Transformers Super Thread 5

[Eazy D]

With regards to the dreamwave book. i have'nt read it but I'm assuming they used the bio stats from the GI boxes. In 85 they made a major stuff up and switched starscream and skywarp's stats.

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

Yeah but how many times in g1 did he not have the courage to take megatron head on? He actually admits he is not all powerful (at this time, preferring to hope that one day he;ll get stronger and more powerful or that megatron falls in battle) and prefers to shoot megatron in the back in one ep. Megatron then turns around and starscream cowers like a little pussy cat and begs to not be shot (a bit like megatron begging to prime to not kill him in the movie ) Megatron then comments on how weak SS weapon is on him and doesn't even take starscream seriously enough to actually kill him. (not until g1 movie)

Really it's actually not a fan made image. (I've just finished watching all of g1 so it's not my memory being fuzzy here) He is like that. His main positive attribute is the fast speed, (I'll assume he is vulnerable to heavy arms fire like how swoop has delicate areas on his wings) not having heavy armor, massive strength (like dinobots) or a strong body. The way I see him is that in g1 he was the guy with all the ideas and brainy, but he doesn't have the skills to pull off the plan, and usually fails in the execution like the character in the road runner cartoon who has a devious plan and it ends up backfiring because of incompetence more than due to the enemy being smarter than him.

Anyway I would rather have a sleek and skinny robot mode instead of the gorilla since I tend to think him being in that role in g1 is due more to speed. You will never see starscream beat prime one on one, or fight grimlock head on. You would see him come up with some plan to trick them or deceive them. A more indirect method to have his way rather than the brute force method. He was more interesting imo as a plotter, than just a generic warrior. Yeah he killed those autobots, but that was under megatron's command wasn't it?

Its just a new incarnation of transformers

That's how I am going to treat it, where I won't bring in any expectations when/if seeing the movie. Still wouldn't mind seeing a larger f22 of him though where they try to make the fighter less chunky underneath. (if that means slimmer robot mode then good. Just as some were put off by jazz fat legs, I am put off a bit by the guns and chunky body for SS)

Edited June 12, 2007 by 1/1 LowViz Lurker

[GobotFool]

Yeah but how many times in g1 did he not have the courage to take megatron head on? He actually admits he is not all powerful (at this time, preferring to hope that one day he;ll get stronger and more powerful or that megatron falls in battle) and prefers to shoot megatron in the back in one ep. Megatron then turns around and starscream cowers like a little pussy cat and begs to not be shot (a bit like megatron begging to prime to not kill him in the movie ) Megatron then comments on how weak SS weapon is on him and doesn't even take starscream seriously enough to actually kill him. (not until g1 movie)

Really it's actually not a fan made image. (I've just finished watching all of g1 so it's not my memory being fuzzy here) He is like that. His main positive attribute is the fast speed, (I'lkl assume he is vulnerable to heavy arms fire like how slag has delicate areas on his wings) not having heavy armor, massive strength (like dinobots) or a strong body. The way I see him is that in g1 he was the guy with all the ideas and brainy, but he doesn't have the skills to pull off the plan, and usually fails in the execution like the character in the road runner cartoon who has a devious plan and it ends up backfiring because of incompetence more than due to the enemy being smarter than him.

Anyway I would rather have a sleek and skinny robot mode instead of the gorilla since I tend to think him being in that role in g1 is due more to speed. You will never see starscream beat prime one on one, or fight grimlock head on. You would see him come up with some plan to trick them or decieve them. A more indirect method to have his way rather than the brute force method. He was more interesting imo as a plotter, than just a generic warrior. Yeah he killed those autobots, but that was under megatron's command wasn't it?

That's how I am going to treat it, where I won't bring in any expectations when/if seeing the movie. Still wouldn't mind seeing a larger f22 of him though where they try to make the fighter less chunky underneath. (if that means slimmer robot mode then good. Just as some were put off by jazz fat legs, I am put off a bit by the guns and chunky body for SS)

Think of it this way, movie Starscream is the final culmination of all of SS's wishing that he had a form that could stand toe to toe with Megatron. Though, he will still probably get his butt kicked the moment Megs shows up. poor screamer. Yeah, in the cartoon Starscream was a bit of a back stabbing wussy, but I think alot of people are fond of his marvel UK comic form where he was a little smarter and braver, though still a back stabbing b*stard.

I've always prefered the Marvel comics over the cartoon. Maybe because its the transformers continuity where my favorite characters, Rachet and shockwave, really shine.

Edited June 12, 2007 by GobotFool

[hutch]

I'm hoping that the movie will cause enough of a surge in the popularity of transformers so that more people will start reading the comics and revisiting the old cartoons, giving hasbro and takara more reason to make toys of every single obscure transformer under the sun.

I don't know about the toy aspect of it, but I know that it has personally made me wish I still had my old Marvel Comics TFormer comics. I may even buy some TPBs on ebay. And based on the Ebay prices for most Transformers stuff recently, it looks like there is a significant surge of interest.

[Fit For Natalie]

Yeah but how many times in g1 did he not have the courage to take megatron head on? He actually admits he is not all powerful (at this time, preferring to hope that one day he;ll get stronger and more powerful or that megatron falls in battle) and prefers to shoot megatron in the back in one ep. Megatron then turns around and starscream cowers like a little pussy cat and begs to not be shot (a bit like megatron begging to prime to not kill him in the movie ) Megatron then comments on how weak SS weapon is on him and doesn't even take starscream seriously enough to actually kill him. (not until g1 movie)

Really it's actually not a fan made image. (I've just finished watching all of g1 so it's not my memory being fuzzy here) He is like that. His main positive attribute is the fast speed, (I'lkl assume he is vulnerable to heavy arms fire like how slag has delicate areas on his wings) not having heavy armor, massive strength (like dinobots) or a strong body. The way I see him is that in g1 he was the guy with all the ideas and brainy, but he doesn't have the skills to pull off the plan, and usually fails in the execution like the character in the road runner cartoon who has a devious plan and it ends up backfiring because of incompetence more than due to the enemy being smarter than him.

Anyway I would rather have a sleek and skinny robot mode instead of the gorilla since I tend to think him being in that role in g1 is due more to speed. You will never see starscream beat prime one on one, or fight grimlock head on. You would see him come up with some plan to trick them or decieve them. A more indirect method to have his way rather than the brute force method. He was more interesting imo as a plotter, than just a generic warrior. Yeah he killed those autobots, but that was under megatron's command wasn't it?

That's how I am going to treat it, where I won't bring in any expectations when/if seeing the movie. Still wouldn't mind seeing a larger f22 of him though where they try to make the fighter less chunky underneath. (if that means slimmer robot mode then good. Just as some were put off by jazz fat legs, I am put off a bit by the guns and chunky body for SS)

My point was that I don't prefer the fan ideal of Starscreams being spineless, weak cowards. They don't need to be, as Cybertron Starscream showed.

There was a intelligent Starscream who carefully plotted his treachery, biding his time until the moment was right. Outside, he is considered by Megatron himself as the only soldier he could rely upon, not realizing the one he trusts the most to carry out his orders is the one to metaphorically stick the knife in his back.

And he was powerful - he easily matched Prime one on one and once defeated all the Autobots by himself in a sort of reverse to Code of Hero. And he's ruthless, firing a missile at the kids to divert Prime's attention.

Now THAT's how you do Starscream

[eriku]

Just got leader Prime myself. While I like it quite a bit, I think it's strange that they left out wrist articulation since they could have very easily added it without changing a thing other than the connection point where the hand meets the plastic panel. One small rivet and they could have rotated.

I also think the alt mode on Voyager Prime looks better overall than Leader Prime. Leader is impressive in it's size, but the smokestacks look silly with their three different shades of grey/silver and the side windows being a solid color takes away from the realism too. The little driver in the Voyager is kind of silly looking, but the entire open cab and windows really looks better than the painted effect on Leader.

The last problem I have with it is the flip-out blaster. I think it looks pretty awful no matter what position it's in, especially in truck mode, so I was very happy to find that it snaps right off. Truck mode has a bit of a gap without it, but I far prefer the gap to the big wonky blaster sticking out, which looks like nothing but a mistake. I think I'm going to arm Prime with a 1/18 Scopedog rifle.

Gripes aside, it really is a fantastic toy that is a load of fun to transform and play with. I like it a lot better than I thought I would from pictures.

[Matt Random]

I picked up Barricade today after seeing the robot mode in the WM 2-pack. The car mode is great. The black wheels that are so common in the movie line actually work fine on this one. The transformation is simple but fun. It would be nice to have an automorph that pushes the head up a bit similar to what Ironhide has. The robot mode has a nice 'monstrous' feel to it. I like the huge hands. I'm disappointed in the articulation. There is a lot of articulation but I can't seem to do much with it.

I absolutely hate the hair-triggered gimmick. That thing is constantly firing off! I like Frenzy. It it is a nice addition that adds to the fun.

Now that I have leader Prime, voyager Ironhide and deluxe Barricade I see that the scale on these is all over the place. Prime is HUGE. Barricade looks tiny even compared to Ironhide.

Edited June 12, 2007 by Matt Random

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

I picked up Barricade today after seeing the robot mode in the WM 2-pack. The car mode is great. The black wheels that are so common in the movie line actually work fine on this one. The transformation is simple but fun. It would be nice to have an automorph that pushes the head up a bit similar to what Ironhide has. The robot mode has a nice 'monstrous' feel to it. I like the huge hands. I'm disappointed in the articulation. There is a lot of articulation but I can't seem to do much with it.

I absolutely hate the hair-triggered gimmick. That thing is constantly firing off! I like Frenzy. It it is a nice addition that adds to the fun.

Now that I have leader Prime, voyager Ironhide and deluxe Barricade I see that the scale on these is all over the place. Prime is HUGE. Barricade looks tiny even compared to Ironhide.

If you swivel his lower legs 180 degrees, then lift up his foot spikes and swivel his feet 180 degrees, you will have shins/car panels that hold the spikes in place AND have much more range of movement from his double jointed knees. Something tells me this might have been a step left out of the instruction pamphlet(a lot of the movie toys have vague instructions).

I like Barricade a lot but I too hate the hair trigger punching mechanism.

[Matt Random]

Anyone know when the Ultimate BB will be out? Seems like it would have made sense to put it out with the initial merchandise when the movie hype is highest among collectors. I can't see a $90 toy being a big seller for kids even at Christmas.

Is BB made of plastic or metal? The body panels in some of the toy fair pictures almost look metal.

[JB0]

If you swivel his lower legs 180 degrees, then lift up his foot spikes and swivel his feet 180 degrees, you will have shins/car panels that hold the spikes in place AND have much more range of movement from his double jointed knees. Something tells me this might have been a step left out of the instruction pamphlet(a lot of the movie toys have vague instructions).

I like Barricade a lot but I too hate the hair trigger punching mechanism.

Ooohhh, nice!

Fixes his mobster victim look too. The official transformation leaves him looking like he just had a cyberball bat taken to his knees.

Barricade's the only non-Real-Gear I've bought so far.

And yeah, the punch mechanism sucks. Almost as much as his lack of hands(yes, I know there's fingers molded into the quarter panel insides. They don't count and you know it. ).

Edit: Huh. I hadn't even noticed he HAD toe spikes...

Edited June 13, 2007 by JB0

[Fit For Natalie]

I also think the alt mode on Voyager Prime looks better overall than Leader Prime. Leader is impressive in it's size, but the smokestacks look silly with their three different shades of grey/silver and the side windows being a solid color takes away from the realism too. The little driver in the Voyager is kind of silly looking, but the entire open cab and windows really looks better than the painted effect on Leader.

Voyager Prime isn't accurate to the real truck Leader Prime is about as accurate as you can get to the prop truck. The Voyager truck is a mis-mash of this truck and that truck and might even be a completely different truck model judging by Takara's insistence that Prime is a Kenworth W900, not a Peterbilt 379. Edited June 13, 2007 by Fit For Natalie

[eriku]

Voyager Prime isn't accurate to the real truck Leader Prime is about as accurate as you can get to the prop truck. The Voyager truck is a mis-mash of this truck and that truck and might even be a completely different truck model judging by Takara's insistence that Prime is a Kenworth W900, not a Peterbilt 379.

Well, I'm not talking about accuracy to whatever the movie Prime was based on, I'm talking about overall look. I personally find Voyager Prime more aesthetically pleasing, in both modes, regardless of what they're based or not based on. Weather it's a mish-mash or not the Voyager Prime still looks like it could be based on a real truck. Leader Prime doesn't exactly pass the accuracy test either with that hand-canon jutting out of the back and it's solid side windows.

I also prefer the articulation and proportions of the bot mode on Voyager Prime. I'm not sure if it's a simple matter of "bigger is better", but a lot of people seem to be overlooking Voyager Prime. It's really a great TF, as is the Leader Prime. I'm glad to have both.

The one new Prime I do regret buying is the Fast Action Battler. I though he looked cool in a cute and chubby SD sort of way, which he does, but overall it's rather a crappy toy. I was amused though that it's truck mode was almost the same size as Voyager Prime.

[Dobber]

I didn't even know Voyager Prime was out. I haven't seen it or the leader Megatron anywhere...not even empty spots for them.

Chris

[eriku]

I didn't even know Voyager Prime was out. I haven't seen it or the leader Megatron anywhere...not even empty spots for them.

Chris

I haven't seen the regular version of Voyager Prime, but Target should be well stocked with their exclusive version of it, which is called the "Robovision" Prime. Robovision has a lighter colored blue and his arms/legs are painted silver rather than bare grey plastic. There are also other little cosemetic differences that I forget. I happen to like the silver bits on Robovision better, but I like the darker blue on the regular version better. I'm unclear if Target will carry the regular version along with the Robovision version so people can compare and decide which one they want. I doubt it though.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

I didn't even know Voyager Prime was out. I haven't seen it or the leader Megatron anywhere...not even empty spots for them.

Chris

Target has their exclusive robo vision Prime, which is the voyager in metallic colors. It looks great in person, a lot better than it does online. The regular, darker version of the voyager will be out soon and is already out in asia.

Edit: Huh. I hadn't even noticed he HAD toe spikes...

When I noticed the spikes, I was wondering what would secure them in place. It just seemed like even more stuff left out of the instructions. Once I swiveled the lower legs and feet aroud 180, I realized that the shin panels from the now swiveled leg actually secure the spikes in place.

I agree that Barricade would look a lot better with actual hands. I also wish he had a locking mechanism for his torso, it looks like there was supposed to be a locking tab in the middle but they did without it.

[Matt Random]

I'm only getting one Prime so I picked the one that appealed to me the most. I went with LP but I have to admit that VP (Robovision version) looks good in bot mode and looks like a fun toy.

1. I really like the colors on LP. The dark blue is great and the gold really makes the truck mode. There is too much red on VP for me. The movie Prime has a lot of blue on the upper body that isn't present on VP.

2. The truck mode on LP is full of detail and is really convincing. I don't mind that the side window isn't transparent since the shade of blue is close to the front windows. The truck mode of VP looks a little squished with the back wheels being too close to the cab.

3. Although the VP bot sculpt is more accurate to the movie, I don't like the use of the faux chest. I consider it to be built-in part swapping. I prefer that the actual alt. mode parts are used to form the robot.

4. It doesn't look like the bots use hand guns in the movie. Seems like the arms morph into cannons. The LP arm cannon is a neat gimmick that captures this element of the movie characters.

5. I like ball jointed ankles.

[Dobber]

Thanks Guys! Only one of my Targets has the RV Prime and I nearly picked it up a week ago...didn't know it was just a repainted Voyager Prime. I too thought it looked good but then noticed it seemed to put a very large portion of the hood on Primes back. Couldn't tell though, is that really the case? Because it kinda of ruined it for me.

Chris

[Matt Random]

Thanks Guys! Only one of my Targets has the RV Prime and I nearly picked it up a week ago...didn't know it was just a repainted Voyager Prime. I too thought it looked good but then noticed it seemed to put a very large portion of the hood on Primes back. Couldn't tell though, is that really the case? Because it kinda of ruined it for me.

Chris

The cab and hood of the truck hangs off the back of the robot mode. You can see good pictures at tfkenkon.com. The Leader Prime also has quite a bit of stuff hanging off the back of the robot.

[eriku]

Yeah, there is a substantial portion of the truck hanging off Voyager Prime's back, but it does fold a little bit and surprisingly it doesn't affect the balance as much as you might think. For example I didn't think he'd be able to stand straight with all of that junk back there, but he can.

Both Prime's have their strengths and weaknesses and both are very good toys and excellent TFs. I'm not unhappy with either of them.

[GobotFool]

Yeah, there is a substantial portion of the truck hanging off Voyager Prime's back, but it does fold a little bit and surprisingly it doesn't affect the balance as much as you might think. For example I didn't think he'd be able to stand straight with all of that junk back there, but he can.

Both Prime's have their strengths and weaknesses and both are very good toys and excellent TFs. I'm not unhappy with either of them.

If there was some way to combine voyager and leader class prime I would. I think leader class prime has a better upper body, while voyager has a better lower body. I hope the movie does really well, justifying the creation of a ultra class prime that simulates the movie transformation a little better than the voyager and leader class primes.

Edited June 13, 2007 by GobotFool

[Fit For Natalie]

Ultra class is smaller than Leader class, so that would mean a less accurate transformation (either final robot mode or transformation sequence).

[Dobber]

Is Ultra BumbleBee out yet? Is there a particukar store where it will be avalable? I've seen all the current TF's except Megatron.....not sure why he hasn't been released here yet.

Chris

[Chewie]

A pretty cool stop motion vid using Alternators.

Edited June 14, 2007 by Chewie

[BoBe-Patt]

A pretty cool stop motion vid using Alternators.

um... link is of just one jpg.

[cube]

um... link is of just one jpg.

he said it was short

[Chewie]

he said it was short

Lol, oops.

Fixed.

[Vermillion21]

A pretty cool stop motion vid using Alternators.

Wow - that was pretty impressive!!!

[GobotFool]

Ultra class is smaller than Leader class, so that would mean a less accurate transformation (either final robot mode or transformation sequence).

Whoops my bad, I guess the class size would be supreme. Like the Omega they made a few years back.

Edited June 15, 2007 by GobotFool

[Matt Random]

Any one have the link to that guy molesting, er...transforming Ultimate Bumblebee? I looked back through the thread and couldn't find it.

Never mind:Link

Edited June 15, 2007 by Matt Random

[Chewie]

Any one have the link to that guy molesting, er...transforming Ultimate Bumblebee? I looked back through the thread and couldn't find it.

Never mind:Link

He's friggin' huge.

That's awesome. Is he the only one that's going to be like that?

[Radd]

I'm not keen on the removeable parts, even if they are held on with wires. That one also looked like it had trouble keeping parts connected, but maybe it's a display piece and the production versions will hold together better?

Also, did it speak at the end? I thought Bumblebee was mute in the movie? Maybe that's just the beginning.

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

Spotted movie megatron in a department store so he is out. Anyone have him?

[Fit For Natalie]

I'm not keen on the removeable parts, even if they are held on with wires. That one also looked like it had trouble keeping parts connected, but maybe it's a display piece and the production versions will hold together better?

Also, did it speak at the end? I thought Bumblebee was mute in the movie? Maybe that's just the beginning.

I belive Ultimate Bumbles plays some songs, but I'm not sure if he talks or not. Apparently he does in the movie briefly.

Everybody, I recommend just getting the upcoming Deluxe-class Bumblebee in the new Camaro body instead. Its more accurate and much more affordable.

Spotted movie megatron in a department store so he is out. Anyone have him?

Yeah I got him today. He's abit back heavy for my taste.

[GobotFool]

I'm not keen on the removeable parts, even if they are held on with wires. That one also looked like it had trouble keeping parts connected, but maybe it's a display piece and the production versions will hold together better?

Also, did it speak at the end? I thought Bumblebee was mute in the movie? Maybe that's just the beginning.

I'm not exactly certain those are supposed to come off. The guy who was transforming that toy didn't seem to know what he was doing. I suspect they might be designed to pop off to avoid breakage beacause they are in an awkward spot, but only time will tell.

[Southpaw Samurai]

I believe Ultimate Bumbles plays some songs, but I'm not sure if he talks or not. Apparently he does in the movie briefly.

MINOR SEMI-SPOILER.

In adaptations based on the movies, Bumblebee lost his ability to speak after encountering a pissed off Megatron (who was not so pissed as to just kill BB outright, apparently) back on Cybertron millions of years ago. That's from the comic adaptation prequel... not sure how much of that will make the film. What doesn't make sense is if they each can rearrange themselves on the fly to change their appearance at will, why can't he rearrange his systems to correct that issue? Surely he should be able to jury rig some kind of vocalizer that can receive input from the 'brain', especially if he can create for himself a functional car radio and stereo.

END SPOILER