Masterpiece Prowl Review

Transformers Review:  Masterpiece Prowl

While there are Transformers who can be considered to be popular main stream fan favourites, ones like Optimus Prime, Soundwave, Starscream and a few others, there is one who is fondly remembered more for his vehicle mode than much else.
Maybe it's the childlike fondness for police cars or maybe it's the simple yet effective colours that has made Prowl so well remembered, his black and white colour scheme is nothing fancy yet it tends to be quite the draw for children of all ages, even to this day Prowl is very much favoured by many.

It was and still is a shame that a movie version of him was never made.

I had always wanted a Generation One Prowl when I was a child but I never received him, I didn't manage to get one until the Takara book style reissue a little over a decade ago.
When the Masterpiece line appeared around the same time Prowl was one of the bots that fans hoped to see get a Masterpiece release, it wouldn't be until last year when he finally got one.  And what a Masterpiece it is.

So on with the review~

Alt Mode:

Like his original Generation One release, Masterpiece Prowl's alt mode is the Nissan Fairlady 280Z-T, Police version.  Now it might not be a fancy sports car, but the design of the alt mode is very memorable and quite beautiful in it's own right.
It's sleek without looking over the top, it looks like the kind of car that you might normally see on the streets, maybe.

The colours are nothing special yet they are striking in their own way.  Most of the body is white with a black frame on the lower half and the front of the hood, the headlights are sunken in and give an illusion of eyes of sorts, they are a silver colour.  The vents on the hood are black, there is a red Autobot symbol just above the Nissan badge, the wing mirrors on the sides of the hood are a hard black plastic and there are orange indicators to the sides of the blank licence plate area of the hood.

On the doors are the words Highway Patrol and Police with a yellow and blue badge with a yellow star in the middle.  The back lights are orange and red, an exhaust pipe can be seen on the right hand side of the boot of the car mode.
There are non-movable windscreen wipers on the front windscreen and on the back window.  On the roof of the car is his light bar, white with red light bars on both sides.
There is a hole in the back of the light bar where his gun can be slotted into.

The wheels are plastic with gun metal rims and a fuel cap on the left hand side of the car mode, when looking at it from the front.  The windows are tinted black a little, due to the design there is no indication of a steering wheels and seats.
There is an indication of an ariel on the back of the car mode on the left hand side when looking from the back.
It sounds plain but when you see it in person it's quite beautiful.

The alt mode is beautifully made,  so very true to form of the animation model from the original Generation One cartoon as well as the original Generation One toy.  A work of art in many ways.

~

Robot Mode:

The transformation to robot mode is quite simple while not being too simple, the designer or designers must have watched the transformation from the original Generation One cartoon very carefully since it emulates it extremely well.
While the legs are hollow on the back, which is understandable, the robot mode is still very beautiful and looks so close to the animation model from the original Generation One cartoon, which was their intention by the looks of it.

The colours are largely the same with only a few changes, like the gun metal silver legs and the red crest on his forehead.  He comes with two shoulder cannons that can be flipped out, although in the cartoon and comics Prowl hardly ever used his shoulder cannons.  It's a nice touch though and they flip back in without looking too out of place.
The details look very well and look great, articulation is excellent with double jointed elbows and knees, a good range of motion for the head, the wrists can turn and the way the feet are designed allow for some pretty dynamic poses.

His rifle is a gun metal silver with a white handle, it can slot into either hand and holds pretty well, it looks very much like his original rifle from the original Generation One toy and from the animation model.

~

Prowl is, in essence, the very notion of a Masterpiece.  His design is stunning in both modes, the colours work well and the transformation is fluid with everything coming together beautifully.  The side windows can be a pain at times and the arms need to be positioned carefully when in vehicle mode so that the car mode can have all four wheels on the ground, but with practice and paying attention to what you're doing then it isn't a major problem.

He is worth the money and worth being in any Transformers fan's collection.  Truly beautiful and I can't say that enough.