I bet it still looks a hell of a lot better than the movie version of him...

Personally I love the sculpt... it's nowhere near as bad as RID Speed Breaker... whom I LOATHE in robot mode.

But next time he decides on a color for the thing, take away his banana and give it to a monkey... maybe that way we'll get a more competent decision with the color.

 

I think the MP line should at least keep in line with itself. MP01 and MP03 look like they are from different toylines. Most people would not have been disappointed by Starscream if MP01 did not set a standard. MP01 looks cartoon accurate, why is it so far fetched to expect the next piece in the series to do the same? Also, I would have personally like it if MP01 and MP 03 were closer in size.

 

If the first design would have been released in correct colors along side the current version we have, I'm betting the sea-green version would be a shelf warmer in epic proportions.

Must of the "haters" are simply saying that Takara got real close, but fumbled on the goal line when they okayed the color/mold changes.

 

QFT!

While I do like some of the mold changes the colors absolutely kill any potential purchase for me. And I agree that if the original had been made I figure the current would warm the shelves.

 

That is great news tat the hip kibble can be moved to the legs.
Are their any alterations that need to be made?
Are there already pegs on the kibble that fit into the legs?

 

But they didn't, they approved for the first release a made-up colour scheme and it's selling.

Then they'll do an anime colour and sell even more SS. Would the made-up scheme have sold the same AFTER all the other anime repaints that the mold can hold? No

So, what is Takara doing? Making more money.


I’m curious, all those that have been complaining about the mold for MONTHS now as if Takara had personally insulted them will not buy this toy ever, right?

I mean not in this colour, not in the inevitable anime colour repaints and not in the inevitable Hasbro versions. If they hate so much the changes in the prototype then that’s the only coherent thing to do (if not they are just whining for the sake of it).

 

From interview:

"Ideas that were dropped.

Shoji originally wanted to make the robot parts completely hidden on the undercarriage of the jet. He was not happy that the forearms and chest were visible during the alt mode. He also was not satisfied with the head. He played around with designs to cover these parts up but then scrapped the idea because it would have sacrificed the robot mode too much."


Suddenly I feel really lucky and blessed with what we have. Sounds like the guy really just wants to make fighter jets not Transformers.

It's like he's thinking , "Gee, you can see parts where the robot shows (every Transformer ever made), well that really sucks, guess I can't cover them up because it has to transform to a damn robot, oh well."

Talk about having you priorities F'ed up, and being color blind.

 

Well, he typically does more work on Valkyries from the Macross line than TFs. I own some of his Valkyrie designs and they're really nice, but as far as MP Starscream is concerned... it's not the jet that I'm interested in as much as the robot mode. And the robot mode suffering, is, a bad thing to me personally.

Agreed. They're making money, but I'm not going to buy that mold in those colors and that's all I was really saying.

 

The problem is that unlike MP-01, which grows from truck to robot, SS gets smaller.

Plane mode is 12" (like Prime in robot form), when it transforms it shrinks to 9”. If you made SS 12” plane mode would have to be about 16”: much more material, much bigger strain on the parts and more retail and shipping costs, plus at that big size plane mode would get in the way.

 

File down the ball joints on the hips.

Yes, but it's a moot point. With the kibble attached to his legs, Starscream can't stand.

 

You are right Takara has the final word, BUT the whole point of having this designer was to make it his own design.

Shoji Kawamori's Vision
When Takara came to Shoji with the Masterpiece Starscream project they gave him lots of free range in the design. Shoji was adamant from the beginning that he wanted to design a realistic looking jet, and the robot mode would be secondary.

His visions and adamancy led to a perfect looking F-15 Eagle which included intricate details on the fuselage, nosecone radar, wing flaps, and airbrakes.

Shoji was also insistent about Starscream's color. Again, he wanted a real looking jet, which is why he chose the gray. In Shoji's opinion, he feels that Starscream's robot mode contains enough red and blue to recognize him as the character. It was not asked if an Anime colored version of Starscream would be released in the future.

Takara believes in this designer to move product off the shelf and I really like the THS-02 Prime he designed, but he totally ruined this Masterpiece for me.

 

Yeah, The valks are a different story, I got 3 1/48s, GBP, Strike, and a 1/60 VF-0S.
They are all perfect (except for the VF-0S floppiness), but you can still see parts where the robot shows, it just makes sense for them because there not "In disguise" and they're fictional aircraft.

It justs feels like the designer had no respect for the very successful design process that had been estblished with MP-01. He started wrong right off the bat by changing the design process to vehicle first then robot. Doesn't seem like there is much of a reason to do that beside his personal preference.

 

Yes he can stand, it's just that the number of poses is limited (but you have the stand so no problem there).

http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/showpost.php?p=854267&postcount=115
http://members9.tsukaeru.net/ty1_toys/toys/MP_03a.htm (scroll down).

 

That would have been me.  
And while true, I was mostly trying to point out that there ARE actual White/Red color schemes out their. They could have used these if realism was what they were after and still maintain a more 'Show Accurate' color scheme. Sure, we've never seen an F-15 in Thunderbird's paint, but I see it as a lot more of a possibility then green-grey.

There's also the F-15 S/MTD color scheme, although that's a lot more blue then I'd think many people would like. And the canards make it look ugly.

 

Actually that's not true.

Starscream can stand very well and firm with the kibble attached to the leg even if the tail fin does not touch the ground. It has more flexibality and wider range of pose. A bump on the table won't make it fall ether.

 

I can't believe Takara didn't insist on keeping the original G1 colors.
Oh well... probably when a lot of fans starts asking for more accurate G1 colors, then maybe we can one (or three -incl. Skywarp & Thundercracker)

 

I want my F-15 RoboGuy!!!! Damn you TFSource and the slow boat you're shipping your stuff in on!!

 

Wow, that last pic puts it into perspective just how huge a robot the size of 'screamer would really be. Between jet fighters and tanks, it's hard to see how the humans (or car based Autobots, for that matter) could ever stand a chance. The truck guys, maybe but everyone else would just get swatted like flies!

 

Nice pics!!!
So much better without the "samurai swords", ha, ha.