Today’s post is a Clearance Catch: ACE-02 Hiccups, aka Masterpiece Hubcap.
There are some figures that catch your eye but not quite enough to convince you to part with the cash required to click the “buy” button. Hiccups was one of those for me. I wasn’t too interested in their first figure ACE-01 Tumbler (aka MP Cliffjumper) mainly due to the head which seemed a bit “off” to me. Some of that disinterest may have colored my opinion of Hiccups even though I never had a problem with his head design. But now that the price has dropped to half of the original it seemed like a safer risk.
The Box
The box includes full-color art that can be placed beside Tumbler’s box to make a larger scene.
The back of the box features a quick bio for the Hiccups character.
Unlike Tumbler he does not include any Kryten-esqe spare heads and instead has a nozzle called Roscoe that can be attached to the end of the figure’s arm.
He does include Cliffjumper’s “Shatter Cannon” Bazooka from More Than Meets The Eye and the standard Autobot blaster from later episodes.
The Instructions
The instructions are a weird hybrid that shows both ACE-01 Tumbler and Hiccups in a split view. Although the Roscoe nozzle is shown on both sides of the instructions it was only included with Hiccups. The instructions also show an “alts head” for Hiccups that is the head that came installed on the figure. The head shown attached in the instructions has a narrower silver crest and is not included in the box.
The steps on the back of the instructions start at the bottom of the page and move upwards.
The Display
One really nice thing about the ACE figures is that they come packaged in a display case.
I’m special!
The bottom of the case can also be used as a display base complete with a flight stand. The stand can be attached two ways, I’ve set up the photo below with the stand hooked up for the most height.
There is also a spot on the bottom of the base where you can store the display stand when not in use.
The Figure
Many fans find the short arms to be a big issue with this figure. As you can see below, they are noticeably shorter than Bumblebee’s even though Hiccups is half a head taller.
The Porsche
No penny-racer here, Hiccup’s alt mode is a fairly accurate representation of the Porsche 924 that inspired the original deformed vehicle mode with the exception of the air scoop that should be on the hood. The biggest drawback of the vehicle mode are the front wheels: like Bumblebee, they do not lock into place nor is there anything behind them to hold them in place. Unlike Bumblebee, the hinge is a bit loose making it much easier to accidentally nudge them under the hood.
Like the main Masterpiece line, ACE is using the robot mode to set the scale of this figure so the vehicle mode looks very small next to a full-sized Autobot car.
The Conclusion
Although I like the idea, the die-cast feet really do not work for this figure. The extra weight in the feet makes the figure’s legs feel very floppy when handling and makes dynamic posing extremely difficult, especially when on the flight stand.
This figure is OK as a display piece and, once properly badged, will have a place as my official Masterpiece Hubcap.
