I got my second package in as many days from Kapow Toys today and as expected it contained Cubex Huffer
The first impression I had upon removing it from the packaging is that it's noticeably lighter in weight than official Masterpieces partially due to the size but I think Cubex have also been smart because if the truck cab was too heavy it'd create major balancing issues for robot mode.
Some people will automatically equate "lightweight" to being "cheap" but it really isn't the case and the plastic quality feels fine.
There are however a number of thin panels and small tabs that have to be treated with care when moving them but if you use caution and don't try and force things into place you'll be fine.
Truck mode is the G1 design with slightly tweaked proportions and enough detailing added to make it displayable with the more realistic Autobot cars.
On mine the trailer hitch for MP10's trailer is tricky to tab into it's correct position which may not be the case on all of them but the tabs are tiny so be careful.
Like MP10's truck cab it's not quite as realistic as the cars but it's more than adequate and you can fit the various Spike and Sparkplug figures that have been made in the cab as well which is a nice bonus if you have them.
Transformation is so good that I don't think Takara could do any better. There's a couple of bits where patience is required as the parts take a bit of encouragement to get moving ( but not too much 'cos of the thin panels ) and tabbing the shoulders into place is slightly scary but overall it's comparable to the Autobot cars in terms of difficulty.
My favorite touch are the headlights which revolve round which remind me of the license plate on 007's Aston Martin.
According to the manual Huffer's animation model never had visible headlights so it's a fun addition that can add to the cartoon accuracy.
Robot mode is also on a par with any official Masterpiece, the only minor niggle is that a couple of the leg panels have pegs that're a tad short and they sometimes pop out when you repose the legs but they do stay in for the most part.
There's a decent range of articulation and the joints on mine are all fine aside from the elbows being a bit stiff but better that than too loose.
Cubex score major points for painting the eyes on both facesculpts with a metallic paint, it looks great when the light catches it.
I haven't swapped the facesculpts or the hands yet but that looks like it'll be easy enough.
The packaging is very nice and the instruction manual has lots of clear photos and some nice character information & artwork.
QC on mine is great, a couple of minor issues but nothing that I've not had on official MP's.
Takara will have to do something extremely special to make a better Masterpiece Minibot.
I will be buying a second one to keep in truck mode.