Teal is part blue, part green. Starscream is teal. Since we were expecting bluish grey, teal seems very green.

 

what is grey, what is blue-grey, what is blue-ish, what is green-ish...all this discussion over color...


...just....wow. I NEVER knew the definition of a color--I'm not talking the choice of a color for a mold, I'm talking the definition of a color--was so frakking important.

 

More of a slightly green-ish blue-gray.. ... ish.

 

Well, I have MP03 now sitting here on my desk and the colour is definitely greyish-blueish green. Yep. And he looks slightly green in most lighting conditions I've so far had him in... Basically, most of the photos we've seen of him are accurate.

Having said that - the colour doesn't bother me THAT much. It bothers me a little, sure, but not a lot.

The kibble also doesn't bother me too much. I have him using the base and with the kibble left on the legs right now and as others have mentioned it is possible for him to stand with the kibble in that position - albeit with his legs spread wider than shoulder width.

Nope, the one thing that continues to irk me is this things size! I paid almost twice the price of a BT for this and got a mould about 120% larger with a negligible amount of metal on him. It's a rob!

Regardless of price he'd still be too small. Obviously he looks like a joke next to MP01 and even next to a BT figure like Wheeljack or Side Swipe, Starscream looks like he could loose a fight! The BT figures, while shorter, do seem to be stockier and even Meister has thicker thighs than Starscream.

Having looked at the figure now in both modes I can see no reason as to why this couldn't have been a larger model. Hell, an increase of 10cm in plane mode and he'd have still fit in the same box too if put into the box on a diagonal. An extra inch or so taller in bot mode and he'd have been so much better! Eye to eye with MP01 and I'd completely forgive the colour too.

Finally, there are a few QC issues as have already been mentioned... scratched white stripes and paint chips here and there. On the bright side I've not seen (or caused) any stress marks to the plastic yet.

In all... I've mixed feelings on MP03. A shame considering the price!

Steve.

 

I have mine also as of today. And one of those extra pieces that "whoever" added to make it more jet like, has fallen off. Will have to be glued back on. Also, the kibble reduces articulation quite a bit on the legs. Even if you take the kibble off of the hips, the legs are still hindered. The pegs even get in the way. If you were to take the pegs off of the hips where the kibble attaches, you would have full articulation. Should have left him alone. I'll keep him anyway, unless Hasbro comes out with the original version. Soemtimes the robot should be the primary focus, it was with Prime and he is fine. Fire that "whoever" guy.

 

It's made up of significantly more pieces than a BT and has a much more complicated assembly process.

 

Also, if this guy was concerned more about more realistic vehicle modes than accurate robot form, then what the hell happened to THS-02 Convoy?

 

THS-02 Convoy is WHY he was concerned with vehicle form. There's still fans sobbing into their pillows every night over whatever it is THS-02 transforms into.

 

I was just thinking the same thing, d00d. I feel sorry for Kawamori; poor sod can never please people, whichever way he jumps. Someone's always going to crucify him for it. It's ludicrous.

 

I think a lot of the problem was that he was hampered by having to work around the original designs for the characters- still, he managed to please some people. Just can't please everybody.

 

I respect Kawamori and, like a lot of fans of big robots and mecha, LOVE some of his designs outside the Transformers world. I think part of the problem is, he's used to working from an idea that falls outside of "in disguise." Transformers is sort of foreign to him because they need to turn into something recognizable. And, while the Valkyrie designs he's done turn into jets, they aren't REAL jets, nor are they necessarily realistic jets. The VF-1 is based loosely on an F-14, but beyond that. . .sci-fi designs that fall more into the realm of feasable than real.

And I've actually kind of enjoyed this thread except for the people saying it's not fair to criticize the mold in any capacity. Most people have kept it about the design and/or colors, and not tried to turn it into an attack on the designer. Those that have, relatively easy to ignore.

 

So true..."You can please some of the people some of the time"

Oh and before anyone starts up with the "...but no one is really pleased with F-15 RoboGuy..." I like the mold, don't mind the paint job, and while my opinion might change when I get him (Damn you TFSource!!), I can't wait, and this is the most love I've had for a TF mold since G1 Skyfire (coincidence?!)

 

i jokingly asked wifey (who is an expert colorist) what color my MP3 was.

she answered with a straight face "a combination of grey, blue and green".

she gave me a puzzled look as i fucking LOLd.

 

THAT is my BIGGEST complaint about MP-03 by far!!   Other than that, I'm pretty much ok with all else.

 

Ironically, it wasn't foreign to him in the past--he did co-design the toys that became the first year of Transformers in the early 1980s.

If you're Transformers Generation 1 fan, chances are you like or even love some of his designs within the Transformers world, too. How many Transformers G1 fans didn't like the Battle Convoy/Optimus Prime that he co-designed? (Not the T.H.S-02 Convoy--the original 1980s Battle Convoy/Optimus Prime he co-designed.)

Another irony is that the disguise-less VF-1 Valkyrie (and by extension, Jetfire) has a more realistic transformation scheme than almost every other Transformer ever made. (With a few nods towards the Dorvack duo.) Giant transforming robots--especially Transformers--all fall in the realm of science fantasy, but the VF-1 Valkyrie took the fantastical and made it a few notches less fantastical.

 

Yes, I'm well aware of his past with Transformers, but it's a long ways from the 80s to here design wise. Especially for someone who's been working with the fantastical for so long. Have you seen some of his more recent designs? Awesome, but way out there.

Absolutely. Again, back in the 80s/70s when he developed realistic transformations for realistic vehicles.

Note, I'm not decrying Starscream as an utter piece of garbage. I'm just saying they've tried to throw a designer into the mix who nostalgia says should be a good choice. Unfortunately, nostalgia doesn't wipe out twenty-plus years of other types of designs from the designers' mind. And there were some design decisions I don't one hundred percent agree with.

Overall, I like it. I just wish I could say the parts of it that bother me without all the hub-bub about how horrible it is that people are saying bad things about it.

I can point out flaws in the 1/48 Valks too, and those are probably my favorite toys ever. I don't personally see why some people are so gung-ho about the awfulness of this design, and I don't see why, when reasonable complaints are made, those people are told they should never buy the toy ever, even if the decisions they disagree with are fixed.

We're an odd bunch at times.

 

The above post is mostly to caution people against thinking that realistic-looking disguise = not fantastical or not out there. Indeed, Transformers is based on the premise that vehicles and home electronics with eye-catching alien symbols would be an effective disguise for giant robots--not just on first contact, but every encounter long after the secret has been revealed. This fundamental idea is as fantastical, if not more so, than having an aerospace fighter transform for supposed tactical reasons. The story need for a sentient robot of immense powers to transform into a mere Freightliner COE truck is not more or less fantastical than say, Aquarion or Kikaioh.

The design decisions made on the Masterpiece Starscream were not more out there than the design decisions made on the original Jet Type Robo (Starscream)--what with the missiles that turn into guns/null-rays by replacing the warhead with gun barrels, detached fists, and control surfaces that theoretically would impede leg and hip movement. In both cases, suspense of disbelief was required, and there's nothing wrong with that.

The issue that people have with the Masterpiece Starscream is not that it is more fantastical than the original, but it was a different kind of science fantasy. It was different from the science fantasy that some wanted: fond childhood memories updated with modern toy engineering without drastic changes. Nostalgia is what fuels the people who wanted a Masterpiece Starscream more faithful to their childhood memories. It's not a bad sentiment, but it's not a less fantastical one.

 

Hey, never said they shouldn't buy the toy they didn’t like if the changes they wanted were made (those being mold changes). I don’t find colour complaints to be an issue in a milkmachine mold.

If they have been reasonable for MONTHS (saying the same about the toy mold again and again and again and again) then they should start a campaign to actually try to get something done about what has reasonably been bugging them for so long. First get support from others that want changes also, then unify the demands, then ask help to TF websites to put their suggestions in an easy to see place and finally bug Hasbro in numbers to show that they are many and serious.

I’d kinda sad to see all that energy be wasted on the same old complaints when they could actually get something done.

 

And here's the crux of the problem. You've got people arguing the "realistic" side, and people arguing the "anime" side (the fantastical side) when in reality we're talking about one version of the fantastical against another version of the fantastical. Nothing wrong with either version, but when presented with one, then in the end given the other, it doesn't sit well with certain individuals.

Turnman, as for your suggestion, there's absolutely no indication that anything we do will reach Hasbro or Takara. There is, however, every indication that they do read the message boards and general sentiments are paid attention to, even if they don't always take those sentiments into account.

I find it more worrisome that some folks want the people who dislike the mold to shut up so only the rosey side of the argument is covered. The nice thing with this fandom is, you never have to worry about complainers going silent on an issue. Ever.

 

No, it's more a case of hearing the same complaints from the same people over and over again. If you've clearly stated your position to every man and his dog a hundred times over, there's really no need to bother stating it again for the hundred and first.