograph in a reasonable way, I went with the only logical choice and made a terrible attempt at a heroic mid-transformation pose to show it.


Do you see it in there? Not a big thing, but it is still one more difference. Hopefully the paint on it holds up well, as I also noticed the red starting to chip away from that part while transforming my 2012 Hasbro Prime.

This newest Hasbro Masterpiece Optimus Prime release is a great opportunity for fans that missed out on this toy for one reason or another before. It takes many of the good elements of the first Hasbro version, adds in a slight bit of the Takara Tomy Convoy's flair with the silver paint, and should satisfy most fans that don't yet own this mold in its originally intended color scheme of red and blue. If you've got the Takara version already, I don't think this is different in enough ways that I can call improvements to warrant a purchase almost as much as that one likely was for you. The Takara Tomy Convoy still feels like the most polished of these toys, even though I'd love to see them put it out with colored eyes like the Hasbro versions have. This is just my opinion, of course, and hopefully with the images above and this accompanying article, you'll now have enough information to decide if it's time to double-dip.

If you have the first Hasbro release, this one's definitely not recommended. It's more expensive and for all practical, not-crazy-person reasons, it's basically the same outside of the inner paint for the trailer. If you're like me though and really only wanted it if there was at least one solid, measurable, distinguishable different characteristic between the two, then have no fear and head on over to your local Toys R Us and grab one while you can, or see if it comes in stock online. Don't forget to use our Sightings Section and local Sightings Forums on the Energon Pub to let your other Seibertronian friends know if you see it out and about!