Transformers: Masterpiece Exhaust

 

  

Finally getting a chance to get around to some recent(ish) Masterpiece acquisitions, and I am super happy about this one. One of the rare Masterpiece Decepticons that isn’t a Seeker, Exhaust is a repaint of the Wheeljack mold, based on the G1 "Marlboor Wheeljack" variant figure, a toy long sought after and attained by deep pocketed collectors. A sort of controversial figure, the G1 toy sported a deco that was based on the pretty recognizable Marlboro cigarette box design, and was never widely released (if it was released at all) worldwide. This makes Exhaust something of an oddity, and a sort of random entry in the Masterpiece line.

The Masterpiece version ran into some legal problems prior to its release back in 2014, as Philip Morris, the company which owns Marlboro, was threatening legal action against retailers who carried the figure. These kinds of legal actions often scare the fandom, but never seem to actually stop the influx of figures, as now two Masterpiece and countless G1 Megatron reissues in American collections can attest to. Exhaust worked up a minor lather amongst collectors, then saw that ratchet higher due to this threat of action, and then seemed to trail off. He’d been on my hunt list for a while, but for a number of years there I’d lost track of the Masterpiece line, and so his status of being on my hunt list translated to “if I see him somewhere and feel like it”. I saw one at TFCon 2016 but passed because that Saturday afternoon was when I became completely enthralled by third party figures, and so the Exhaust I’d been staring at for like 40 minutes ended up staying there. At C2E2 this year, I found a dealer who had Exhaust for a terrific price – like $60 – and I pounced on it. I’d pick up a few other Masterpiece figures from this same dealer that weekend, but we’ll talk about those later.

Bad angle shot, I realized as I uploaded it...

Exhaust is a terrific Transformer. His robot mode is very Wheeljacky, obviously, since that’s the guy whose mold he shares; but despite this, Exhaust is more of a realized individual than ‘just’ being a repainted Wheeljack. He has a surprising (to me, at least) number of joints in his feet, one of which is due to a transformation step, but regardless. There’s an ankle joint and then a joint that essentially allows Exhaust to point his foot, and these two give him a good range of movement in the ankle/foot area so he can get some good poses going. This poseable foot allows for running poses or wide legged stances that are more stable that a fixed ankle, where the toy then needs to strike an A stance in order to take a position other than standing at attention. Pretty standard knees, hips, shoulders and elbows other than that. Transformation to robot mode involves a step where the rear end of the car turns inside out to hide the car parts while revealing the robot shoulders and arms, and it is the “Wow” moment of this figure, and one that really excited me the first time I transformed him. It’s like a car exploded into a robot, or turned itself inside out to unleash the robot inside. It’s a great transformation.

Ill-gotten Immobilizer.

The figures is mainly white and black, with really excellent bursts of red from the car deco. I’ve seen tons of pictures of Masterpiece Wheeljack, and almost all of my thoughts on it are that it looks so boring due to a lack of color. Exhaust isn’t the most colorful robot out there, but the placement really works and I feel makes it appear more painted than it actually is. The head on this figure is new, and it is a cool knight helmet looking affair. Wheeljack always did have one of the cooler G1 head sculpts because of how unique it was, not being just a human face with a helmet or something, but I am glad that Exhaust doesn’t try to reuse it. I suppose my surprise at this is another sign of my Masterpiece sabbatical, as not reusing the head of a repainted figure strikes me as a bold choice that smacks of quality. Apparently at this point, Masterpiece collectors are used to this. The wings are blue translucent plastic on Exhaust while on the original they are that smokey grey color. Exhaust also comes with two shoulder mounted missile launchers, although in proper collector focused line fashion they are not functional and are apparently housing different missiles than those of Wheeljack, a handheld blaster that seems alternatingly totally appropriate or comically tiny, and the Immobilizer accessory that Wheeljack built in the G1 cartoon that was turned against the Autobots by Megatron. I’m not sure there is any explanation as to why Exhaust has it, but he does. His function in the Decepticon army is Industrial Espionage, so I suppose he could have stolen the Immobilizer at some point.

Respected sponsor Goodflavor represented well.

Vehicle mode is based on the Lancia Stratos race car, and it is a sleek and excellent looking car. Adorned with logos and endorsements, it looks like a real model car if one overlooks the fairly pronounced panel lines. Exhaust folds up real nice, and there aren’t many tells that this is a robot in disguise, even when viewed from underneath. The biggest giveaway is probably the blaster, which does a pretty good job of pretending to be a muffler or exhaust system, but is still obviously a piece pegged on. The rims are red, which is a detail that I never seem to remember, so when I look at Exhaust and see this, I’m surprised all over again. It’s something I’m thinking about calling my Massive Headwound Harry moment, for the one of you who remembers that SNL skit. Exhaust doesn’t have an opening engine or door or anything, the detail touches that are a sometimes hallmark of the Masterpiece line, and that’s ok. Those features are generally ignored by me anyway, so I don’t feel as though anything were lacking. I remember being real amazed by those features on MP-03 Starscream like twelve years ago, and over the course of owning nine other MP Seekers, I think I’ve looked at them twice. I know some people really appreciate those details and inclusions, but I am indifferent. There is a spot on the roof of the car to attach the missile launchers to form a kind of battle car, but it looks silly. In the G1 cartoon, Cybertronians did that kind of thing all the time: folding out a blaster or something to fire at Decepticon jets or whatever, so I know what this mode is trying to do, and my nostalgic nature approves. Exhaust comes with detachable side mirrors that are pegged in to the sides of the car mode, but I did not attach them. They are very tiny pieces, and they don’t permanently attach; they just peg in, and not very securely. I just left them in the box, but I do think their inclusion is cool for people who really crave that level of realism.

 

Attack car mode.

I really like Masterpiece Exhaust. If there was one thing that I worried about, it would be that many of the moving parts are held on with large pin joints, and I worry that they will work themselves out or not be able to handle the stress of repeated transformations. More a display piece than a traditional toy, the Masterpiece figures always (or at least, this “new” run of them . . . I don’t recall having this issue with MP-01 through 08) find me real nervous on first handling. I mentioned this with both Masterpiece Ramjet and Thrust, and it will be a topic that comes up a few more times in the not too distant future. But I don’t see a lot of quality control complaints on the fan sites about these figures, so I guess I should approach them with more confidence and less terror.

Anyway, Exhaust is a cool figure, and represents something cool that the Masterpiece line does, which is uses repaints as a way to reference obscure G1 pieces while turning them into characters of sorts. I have before noted my love of the halcyon days of eHobby and their work doing this exact thing. The Masterpiece entries in this had previously been things like Acid Storm, which was really pretty unnecessary, and then became things like Clampdown and Tigertrack and now, guys like Exhaust. I’d personally be more interested in these kinds of left field choices than more Masterpiece versions of the G1 cast, honestly. I say that after losing my mind over the recent Sunstreaker reveal. Maybe that’s because I haven’t been terribly interested in most of the G1 Autobots that have been paraded around under the banner of this line, while a figure like Exhaust offers not only a Decepticon and not only something new, but something a little strange, all of which are big pluses in my book. I was super late to the Exhaust party, but he does not disappoint.