The Energon Pub

Ok after the long and arduos wait, i am happy to have seen the MP-05 Megatron Gallery. It was awesome and inspiring. Megatron Looked great! I love the stances and posability of this version versus the original. The size is quite perfect and comparable to prime. Which leads me to the problem of Starscream...

After seeing the size difference and Starscream next to Megatron, it becomes very apparent that Takara really screwed that character up. Not so much in toy design, as with the feet redesign. Rather his coloring and Size are too off from the original character and lack when positioned next to Megatron. I was unaware as to how small Starscream's Stature really was until the gallery placed them next to each other.

When I think of the Generation One cartoon and imagine Starscream next to Megatron, which has been burned into my phsyche from childhood, I get disappointed in the product we have out now for Starscream. It makes me feel cheated in a way, because I spent money importing Starscream from Japan. I thought he was cool in transformation, yet the modifications to the coloring , feet, and size have left me desiring a better bigger, and color accurate mold.

The Name Masterpiece, in this particular line, really is to provide the closest possible rendition of a Transformer from the Cartoon and series to a full and complete Transformable model. And I say model because its very much a model of what the concept represents and in its best form. But for me to want to ever buy any seekers in the future, even repaints, Takara has to make some major changes.

1. Resize the mold and rework the packaging to accomodate the larger mold of Masterpiece StarScream.

2. Possibly change the feet to match the original mold.

3. Add starscream appropriate coronation gear.

4. Provide accurate coloring, including tinted cockpit shield in dark yellowish color.

5. Issue a statement that MP-03 Starscream is considered a "designer" Transfomrer and can still be viable as a collectible in that respect. Similar to the fame of designer DC direct figures based on the art of Comic genius Jim Lee..

6. Resell Masterpiece starscream as Master piece Starscream Complete. Which incorporates the old designer feet, the colors are correct, the size is comparable to Megatron, the coronation and movie or TV show items are on parr with Megatron and Optimus Prime.

7. Rerelease the new larger mold as additional seekers in color variations each with small items from the series.

I don't consider the MP-03 Starscream I have to be anything other then a "Designer" Starscream, and on parr with the Alternators series, due to size, mold modifications, coloring and additional secondary items. For Takara to fix what they have done, it seems reasonable to me that using the things I have suggested would in fact settle up their gross mismatched and large let down that the current MP-03 Starscream is. The Masterpiece Megatron, if you bought one, will only reinforce the big difference between what a Masterpiece should be, and what a Halfassed, or "Designer" Masterpiece is...

Would a Petition with suggestions from the Trtansformer's community work?

Would Hasbro update the mold, make him larger and give us fans what we need?

If Hasbro were to update and fix the Starscream Masterpiece mold, would the packaging be the same, or would they opt for disappointing American Window boxed style, with heavy twisty ties?

Can takara/Tomy fix this problem by creating a New mold, and was there a loss of trust from Fans, over the toy manufacturers descision to produce this Starscream?

Would the fan community simply accept a repaint, without the coronation gear, mold size enlargment, and remolded feet?

How can this problem be fixed? Write to your congressman, or in this case toy Manufacturer and CEO and head of Takara Tomy?

This and many questions are what perplex me about the Starscream i have purchased, though a great Model of a "Designer" transformer, not very Masterpiece like, at least not enough to compare with Prime and Megatron.

Wait, first of all, are you asking that they make the exisiting mold bigger, or that they design a new mold that, when transformed, makes Starscream bigger/taller?

The reason I ask is, if they make what they currently have bigger, surely the plane mode is going to be huge?

Yes, the plane mode would be huge, but, it's no larger then any model air planes I have built in the deluxe catergories. And not to mention, the Starscream figure would be easier to package in robot mode, and would still be almost the same size as the box being currently used, except the box would need to be slightly deeper, even with wingspan...I've worked it out in Autocad...on my spare time..

Antoher issue that we are about to discover is wether or not Takara/Tomy quality control has improved. This Masterpiece Megatron will surely show us what strides they have made to provide better quality in their production lines.

If a remolded and newer Starscream is to be produced, the Quality control issues should also be addressed and fixed before shipments are finalized and sent out to consumers.

Yes, the QC issues should be fixed but I honestly can't see them making a new mold for MP Starscream. I think they'll just license it over to Hasbro who'll sell it in the West and maybe offer some repaints.

I also don't think they'll change the feet to the old design because if they did the F-15 fighter mode would look less like it's real-life counterpart. They may, however, improve them to fix any balancing issues.

Would a Petition with suggestions from the Trtansformer's community work?

No.

Would Hasbro update the mold, make him larger and give us fans what we need?

No.

If Hasbro were to update and fix the Starscream Masterpiece mold, would the packaging be the same,

No.

or would they opt for disappointing American Window boxed style, with heavy twisty ties?

Yes.

Can takara/Tomy fix this problem by creating a New mold,

They could but they won't.

and was there a loss of trust from Fans, over the toy manufacturers descision to produce this Starscream?

No.

Would the fan community simply accept a repaint, without the coronation gear, mold size enlargment, and remolded feet?

Yes.

How can this problem be fixed?

Creating a new mould would cost a lot of money. Hasbro if they release starscream will certainly not pay out for a new mould and nor will tomy-takara.

Write to your congressman, or in this case toy Manufacturer and CEO and head of Takara Tomy?

Because they will certainly listen...

This and many questions are what perplex me about the Starscream i have purchased, though a great Model of a "Designer" transformer, not very Masterpiece like, at least not enough to compare with Prime and Megatron.

I actually agree that Screamer isn't a masterpice like Convoy and Megs are. They are trying to be accurate to the origonal toon appearances of the character, while Screamer's design has been done differently. His is an updated design like the alternators line, rather then being unflinchingly faithful to the origonal. I'd have preferred to have seen a more G1 accurate Screamer and I expect to see the inevitible repaint in G1 toon colours fairly soon. Extras would be nice but a G1 accurate one would most likely sell well regardless of extras so they seem doubtful. Remoulding is highly doubtful.

Leonardo wrote:Yes, the QC issues should be fixed but I honestly can't see them making a new mold for MP Starscream. I think they'll just license it over to Hasbro who'll sell it in the West and maybe offer some repaints.

I also don't think they'll change the feet to the old design because if they did the F-15 fighter mode would look less like it's real-life counterpart. They may, however, improve them to fix any balancing issues.

The QC issue is the fairest cause for complaint IMO. Luckilly they seem to have sorted that for Megatron as my one is fine and I ahven't read any complaints form anyone lese who's got theirs yet either.

skywarp-2 wrote:After seeing the size difference and Starscream next to Megatron, it becomes very apparent that Takara really screwed that character up. Not so much in toy design, as with the feet redesign. Rather his coloring and Size are too off from the original character and lack when positioned next to Megatron. I was unaware as to how small Starscream's Stature really was until the gallery placed them next to each other.

I never understood why the feet were such an issue for folks. They are in my mind, a reasonable and well done attempt at replicating an aesthetic of the original. G1 Starscream's feet, are not an iconic aspect of him. Hell, they aren't even functional.

As to the stature...I don't have a problem there either. Starscream is larger than the Alts/BT figures and smaller than Megatron.

Megs should be imposing, even over Starscream.

I thought he was cool in transformation, yet the modifications to the coloring , feet, and size have left me desiring a better bigger, and color accurate mold.

Given, the color issue, is crap. Starscream's color, was an extreme example of an artist's interpretation was given far too much credence over the source information/look. Takara made an foolish, stupid decision to not go anime accurate to begin with.

1. Resize the mold and rework the packaging to accomodate the larger mold of Masterpiece StarScream.

2. Possibly change the feet to match the original mold.

3. Add starscream appropriate coronation gear.

4. Provide accurate coloring, including tinted cockpit shield in dark yellowish color.

Sing with me now, "Not goooona happen, no no, Not gonna happen. Not goooona happen, no no, Not gonna happen."[/gospel revival]

5. Issue a statement that MP-03 Starscream is considered a "designer" Transfomrer and can still be viable as a collectible in that respect. Similar to the fame of designer DC direct figures based on the art of Comic genius Jim Lee..

What for? and for that matter, who the hell would care? Hundreds of thousands of NASCAR fans purchase die cast cars, which are mass produced, just because they say 'limited edition' on them. That statement hardly makes it so and none of that crap is worth a damn.

6. Resell Masterpiece starscream as Master piece Starscream Complete. Which incorporates the old designer feet, the colors are correct, the size is comparable to Megatron, the coronation and movie or TV show items are on parr with Megatron and Optimus Prime.

Nope. Granted, a rerelease in show colors, yes, a remold, resize, and repackaging, not a shot in hell.

Would a Petition with suggestions from the Trtansformer's community work?

Hell no.

Would Hasbro update the mold, make him larger and give us fans what we need?

Hell no.

If Hasbro were to update and fix the Starscream Masterpiece mold, would the packaging be the same, or would they opt for disappointing American Window boxed style, with heavy twisty ties?

Hell yes.

Can takara/Tomy fix this problem by creating a New mold, and was there a loss of trust from Fans, over the toy manufacturers descision to produce this Starscream?

No and no. Most people here actually like their MP Starscream, a lot.

Would the fan community simply accept a repaint, without the coronation gear, mold size enlargment, and remolded feet?

Hell yes. I don't want or need any of that crap.

How can this problem be fixed? Write to your congressman, or in this case toy Manufacturer and CEO and head of Takara Tomy?

No problem I can see. And really, do you really think any of those people care?

This and many questions are what perplex me about the Starscream i have purchased, though a great Model of a "Designer" transformer, not very Masterpiece like, at least not enough to compare with Prime and Megatron.

You know...there were plenty of pictures released ahead of time. Why exactly did you buy one? You knew what you were getting.

Counterpunch wrote:You know...there were plenty of pictures released ahead of time. Why exactly did you buy one? You knew what you were getting.

That's a good point.

I too am happy with how tall Starscream stands. I wouldn't want him the same size as Megatron, and as long as he's taller than Alt. Swindle, Dead End, I'm happy.

For the record, I happen to like the colour scheme. I'm probably one of the very few who does, but it works for me. I certainly wouldn't want him to have blocks of sky blue everywhere, a la the TFC reissue. I realise I'm probably alone on that particular point, though.

I am quite pleased with MP-03, I love him infact. But it would be nice to see the anime re-release with coronation stuff, but I'm not holding my breath.

People really seem to like the coronation gear!

Counterpunch wrote:

skywarp-2 wrote:After seeing the size difference and Starscream next to Megatron, it becomes very apparent that Takara really screwed that character up. Not so much in toy design, as with the feet redesign. Rather his coloring and Size are too off from the original character and lack when positioned next to Megatron. I was unaware as to how small Starscream's Stature really was until the gallery placed them next to each other.

I never understood why the feet were such an issue for folks. They are in my mind, a reasonable and well done attempt at replicating an aesthetic of the original. G1 Starscream's feet, are not an iconic aspect of him. Hell, they aren't even functional.

As to the stature...I don't have a problem there either. Starscream is larger than the Alts/BT figures and smaller than Megatron.

Megs should be imposing, even over Starscream.

I thought he was cool in transformation, yet the modifications to the coloring , feet, and size have left me desiring a better bigger, and color accurate mold.

Given, the color issue, is crap. Starscream's color, was an extreme example of an artist's interpretation was given far too much credence over the source information/look. Takara made an foolish, stupid decision to not go anime accurate to begin with.

1. Resize the mold and rework the packaging to accomodate the larger mold of Masterpiece StarScream.

2. Possibly change the feet to match the original mold.

3. Add starscream appropriate coronation gear.

4. Provide accurate coloring, including tinted cockpit shield in dark yellowish color.

Sing with me now, "Not goooona happen, no no, Not gonna happen. Not goooona happen, no no, Not gonna happen."[/gospel revival]

5. Issue a statement that MP-03 Starscream is considered a "designer" Transfomrer and can still be viable as a collectible in that respect. Similar to the fame of designer DC direct figures based on the art of Comic genius Jim Lee..

What for? and for that matter, who the hell would care? Hundreds of thousands of NASCAR fans purchase die cast cars, which are mass produced, just because they say 'limited edition' on them. That statement hardly makes it so and none of that crap is worth a damn.

6. Resell Masterpiece starscream as Master piece Starscream Complete. Which incorporates the old designer feet, the colors are correct, the size is comparable to Megatron, the coronation and movie or TV show items are on parr with Megatron and Optimus Prime.

Nope. Granted, a rerelease in show colors, yes, a remold, resize, and repackaging, not a shot in hell.

Would a Petition with suggestions from the Trtansformer's community work?

Hell no.

Would Hasbro update the mold, make him larger and give us fans what we need?

Hell no.

If Hasbro were to update and fix the Starscream Masterpiece mold, would the packaging be the same, or would they opt for disappointing American Window boxed style, with heavy twisty ties?

Hell yes.

Can takara/Tomy fix this problem by creating a New mold, and was there a loss of trust from Fans, over the toy manufacturers descision to produce this Starscream?

No and no. Most people here actually like their MP Starscream, a lot.

Would the fan community simply accept a repaint, without the coronation gear, mold size enlargment, and remolded feet?

Hell yes. I don't want or need any of that crap.

How can this problem be fixed? Write to your congressman, or in this case toy Manufacturer and CEO and head of Takara Tomy?

No problem I can see. And really, do you really think any of those people care?

This and many questions are what perplex me about the Starscream i have purchased, though a great Model of a "Designer" transformer, not very Masterpiece like, at least not enough to compare with Prime and Megatron.

You know...there were plenty of pictures released ahead of time. Why exactly did you buy one? You knew what you were getting.

Whoa, vendictivness aside (65 year old Child War veteran).... i really like My MP-03 Starscream, but I think it should be redone, or bigger...


As to the feet, i included those "Suggestions" as to cater to fans who I have seen on this and other boards who would have prefered the original Mold.. I like the update, but IMO I still think MP starscream should be a bit bigger, and in Anime Colors with coronation gear, that would, at least make him like the quality it should have been..

If its too costly to remold him bigger, then fine, it should at least be rereleased in anime colors, and have coronation gear, and that dr. Archevil figure is crap.. nice to place in the cockpit, but if I lost it...I would be able to replace with one from an airplane model..not the same but it would work..I just thought that was a cheap accessory..


Again as far as the questions posed, they are just questions and not ment to offend or convey my opinion of what would work, but damn, with all the fan negativity, and "why bother to try" attitude it's a wonder anything gets made with fan support or feedback..

Leonardo wrote:

Counterpunch wrote:You know...there were plenty of pictures released ahead of time. Why exactly did you buy one? You knew what you were getting.

That's a good point.

I too am happy with how tall Starscream stands. I wouldn't want him the same size as Megatron, and as long as he's taller than Alt. Swindle, Dead End, I'm happy.

For the record, I happen to like the colour scheme. I'm probably one of the very few who does, but it works for me. I certainly wouldn't want him to have blocks of sky blue everywhere, a la the TFC reissue. I realise I'm probably alone on that particular point, though.

Yeah I did see him before hand, i studied the reviews and still bought him, and why might you ask??? because regardless of the crappy paint job and lacklustewr accessories, he's still the best rendition "to date" of Starscream, and so i bought him, I like him, but they could have and should do better!

My one question to this some what positive fan community is... what can we do to get that point accross to the people who produce these action figures?

The Arkeville figure isn't great, I concur. A decent paint job would have helped.

I can understand why people would prefer a cartoon-accurate colour scheme. Many people like their toys to be show accurate. I do, to a certain extent.

I don't really see the issue with the feet, though.

O, what did you mean by, "(65 year old Child War veteran).... "?

If they made Starscream match Prime and Megatron in size then he would be too big in jet mode IMHO.

While I don't understand why they went away from what the Masterpiece range was supposed to be I really like MP Starscream, even the colours.

Was it ever stated that the Masterpiece range was supposed to be cartoon accurate or was it just assumed?

skywarp-2 wrote:Whoa, vendictivness aside (65 year old Child War veteran).... i really like My MP-03 Starscream, but I think it should be redone, or bigger...

Vindictive? no.

You made a lengthy discussion and put in some absurdly unlikely events.

Why not just ask them to put in some RC transmitters and working landing gear since MP Starscream only flies as far as you can throw him at the moment?

See, there's the realm of possibility and many of the things (not all now, some of what you said is reasonable and likely) like a resizing, or retooling are just outside of that realm. Not only that but for this kind of release on a transformer, there is no precedence for.

I agree, a redeco version is something that should be done.

If you had asked, should the redeco be light or dark grey? Should he have anime accurate hands and markings? Those would be legitimate questions. But you seemed to convey an actual tone of, 'we're going to get a remold of MP Starscream by writing our senators!'

Meow?

I've got no problem with you or a discussion of this kind. However, suggesting absurd or left field things is going to get you some quippy answers.

*Chucks in two pence into the ring*

Okay, I only own two Masterpiece figures (awaiting MP Megs though) but there has been some dramatic changes in the line since MP Prime was unveiled.

Prime I think was a one-off in terms of design and execution. The benefit of Prime over the other molds is that a truck can hide a lot of stuff - so the designers used that huge box of a cab to hide the robot form and incorporate the special features. I think that we (the fans) we fortunate too to have a large amount of diecast in the figure.

Starscream on the other hand was hugely anticipated but now appears to be considered as an 'also ran' in terms of the MP Range. The first figure to have virtually no diecast and a few departures from the fans view of the figure in terms of colourscheme and aesthetics. Personally I'm a great fan of the mold - how the designers managed to fix a robot in that F-15 shell is beyond me. I'm also a fan of the colourscheme. The anime colourscheme on TFC-9 Starscream looked horrid - the Masterpiece interpretation is far more realistic IMHO. But some of the points raised here are valid. Dr Acheville should have been painted and the quality Control should have been tighter. The rest I can live with.

Now bring me my MP Megatron Damnit!

personally i want them to enlarge the mold to the point that he can hold mp megs in gun mode...then i will be happy.




sarcasm aside, i do not care that he is smaller than megs/magnus/prime...in my mind he should be, he's a secondary character. I do not care one way or the other if he has coronation gear. IF they choose to include it in a future release woot, more crap for me to keep track of. I on the other hand am hopefully anticipating an anime recolor and that thought is the one and only reason i have not purchased the current version.

I have seen the pictures, and I also like the colors MP Starscream has. I just wish they had the coronation gear and not the Dr.Acheville figure instead. If they never come out with the coronation stuff, I guess people could always make their own if they really want it...

What I really wonder is, are they still making the MP-03 Starscream figures, or have they stopped producing them? I am wondering mainly because of QC, that if they had problems with QC in an earlier run of the figures, hopefully the later-made figures will have had that fixed.

What's the big deal with the coronation gear everytime this figure gets brought up? Honestly, to my knowledge, I only remember seeing him with the gear one time and that was for 2 minutes in the movie when he was killed by Galvatron like a punk.

Why the hell does a Transformer need a crown and cape anyways? That's like when Donald Duck where's a towel around his waste after he gets out of the shower, then covers his crotch when it falls off. He doesn't even wear freaking pants to begin with.

If we are complaining about accessories for Masterpiece figures why don't we start with Magnus? I think he is more deserving of his trailer and armor before Takara starts worrying about a cape and crown for Starscream.

Dr. Archeville could have been better done. but it took me an hour to do this.



I could...possibly create coronation garb. there are spots existing to take the shoulder pads already, so that would simply be a matter of finding the right sized peice to fit into the hole, and build up from there.

Swerve wrote:Why the hell does a Transformer need a crown and cape anyways?

Quoted for truth.

BTW Sunstar - nice paintjob!

Why does Dr. Archeville look blue in one picture? Is that how he originally looked?

Zombie Starscream wrote:Why does Dr. Archeville look blue in one picture? Is that how he originally looked?

Nah. The figure included with Starscream only has his labcoat painted. The sweatshop staff got lazy.

Zombie Starscream wrote:Why does Dr. Archeville look blue in one picture? Is that how he originally looked?

That's the POS inclusion that comes with MP Starscream.

Counterpunch wrote:

skywarp-2 wrote:Whoa, vendictivness aside (65 year old Child War veteran).... i really like My MP-03 Starscream, but I think it should be redone, or bigger...

Vindictive? no.

You made a lengthy discussion and put in some absurdly unlikely events.

Why not just ask them to put in some RC transmitters and working landing gear since MP Starscream only flies as far as you can throw him at the moment?

See, there's the realm of possibility and many of the things (not all now, some of what you said is reasonable and likely) like a resizing, or retooling are just outside of that realm. Not only that but for this kind of release on a transformer, there is no precedence for.

I agree, a redeco version is something that should be done.

If you had asked, should the redeco be light or dark grey? Should he have anime accurate hands and markings? Those would be legitimate questions. But you seemed to convey an actual tone of, 'we're going to get a remold of MP Starscream by writing our senators!'

Meow?

I've got no problem with you or a discussion of this kind. However, suggesting absurd or left field things is going to get you some quippy answers.

Point taken and credited..