The Energon Pub

Hey,
I just received a universe ss (25 years) that I got on ebay. The package looks ok but had some clear tape on the back and the instructions say acidstorm instead of ss.
I was unable to find clear photos of this Reissue in bot mode, so I would appreciate it if someone can tell if its a KO by looking at these:




Thanks in advance.

Your post has been ok'd and I fixed the images so they would load. Your links to Dropbox weren't working.

Autobot032, thanks.

DemonOne wrote:Autobot032, thanks.

No problem. Glad to be of assistance.

It looks real enough, by the way. I own that version, 'though the instructions baffle me a bit. The instructions on mine said 'Starscream'. Keep in mind that a lot of Universe toy from a few years ago had instructions for different, upcoming characters who used the same mold. Acid storm came out only a little later, so that might explain it.

I don't know, it looks just like mine except for two things - the 'lamb chops' on mine are painted black and the inside lower right leg of yours looks like it has five 'notches' towards the back which are not present on mine.

Mr O wrote:I don't know, it looks just like mine except for two things - the 'lamb chops' on mine are painted black and the inside lower right leg of yours looks like it has five 'notches' towards the back which are not present on mine.

After a brief inspection of my own Starscream, those things both are different on mine as well. No notches and the vents on the side of the head are painted black on mine.

More pics would help.

I see. Thank you both for replying.

I will take more pictures when I get off work.

Another thing, both launchers have the same orientation.

Does it make sense for it to have "hasbro 2006" molded in the inner right leg?

DemonOne wrote:I see. Thank you both for replying.

I will take more pictures when I get off work.

Another thing, both launchers have the same orientation.

Does it make sense for it to have "hasbro 2006" molded in the inner right leg?

You're welcome, and by the way, welcome! Inner LEFT leg has '2006 Hasbro - 2006 Takara - Made In China'. Right leg has some sort of batch number or something.

You've definitely got two left-arm launchers there. That doesn't mean it's a KO though, mistakes like that happen a lot. I once got a Generations Thrust with only one VTOL fan.

DemonOne wrote:I see. Thank you both for replying.

I will take more pictures when I get off work.

Another thing, both launchers have the same orientation.

Does it make sense for it to have "hasbro 2006" molded in the inner right leg?

As long as it's a legit figure, yes. Those stamps prove it's an officially produced item. Your figure is a repaint of the 2006 Classics Deluxe Starscream. You can see the original in our galleries here: http://www.seibertron.com/transformers- ... eam/926/1/

And here's the repaint you have: http://www.seibertron.com/transformers- ... am/1676/1/

Legit. The only high quality KO I know of of that mold is by CHMS, and they had the decency to stamp their name all over the figures and the packaging.

Just looks like you got one with slight errors, which was completely normal for that time. There were loads of complaints concerning wrong accessories and paint apps back then.

Try finding someone who would like to swap launchers with you and you should be all set.

Autobot032,
It looks about right, but the fact mines auditory sensors aren't painted black is weird

DemonOne wrote:Autobot032,
It looks about right, but the fact mines auditory sensors aren't painted black is weird

Not necessarily. As I said in my previous comment, a common complaint with the Universe 2008 line was terrible paint apps. Some figures were missing paint apps, others had sloppy paint apps, etc.

It's very likely just an example of Hasbro's terrible QC of the time.

Thanks Dead metal, I somehow missed your previous post.

I will get some more photos online in a few hours just in case (I think the other inner leg has some weird stuff on it)

If you're in need, I've got a spare set of Dirge's launchers which can be yours for nothing + shipping. I use G1 Dirge's weapons . They are, of course, blue.

Mr O,
Thanks for suggesting that, I will consider getting them from you.

DemonOne wrote:Mr O,
Thanks for suggesting that, I will consider getting them from you.

No problem, just PM me if you decide you want them. Shipping will be from UK.

Inner legs:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/6v4y5idkguf5qo2/20150327_014126.jpg?dl=0

DemonOne wrote:Inner legs:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/6v4y5idkguf5qo2/20150327_014126.jpg?dl=0

Legit.

Autobot032 wrote:As long as it's a legit figure, yes. Those stamps prove it's an officially produced item.

Or a knock-off from someone shameless and lazy enough to not bother removing it:



To the original poster: hopefully, though, yours is a real figure and the only misfortune you have is the mispacked launcher.

Not that these are sure-fire tells, but how is the plastic quality? Does it feel standard or cheap?

How are the joints? Tight, or at least okay? Or super loose and floppy?

I ask because on all of my legit seekers (even through some of the later uses of the mold such as Thundercracker) they feel solid and have nice joints. My bootleg ones, though... They definitely feel inferior. Heck, I even had one break on me!



(Although I was able to eventually acquire a piece to repair it.)

I don't have your specific version of the mold, though. I have the original '06 version, augmented with some paint removal and some Reprolabels:




So if trying to tell just from minor differences in the deco, I fear I cannot be much help.

Yotsuyasan,

Thanks for the advice.

- The plastic seems ok, I'd be hard pressed to decide on that.
- The joins aren't loose, some are pretty tight.
- The launchers feel a bit loose when connected to the hands.

Another QC issue: https://www.dropbox.com/s/bzodi6vzxtzgsy8/20150327_194353.jpg?dl=0

The 'notches' I mentioned, it's obvious from your 'inside legs' pic, are the batch-number or whatever it is. Yours has it towards the back whereas mine has it towards the front. Same leg, same number, it's heat-stamped or whatever after production so position varies. All of the copyright stuff is identical. Wrong/missing paint apps/accessories were a symptom of QC at that time. The 'C-1063B' on that purple KO is absent without analogue on my Starscream and my Classics Skywarp though it's present on Generations Thrust, Dirge and Thundercracker. I'm wondering if mine's a KO now, luckily, I don't care. The trickster is at play...
Nah, I'm not a gambler but I'd be willing to vote 'real'. I think.

It's probably real. Even if it was a KO, as least it's good enough so you weren't able to tell the difference

I'm pretty much sold on it now.

I want to thank everybody for their input.

Mr O wrote:

DemonOne wrote:I see. Thank you both for replying.

I will take more pictures when I get off work.

Another thing, both launchers have the same orientation.

Does it make sense for it to have "hasbro 2006" molded in the inner right leg?

You're welcome, and by the way, welcome! Inner LEFT leg has '2006 Hasbro - 2006 Takara - Made In China'. Right leg has some sort of batch number or something.

You've definitely got two left-arm launchers there. That doesn't mean it's a KO though, mistakes like that happen a lot. I once got a Generations Thrust with only one VTOL fan.

My Thrust came with two of the same launchers, but a nice person on these very boards sent me a replacement set.

I did get a Wheeljack with two of the same thigh, though. That one I had to exchange at Walmart.

Back to seekers, my Dirge was missing a paint app on one of his landing gear/boobies, so really most of what's going on with this fig could be on a legit fig.