Seibertron.com Energon Pub Forums

Another week, another Seibertron.com gallery. This time, TakaraTomy's Transformers GO! Hunter Ratchet, a redeco of a retool! (The original mold being Transformers Prime: Robots In Disguise Ratchet, of course.) And not only is he sporting a new deco, he's also switched sides!

Transformers Go! Hunter Ratchet


First up, the bot himself:



Rockin' his new vehicle mode with the US Beast Hunters and Movie universe versions:







A few bot mode shots with the other Ratchets:





And last, but not least, the Dark Energon powered Decepticon with his Predacon Oni allies:



(Please note that you can see the Movie universe Ratchet galleries for both Voyager and Deluxe Classes as well as the rest of our extensive galleries.)

Keep your optics tuned to Seibertron.com for the latest news, updates and the best galleries around!

Predacons =/= Decepticons. Only the Go! Predacons are Oni, not the Decepticons

As for Ratchet switching sides, I took a look at the bio, and noticed "Dark Energon" being mentioned. Maybe Ratchet had a little mishap with the stuff?

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:Predacons =/= Decepticons. Only the Go! Predacons are Oni, not the Decepticons

As for Ratchet switching sides, I took a look at the bio, and noticed "Dark Energon" being mentioned. Maybe Ratchet had a little mishap with the stuff?

Ah, but I didn't say he was Oni. I said Oni teammates. The Stunticons and Constructicons had Decepticon teammates. Even though their labels are different, they're still the same side.

I went ahead and clarified. Hopefully *THIS* will make people happy...

Ratchet's bio basically says that he snuck into a Decepticon research lab to get data for upgrading the Autobots' Preda Armor, but was captured by the Decepticons. They then infused him with Dark Energon, which turned him into a Decepticon and altered his form. The Autobots managed to rescue him, but he's struggling to regain his heart of justice.

Just now noticed that Ratchet is colored like his film incarnation.

I can't like this mold, nor most of the other ones from the Beast Hunters line anyway, no matter how awesome a deco Takara gives them.

I like it. Needs the orange in the forearms, shins and knee spikes like it's predecessor has but i like it nonetheless.

Looks like Beast Wars Dinobot...

he is rachet colored like Dinobot,with a mold that resembles Transmetal 2 Dinobot while being a


But i dont think the shade of color is that close to movie Ratchet.

With the Dinobot(II)-esque details and the 'Con insignia, I kinda want to repurpose him as a evil clone of Ratchet that inexplicably has the original's memories.

Noideaforaname wrote:With the Dinobot(II)-esque details and the 'Con insignia, I kinda want to repurpose him as a evil clone of Ratchet that inexplicably has the original's memories.

if you can't explain a reason that a character from a race of beings whose minds can be stored on floppy discs, whose population contain numerous mind readers and psychics and whose technology has weaponry and tools capable of transplanting minds and removing memories might have the same memories as another guy from the same race...you're not really trying are you?

We're proud to present new Seibertron.com galleries of Takara Tomy's Arms Micron Starscream and Thundercracker. Starscream is a slight redeco of Hasbro's Transformers Prime Robots In Disguise Voyager Class Starscream and he comes with his Micron Gul. Thundercracker, following Transformers tradition, is a redeco and retool of First Edition Starscream and includes his Micron Silver Metal Balo. Check out these new galleries by clicking on any of the pictures below.

Arms Micron Thundercracker










Arms Micron Silver Metal Balo




Arms Micron Starscream








Arms Micron Gul

I don't think any of those repaints manage to look like someone other than Starscream. He's just too distinctive.

Noideaforaname wrote:I don't think any of those repaints manage to look like someone other than Starscream. He's just too distinctive.

For curiosity's sake, what makes a standard Seeker trio "distictive" for you? I mean, they're always just blue-and-red Starscream and black-and-purple Starscream. If anything, I feel like this is the best Seeker design since G1, all proper and scheme-y and eyebrow-y.

RAcast wrote:

Noideaforaname wrote:I don't think any of those repaints manage to look like someone other than Starscream. He's just too distinctive.

For curiosity's sake, what makes a standard Seeker trio "distictive" for you? I mean, they're always just blue-and-red Starscream and black-and-purple Starscream. If anything, I feel like this is the best Seeker design since G1, all proper and scheme-y and eyebrow-y.

I've seen Noideaforaname's comments stated elsewhere by other members. I'm assuming it's because Skywarp and Thundercracker have no fictional portrayal in the Transformers Prime cartoons or comics so they seem very much like repaints of Starscream. Had Skywarp and Thundercracker been portrayed in the cartoon from the beginning, people would be more accepting of them. I'm really surprised they were neglected in Prime and in the live action movies. It seems like including those two characters would make a lot of fans happy and provide a way for them to save some costs with CGI. I'm glad they didn't cheap out by replacing Dreadwing and/or Skyquake with Skywarp and Thundercracker, but I've always thought those two would've been great secondary characters to have in the live action films such as Jolt, Sideswipe (who didn't really shine until DOTM), etc.

Seibertron wrote:

RAcast wrote:

Noideaforaname wrote:I don't think any of those repaints manage to look like someone other than Starscream. He's just too distinctive.

For curiosity's sake, what makes a standard Seeker trio "distictive" for you? I mean, they're always just blue-and-red Starscream and black-and-purple Starscream. If anything, I feel like this is the best Seeker design since G1, all proper and scheme-y and eyebrow-y.

I've seen Noideaforaname's comments stated elsewhere by other members. I'm assuming it's because Skywarp and Thundercracker have no fictional portrayal in the Transformers Prime cartoons or comics so they seem very much like repaints of Starscream. Had Skywarp and Thundercracker been portrayed in the cartoon from the beginning, people would be more accepting of them. I'm really surprised they were neglected in Prime and in the live action movies. It seems like including those two characters would make a lot of fans happy and provide a way for them to save some costs with CGI. I'm glad they didn't cheap out by replacing Dreadwing and/or Skyquake with Skywarp and Thundercracker, but I've always thought those two would've been great secondary characters to have in the live action films such as Jolt, Sideswipe (who didn't really shine until DOTM), etc.

That's pretty much what I was expecting, and I agree to a point, but the design behind Prime Starscream just feels right to me, if that makes sense. It's a shame they didn't have Skywarp and Thundercracker show up in any real way, but oh well, missed opportunities and such.

I agree: would've been a pretty neat shout-out to fans if they had included Skywarp and Thundercracker in Prime.

Call me insane, but I kinda want to see them tackle Acid Storm from this mold. I happen to like camo patterns very much.

I have all the repaints, but for the most part, I agree with Noideaforaname. The reason I do has more to do with the characteristics of the bot mode. Normal seeker toys (G1, Classics/Generations, MP etc.) use a very generic robot form. TF:Prime uses an extremely characterized form, including various elements of posture, facial design, facial expression etc. that can only really be 1 character: TF: Prime Starscream (or Starscream in general, really). The humanization of the characters in Prime makes repaints into other characters (without SERIOUS repainting and remolding at least) virtually impossible in my opinion, especially for Starscream, who even transforms in such a way that everything from his hands and elbows and the posture of his shoulders and torso all give him a sort of "body language" that is unmistakably him, and ONLY him.

I just can't really see that mold as anyone else unless TC and SW had been recolored clones or something (as in the episode where he created clones of himself using protoforms). But as just generic seeker Decepticons who happen to share the same form as him (a-la G1), it just doesn't work. At least not for me.

Or, y'know, it would be nice to have a face that isn't just another Starscream smirk...

Personally, I'd just like to see domestic releases of all three characters rather than having to spring for expensive imports. I'd even be happy with straight-up repaints at that point. (Prime makeovers of the coneheads might've been cool too from both the show and toys. Instead we get drones that are winged cars, and a silver general winged car drone...)

The original Starscream design is a rather generic jet-robot, so you could apply "treacherous schemer", "idiot prankster", "doubtful of the Decepticon cause", or any other personality and none would look out of place.
Prime Starscream, however, was definitely designed to be a scheming, aloof, not-really-a-direct-fighter; in other words, Starscream specifically. I have a hard time seeing Skywarp or Thundercracker, instead I'm just seeing "the schemer" in different colors.

'Course, if the Seeker Trio were introduced all at once this way in the cartoon I suppose I'd have a different opinion, but that didn't happen and Starscream went on to become on of the best Starscreams ever (the "definitive" one, I'd say, at least in Season 1) so simply recoloring his toy (or creating a new head that doesn't really look all that different save for the lack of crest and added lipstick) doesn't work for me.

Agamemnon wrote:Or, y'know, it would be nice to have a face that isn't just another Starscream smirk...

Personally, I'd just like to see domestic releases of all three characters rather than having to spring for expensive imports. I'd even be happy with straight-up repaints at that point. (Prime makeovers of the coneheads might've been cool too from both the show and toys. Instead we get drones that are winged cars, and a silver general winged car drone...)

The Dark Energon Starscream is an easy replacement option for imported Skywarp. He looks great, and the clear parts arguably make him even more Skywarp-y (a la Machine Wars).

I agree with xyl360 that it's hard to see these repaints as anything other than his clones, and they lacked the divergent personality traits and color schemes of Animated Starscream's clones. So even if it's easy to fanwank them in as such, I still find it pretty hard to see these repaints as other Seekers rather than other Starscreams.

Or maybe it's still just too hard to accept those stiletto-heels as standard issue for a body template.

Except for Slipstream, of course. She's the only redeco I've got so far, and while the others would be nice, I'm in no rush.

In the second pic, who is the one on the far right?

And, in the same pic, I guess the one on the top left is the Japanese version of Starscream?

Joetx wrote:In the second pic, who is the one on the far right?

And, in the same pic, I guess the one on the top left is the Japanese version of Starscream?

The one on the far right is Entertainment Pack Starscream. He was seemingly released only in Europe.

The mould doesn't work for Thundercracker or Skywarp, but only for Starscream. I would say it's because the robot mode emobodies too much of the snivelling, sneaky, backstabbing, and non-upright standards of conduct that Starscream possesses and lives by. Thundercracker has too much of a backbone, and Skywarp is too brave, or atleast confident to look so egor-like.

I largely agree with what has been said:

(1) Only Starscream is represented in the show
(2) Starscream's character model is an embodiment of his personality

Thus, the mold will forever scream (pun intended) Starscream, regardless of what character he is nominally repainted to be.