It looks like he still has the chest rockets

 

Wow this board gets so much traffic, my comment seems old now for a post only hours ago... anyhow...

Looks to me the eyes aren't even painted fully. I bet if they were the face would look better.

 

What if I don't like either of them? Is that ok?

I think a lot of people were hoping for a top-tier improvement to the MP-11 mold. What some of us are seeing how is a disappointing 'cost-cut' figure that feels kind of like a lateral move. I think if people want to replace 3-6 figures they spent $100-$200 on, they want something that is as close to 'perfect' as possible. I personally don't think this figure comes even close. So while it may be better than MP-11 in a lot of ways, it's not that perfect piece that makes it worth replacing $1000 worth of figures.

Note: I actually sold off my 3 seekers because I wasn't happy enough with the MP-11 mold. I would like to rebuy a Starscream, but this definitely isn't the one for me. Not just the cost-cut factors, I think it's a little too current MP in aesthetics for me.

 

Yeah, I'm not going to bitch incessantly about the hollow wings, and @Spence I really appreciate your posts and explanation for why the finished product may be different than the resin prototype. That said, the hollow wings are enough to make me pause and wonder if I should really buy this. I'd be willing to pay more to get the filled wings, even if that means buying a separate upgrade kit. If that doesn't happen and I make peace with them, I'll probably enjoy the positives of this release greatly. If I don't, oh well, I'll wait for someone else to make a better seeker.

 

One thing i really like is the shape of the torso being like a "V", like this:
| |
V

Instead of this (mp-11):
||
^

 

I think we are seeing the same issues from Despotron. We still need someone to custom design a G1 helmet and make an adapter clip for a stock. Likewise, it is going to come down to someone making the filler for the wings and making an adapter for the butt flap to fix this one. I think this one is great but like Despotron, these are not figures you cut corners on. This was not a priority to MT and they apparently have no plans for the repaints and you have to wonder what they are thinking. This should have been a license to print money and they had the design as we can see now to own the Seekers. I never got a SS so this fills that hole in my collection but I will gladly pay for parts to complete it even if they won't. At this point I am just hoping they complete the Autobot HM/TM. It doesn't seem like the RE:Master line is a priority.

 

Do we know for sure they aren't doing the other seekers?

 

Nobody knows anything at this point.

 

Y'know, we all have our own priorities.
People who are gonna not buy this because of the back of the wings. Because the radar dish isn't in the nosecone. Oh well. Sorry this isn't doing it for you.
I think this looks fantastic, and I can't wait to get it, but I have different priorities. I love the articulation on it. I love the looks of it. The legs look so nice. The shoulders look so nice. The whole thing looks so friggen nice.
The only thing that I'll wanna do to it is see if I can get some better hands on it, (like almost all my TF MP toys), if I don't like the head in hand I can always pop my cast of MP-11's head on it (although this one looks sooo similar), and I kinda love the blue nosecone on SS. I just do, no reason. So I might wanna paint that. Certainly nothing unusual or different from what I always wanna do to spruce up my MPs.



Yeah, I might do that.

 

I welcome anyone to correct me if I am wrong but someone asked Spence and he gave the answer that usually if there were repaints they would have been announced but he has heard nothing to that effect. He is not ruling them out but also making clear a point that if you are releasing Starscream you would advertise at least doing the other two as well. I thought because of the cost of remolds that they might not do the Coneheads but I am convinced now. I am definitely getting this as my Starscream and always wanted it.

 

Maketoys really should consider add-on packs for both Howling Meteor and Despotron. They can have the wing fillers and additional faces for HM and a more G1 toon styled helmet, additional faces and a smaller fusion cannon for Despotron.

I hope that Maketoys are at least releasing repaints of Thundercracker and Skywarp. I really want the Coneheads and at least Sunstorm too (also want Rainmakers) but they have to release Starscream's fellow flyers from Season 1...I hope.

 

If I were MakeToys I wouldn't start promising to make another 2 of these. Not until I saw that this one sold decently. If it sells well then it's been accepted by the community (in Asia) and liked well enough to make TC and SW, maybe more.
But imagine if for some reason this thing bombs (which I highly doubt) and then Maketoys has to cancel the others that they announced too early. Fans would throw a fit.

 

Sooooooo...nobody knows anything at this point.  

 

I thought that was in regard to a toon and a toy colored Starscream option...

No idea if they are or aren't planning SW & TC, but as far as I'm concerned, this guy is kinda pointless without the other two in my collection.

 

Would somebody just release their mp seeker mold in sg thundercracker colors for fuck sake ...

 

That's how I remember it too.

 

If I'm paying $100+ for a figure, I'm not paying another company to fix the head Sculpt. I will ONLY buy this figure IF the Head Sculpt is fixed. If not, my MP-11 will be just fine.

 

Yeah, that's what I remember as well. Someone had asked if this would be getting a toy-colored release, and Spence said that he didn't think so, since he would have expected them to have announced that by now. That had nothing to do with SW or TC.


Anyway, to the "issues" with this guy:

Wings: The hollow underside sucks, it's true. But as long as the 'savings' from not having to make a bunch of filler parts are represented in the price (ie, keeping it low), I'm fine with it. I mean, it's not like it's some vital bit that you see all the time (see: visibly hollow arms and legs).

Head: The face-sculpt is mediocre, but it's not the worst. I think the biggest issue is that the lips are too round, which is exacerbated by the shiny finish. It's not deal-breaker terrible, but I'd probably take a good replacement head/face if one is offered.

Too Toon: I'm firmly in the camp that hates the overly-simple style that TT seems to being going for now (see: Ironhide's legs). I think this guy should have more detail, especially the shin-bits that are just a painted, recessed area here. On the flip side, unlike Ironhide's legs, I don't think a more simplistic Starscream looks terrible. So this doesn't cross that line for me, though it is like, right up against it.

Intakes: This is the thing that bothers me the most. The shoulder bits should angle forward in bot mode, and the chest bits should hide away in alt mode. Both of those look like rather simple fixes too me, that should have been taken into account early on.

In the end, none of those will keep me from getting this guy. He looks otherwise fantastic. The only things that will stop me, at this point, are issues with quality/QC or a price I can't justify paying (mind, I got both of my current Seekers for around $80). If this guy is good quality at a price where I'd be comfortable getting three of this mold as my Seekers? Then I'm in.

 

By no means do I want to slight anyone's preferences, but the hollow wing-thing has gotten a bit vitriolic, almost a "how DARE they" kind of thing. IMO it's a bit overblown for something that will not be visible most of the time, though I agree it doesn't speak well to MT's priorities or attention to detail. To me, it's impossible to know how upset to get about it until we know the final price of the figure, which I don't think has yet come to light. Hollow wings are non-optimal but if the price reflects it I can live with it. If he still comes in north of $100.00, I think it's a bigger issue.

For my money the shortcomings with the head - both with the sculpt and its articulation - are more important, but neither are so bad that I'm going to skip him, although an excessive price point will probably make me rethink that. Basically if he's much more than $100 I'm likely to pass, but if he's right around there I'm in because the TT mold is just not cutting it anymore for such an important character. This is big issue for me because unlike many people the only SS I have is the Wal-Mart version based off the even older MP-3 or whatever it was. So I'm really hurtin' for an updated SS.

I don't much care if they do the rest of the Seekers, though since my Skywarp is also based on MP-3 I'd probably buy it if they did. I don't mind having SS be unique, I can display with all kinds of other figures where that will be less jarring. Howling Meteor will look good next to my Despotron, or leading my Combaticons.