The Transformers Thread

In line with Cybertron_ph's TF of the month, heres a short review of Classics Starscream..

The Decepticon Air Commander got the classics treatment recently and it didn't disappoint!

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Screamer comes packed in your standard classic deluxe packaging with a short character bio written on the back.Here's what it says on his tech specs.

Strenght- 7
Intelligence- 6
Speed- 10
Endurance- 6
Rank- 8
Courage- 4
Fireblast- 8
Skill- 8

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Screamer comes packaged in his jet form. Its in this mode where most of my complaints would come from. First of all, the absence of a front landing gear can be an eye sore. Also theres a hollow spot right below the cannopy which is quite exposed. This hollow spot is used to house the cannopy when in robot form. Lastly, there are pseudo rear landing gears but despite having it you can barely notice them since they are part of Starscreams feet.

Aside from that Screamer is pretty solid in this mode. No loose joints or flaps can be noticed and the proportions are pretty much decent.

Comparison pic with G1 Starscream

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Which is better? You guys decide. user posted image

I have no complaints with his robot mode. As stated in several posts, Screamer does seem to have been likened to his dreamwave counterpart. To sum it all up, it looks like a glorified combination of an SCF and Robotmaster Screamer with added improvements to its transformation. It also has a pretty good solid feel to it although poseability is a minor issue.

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With G1 Starscream in robot mode

Final words...Be careful when flipping the rear tail fins as these seem prone to breaking and loosening. All in all Im quite happy with Classics Starscream. Aside from the minor design flaws in plane mode I can see no noticable qc problems with the toy. For a newbie transformers fan this is a good Statrscream toy to start with as it captures the likeness of its cartoon counteprart. Despite having a simple transformation scheme detail was not sacrificed. I give this toy an 8 out of 10. Go grab your now.

QUOTE (Naughty Boy @ February 05, 2007 10:20 am)

QUOTE (Protoform-S @ February 04, 2007 05:19 pm)

Yam, just to add to what Mike said...

The Fallen is supposedly one of the first 12 Transformers created by Primus (Cybertron). However, he sided with Unicron and was banished with him master. This is what the profile written in the Dreamwave profile books.

Hope this helps

Thanks for the info Stephen!

Eric! Would love to see your vintage TFs here..Saw them on another forum, hope you can post them here. It's amazing you were able to preserve them

thanks for the compliments, Yam...

... I posted the vintage stuff I unearthed in my gallery

... reposting it here

I was doing some spring cleaning... here's some of the stuff I was able to unearth...

G1 Transformers
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close-up

... and I just had to take a picture of my grimlock collection...
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... the only grimlock not present there is the BT grimlock
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... there are several more boxes that I need to process.. I will post them here soonest time possible

Impressive as always Thunderbreak, I particularly like Grimlock and Gunrunner afhub/rockon.gif

Originally posted in Cybertron Philippines...

After 2004's Landmark MP-1 Convoy and its less than stellar 2005 repaint MP-2 Ultra Magnus comes the first Masterpiece Decepticon, MP-3 Starscream.

First announced when THS-02 Hybrid G1 Convoy was released in early 2006, multitudes of fans eagerly anticipated this next new addition to the premium (and quite pricey) Masterpiece line, later that year. They then rejoiced when it was announced that Starscream would be designed by Macross co-creator and original pre-Transformers Diaclone designer, Shoji Kawamori. This new mold as everyone was predicting was ripe for repainting / retooling to create the other seekers and coneheads.

Later, when prototype pics began leaking over the internet, everyone was ecstatic, as Starscream's robot mode looked exactly like he did in the old Generation 1 cartoons. Until a month later when the painted samples were revealed, everyone wondered why their favourite Decepticon Air Commander was painted blue, and his robot mode was only 9.5-10" tall.

This led to some fans (including myself) deciding to skip MP-3 altogether and wait for a show accurate version, much like what they did to the G1 re-issue TF Collection Starscream who was repainted to match his anime incarnation.

As months went by, no news came about if a show accurate version would ever be released either from Hasbro or Takara, what was leaked however was Takara's plans for MP-5 Megatron.

This was when it hit me, since Megs is coming and that a Starscream repaint has not yet been announced, I pondered to give the MP-3 a shot.

After picking up my unit, the first thing I noticed after seeing that the box was larger than those of the MP-1 and MP-2.
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The box dimensions are exactly taller by an inch and wider by an inch and a half. The depth of the boxes on the other hand are the same as the previous TF Masterpieces.
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The entire package is also considerably lighter, which fans had initially speculated that the entire thing would be made of plastic and no die-cast content.

Another thing worth noting is that after opening the box, Starscream is packaged in jet mode, which was in a way unexpected since Takara / Hasbro packaged their larger toys in robot mode.
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The jet mode looks impressive and at the scale of 1/60 it is quite comparable to most Macross Valkyries.
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I was however awed by the intricacy of the sculpt; they really paid good attention to the details of the F15 fighter plane, of which the alternate mode of Starscream and the seekers were based from.

One other thing that sets him apart from the other Masterpieces are that his faction symbols and other details are decals, which for me is so 1980's since computerized painting has evolved in leaps and bounds since then.

In this mode, you can detach the default "null ray" missiles to attach the more contemporary warheads included in the package.
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Among his other jet mode accessories apart from the warheads and the base, is an attachment that could hold MP-1's Megatron rifle in tow, now that's continuity for the line if I ever saw one.
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Rear view

Another detail that was added is his hidden radar inside the jet's nosecone that could be opened. He also comes with Dr. Archeville that could sit inside the cockpit.

Transforming him to robot mode is both challenging and scary at first. Mr. Kawamori is a genius when it comes to utilizing jet parts to form his robot mode. I would advise everyone to be extremely careful as some joints may have a tendency to break when using more than enough force. Thing to watch out for are his wing flaps which may be prone to breakage.

During the course of his transformation, it is then that you will note that he does have some die cast content in him, namely the brace base that holds all the plastic parts together, which is somewhat only around 8% of his total embodiment. It is also at this point that you will understand why Starscream had to be cast in plastic, since the multitude of moving parts would result in a severe case of paint chips, not to mention, it transforms a lot easier in plastic, like in the case of Alternators.

You will also understand the logic behind the paint scheme, Mr. Kawamori's aim is to create a real life accurate F15 that could transform into Starscream, thus his red shoulders had to go, since this would impact the realism of his jet mode.
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In robot mode, as in his alternate mode, he can also hold the Megatron rifle accessory
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Other nifty details include a second face that contains his signature smirk, as well as hidden breast missiles that were first showcased in his Robot Masters figure incarnation.

One of the downsides is that he looks quite short beside Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus, but he is taller than Alternators / Binaltech bots.
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As I have said earlier, I was initially turned off by his size and colours, but after a while, he kind of grows on you, and he is now one of my favourites.

One bad thing to watch out for, is that this is actually my Second MP-3, the first one after transforming to robot mode actually had a factory defect in that his right fingers were missing / not attached. Good thing the retailer was able to replace my defective unit with a new one.

While a show accurate version with painted on decals as tall as MP-1 and 2 would have been grand, I somehow believe that Takara truly gave us a Masterpiece. I actually love it so much that I'm also willing to get this mold again if it gets repainted as Skywarp, Thundercracker and even Sunstorm.

Here's a preview of the movie prequel, courtesy of www.newsarama.com

http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=100548

Transformers Movie Products seen at Toy Fair 2007...

Movie Leader Optimus Prime
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OP voice changer helmet
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OP Battle Rig Blaster
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Ulrimate Bumblebee
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Photos courtesy of http://tformers.com/article.php?sid=7140

Wow... im really looking forward to this TF movie line... I hope prices will be friendly too. afhub/devil.gif

BBTS is now accepting preorders for the latest batch of titanium TFs

War within Megatron - time to get rid of that Gijoe vs TFs megatron Tank heheh

War Within ultra Magnus - repaint of old WarWithin Optimus

Generation one Ultra magnus

Sunstorm (War within Starscream, er Thundercracker repaint)

Titanium 6" Ultramagnus thanks to TFW2005:

Thanks for the great pics stephen, i see that Rodimus and Ultra Magnus share the same "waist" problem as well as a "hollow" frame in bot mode. Seems they're releasing movie (TF the 1st movie) related TF's (for the Titanium line) i hope they do release a Gen 1 grimlock and Jazz and Hound in the near future (for decepticons all 3 Gen 1 insecticons would be great additions).

When will they meke Thundercracker , Dirge and Thrust???

i want to complete the seekers

@Jujuman - Hasbro is releasing a War Within Grimlock though. You may wana get that. And there is always the possibility for Hasbro to release our favorite TRex.

@Ken - Let's wait till after the movie. We may be lucky and Hasbro continues the Classics line

Star Wars has Galactic Hereoes, so TFs have Robot Heroes

thanks to TFW2005:

Rodimus and Insecticon (looks like they lost the name Shrapnel)

Optimus Prime and Ravage

Grimlock and Shockwave

Soundwave

Bumblebee