The new toy has much more authentic proportions in car mode and even manages to add side windows to complete the look. The Masterpiece figure benefits greatly from the ingenious design of the original G1 toy and is nearly identical in terms of how the car is split up with seams for the transformation. They normally sit flush underneath the rear of the car. Please note I forgot to push the white panels up fully in this shot.
Prowl is a really clean looking car from nearly every angle. To add to his legitimacy as a real Z-car, Prowl has a tiny badge on his his hood. It's just one of those things that was able to cross the cultural gap without any any hangups. In hindsight, it's interesting that I can recognize Prowl as a specifically Japanese police car with the iconic white and black color scheme whereas as a kid I just thought he was just an everyday American police vehicle. These are tampographed on the Masterpiece toy and look really sharp. Prowl has all the major markings fans come to expect on him like the large "HIGHWAY PATROL POLICE" decals on his doors.
In addition to his trademark light bar on the roof, Prowl has numerous other details that add to his authenticity like a windshield wiper on the rear window and even tiny rear view mirrors. Prowl is about six inches long in car mode. There was a time when the Z-Car was an ambassador for Japanese motor vehicles all over the world and even today it seems to be regarded as quite an attractive ride. Prowl's car mode is identified on the back of the box as a Nissan Fairlady 280Z-T. On the back is information about the character and the vehicle he transforms into. Like all Masterpiece figures, Prowl comes with a collectible card that features artwork of his updated design. Sometimes it can be difficult to remember that cars are very much a product in and of themselves and as a result toy makers have to go through the proper legal channels to use their likenesses. It really drives home just how much effort Takara Tomy is putting into the line and also how probably none of the Masterpiece cars will be released outside of Japan. Like with Sideswipe, the box is even given an official seal of approval by the car company. The box proudly displays the badge of the Nissan Motor Company as this an officially licensed product. It is quite classy despite being smaller than a Nendoroid's package. Prowl continues with the same small sized Masterpiece box that Sideswipe (Lambor) introduced. Later this year he will quickly joined by both MP-18 Bluestreak (Streak) and MP-19 Smokescreen, who are all based on the same mold. MP-17 Prowl is the first of a new type of Masterpiece Autobot car. While he original G1 toy is somewhat notorious for being ill-suited as a child's plaything (oh the broken roofs), its engineering and overall layout is considered to be one of the foundations for which numerous modern Transformers are built upon. His design combined all the class of a late 70's sports car with the coolness of a policeman.
I mostly remember him for that one time his battle computer was damaged and he was forced to let Chip Chase remotely control him through an early version of the internet. Takara Tomy continues their push for more Masterpiece Autobot cars with the fan favorite Prowl! As one of the original 1984 crew, Prowl was the straight laced Autobot who had a few moments to shine until he was infamously gunned down in Transformers: The Movie.
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