The Energon Pub

tigertracks 24 wrote:I think they missed the boat in not painting Skywarp black. Maybe because they have a black repaint of Starscream planned? And a dark blue of Skywarp?

I can kind of see how they could paint SS black and call it BW Ravage or something.

If they do a black repaint, I hope they just keep it Skywarp. Well, I guess I don't care what they call him as long as it's black with purple accents...

Thanks for the review, Diem! I think I may end up getting Skywarp eventually, but the head is just too ugly on Starscream. I have way more Starscreams anyway. Maybe the third version will be something good.

Aww, lookit that punum! It's good to finally put a face to the name. I like the departure from the usual chest-cannon-camera-style, makes it a bit more personal. There were some problems with the close-to-the-bottom shots, but I think that's more a fault of Youtube cutting off the top and bottom a bit than the actual video.

I'm still really undecided about these figures. I honestly think the white on SS looks nicer, but the look of SW (especially the head sculpt) is better; it seems they were trying to go for kind of a mix between Classic and Movie looks for SS's head, and it just ends up looking... Bugly? Ba dum bum ching!

*ahem* Moving right along, I do think they did a fantastic job taking a car and making it look seeker-ish. And I know everyone's clamoring for a Thundercracker repaint, and while I agree... quite frankly, I'd rather see small gun and head retool happen and a Tracks come from this.

Excellent review Diem, can't wait for more!

NOTE: This figure has an issue that I can't ignore. When you transform from car to robot, the part of the right wing that rotates up has a peg that holds it in place. When you transform him back into a car this little peg seems to break off easily. It doesn't affect the transformation at all but it does leave a small mar in the plastic.



It's not too easy to see but it's the small light purple rectangle.

WolfDawg wrote:Maybe I'm just this much of a seeker fanboy, but these are absolute works of art people! I LOVE how the hood of the car becomes the wings, I love the fact that Starscream's head mold looks like a snake (paying tribute to the fact that the car is based on a Chinese snake and that his G1 persona was "sneaky as a snake").

Is that true about the design? I think you're the only person who likes SS's head! I would have still bought SW if he had this terrible head design cos I like the overall look.

Diem wrote:NOTE: This figure has an issue that I can't ignore. When you transform from car to robot, the part of the right wing that rotates up has a peg that holds it in place. When you transform him back into a car this little peg seems to break off easily. It doesn't affect the transformation at all but it does leave a small mar in the plastic.

[img]

It's not too easy to see but it's the small light purple rectangle.

Diem, your reviews are great but your photography skills leave a little to be desired! Are there supposed to be two peg-thingies and the left one has broken? If not, then I have no idea what you mean! It's not necessary is it? Surely the joint is stiff enough to hold the piece in place, though obviously I understand the complaint of bits snapping off.

Mykltron wrote:

WolfDawg wrote:Maybe I'm just this much of a seeker fanboy, but these are absolute works of art people! I LOVE how the hood of the car becomes the wings, I love the fact that Starscream's head mold looks like a snake (paying tribute to the fact that the car is based on a Chinese snake and that his G1 persona was "sneaky as a snake").

Is that true about the design? I think you're the only person who likes SS's head! I would have still bought SW if he had this terrible head design cos I like the overall look.

Diem wrote:NOTE: This figure has an issue that I can't ignore. When you transform from car to robot, the part of the right wing that rotates up has a peg that holds it in place. When you transform him back into a car this little peg seems to break off easily. It doesn't affect the transformation at all but it does leave a small mar in the plastic.

[img]

It's not too easy to see but it's the small light purple rectangle.

Diem, your reviews are great but your photography skills leave a little to be desired! Are there supposed to be two peg-thingies and the left one has broken? If not, then I have no idea what you mean! It's not necessary is it? Surely the joint is stiff enough to hold the piece in place, though obviously I understand the complaint of bits snapping off.

I immediately saw what he was pointing to. I've circled it and uploaded that picture, so you could see it better.

As for the toy itself, I'm extremely disappointed. I love the vehicle mode, I still love the main bot body (Skywarp), but I cannot stand the wings kibble. Or the steering wheel.

The hip kibble and the antenna in the leg bother me immensely, and the cheats of the chest and hood/roof/trunk are a constant bother to me. They'd drive me nuts if I had that figure.

I fail to see, with that level of engineering, why TT couldn't have found a way to make the hood of the car actually become his chest. Make the wings fold out like the fins on his legs, something.

I think he could've been designed far better than he is.

Plus pieces breaking off? No. Just no.

That being said, Skywarp, from the front, looks fantastic, simply fantastic.

Diem wrote:

ImperiaxPrime wrote:

Diem wrote:

Dead Metal wrote:Starscream has 4 eyes?

It looks like four eyes in all the pictures but in person it looks more like two eyes with a horizontal slit, like Kermit the Frog. It's a really weird look. Hopefully I get time this weekend to translate his profile and/or fiction to see if it sheds any light on the matter.

Looks like a design flaw and an oversight in painting. Judging by the pictures I've seen it looks like the top set of eyes should actually be the top eyelid and someone forget to tell the paint department to slap some white on there. Could this be the truth of it Diem?

It certainly looks that way, but given the long development time and high quality control for Alternities I'd be surprised if no-one spotted it on the prototypes.

No, definitely not a design flaw. They were the Quadruple Evil Optics; says so right in his profile. Good news is, one can simply paint black over his upper eyes to kill the bug-looking face, like this simple photoshop:

Mykltron wrote:
Diem, your reviews are great but your photography skills leave a little to be desired! Are there supposed to be two peg-thingies and the left one has broken? If not, then I have no idea what you mean! It's not necessary is it? Surely the joint is stiff enough to hold the piece in place, though obviously I understand the complaint of bits snapping off.

Exactly right, yes. My camera sucks when it comes to close-ups. Or long shots. Or middle distances.

Bravo, Diem. Excellent, entertaining & informative as always. I guess maybe the plastic they're using for these Alternity figures is a might fragile, considering the cracking/breaking issues on Convoy's rear window/leg panels, & the internal gear mechanism on Megatron's chest(automorph gear) & the knees on Cliff are kinda iffy. All in all i'm still happy to welcome Screamer into my collection(I'm just going to try to convince myself the face is an homage to Bugly). When you get the bio translated please do upload, i'd love to know what it says. I find the Alternity fiction to be quite interesting.

Thanks for reviewing the figures, Diem. Great job!

I like the head sculpt for SS but I must say SW's looks better to me.

I like it but they could've done his robot form a lttle different. It looks to classic, we need something new from Starscream if he's finally a land vehicle

primebot96 wrote::BOT: I like it but they could've done his robot form a lttle different. It looks to classic, we need something new from Starscream if he's finally a land vehicle

Of all Starscream's produced, this is the one that refers back to his bot mode the least. The chest and legs, the head... I think it's different enough. But you know... not everyone likes everything.

tigertracks 24 wrote:

primebot96 wrote::BOT: I like it but they could've done his robot form a lttle different. It looks to classic, we need something new from Starscream if he's finally a land vehicle

Of all Starscream's produced, this is the one that refers back to his bot mode the least. The chest and legs, the head... I think it's different enough. But you know... not everyone likes everything.

Machine Wars Starscream nonewithstanding...

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:

tigertracks 24 wrote:

primebot96 wrote::BOT: I like it but they could've done his robot form a lttle different. It looks to classic, we need something new from Starscream if he's finally a land vehicle

Of all Starscream's produced, this is the one that refers back to his bot mode the least. The chest and legs, the head... I think it's different enough. But you know... not everyone likes everything.

Machine Wars Starscream nonewithstanding...

I suppose, but MW SS was is a jet still.

Maybe the face on this is related to that (minus the bug eyes).

I decided to go ahead and get Skywarp.. Gonna hold off on starscream atm..Just something about his colors that don't tickle my fancy..I had a horrible day and ebay so I decided to make up for it by scoopin up SW..The review helped in alot of ways since BBTS likes to post pictures from like 50ft away..

I utterly hate ebay btw......

I got an email to say my SW is on the way!

Diem, thanks for your review - it was so much better than Peaugh's!

TFSource finally shipped mine out today as well. I'm eagerly waiting these figures.

I just picked up Alternity Skywarp for an even $40. I can't wait for it to arrive!

Convotron wrote:I just picked up Alternity Skywarp for an even $40. I can't wait for it to arrive!

if that includes shipping I would love to know that place so I can order one.

Forgotten wrote:

Convotron wrote:I just picked up Alternity Skywarp for an even $40. I can't wait for it to arrive!

if that includes shipping I would love to know that place so I can order one.

That includes shipping, though I had a discount of a few dollars through the point/credit system the store uses for previously purchased items. At full price plus shipping, I think it would have been around $45(I chose the SAL shipping option, which is cheaper and takes a week or two to arrive.). I bought the figure from HWJapan.com.

Convotron wrote:

Forgotten wrote:

Convotron wrote:I just picked up Alternity Skywarp for an even $40. I can't wait for it to arrive!

if that includes shipping I would love to know that place so I can order one.

That includes shipping, though I had a discount of a few dollars through the point/credit system the store uses for previously purchased items. At full price plus shipping, I think it would have been around $45(I chose the SAL shipping option, which is cheaper and takes a week or two to arrive.). I bought the figure from HWJapan.com.

Thanks a bunch, I'm gonna have to grab him later.

Skywarp arrived today. I think he's really great - possibly my favourite of the line so far but I need more play time to be sure.

Car mode: doesn't feel as solid as the others, doesn't roll forwards very well but reverses fine!

Transformation: Intricate and innovative. Getting the shin wheels in place is tricky but they *do* lock in place so there's hardly any gap there. A tab that locks the left wing tip in place shot off on the first transformation into car mode but the joint is stiff enough that you won't miss it. I don't think the automorph will be prone to problems like the first three molds.

WARNING: THE LICENSE PLATE CAN BE LAUNCHED OUT VERY EASILY AND LOST SO TAKE CARE.

Robot mode poseability: he's not very good at standing to attention without leaning forward (staggering the feet slightly helps) but he's really good at poses.

Proportions: thighs and body are too short.

Height: a few millimetres taller than Prime.

Look: I think he's really cool and aside from the doors popping off easily I like the look of them there. Yes, he looks like he's wearing a car FROM BEHIND but who displays them that way? Besides, Prime and Megatron aren't much better from that angle. The seats-on-arms are much more discreet than the first two molds. The fake bonnet/hood as chest is better than having the real thing there as his bot mode is sleeker and more poseable as a result but perhaps they should have gone with something that looks different all together...

All in all I think they've done a great job and I recommend this figure, so long as you don't want to display him facing towards your wall! I applaud them trying out new ideas and designs.

Edit:

Mykltron wrote:Car mode: doesn't feel as solid as the others

I have just discovered this is not the case. He's the lightest of the set but I have just discovered that everthing locks into place nicely. The backs of the elbows have grooves that slot on to tabs on the hip hinges that hold the doors. There is a tiny peg on the tab. You slide the elbow groove on to the tab and twist slightly to push the peg into a place et voila, arms don't flop. Make sure you twist the elbows to release them when transforming to robot.

Mykltron wrote:A tab that locks the left wing tip in place shot off on the first transformation into car mode but the joint is stiff enough that you won't miss it.

Is this the piece Diem mentioned above in the pic or a different piece? If different, does it re-attach? I haven't yet opened mine, but based on all these fragile, breaking pieces being mentioned, I'm kinda glad I didn't get to it yet.

Kibble wrote:

Mykltron wrote:A tab that locks the left wing tip in place shot off on the first transformation into car mode but the joint is stiff enough that you won't miss it.

Is this the piece Diem mentioned above in the pic or a different piece? If different, does it re-attach? I haven't yet opened mine, but based on all these fragile, breaking pieces being mentioned, I'm kinda glad I didn't get to it yet.

He mentioned a tab on the right wing, this was on the left. Seriously, don't worry about snapping them off, they're TOTALLY unnecessary. I've avoided breaking the right wing by lifting the tip-extension over it slightly, you can probably do that with the left also. Seriously, they needn't have bothered with them. Their only purpose was to pop the extension into exactly the right position. Without the tabs the joints are mare than stiff enough to hold them without droop.

Oh yeah, as for reattaching, it's about as big as an ant's bum so good luck finding it and holding it in place with micro-tweezers while the glue dries!

Open it, dammit!

Mykltron wrote:Open it, dammit!

I fully intend to, I just like to spread out the excitement...and the WFC figs came this weekend and they won out. But I'll get to Starscream tonight or tomorrow.