Meister (06) was released in
Japan in July, 2002 and sold for ¥3,000. Meister is the Japanese equivalent
of Jazz in the US, and I’ll refer to this figure as Meister in my
review. It is the first re-issue figure
(#1) released in this new stylized packaging.
The box is made of corrugated cardboard with a front flap that is
secured by two strips of velcro. The box
is mostly White with Gold trim and measures
8.75"Hx6.75"Wx2.375"D. The
"Transformers" lettering is embossed on the front, which is a nice touch
along with an anime Meister created by Dreamwave Productions.
The writing on the ends of the
box (front & sides) allow it to be displayed on a
shelf in different ways, horizontally &
vertically. The top & bottom is mostly printed in English
and each side panel can be displayed vertically or horizontally.
The horizontal panel is mostly in English whereas the
vertical is mostly in Japanese characters.
Opening the "door" reveals several things--a
nice layout with parts secured in a
molded plastic container and data cards attached to the backside of the
front flap. The cellophane cover is framed nicely with an
Autobot symbol on the front/top and "Meister" printed on the
front/bottom.
The backdrop is Blue
with Meister’s name above the toy and Collection 1 below it.
At the very bottom of the backdrop is "Transformers". Each
accessory/weapon has a label either above or below the part.
Meister looks very nice in this package!
The card catalog is a nice addition to this new
re-release of Transformers. It’s almost entirely in Japanese with
most of the page titles in English. The index page is glued to the
front cover of the box and outlines the contents of the card catalog.
This catalog can be removed from the box due to the perforated edge
and can be stored in a 6-ring binder, which is popular in Japan.
I remember seeing this type of data card in Hobby Magazine for Gundam
figures and thought it was a neat idea, especially for collectors.
Yep, just pulled out an old magazine to confirm this
:P
The following items were
included with this release:
1.
Meister (Vehicle Mode)
2. Photon Rifle
3. Missiles (x3)
4. Missile Launcher
5. Character Card
6. Sticker Sheet
7. Booklet
The following information is contained in the
booklet:
- Meister Data
File
- 01 Convoy (Optimus
Prime) Data File
- Transformers
Season-1 Ep.Guide (1-9)
- Fold-out
Dreamwave Poster
- Fold-out
Catalog of Season-1 Autobots
(1-15)
Meister's Weapons
WEAPONS:
Meister's weapons are identified
as Missile Launcher, Photon
Rifle, and Missiles. The launcher (Black, White, and Chrome
parts) attaches to Meister's back and extends over his right shoulder.
The Photon Rifle can
be placed in either of his hands.
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VEHICLE MODE:
Meister is a white Porsche-935
Turbo vehicle painted White and comprised of both plastic and die-cast
metal. The tires are made of rubber and attached to the
chrome-painted wheel hubs. The lower part of the front fairing is
painted red which is the only other color used on this figure. Meister rolls freely and smoothly on any
surface. There are a few stickers pre-applied at the factory
which is identified in all of my photos on this page. A Light/Dark Blue and Red striped sticker is placed on the roof and hood
with the number 4 on the hood. Meister’s rub-sign in located on
his right-front fender. I have a feeling that it may come off in
time due to the curvature of the fender. The driver/passenger
doors also have stickers, which include the same colored striping on the
bottom, the name "Meister", as well as the number
"4". The last two
clear-blue stickers are on the headlights.
When I removed Meister from the box,
the first thing I immediately noticed was how loose the two rear-window
parts were after turning the car over. The second would be the
enormous gap between the roof part (including the doors) and the rear of
the car. It doesn’t appear to be a flaw and I assume that is how
the figure was molded, but I can’t verify this since I don’t have an
original mold to compare it with. Before I forget…I chose not to
apply any stickers to Meister which is why the photos appear to
be plain (to some). For those who are interested, Meister
measures 4.75"Lx1.75"Wx1.5"H in vehicle mode.
VEHICLE MODE
ROBOT MODE: To transform
Meister into robot mode,
open both doors by separating the pegs (on the inner-side) from the
holes. Flip the car over and separate the robots fists from the
pegs connected to the front axle. Rotate the arms upward at the
joint closest to the wheels so that they are extended. Next,
rotate the shoulder sections (front wheel panels) outward 90°--should be
able to see Meister's head and arms extended forming the letter "T".
Flip the car over once again. Extend the rear half of the car from
the mid-section--legs will be visible. Fold down the front of the
vehicle 90° where the Black and Chrome part is located. This
should click into place. Hold the front of the hood and rotate it
upward but keeping it parallel to the ground. This should rest on
top of the chrome mid-section and when the roof is pushed down,
Meister's head should appear. Rotate the lower-half of the vehicle
90° to form the base or feet. Fold the two separate chrome-plated
parts upward to rest against the legs. This creates the toes.
Grab both parts of the feet and extend them outward to stabilize the
figure. If you don't perform this last step, Meister will fall
flat on his face. Now rotate the shoulders clockwise so that the
wheels are at the back, then rotate the arms downward. The last
thing to do is attach the Missile Launcher to his back and Photon Rifle
to either fist.
In Robot
Mode, Meister stands at 4.25"Hx3.5"Wx3.5"D. If you look at the
photos below you'll notice that I didn't display his arms or feet
correctly. The wheels on his shoulder should be at the back and
his feet should be separated for stability.
ROBOT MODE
Meister
has a Silver painted face and Black helmet. The details are decent
but the biggest problem with Meister is his loose joints. I stated
this before and it was evident when I attached the Photon Rifle to
either fist. His fists are really loose and still remained that
way after tightening the screws on his forearms. I also had a
problem with attaching the Missile Launcher to his back. For some
odd reason it won't stay in place and every little movement caused it to
fall off.
Overall,
the packaging gets two thumbs up!! The figure itself gets a thumbs
down.
I like both vehicle and robot modes, but the loose joints and not so
form fitted parts (rear window & roof joint) is the main reason why I
dislike this figure.
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