Loving the Starscream!!! Clearly chosen with the prospect of increased sales with little research and design.....repaints. GREAT to be a collector these days ain't it! making more adult geared toys (ahem...or shall i say scuptures) you also have to be Bill Gates to afford them.
I can't wait to see how the arms work (thinking of the amazing engineering that went into Primes Torso ~ hiding the front wheels and the double front grill for instance...)
If I had proof that Skywarp would be made at the same price, I think I'd wait for that. Better colors, and I prefer the character.
Should look nice beside my masterpiece/binaltech collection. Hopefully, Starscream will be half a head shorter than MP Prime but taller than guys like Smokescreen and Sideswipe (just so the scale is cartoon-accurate!)... Add Thundercracker & Skywarp repaints, the masterpiece/binaltech collection will be almost complete except for ... gasp, Megatron & Soundwave!
Here you go, possible seams highlighted. If you look closely on the original drawing, the ones I've highlighted were drawn bolder/thicker than the rest of the panel lines---indicating seams (hopefully). That big diagonal line running to the trailing edge of the wing is especially telling IMHO. While that line is there on a real F-15, it is very subtle---why would it be so thick and obvious on that drawing unless they (smartly) used an existing line on the real thing as the separation line for the wings to transform? If it was just a Starscream-style F-15 drawing, why are some "very convienently placed for transformation" lines drawn thicker and more obviously? Also note the hinges for the flaps and ailerons (which do not exist on a real F-15---F-15's use piano hinges on the undersides, you can't see anything from above) ---could just be working hinges to make them move in jet mode, or could be for altering the wing's shape for robot mode. Finally, the "square" I highlighted---I can't find anything that corresponds on the real thing. Why would that be so obvious on this drawing, and why would it be there in the first place---with every other line perfectly accurate, why would that area be so inaccurate? (The area just aft of that square is also off)---yet there's a "zig-zag" of boldly drawn lines there, again, very useful for the wing transformation. Imagine that "square" as the modern day version of the black spot where the G1 wings pivot about. Also follow that zig-zag line and that diagonal line. You get a wing separation and flip 180 degrees at the same place like the G1 did. Yes, I am very excited about this, because a Masterpiece Thundercracker to me would be the greatest TF of all time. Thundercracker is my all-time fave TF, and the F-15 has been my favorite fighter since I was like 5 years old. Finally---why point out details etc, based on just a drawing? Because MP Prime had a zillion things he didn't "need"---like a removable, openable, light-up matrix, opening chest for that matrix, a moving mouth, opening slat-vents on his legs, flip-up wrist communicators, working shocks, working pistons, etc. None of those things would have affected transformation, articulation, or appearance at all, but they were added on for sheer fan-boy happiness. An MP Starscream should be no different--Takara's rule of thumb for MP's so far seems to be "if it can be done, if it was ever seen on TV, then we'll put it on the toy". Also because the more details we can figure out, the more likely it seems this is a "full" MP that's as high-end and perfect as possible, and not simply a "larger Alternator sold as an MP". PS--please someone comment if they notice the "thicker" lines on the original drawing, so I know it's not just me seeing things.
I want that MP Starscream really really really bad. I can't wait to see more info on it as time goes by.
THS-02 Officially Out In Japan According to Fan2Fan: That's right folks, it's OFFICIAL!!! See the paper here. Also, pics of the figure and packaging can be seen here!!!
Seriously, this got my blood going again... I can't WAIT for a F-15 in MP scale... P.S. I'm nocturnal...
Uh oh... I guess I'm in for the MP-03 dealie. I still have MP-01 in the box as well as Hasbro's version. Hopefully they'll keep Starscream intact if they ever plan on bringing him over. Let's see... that's.... THS-02, Galaxy Force Sound Blaster, and MP-03 needing to order. The first two is easily covered. MP-03... well... I'll need a HobbyLinkJapan link to place a preorder in hopes for an early-bird discount.
*sigh* I'm feeling an urge to go back and get MP-02 Magnus. Relatively safe bet that there will be an MP-04 and MP-05, which I'll order faster than you can type an ellipsis...and that MP-02 hole is gonna bug the crap out of me.
