Saturday 30 July 2016

Masterpiece Loudpedal MP-25L


Profile (Translated from the Trading Card)
MP-25L Destron Sonic Sapper Loudpedal
●Function: Sonic Sapper
●Motto: "Beyond suffering, you can achieve ecstasy."
●Profile:
Despite being a highly capable warrior who can use a variety of ultrasonic tactics, he is unfairly underestimated by his fellow Destrons. He is one of the galaxy’s leading musical talents and because of his genius he is very eccentric. The Destron’s don’t appreciate his artistic talent and as such his tech spec numbers do not represent his true worth.
STR...3; INT...3; SPD...6; END...4; RNK...3; CRG...2; FBL...4; SKL...2


Other Resources:

Overview


Loudpedal is yet another welcome Diaclone only release which has found its way to the Masterpiece line. The original Diaclone black Corvette Stingray was only sold in Finland as an R-Kioski exclusive in 1984. A second reissue "Black Tracks" was released in 2002 in Japan as a lucky draw exclusive and was limited to 300 pieces. The reissue black Tracks had slight colour differences from the original as the face was a gold colour instead of pale green and the upper legs and forearms and fists were cast in a black plastic instead of grey.

Diaclone Black Corvette (Left) & reissue Black Tracks (right). Source: @tagoal

In February 2016, a Masterpiece version of a toy accurate Tracks was speculated upon with the emergence of a prototype figure of Tracks sporting a different head entirely, one which looks closer to the G1 toy.

Prototype Loudpedal (Source: Maz at tfsquareone)


The speculation turned out to be half correct when Figure King magazine revealed the prototype to be a black version of Tracks with the colour scheme based on the Finnish Diaclone version. This would be a Tokyo Toy show exclusive, much like the Masterpiece Tigertrack and Silverstreak. In turn this would be a completely different character altogether, a Destron called Loudpedal (so called after the sustain pedal on a piano).

Figure King Magazine reveal of Loudpedal


Loudpedal was available for purchase at the 2016 Tokyo Toy Show on the 11th and 12th June for 8,500 Yen. From the 17th June, Loudpedal was then available for purchase on the Takara Tomy Mall website.


Loudpedal comes with a translucent purple stand for robot mode and flight mode, other than the colour it is identical to the version released with MP-25 Tracks. Also present is a Broadcast (Blaster) redeco called MC-21 Soundwarrior (the same name and designation as the original Micro Change MC-21 Radi-Cass Robo). This is not a new character, it is just a normal ghetto-blaster but it is in the colours of the original blue Micro Change MC-21 Radio Cassette Robo. 



Loudpedal comes with a gun, a redeco of the version which came with MP-26 Road Rage, the same styled gun which came with the original toy. A Raoul "avatar" figure also comes with Loudpedal which is recoloured to be based on Raoul's appearance in the G1 cartoon episode "Auto-Bop". 


Loudpedal also comes with a sticker sheet with an alternative "CS" logo which can be applied to the cars bonnet. This is in the style of the original Diaclone figure with the CS standing for "Corvette Stingray", though in this case it stands for "Cymond Shadow", Loudpedal's stage name.



This is a fantastic redeco, and the glossy black plastic and translucent purple windows compliment the car mode. Much like Tracks and Road Rage the bonnet does not close flush and the upper robot mode arms are painted which can easily chip. The robot shins on my copy are very stiff to rotate and I've seen cases where these have broken off so care is required.


Translations




Back of the box (Translated from the back of the box)
A talented warrior with three transformations and a high performance ultrasonic generator. Despite having a variety of tactics and techniques, he is vastly underrated by his fellow Destrons. This is all down to his other special talent. Loudpedal is undeniably ruthless, brutal, bitter and evil, but he is also one of the galaxy's greatest musical talents. New melodies spring to his mind spontaneously and he is always focused on composing them into a song. The finished products were always fresh, beautiful and masterpieces which touched the very souls of those who heard them. It is raw natural talent but it has hampered his judgement and concentration during several vital missions. As a result, the Destron's opinion of him dramatically dropped. He was removed from all important assignments and any praise he did receive was accompanied by insults. Loudpedal suspected he was being set up by someone with an agenda. He sensed this was the Chief Information Officer, Soundwave. Loudpedal spends his days miserable, harbouring a strong grudge against Soundwave.


The instruction manual also comes with a story to introduce Loudpedal and his affiliation with Exhaust, aptly named "Noise & Smoke":


Translation and scan of the instructions


Noise & Smoke Backstory (Translated from the instruction booklet)
Loudpedal’s electronic brain has a “condition” where he spontaneously composes music. He once thought he couldn’t do anything about this but he gradually learned how to cope with it. The way he does this is to save his compositions and share them with others and receiving feedback subdues his violent outbursts of creativity. He registered himself with “GalacShare”, an interplanetary data hosting service and published his works under the name “C Shadow” and his music took the galaxy by storm. His user account was flooded with all sorts of offers including a request to compose the theme for the Galactic Olympics and an invitation to be the court musician for an interplanetary royal family, but Loudpedal ignored them all. He had no idea that the noise in his head would have such a resounding effect. Meanwhile a visitor claiming to be C Shadows agent turned up at his residence. Surprisingly it was the Destron Industrial Espionage Warrior, Exhaust. What would a corporate spy working for Soundwave want with him?
“Soundwave? Blaster? Whatever, he died once and the chain of command with him. He isn’t my boss anymore.” Exhaust is now an agent for the interplanetary organisation for Marlboor Dynamics.
“GalacShare is run by an affiliate of Marlboor; as soon as you created your account, Marlboor knew who you were. They also know C Shadow, the greatest composer of the galaxy, is a Destron deserter!” Annoyed, Loudpedal asked what they wanted with him.
“They don’t care who you are, they are only interested in what you can do. You produce Masterpieces like a machine.” These words calmed him down.
“If they want it, they can have it. I want the Destrons to appreciate me more than these aliens. I want them to recognise my potential.” Exhaust soothed Loudpedal.
“Don’t be so modest, you have genuine talent. Squawkbox calls himself a musician but you’re on a whole other level. You are a galactic treasure, beyond good and evil. I’ve lived in a multicultural community for some time now and I can tell you that your talent shouldn't be taken lightly.” Exhaust pulled out a file entitled “Proposal” and showed him.
“I suggest you take control of your music and use it to make a deal with Marlboor. We aren’t interested in money but fortunately they have something of value, technology to empower us.” The proposal included a contract negotiation strategy which would give Loudpedal new abilities in return for cooperating with Marlboor’s Cyber-Psychological Research. He would also be able to carry on working under the pseudonym C Shadow and handle his own promotional paperwork.
“I don’t get it, why would you help me? What’s in it for you?” Loudpedal asked Exhaust.
“Great power can also be used for evil. At the moment I’m not sure how exactly, but I’m sure your talents will interest the Destrons.” The answer was good enough but not quite convincing enough. Loudpedal suddenly had a strange thought. (I’m not so sure, wait…are you a fan?) Loudpedal almost said it but stopped himself. He thought it unlikely and doubted Exhaust would admit it anyway.


Robot Mode: Loudpedal (Translated from the instruction booklet)
Function: Sonic Sapper
Motto: ”Beyond suffering, you can achieve ecstasy.”
Ability
His control of ultrasonics has a wide variety of applications, from combat operations such as attacks using vibrations and shock waves, detecting surrounding enemies and measuring their positions to repair and maintenance by cutting and welding materials. Loudpedal maintains a business partnership with Exhaust, one of the few Destrons who know of his hidden artistic talent. He was also given a new ability by the technology development department of the interplanetary giant, Marlboor. This “Thunderation” ability can generate a sound at any coordinate within a 2km radius and is extremely effective in confusing enemies in battle. It is yet to be seen if this new ability will pave his way to success.



Projection: Holo-Matter Avatar (Translated from the instruction booklet)
C Shadow is a holographic humanoid avatar which Loudpedal uses to disguise his identity. The avatar was randomly chosen from a list of lifeforms that the Destrons have previously encountered, and it just so happens it looks like the young human, Raoul.


Decoration: Cymond’s Shadow Logo (Translated from the instruction booklet)
This is Loudpedal’s logo, using his pseudonym “C Shadow” (Cymond’s Shadow). It is a discrete decoration which he uses when forced to appear in public.


Property: MC-21 Soundwarrior (Translated from the instruction booklet)
This is Loudpedal’s commercially available portable media playback device. He uses it to instantaneously save melodies which spring to mind. He keeps it at close quarters on the battlefield so as not to interfere with combat operations.


Weapon: Mass-Driver Rifle (Translated from the instruction booklet)
A large firearm carried by Loudpedal. Due to the limited range of his ultrasonic abilities, he carries a separate weapon which covers long range. As he can craft his own bullets, theoretically he has unlimited ammunition.

No comments:

Post a Comment