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Masterpiece Starscream Ghost Version

Comments

14 comments posted
Kawamori

God? Damned? Strong words indeed....Hmm.... for a Starscream fan, I take it Shoji Kawamori has disappointed you deeply. I can honestly see why but from my personal experience, this is far from worse Japanese TFs collectibles that I've played with like MP Megatron. I never seen a toy like that whose bare-all diecast parts tarnishes so badly & the tabs that lock the panels together in gun.mode breaks so easily. I think TakaTomy should've made a MP G2 Megs in the first place.

Diakron's picture
Posted by Diakron on 21 December, 2010 - 02:52
The "goddamned" is meant to

The "goddamned" is meant to be an enthusiastic endorsement. I love Shoji Kawamori, and him returning to TF:G1 is just awesome, no matter how mixed the results were.

The Enthusiast's picture
Posted by The Enthusiast on 21 December, 2010 - 09:34
Clearly a Masterpiece...that

Clearly a Masterpiece...that made me giggle, genius. My only experience with this mold is the unloved (at least until prices dropped) US Masterpiece Skywarp. I share the same likes and dislikes about this toy. My Skywarp takes up a lot of precious shelf space because of the required stand. I say required because mine will not stand up unless hunched over like you stated. I always thought the purplish hue was due to photography, because it looks clear in some photos, but it clearly (hehe) looks purple to me in these pictures.

chachipower's picture
Posted by chachipower on 21 December, 2010 - 12:07
Starscream takes up the same

Starscream takes up the same amount of shelf space with or without the display stand. As for him being 'hunched' over if displayed without the stand... I've never had this problem, check him out on my flickr page.

north-exit's picture
Posted by north-exit on 21 December, 2010 - 19:37
I crunch my figures together

I crunch my figures together in the limited space I have so the extra width needed by the stand easily knocks off 3-5 smaller figures from having space- I cant crowd them as close as I need. Anytime I try and stand him up straight he takes a dive backwards. Ive fiddled endlessly with his heel to get him to stand on various different surfaces and he always falls.

chachipower's picture
Posted by chachipower on 21 December, 2010 - 23:21
Fiddle a little harder, it is

Fiddle a little harder, it is possible, plus he looks great once he's standing there on his own without support.

north-exit's picture
Posted by north-exit on 22 December, 2010 - 01:38
Starscream

I've always liked the Masterpiece Starscream design, even when it seemed everyone I talked to was all upset over the tail parts on the hips. Personally I like that because it reminds me of a samurai, but apparently I'm in the minority. I got the US release in the original Starscream colors, and while it's nice, I always found the finish a little lacking. This clear release looks really good. Is the finish smoother on this one?

Ginrai's picture
Posted by Ginrai on 21 December, 2010 - 13:59
I have six Seekers and this

I have six Seekers and this is definitely one of my favorites, at first I thought it would be sloppy due to mold degradation since my Hasbro Skywarp is loose and ill fitting but my Ghost Starscream is nice and tight. Your right about the standing part where it is a balancing act but I found if you swivel the legs outwards it does help a bit. Anyways great review.

CHEN's picture
Posted by CHEN on 21 December, 2010 - 16:33
I agree that an MP G2

I agree that an MP G2 Megatron could have been nicer than the MP seekers, or MP Megatron. So, its been a couple o' years since its initial release...when can we expect an MP Grimlock review?

Goldenage's picture
Posted by Goldenage on 21 December, 2010 - 17:02
Grimlock

There are tons of MP Grimlock reviews @ TF websites like Seibertron.com, & TFormers.com I think.

Diakron's picture
Posted by Diakron on 21 December, 2010 - 17:18
I gotta agree with

I gotta agree with Ginrai.
IMHO the design is sort of fluid in its execution, meaning it retains the look of the seekers in both forms.
In jet-mode they look like F-15 Eagles with a reasonable nod to the bot-mode kibble underneath.
In bot-mode they look amazingly similar to the TV show, again with the same nod to the jet-mode kibble to the rear.
Also each mode has gimmicks that are tailored to its configuration.
And its all done with the smallest fraction of parts swaping (the arm lasers/missles, which was also present in the G1 toys).
I just don't get how fans have so many issues with it, but oh well to each his own. lol

Mind you I did buy all the Takara vers. except for Starscream (it was all about those colors man).

As for Megs, it would have been "heresey" of sorts had they not done his G1 mode first. . . . . .
The fandom would be livid for there being a G1 Prime but not G1 Megs, but one that's "not even in the same generation?"
Don't get me wrong it would be cool to see it, hell I want one too!!
But for Has/Tak to step in that direction (at that time) would've been too off the radar.

I think the Masterpiece line was started to revamp the old G1 toys, also to catch the collectors all in one shot.
And in order to do that starting with G1 was the best place to go.
Consider it this way they're aim is to hit iconic G1 characters first then (hopefully) move to G2 in the future.
Either way I'm cool with the offerings we're getting so far casue I'm a fan, not a fanatic. :) lol

Blakwulf's picture
Posted by Blakwulf on 22 December, 2010 - 13:27
Clear or no clear plastic, I

Clear or no clear plastic, I still prefer the prototype version of this mold.

Especially the legs of the prototype look better imo. I understand kawamori's
argument, but I don't think his solution made the design better.

knoted's picture
Posted by knoted on 22 December, 2010 - 14:03
amazed

I am always amazed at your reviews, next to Josh, the most professional looking...still curious how you highlight the die cast content. Makes my little "hobo" reviews feel ashamed:)

AJProDie-Cast's picture
Posted by AJProDie-Cast on 22 December, 2010 - 22:23
thanks!

Thank for the kind words. The diecast highlight is just an extra layer in Photoshop. I've worked pretty hard on my raw photography, but nothing beats Photoshop.

The Enthusiast's picture
Posted by The Enthusiast on 22 December, 2010 - 22:35