Takara Tomy opens Japanese preorders today, August 5, for MPG-26 Decepticon Rhinox. The official listing puts it at 35,200 yen including tax with a release window of late March 2027, which lands it a little under a year out from the order date.

This is a redeco of the MP-59 Rhinox mold rather than new tooling, and the deco it is chasing is a specific one. In Beast Wars season one episode 16, “Dark Designs,” Megatron runs Rhinox through the Transmuter and turns him against the Maximals. Takara’s own copy cites the same episode by its Japanese title, “Rhinox’s Rampage,” and names the result “Decepticon Rhinox,” using the Japanese branding for the villain faction rather than the Predacon label the English dub uses. Same character, same episode, different house style.

MPG-26 Decepticon Rhinox in beast mode at left and robot mode at right, from Takara Tomy's official promotional art

Both modes from the official Takara Tomy promotional sheet. Source: Takara Tomy via TFormers.

What comes in the box

Takara Tomy’s set contents list one Decepticon Rhinox figure, two gatling hammers in the episode colours, a sword, a replacement face, a beast mask, an adapter, a character card and the instruction manual. One of the two gatling hammers stows inside the beast mode, mirroring the way the vintage toy handled it.

The accessory that does the most work here is the beast mask. It clips onto the robot head to build the mutant head from the episode, and the mutant head still opens and closes with the mask fitted. The eyes on the full rhino can be swapped to red, so the beast mode reads as corrupted rather than just recoloured. The sword is an homage to the one packed with the original toy.

Where this sits in the line

The base mold arrived as MP-59 Rhinox, and a first look at this Dark Designs version surfaced on May 12, 2026 before Takara ran the full reveal on August 4. Rhinox’s entry in our encyclopedia covers the character across the Beast Wars run.

The Maximal-side Rhinox has been busy this year on the Hasbro side too: he is one of the four Voyager Class figures in the Beast Wars 30th anniversary Maximal Collection that opened for preorder on July 29. Between that set and this MPG release, collectors have two very different Rhinox propositions on the books at once.

One practical note. As of this morning there is no North American retailer listing for MPG-26, so the only live order path is the Japanese one. Import listings for MPG releases typically follow within weeks, and we will update this post when a US preorder actually opens rather than guessing at one now.

Sources

Product images: Takara Tomy official promotional art.