Transformers: Masterpiece Ramjet

If you’ve read my Ghosts of Christmas Presents series of reviews from last December, you’re probably aware of the tendency my wife has to buy me really awesome and occasionally really rare Transformers figures. My birthday was a few weekends ago, and I turned a spry 38 years old. My wife got me a really excellent two part gift: the first part is the Takara Mall exclusive Masterpiece Ramjet.

Ramjet is the first (we now know) of the Coneheads released in the Masterpiece line. Starting from the MP-11 Starscream body, Ramjet is a heavy modification that makes a lot of improvements to that figure, and has one of the most satisfying transformation steps that I’ve come across in some time. I took a picture of it, so don’t worry. Just try to process your excitement, and we’ll get to it soon enough. 

With the original.

The original Masterpiece Starscream, released in 2006, was heralded as one of the best figures from the first run of the line. Admittedly, it had few competitors, but it was and is a terrific example of what this line seeks to provide: realistic, complex versions of G1 characters in both toy and vehicle forms, looking as real-worldy as possible. The MP-03 mold has a stories history, being used, as a Starscream figure usually does, to produce the original Seeker trio, a Ghost version, and a G1 color, ‘cartoon accurate’ US-only version that was available at Wal-Mart, who would later get the US release of Skywarp from this same mold. Released in 2012, MP-11 was a slightly modified or updated Starscream that addresses some of MP-03s issues, like the tail parts of the jet mode that had previously been parts that hung from the hips of the robot, and the unstable and temperamental feet, which relied on the jet engine part to bear the weight of the robot. MP-11 came along with more stable feet and tailfins that were attached to the lower part of the robot legs, as well as a more cartoony robot appearance, to better fit in with the second run of Masterpiece figures, which were, in robot modes, attempting to be more cartoon accurate than real-world realistic. I own all versions of the MP-03 mold: original, G1 and Ghost Starscream, Skywarp and Thundercracker. I only own one version of the MP-11 mold, that being the Toys R Us Masterpiece Acid Storm. I find the MP-03 mold to still be perfectly fine, despite having a few drawbacks in the design.

Ramjet does much of what the original mold(s) do, both in transformation scheme and overall appearance. He has  most of the original minor features as well, like the chest missile pods and the airplane parts that open or function, like the nosecone radar an all that. The updated Seeker mold attaches the tailfins of the plane to the robot calves, and allows them to slide back and forth into place so that they are far enough back in jet mode while not inhibiting standing in robot mode. The feet are far better in the newer mold as well, being comprised of three pieces now instead of the previous two, making a much more stable standing toy.

Another fairly large difference between the MP-03 and 11 molds are the null rays. Originally separate parts that plugged into holes in the arms or wing undersides, the MP-03 update has null rays that are attached to the upper arm via a thin plastic piece that moves to position the weapon properly for either vehicle or robot mode. Ramjet comes with his two large bombs, which are two piece covers for the null rays, sliding over the front part of the arm weapon and then being capped by the rear piece. I’ve got to say, this is ingenious. Dating back to the release of MP-03, people have wanted all six G1 Seekers, and one of the questions was “how are they going to effect the differences between the original three and the Coneheads, who all have different weapons and wings and …. cone heads?” I have a feeling that large, bulky weapons such as Ramjets’ may not work the best with the newer attached null ray arrangement, so this two piece add on system is a real great idea for feasibly providing the more accurate accessories. It also allows for some variation in Ramjet’s general appearance. He can have his standard bombs, or the standard null rays, and the bombs attach to the rear of the robot

Yeah, but is it a neater trick than spinning?

mode, storing pegged into the holes in the small parts or the larger wing, looking like boosters rockets. What a neat trick.

Who's a handsome guy, huh? Who's that handsome guy right there??

The head is also fantastic, as it is an actual conehead, not just some simple mod to the existent Seeker head, and this is a real good thing, as we again know now that there are other Masterpiece Coneheads on the way. The face looks like Ramjet, and we know from photos that the face on Thrust is going to be different, and we can thus assume that the brand newly revealed MP Dirge is going to have yet a different face. I was a fan of the MP-03 revolving faceplate gimmick, but I don’t find it something that is lacking for not being included with the MP-03 modifications, and I think it is better left out of the Coneheads. One of the things that makes the Ramjet head such a winner in my opinion is that while it is a totally different head for this mold, it is simple, and it is simply Ramjet, instead of being overly complicated or gimmicked up. 

The wings are a real marvel as well, in both modes. The panel that in robot mode sports the Decepticon badge flips around to reveal the lower half of the wing mounted engine, so in jet mode there is an over/under engine while maintaining the smooth, engineless cartoon robot look. The lower wings bend back slightly, so that Ramjet doesn’t stand with his wings straight out to his sides, replicating the G1 toy ability to slant the wings behind the figure a little bit. It looks so good, and is such a simple thing, but man does it provide some wow moments during transformation. They also attach to the robot legs, not on the hinge joint that all other Masterpiece Seekers utilize to flip their wings over for robot mode. This gives Ramjet that almost cape-like appearance that he has always had.

But that’s not the only wow moment. One of the questions raised about this toy since its reveal had been accommodating the cone head. Something that went fairly unnoticed about this guy was the chest cockpit is upside down from all previous Masterpiece Seekers. The Decepticon logo on the

nose of the jet is painted on the back of Ramjet’s head, which also incorporates the front window of the cockpit in jet mode. In order to hide the cone head and facilitate the new chest layout, the entire cockpit section of the jet was redesigned. While it is a redesign that hinges on one change, that single change makes all the difference. The large part of the cockpit area has been redesigned to spin around during transformation, meaning that the chest turns 180 degrees to become the cockpit of the jet. The robot head then turns 180 degrees around to become the front of the cockpit, and then, the now standard MP Seeker nosecone structure swings up into place, completing the nose of the plane.

Discovering this for the first time was like a religious experience. *tips excitedly*

It is an incredible in-hand experience. It is also a real marvel to watch as the large, burgundy wings come together, giving the jet mode that oh-so-Ramjet look.

Ramjet is a terrific fighter jet. Often criticized as being the plain white one, I am surprised how eye-catching and appealing the vehicle mode is. Comprised of three colors, with two of them being black and white, the jet mode is really alive looking, sleek and dangerous. The large bombs under the wings help to further build that Ramjet profile: Ramjet and Dirge have always been toys/characters more defined by their differences from the original three Seekers plus Thrust than any other characteristics. The original three all have the same look aside from colors, right down to the weapons; Thrust in-fiction has the cone head and in all forms the large VTOL wings. Ramjet and Dirge are ‘just’ different wings and weapons, and it is precisely the wings and weapons that make Masterpiece Ramjet stick out from his companions in both modes. But once again, dating back to the dawn of the mold, it had generally been surmised that an MP Ramjet/Coneheads would basically be different heads put on the same Seeker body with different looking yet similarly functioning wings, and this figure totally shatters those ideas.

 

When the MP-11 mold was first released, people were hailing it as perhaps one of the best things ever. I’ve got the mold as “Masterpiece” Acid Storm, and it’s an update of MP-03, for sure. It does some kinda neat things that make it an improvement over the original, but it is hardly a renaissance type toy, for me at least. Ramjet here is the first time since. . . probably the first time that I’ve handled an MP Seeker and just thought “damn, this is a satisfying transforming toy.” That is the true glory of this piece: it takes a very well understood toy and, through a handful of small changes, turns it into something exciting again, something that feels satisfying and fun again. 

With MP-07 Thudercracker

I am a man who loves Seekers. As I’ve already mentioned, I’ve bought MP-03 four times, been given an additional one as a gift, and bought Acid Storm. For crying out loud, I bought Masterpiece Acid Storm. When Starscream was first release all those years ago, I transformed him a number of times just to get a feel and appreciation for this “masterpiece” toy. He, Skywarp and Thundercracker are often some of the first toys I put up after moving to a new place, so the trio has been transformed back and forth a number of times over the last six years or so as well. I know that when Ramjet was announced, the news was met with a combination of excitement and indifference, as is the general case with deep mold reuses such as the Seekers. Let’s talk about the Classics Seeker mold someday, right? I can understand people being burned out on MP-03/11, I honestly can. We come to a point with Seekers where only the dedicated can go any further forward, and with the price of entries in the Masterpiece line, and the exclusivity of Ramjet (and soon to be Thrust, and likely Dirge after that) I understand that for a lot of people, MP Ramjet is going to always be a figure observed from afar. But Ramjet is the Masterpiece Seeker that made me rediscover my appreciation for the mold(s) through the little things he does to make him Ramjet and not just an MP Starscream repaint. This is a common feature of the Coneheads: as similar as they are to the original three, they are different enough that they actually feel like different or new toys. Sometimes, this mark is missed, and the toy feels exactly like the original Seeker figure it is made from. But that is not the case with Masterpiece Ramjet. This feels like an all-new toy, a brand new mold, and a totally new experience.

Knowing the fatigue that people have with this toy, and knowing the cost and potential difficulty of obtaining one given its exclusive nature, I have to say that if you are a Seeker fan, or someone who really collects the Masterpiece line, Ramjet is practically a must buy. My own thoughts on seeing the release images were pretty salty, thinking it looked fantastic but understanding that the price was likely to be high and that getting one would probably be tough, but that I really liked the look of it and really wanted to add one to my collection. I had to make myself think that I didn't really want it, because I knew I wasn't going to be getting one right away, and with it being an exclusive and stuff, I figured it'd be a hard to get after the initial release item, and that maybe one of these years, luck and finances all aligning, Masterpiece Ramjet would be a joyous convention purchase. But I am so glad to say that I own one, because it is much, much cooler in person than any promo shots could possibly imply. Cost or mold fatigue or importing or disinterest or whatever, a lot of people are going to miss out on an excellent toy here. 

At the start of this, I’d mentioned that Masterpiece Ramjet was one part of a two-part birthday gift my wife gave me. The second part was that she placed a preorder for the upcoming Masterpiece Thrust. And, as I’ve briefly mentioned, just last weekend Masterpiece Dirge was revealed, and so now we just wait for preorders for that to go up online. They are going to look so good together with the original three.