Um, I think something is missing here...

In what I would call the biggest “what the fuck” moment of the year thus far, TakaraTomy has launched a new website dedicated to Transformers 2010 aptly titled Welcome to 2010.

You can poke around the site yourself for a while, but the major thing of note is a new product available specifically for the 2010 year tie-in, a new redeco of Masterpiece Convoy named MP-4S SLEEP MODE CONVOY.  This is a rendition of the Masterpiece Convoy mold colored to look like Optimus Prime’s big death scene from the Transformers Animated Movie.

So where do I begin?

As cool as this repaint kind of is, we just got a Masterpiece Black Convoy that was pretty pricey just a few months ago.  Not only that, this is the MP4 mold that includes that giant trailer!  Now that doesn’t even make sense.  If this is a dead version of Optimus Prime, why the hell does he have a trailer?  It seems only logical to have swapped the Black Convoy and Sleep Mode Convoy concepts to each other’s toy mold.  I’m sure Black Convoy would benefit more from a nice meaty trailer than a dead husk of a robot would.  That trailer is going to increase the price of this expectedly pricey figure more than $100! If you thought MP-8X was expensive at $250, expect this package to roll in around $350 or more.

There are a few kind of cool things to talk about though.  The Megatron accessory comes in reformat transluscent purple.  This however makes me wonder if we are going to see our first repaint of Masterpiece Megatron in transluscent plastic…  At this point anything is possible.  This is all I’ve got in the “good” department.

We were told TakaraTomy had some amazing things planned for the Masterpiece line in 2010.  If this is it, I’m completely let down.  I will put down some cold hard cash for some crazy figures.  I’ve defended the release of King Grimlock more than a few times.  The announcement of Masterpiece Ghost Starscream had me kind of uneasy, and I am a huge Starscream nut.  Sleep Mode Convoy however, might be the first nail in the coffin for the Masterpiece line.

This figure will be the 4th redeco we have seen in the Masterpiece line since the last new mold, Masterpiece Grimlock.  This could indicate that all-new molds are on the way for 2010, or it could mean that we should expect even more repaints.  Like I said, Masterpiece Megatron has not been under the TakaraTomy nip-and-tuck scalpel yet so it is only a matter of time.

Just what is going to fill up those other 3 slots?

There are some slivers of hope though.  Apparently Rodimus’s flame paint scheme is integral to the design of this website.  This may be a less than subtle hint that at what we can expect the next Masterpiece mold to be.  If this prediction ends up to be true, the 2010 Masterpiece figures could completely redeem TakaraTomy from their over-priced exclusive Masterpiece redecos. I am about ready to throw in the masterpiece towel unless we hear some amazing news soon.

Oh, and to all those Convoy collectors out there, sorry dudes.