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Voyager class Starscream

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7 comments posted
Good first review! A few

Good first review!

A few short suggestions, which really helped me as well:

  • a picture is worth a thousand words- use less text to describe surface details unless a significant characteristic of the toy or a movable function/gimmick in that mode
  • keep on-target- shoot all photos [and videos] against a clear & blank background. This keeps our focus on the item rather than drawing our eye to the stuff behind it.
  • don't spoil the fun- if there is an issue/difficulty/trick to the transformation, bring it up, otherwise skip past it. If you wanna highlight something specific from the process, that's fine.

If there had not been a Leader-class version (which I will be covering for CDX, BTW), I would have gotten this guy. It is easily a far-cleaner representation of him than the 2007 ver was (the arms, legs, and poor jet mode killed it for me).

Only things I don't like here is how the hands stick out the back of the jet mode's profile, and how the eyes were painted over (lazy manufacturer for using one one type of clear plastic rather than two).
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CollectionDX Staff

EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 8 January, 2010 - 17:57
Thanks for the review hints

Thanks for the review hints EVA unit 4A :)

Yeah, the outdoor pics are actually from last summer. Somehow the inside pics of the airplane mode came out too dark and grainy. ( I really need to create a decent lightbox, I know )

The hands ? Yeah, shame about such budget cuts. It means Mr Shogo Hasui at Takara had the right intentions with the original fold-up hands, but corporate budget limitations nullified that. Still, nowhere as bad as the 2007 version.

Personally, I think the Leader class SS jetmode will feel a little bulky in hand, judging from the previews....

knoted's picture
Posted by knoted on 8 January, 2010 - 18:21
Yeah- I also anticipate that

For the record, I do not use a lightbox either. I just use the shooting shelf and the normal florescent lights of the room! But, I adjust the coloring and light saturation with the camera's built-in settings, and do not ever depend on natural sunlight because it changes from day-to-day!

Yeah- I also anticipate that Leader Screamer will be a little taller in the jet mode's forward profile, but the smoother contours they used will compensate for that. I'm really looking forward to it though!

One thing it does made me reconsider the character on-screen, though...
Leader Screamer has a removable missile launcher that can be attached to either hand. In both movies, we see his left hand both as empty and with the missile launcher(s) attached. I think that, in the movie, his missile launcher is also detachable and mounts to his back as well, rather than being built-in to his arm like most other 'bots' weps are! (Optimus stores all his shooting weps on his back as well, and Sideswipe's swords are removable, so there is precedent.)
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CollectionDX Staff

EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 8 January, 2010 - 18:38
Also, a thanks to Josh, for

Also, a thanks to Josh, for publishing this review.

For anyone interested and who might not have read it, but there's an interview with the Takara toy designer Mr Shogo Hasui. Apparently his nickname is Mr Starscream because he worked on so many versions of the Starscream character. It's a good read
imo, which shows some of the tight restrictions they have to work with. You can find it here : Interview with Mr Hasui

A quote : "Question - From your point of view (as a Starscream specialist), what was the first impression of the (first) movie Starscream robot design? I think he was very different from Starscreams we were used to through cartoons and toys....

Hasui: Well, you are right, but I thought, "This one is right in its own way". Because the first (G1) Starscream and Micron Trilogy (Unicron Trilogy ) Starscreams were all popular, but I had been making the same type of robots and did want to "create a new Starscream".
Thanks to the movie Starscream, I feel I created a different Starscream, in both proportion and the transforming process."

knoted's picture
Posted by knoted on 9 January, 2010 - 03:23
Very good review! I didn't

Very good review! I didn't pick this one up since I had the 2007 version. Wish they had used this mold for the recent Wal-mart exclusive Skywarp and Ramjet.

djinniman37's picture
Posted by djinniman37 on 9 January, 2010 - 10:24
Excellent review

You did a great job of reviewing all of the good aspects as well as some of the negative aspects of the toy. My only major gripes I had with this figure have been the tattoos and the limited arm articulation. You can't bend his elbows backward, thus making a palm-up pose with the toy impossible. The tattoos were actually easy to take care of. Some rubbing alcohol and cotton swabs (and about 2 hours) made it all go away rather nicely. Once I get my hands on an airbrush, I plan to repaint him in gunmetal gray.

Word of warning though if you plan on removing the tattoos yourself: the paint on the head is made of a different material than the paint on the body, and it takes quite a bit more to remove.

thesnadd's picture
Posted by thesnadd on 9 January, 2010 - 15:50
Thanks ! About the tattoos :

Thanks !
About the tattoos : personally, I like them. However, as I already did an outdoor photoshoot last summer - under a scorching sun - it only took about 15 minutes for the tattoo paint to chip off & smudge. I had Breakaway in the same sunlight and his camo paint didn't budge at all. Well, I guess it's a plus if you didn't like the tats.

About the arms : Imo, his elbow bends the correct way ; the side of the underarm where the Gatling gun is mounted, actually has the inner elbow. I think, the thing which confuses most people is the orientation of the hands. Default human hands have the back of the palm, face to the side ; in Starscream's case, the back of his palms faces forward.
It means, the default orientation of Starscream's hands is not natural, it's a 90's turn
from the normal orientation of a human hand. (Basically, the Gatling gun is in the way of a natural hand orientation, since the hands are kinda wide. They could have had the orientation of the hands twist 180, but then he'd be shooting into his own palms)
If I twist my palm 90 degrees, having the backhand face forward ; then if I try to get the inside of my palm to face my hip - while retaining the 90 degrees turn at the wrist - as a result, the back of my elbow will be facing my torso ; thus, the underarm will not bend 'inward' of course.
That is what's happening with Starscream's arms in case we try to have his inside palm, pose upward.

Hasbro/Takara could have prevented this if they had positioned the Gatling gun on the other side of the underarm ; then he would be able to do the bicep curl & it would save up having to turn his underarm 180 degrees for transformation.

Gee, what a wall of text for just arm articulation. lol.

knoted's picture
Posted by knoted on 9 January, 2010 - 17:59