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Skywarp

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39 comments posted
Oh you're getting a bigger

Oh you're getting a bigger belt.

VF5SS's picture
Posted by VF5SS on 5 May, 2009 - 13:49
Skywarp's "high hand

Skywarp's "high hand face"/constipated-just-kicked-in-the-nuts-face is one of the more hilarious features included in a recent toy, I think.

That said, I would never, never, never consider swapping that face onto my Skywarp. Hah!

quinjester's picture
Posted by quinjester on 5 May, 2009 - 15:09
Oh Andrew....It is you!

Oh Andrew....It is you!

You took leave from DAP-DX to review robots? I hope your departure from the podcast is only temporary. I hope I'm not part of the reason...

I'm suprisingly and pleasantly pleased that you did this review of Skywarp.

You've set the record straight about this masterpiece seeker that NekroDave failed to do. You did Kawarmori justice.... You did TF justice... You did Diaclone justice... which is what I can LEAST say about......PFFT...I dare not say his/her/whatever's name!!!

You're the greatest host ever right next to Jermey and I mean BOTH of you...I respect you a lot so please don't leave us.

-R78

Rodimus78's picture
Posted by Rodimus78 on 5 May, 2009 - 15:12
Excellent first review!

Excellent first review! Good detailed writing without long paragraphs (one of my faults), good pictures that show highlights, and clean video shooting.

Some suggestions:

  • Like most of the reviewers here, I prefer to shoot as little of myself in front of the camera as possible. The focus is on the [item] being reviewed (and not my fat ass), so consider shooting so that you are reaching around the camera or standing to one side rather than looming over the [item].
  • Treat your [item] with respect on-camera! While I LMAO when you pitched-aside the figure and the missiles, that encourages other to do the same, and they may tend to mistreat the accessory-or-whatever without thinking and judging for themselves how durable it is. Do whatever you want when not shooting, but it's important on CDX to show that we treat our collections with respect (even if we may dislike what we're covering off-the-record).
  • One of the things that absolutely puts me to sleep when watching a review is to listen to the reviewer say to move this panel and then this flips open and then you have to move this piece so that it makes room for the arm to swing out and then you have to flip the fist out and then you have to flip this armored section up and then lock it in place won this tab... and not actually see it happening!
    When I shoot, if I want to highlight a particular step or feature, I move the item closer to the camera (another reason to stand behind it), point it out, and then show what is going on- not tell what is going to happen, do it, and then explain what happened; just show it and talk about it as you do it. A video review should have less talking and more showing!

    • This is one of the biggest reasons why I don't cover smaller transformable sets in video- you see more of my hands than you do the tiny figure or what is happening! And, IMO, that's a no-no!
  • As was the case with Skywarp here, he is mostly black, so some details are hard to see (yet another reason to have it closer to the camera). SO make sure that there is adequate light focusing on the item when you shoot both photographs and video. While your light (the window to your right in the video) was sufficient, it came at the figure one-sided, and created a lot of shadow. (Example "A": when you opened the engine panels and said you could see stuff in there, I couldn't see anything because it wasn't lit properly!) try to have light coming from behind the camera rather than prominently from the side or in front of it. It is the camera that needs to see the item, not you as you cover it.
    • I'm sure someone else here could illustrate how to set-up a shooting studio -or-whatever- like Josh or Atom- because they use a light tent with special spotlights.
  • Spend your time in the video to illustrate things that may be too complex to describe in-text or with still photos. While it's fun to do a full review in-video, I find that using it to highlight stuff that takes a while to write out/read can help keep a person's interest for longer rather than repeat everything in both the text and video.
  • Something that was suggested to me early on when I started shooting videos is to shot multiple takes rather than do it all in one long swathe. This way, if you make one little mistake, you don't have to re-shoot the whole damned thing from scratch. You can also act like a human between takes (burp, fart, etc.) and no one will be the wiser. With multiple smaller takes, you can also edit out moving your camera/lighting around where need-be without boring the viewer as you move things about.
    • If you get caught-up on a certain feature or transformation step, a pause to zoom in can show us why there is that hang-up, and then go back to the regular view & continue on.

Oh, BTW... are you in any way related to thee Andrew of DAPDX fame?
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CollectionDX Staff

EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 5 May, 2009 - 15:15
"Oh, BTW... are you in any

"Oh, BTW... are you in any way related to thee Andrew of DAPDX fame?"

No.

VF5SS's picture
Posted by VF5SS on 5 May, 2009 - 15:31
Re: "Oh, BTW... are you in any

...Jerk.

-_-;
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CollectionDX Staff

EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 5 May, 2009 - 18:25
Re: Official Videographer

XD

Yeah, didn't you get the memo? If fact, that reminds me that I need to change my footer...
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CollectionDX Staff
CollectionDX Videography Expert

EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 5 May, 2009 - 18:23
Re: Just can't resist...

XD

Awesome point, Atom! But, that is an exception since Onell makes very durable stuff; these videos prove the rule, they don't break it.

And I, too, voice my negative feelings on something if I don't like something in one of my reviews.

"...NEVER present yourself as speaking on behalf of anyone at CDX other than yourself..."

Did I come across that way? Sorry, my bad. =) I was just passing on what I thought was the unspoken standard among us, that's all.
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CollectionDX Staff

EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 5 May, 2009 - 18:21
PFFT!!!

PFFT!!!....You're trespassing 'The Ark'

Mr. Contradictator.

-R78

Rodimus78's picture
Posted by Rodimus78 on 5 May, 2009 - 18:19
A nice first review, makes

A nice first review, makes me want to translate my review of MP Strascream into english :)

By the way, I'm impressed with the last pic of flying Skywarp, you're basicly the second person I know on the net who thought about that in a gallery :)

http://transformery.pl/wallaformers/tf/mp_starscream/mp_starscream51.jpg

First being me, but I suppose there is a lot more people who know this little trick :)And believe, from my experience his quite stable in this pose, my Starscream was attached to the stand like that for several days and nothing happened.

Wallas's picture
Posted by Wallas on 5 May, 2009 - 16:59
I think the fan whining

I think the fan whining is a result of MP01 setting the bar so high.

"Dinobots, destroy Devestator!"-Optimus Prime TFTM

Goldenage's picture
Posted by Goldenage on 5 May, 2009 - 17:04
That's point one, point two

That's point one, point two is that Takara originally created realsitic-alt-mode oriented Starscream and only later adapted Hasbro's idea with G1 colors, with which fans coped a lot better.

Sigh, the problem with this mold is that while Starscream had enough screen time to develop several special weapons and accesiories, they don't apply all that well to Skywarp and Thundercracker, who simply never had a chance of using them in the show.

Wallas's picture
Posted by Wallas on 5 May, 2009 - 17:20
Skywarp & Thundercracker

"Sigh, the problem with this mold is that while Starscream had enough screen time to develop several special weapons and accesiories, they don't apply all that well to Skywarp and Thundercracker, who simply never had a chance of using them in the show."

That's not totally true. Skywarp used his teleportation powers and his bouncer bombs & Thundercracker used his sonic booms but not a whole lot unless you read the comics and other shows that came afterwards. Granted, their characters weren't fully developed in their original forms as much as Starscream was in the show, but they did later on.

Keep in mind that both their characters get developed in season 3 after Unicron regenerated them into Cyclonus and Scourge respectively. Which is why I'm glad that the Second Megatron aka Galvatron finally killed Starscream in The Movie.

DISCLAIMER: Yes, I know I know, the technical word is 'Reformatting' over 'Regeneration'. Well...I can't help that because I get amazed and excited when I see Transformers get reconstructed into new robots. The same thing happens with Time Lords from the Dr. Who mythos, so I like to use the 'Regeneration' term for TF because it sounds so cool. As far as the TF mythos is concerned, Megatron has the best regeneration scenes ever.

-R78

Rodimus78's picture
Posted by Rodimus78 on 5 May, 2009 - 22:30
I don't care.

I don't care.

VF5SS's picture
Posted by VF5SS on 5 May, 2009 - 22:53
I know you don't

I know you don't care,

so I don't care if you care and don't care.

In hindsight...dude...stalemate.

-R78

Rodimus78's picture
Posted by Rodimus78 on 5 May, 2009 - 23:10
You need to stop posting

You need to stop posting stupid irrelevant rants in my toy reviews.

VF5SS's picture
Posted by VF5SS on 6 May, 2009 - 07:26
Negative. You need to stop posting

Negative.

You need to stop posting stupid unprovoked torts to your audience in your toy reviews.

-R78

Rodimus78's picture
Posted by Rodimus78 on 8 May, 2009 - 00:38
Personally, I prefer a

Personally, I prefer a good robot mode over a realistic vehicle mode. I mean, they never looked like accurate vehicles in the show anyway.

"Dinobots, destroy Devestator!"-Optimus Prime TFTM

Goldenage's picture
Posted by Goldenage on 5 May, 2009 - 17:33
MP-01 has a terrible truck

MP-01 has a terrible truck mode. That's not a high bar.

VF5SS's picture
Posted by VF5SS on 5 May, 2009 - 21:19
THS

"MP-01 has a terrible truck mode. That's not a high bar. "

Not as terrible as THS-01 Convoy's truck mode that Kawamori developed which makes MP-01 Convoy as high as it's gonna get.

-R78

Rodimus78's picture
Posted by Rodimus78 on 5 May, 2009 - 21:49
The original toy had a

The original toy had a better truck mode. Even the new movie toys have better truck modes.

VF5SS's picture
Posted by VF5SS on 5 May, 2009 - 22:21
Always

Dude, the original Convoy/Optimus Prime toy will always have the best truck mode ever b/c it's a classic. Always.

I'll bite that the movie toy have better truck modes, but come to think of it, it seems that BT-22 Convoy functionally owns them all post-modern wise.

-R78

Rodimus78's picture
Posted by Rodimus78 on 5 May, 2009 - 23:39
REAL THS!

THS-01 was Galaxy Convoy, from Galaxy Force/Cybertron. THS-02 was G1 Convoy. :D

delta7890's picture
Posted by delta7890 on 7 May, 2009 - 11:05
Correct

"THS-01 was Galaxy Convoy, from Galaxy Force/Cybertron. THS-02 was G1 Convoy. :D"

You are correct.

-R78

Rodimus78's picture
Posted by Rodimus78 on 7 May, 2009 - 11:35
Great review

I love the 3 seekers and this is my favorite color schema of all three. I'm hoping now they'll go back and give us some Conehead action! I'd love to see this retooled into Thrust.

"The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds, and the pessimist fears this to be true." - James Branch Cabell 1926.

Wizartar's picture
Posted by Wizartar on 6 May, 2009 - 01:42
Quite A Dream

"I love the 3 seekers and this is my favorite color schema of all three. I'm hoping now they'll go back and give us some Conehead action! I'd love to see this retooled into Thrust."

That would be quite a dream come true my friend, personally I would love to see a Masterpiece Skyfire in this series.

-R78

Rodimus78's picture
Posted by Rodimus78 on 6 May, 2009 - 17:31
My girlfriend gave me a

My girlfriend gave me a T-shirt of the Kremzeek for my birthday. It's pretty damn cash. I've actually had someone recognise it in public,too,and he proceeded to flip out.

kidnicky's picture
Posted by kidnicky on 6 May, 2009 - 14:53
Heat!

Lately some of the review gains more heat than before or is just me?

Anyway, maybe I missed it, but where's the diecast part goes? Is it only in joints?

Berserk's picture
Posted by Berserk on 6 May, 2009 - 19:00
Diecast

"Lately some of the review gains more heat than before or is just me?

Anyway, maybe I missed it, but where's the diecast part goes? Is it only in joints?"

No, it's not you. Don't let it bother you.

Anyway, most of the diecast content on this toy is the piston strut attached to the air brake flap on the back of the toy. The bar hinge that's attached to the long back panel that's connected to the air brake flap is diecast.

the rest of the diecast goes on the back frame that symmetrically supports the torso,the neck bar attached to the nosecone, the landing gears & a hidden radar in the nosecone.

The chrome pistons are located on Skywarp's elbow joints.

There are no diecast joints on the legs.

-R78

Rodimus78's picture
Posted by Rodimus78 on 6 May, 2009 - 20:47
Frame?

Wow, it got metal frame? That great, like you could transform it a zillion times without the fear of breaking it down.

Berserk's picture
Posted by Berserk on 7 May, 2009 - 18:50
Not quite

Not quite... I was referring to the two frame bars that supports the seeker's ABS plastic torso and wings that are articulated.

-R78

Rodimus78's picture
Posted by Rodimus78 on 7 May, 2009 - 23:15
MP-1 Truck mode is great and

MP-1 Truck mode is great and I would considered it to be the top 2 behind the classic. However, when you factor in the size, and metal content and everything else. It would be the number 1 Optimus Prime, period.

I don't think MP-1 standard was set too high, it was set perfectly in matching with teh masterpiece title. These planes have no excuse for not including some heavy metal die-cast content. Who wants plastic in MP line?

Battousai's picture
Posted by Battousai on 11 May, 2009 - 09:39
Who wants plastic in the MP line?

"These planes have no excuse for not including some heavy metal die-cast content. Who wants plastic in MP line?"

Who wants plastic in the MP line? Sounds like somebody hasn't been keeping up with the current demographics in sales lately. If Yamato Toys can get away selling their Macross with a little diecast, why can't TakaraTomy?

Remember, it's not just the chogokin that sells the most, it's the quality of asthetics & engineering that makes the biggest buck.

-R78

Rodimus78's picture
Posted by Rodimus78 on 31 May, 2009 - 02:33
Just to add to Rodimus78's

Just to add to Rodimus78's point, I don't believe diecast is necessary in many designs. Given the current MP jet design there aren't many places you could stick diecast without compromising the toy's already strained balance. There's no room in the legs for it due to the collapsing thighs, the arms and chest pieces wouldn't really benefit from diecast, and diecast wings and tail surfaces would seriously through off its balance. Just look at my review of the GFFM Zeta Plus. The diecast in the legs is nice but it comes with the cost of the toy being unable to sit in wave rider mode without some kind of stand support.

VF5SS's picture
Posted by VF5SS on 20 June, 2009 - 10:46