a Macross fan discusses Masterpiece seeker molds

[The Scream Man]

Ah, I didnt realise it was a bigger fault with Starscream than the others. Does that problem persist even to the US version of Starscream?

As for the hipbars; that isnt necessarily a design thing Kowamori loves. he has them on the 19 and 21, its true, and possibly some of his secondary valk designs. but the maing fighters usually have free hips...certaint the VF-0,1,3,11,17,25 and (I think ) 27 dont have them. Neither does the SV-51. Maybe he wanted to make the jet mode look better (And he did) but i dont think the robot mode is sacrificed to much.

Gok: The leg articulation is a little limited, i admit. But otherwise it's not bad for play (And i am a big believer that toys should be played with). not perfect, but i find it easier to fiddlye with than the way to heavy Optimus masterpiece....

[Eazy D]

Hey,

I think Kawamori seems to go through phases with his designs. The Mac plus and MP seekers all have the samurai effect with the hip kibble. The frontier valks [aside from the VF-171] have the wing kibble on the back. I personally preferred the original prototype but what I ended up being pleased about was the fact that if I wanted a more toon accurate screamer all I had to do was disconnect the rear winglets/tail fin assembly from the ball jnt at the hip. Screamer looks way better than even the protoype like that since he has no kibble on the legs at all. I also like the fact that the wings can be angled upward to give that really devilish, menacing look. My bigger gripe is the conformal tanks on his intakes which look fugly in robot mode and are purely there to streamline the jet mode. At least they are removable too.

Overall, although Kawamori's modifications initally irritated me I appreciate the fact that most of the mods can be removed in robot mode to give a really slick, menacing toon-like screamer robot

PS - I'm guessing you post as Scream man on Macrossworld?

[The_Damned]

i really like the seeker mp's and have 3 out of the 4 released just need to get thundercracker, i think they look fine without any mod.

i even like the realistic look of green scream

[GoktimusPrime]

Does that problem persist even to the US version of Starscream?

Not so much... the Hasbro version is a noteable improvement over the first "green" version of Starscream. Skywarp and Thundercracker are better than Hasbro Starscream... I've personally found each subsequent version of the MP Seeker mould to be an improvement over the last one.

[The Scream Man]

Eazy D: Yes i do. I post EVERYWHERE as some version Scream Man.

Gok: So the best combo is really Hasbro SS, then the Takara Thundercracker? Thats cool, I was leaning that way anyway.

[heroic_decepticon]

However for no reason other than his own preference, he decided to take them out of his legs and hang them of his hips for a 'Samurai swords' type look which conforms more to his own design style.

The decision of attaching the tail fins to the hips is the main issue that I have with his modifcations, not taking the original release execution into account, I am happy with his modifications except the tail fins in robot mode. They should have stayed on the legs.

(might be the wrong place to say this) but I really hate those modifications he made. The original prototype as a general release would have been much preferred.

[kup]

(might be the wrong place to say this) but I really hate those modifications he made. The original prototype as a general release would have been much preferred.

I am also not a fan of the mods but I have learned to live with them and appreciate them in the jet mode but I also would have preferred the original prototype.

I remember that before MP-03 I was really hyped up on MP Starscream after those prototype pics were leaked. But when the Kawamori modified version was announced with pics, I threw a massive tantrum even worse than the one I did for MP Grimlock not having a modernized IDW T-Rex alt mode

[GoktimusPrime]

Gok: So the best combo is really Hasbro SS, then the Takara Thundercracker? Thats cool, I was leaning that way anyway.

Yes. I have both Takara and Hasbro Starscream and I would recommend the Hasbro one, unless you're really a fan of the Takara version's green colour scheme.

[Lord_Zed]

On the topic of MP Starscream and his progeny I am completely with you Scream_man, but then I to am also Macross and Kawamori fans, I have a whole bunch of his mecha design artbooks that I love to paw through. Also I love transforming jets, so I can say without doubt that at this time my favourte Decepticon toy is MP Skywarp.

Having said that, I still find the MP seekers to be poor TF action figures. Nice display pieces, but not terribly fun to play with - which in my book makes them fail as toys. The Classics jets are much better as TF toys... it's just a shame that HasTak never had the inclination to give us Thundercracker, Dirge and Thrust as standard store releases. (-_-)

While I can't argue that the classics are more of a toy, toy and the MP's more of a collectors toy, I have personaly found both the original Syarscream and Skywarp sufficently durable for all my play needs, as such I Transform and fly the MP seekers around the room more than I do the classics ones. For me the MP's comand me to fiddle with them so I get more entertainment value out of them, which is just as well to cause they cost a lot more to.

[GoktimusPrime]

I have personaly found both the original Syarscream and Skywarp sufficently durable for all my play needs, as such I Transform and fly the MP seekers around the room more than I do the classics ones.

My play needs require fast-action rough and tumbling (which is why I really liked the fast and blurry fight shots in the TF movie - that's how real fights look like!)! They're at war, damnit!