New Galleries: Arms Micron Starscream and Thundercracker

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

FE Arcee might not be very screen accurate, but she's definitely got better looking back kibble than the PRID version, particularly when you rotate the wheel 90 degrees and fit part of it into the slot in her back.

Noideaforaname wrote:Is it me, or do the toys never quite capture Megatron's head right? Like, the shape is all off, or maybe it's painted the wrong colors. Silver definitely does NOT capture that distinct rottenness of Meg's face.

Lack of a darker colour on the face is doing that, me thinks.

Despite the flaws, I still think the FE Deluxe is light years ahead of PRID Voyager Megatron.

Honestly, they should have just upsized this mold, with his proper arm cannon, and I would have been ecstatic.

Even having the Final Battle Megatron with the Zeta Prime arm - allegedly the best deco of the Voyager Megatron mold - is somewhat of a let down.

Sigh.