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Transformers Super Thread 5


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Guess I can go ahead and mention it since TFW2005 did lastnight, but Daniel Ross is in the video game coming out next month and he will be playing the role of Starscream. he's also playing another character I think but I can't remember which one it was.

phew feels good to get that out after a couple of months of waiting.

Yeah, looks like their about to play football. Cool. What's that thing supposed to be anyways, the Millenium Falcon in robot mode?

Megatron.....Terminator and an Ent from Lord of the Dings had a baby and named it Megatron.

Frenzy looks like he can barely stand, let alone fight a war against the Autobots.

Sorry guys, I'm just being an @$$hole. I just miss the original G1...and yeah, I know, it's kicking the $hit out of a dead horse....once again, sorry.

Edited by peter
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New pictures (new to me at least) of Arcee, jet drone and 08 Bumblee have been posted. There are also some picture of some others. The drone looks to be transformed more correctly but is still ugly. The Bumblebee looks much better than the older model and has clear windows this time.

Tformers Album

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Can someone please tell me WTF Frenzy is supposed to be?

He's a boom box that turns into a 4' tall robot. That means he has to be a really thin robot since there is thankfully no mass shifting in the movie. I'm wondering if he'll be the comic relief character in the movie. Various spoiler things I've heard about him sound like it.

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He's a boom box that turns into a 4' tall robot. That means he has to be a really thin robot since there is thankfully no mass shifting in the movie. I'm wondering if he'll be the comic relief character in the movie. Various spoiler things I've heard about him sound like it.

How exactly does a lack of mass-shifting improve things?

Don't say it adds realism. The entire license is completely devoid of that, and mass-shifting has very little to do with it.

All I see it doing is creating some ugly Transformers, even by movie standards.

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And they're still having the same effect as mass shifting---now they just break down large parts into 10,000 shards, bundle them up and tuck them away. It's like when a junkyard crushes an old car into a little cube of steel---it's not technically mass shifting, it's just "optimizing the space". If you break it down into small enough pieces, it'll fit in a lot smaller space.

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I've never liked the mass shifting. A gun or a walkman that becomes the same size robot as a semi truck is silly to me. A micro cassette that becomes a human sized robot is also silly. I don't mind the way that the movie is handling it. The amount of 'stuff' in each form is unchanged, however the distribution is changed. I find it much more realistic. I do like beefier robots with more recognizable vehicle parts on the robot modes but this is a re-imagining of the franchise so I'm willing to give it a chance. I was willing to give the SW prequels a chance and that didn't turn out so well so who knows how I'll feel in a couple of months. The Frenzy robot mode does certainly look silly but I do like that it sort of looks like it is made from the plastic and thin sheet metal that make up a boom box. It needs to have some circuit board elements mixed into the design.

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The two challenges of making a live action movie were going to be: the mass shifting and the "where does the guy's gun/prime's trailer go when transforming?" problem. This is one of the reasons why I had always like the autobots more than the decepticons since they as cars would be ok. But when you get into the cassette tape players and jets and pistols, you run into the scale problem. (starscream would easily be able to kick megatron's but if he just stayed in fighter jet mode!)

One of the things about the toys is they are never to scale. Unless they add some kind of magic that allows for character to individually grow or shrink (ie like the hulk movie) it's not going to be *believable.

But having said that they could work it into the story and have various rules that explain why it was possible. The makers of each bot gave the robots the powers (so they are not just robots but super robots :D) which allowed them to do what they do at will. Sorta like x-men with thier abilities. So a character like Skywarp could do his teleportation like nightcrawler while a dinobot could just be like the hulk: super strength, not just for his size but for ANY robot. (explains how someone like him who is average size in robot form could have a strength of 10 along with some of the super sized robots)

So if they made the transformers more like superheroes with powers it might be more easy for people to accept. Grimlock becomes like the movie hulk and similarly megatron gets to be a mass shifting pistol.

I think they could have made a whole movie about alternators. Each bot is forced to only be the size of the things alt mode. Then have these alternators understand flight which is discovered through reverse engineering the more advanced decepticons, the autobots then use that to invent more sophisticated versions of their own weapons and integrate that into their body (remember the dinobots could fly) as they catch up to the enemy. I've just been watching the cartoon again and it explains that the decepticons were "a new type of robot that could fly." (one of the eps in five faces of darkness) That means decepticons are like the newer more advanced ones. They got super powers and generally more advanced while the autobots have to make do with what they have or catch up to them.

After discovering antigravity, they learn new ways of getting portions of themselves from one place to another (info gathered from skywarp's teleporting powers and technology from the space bridge as seen in the cartoon when megatron is trying to get the energon supplies to cybertron) and this helps them deal with guns coming from one place to another whenever they transform into robot modes. Basically they miniturise technology from the space bridge (I know it probably doesn't existin the LA movie) into their robot mode or some kind of a teleportation machine or "warp gate" is responsible for doing this for them at their base which tracks the location of where they are at all times. This teleportation is all automated of course so that when any robot that is tracked by the teleporting machine, senses a robot transforming, it just uses the info from their location to help bend space to shift all the weapons and stuff to the location of the robot.

So you could say they had advanced to a level where the teleporting of guns are triggered automatically when the devices they have integrated into their body send a signal to whatever machine knows their location, to teleport all the extra parts at the spot near where they are standing. That includes large objects and small stuff required. Problem is that nothing is perfect and it might be too expensive for the robots to rely upon so only a few key robots which the machine is is familiar with get items shifted to them properly. (instead of things getting teleported out in the middle of nowhere) It might just be "magical" warp where the machine tracks the spirit or soulspark of the robot or something..

This could also be used to explain the size of robots growing and shrinking while transforming. So when Starscream grows into a jet, he is doing a combination of teleporting all the materials he needs into the location they need to be and glueing or morphing what is already there to the extra just-teleported parts to make his jet mode. When he goes into robot mode he is normal sized. So in transformation: he does a tiny little jet fighter which morphs into a normal sized one. Two forms of transformation: one is the mechanical one and the other is the teleporting of bits which fuse to his body and allow him to gradually stretch and grow into a bigger object. (the same way that rodimus can have a razor blade in his forearm and a hand in the same spot in the toon)

Later when they discover they can abuse this: insecticons are introduced which eat the energy and use it to create the clones you see so they can then infest planets for easy takeover later by the decepticons. All the energy they consume is used to mass clone other versions of themselves which then know where to go by message sent by the original insects. So all the insect like looking robots you see, only look that way as that was the original purpose of the first decepticons: instead of fighting the people on each planet they could just send these insects to breed and infest, which would consume and destroy the existing native lifeforms of the planet. It would be more energy efficient to use the existing planets resources to do the work instead of using energy from planet cybertron which is running low on energy. They eventually made the insects bigger and stronger over time and the insects could "grow" and become larger. Essentially the insecticons would play the "alien as a bioweapon" that you see in the movie "Aliens".

Again the decepticons are the main problem since the car robots are "less advanced" and don't need as much shifting of mass. Just say that the "military" robots (decepticons) were generally the first to get all the experimental new "powers" since they had a more crucual role of defense and so needed them, while the "consumer products" (autobots) got those later on as they fought as resistance fighters trying to steal the tech from the bad guys who had a head start in the war. (the only thing going for them being the robot developed by alpha trion (optimus prime) which was custom designed to be a battle robot after it got destroyed by megatron when prime was still a teenager robot called "Orion Pax".) Although prime is just a truck, in the origin story of the cartoon alpha trion made optimus battle-hardy. So really each robot is more than the vehicle it represents. The vehicle's alt modes were originally the disguise mode, but also served as useful modes in time. A fighter that is also a robot isn't just a fighter jet when in jet mode, but something more. A truck that is a robot is more than just a truck. Those disguises don't actually limit what the robot does while in vehicle mode. So they could say that megatron isn't powerful because of physical strength but more because of some kind of gift given to him when "born/made". Like how some guys have teleportation, others have speed, some have super strength, intelligence etc. that is unique to that person.

Comics and cartoons can get away with it because they make up a lot of make believe rules for how things began. Once you introduce these make believe rules it makes it more believable. Maybe not "realistic" but believable enough for a comic book crowd.

*as in people asking "where does stuff go?"

Edited by 1/1 LowViz Lurker
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I've never liked the mass shifting. A gun or a walkman that becomes the same size robot as a semi truck is silly to me. A micro cassette that becomes a human sized robot is also silly. I don't mind the way that the movie is handling it. The amount of 'stuff' in each form is unchanged, however the distribution is changed.

Your examples are things the franchise has done a lot to distance itself from over the years.

While they may not adhere to strict mass requirements nowadays, they DO try to make the robots "more or less" in scale with their alt modes.

Then there was Beast Wars, where they just made the alt modes out of scale. Doesn't work well for "robots in disguise" though.

I find it much more realistic. I do like beefier robots with more recognizable vehicle parts on the robot modes but this is a re-imagining of the franchise so I'm willing to give it a chance. I was willing to give the SW prequels a chance and that didn't turn out so well so who knows how I'll feel in a couple of months.

That's my big problem.

The primary draw at this point is character design, and the designs I've seen, to put it bluntly, suck.

The Frenzy robot mode does certainly look silly but I do like that it sort of looks like it is made from the plastic and thin sheet metal that make up a boom box. It needs to have some circuit board elements mixed into the design.

If you acknowledge the internals of the boom box, you get back into mass-shifting. They're mostly empty space.

...

Actually, a 4-foot robot with the mass of a boom box will blow away with a light breeze wind ANYWAYS. You can't make a viable humanoid of any real size without going significantly over 10 pounds.

So odds are quite good that Frenzy DOES have mass-shifting. He just uses it to change his density, not volume.

I'm not sure which would be sadder, a frenzy blowing away every time he passes an AC vent or the movie ACCIDENTALLY including the banned mass-shifting because no one thought about how heavy a boom box was.

Edited by JB0
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I never understood why Transformers fans can suspend disbelief enough to accept sentient alient robots from another planet who can transform into other machines, but have a problem with mass shifting?? Unreleastic? Do you realize this is Transformers? Name one thing that IS realistic about Transformers.

Just my opinion

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I never understood why Transformers fans can suspend disbelief enough to accept sentient alient robots from another planet who can transform into other machines, but have a problem with mass shifting?? Unreleastic? Do you realize this is Transformers? Name one thing that IS realistic about Transformers.

Just my opinion

:lol: i agree

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I never understood why Transformers fans can suspend disbelief enough to accept sentient alient robots from another planet who can transform into other machines, but have a problem with mass shifting?? Unreleastic? Do you realize this is Transformers? Name one thing that IS realistic about Transformers.

Just my opinion

Well, I'm not a transformers fan, but I'll offer my opinion.

Sentient alien robots from another planet who transform into machines: VERY unlikely. Extremely so.

Mass shifting: physically impossible.

For the sake of entertainment I'll accept an unlikely scenario or two. I really try to steer clear of physical impossibilities if possible. It breaks what tenous believability the fiction has.

Like in Star Trek (another series I'm not a dedicated fan of), I can accept that nearly all life-form seem to look like humans in masks/make up. I would be repelled if they flew around the galaxy in giant furry cats.

Both are unrealistic, one is just much more so.

But that's just my opinion.

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Looks like there's going to eventually be a Leader-class movie Starscream and a Voyager-class Bonecrusher...no pix yet, but here's the news link from Seibertron...

http://www.seibertron.com/news/view.php?id=10304

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Well, I'm not a transformers fan, but I'll offer my opinion.

Sentient alien robots from another planet who transform into machines: VERY unlikely. Extremely so.

Mass shifting: physically impossible.

For the sake of entertainment I'll accept an unlikely scenario or two. I really try to steer clear of physical impossibilities if possible. It breaks what tenous believability the fiction has.

What about alien robots from another planet that evolved from naturally occurring gears, levers, and pulleys?

http://transformers.wikia.com/wiki/Image:Pulleys.jpg

That's from the first issue of the comics. And since the comic bok made it to market before the TV show, that's the first piece of Transformers fiction ever.

I actually have that issue. I laughed the first time I saw that panel.

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Hey! It could happen!

Seriously though, mass shifting? Impossible based on our current level of technology, but who knows what the future might bring? Wasn't it Arthur C. Clark who said "any significantly advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic"?

Usually, it's more inconsistencies and an unwillingness to accept certain concepts that push people out of their suspension of disbelief. I can personally accept the mass shifting, but it's inconsistent use throughout the series puts me off.

That's just bad storytelling.

In other news, picked up MP Megatron. No orange cap, he came factory sealed. I suspected I might be able to pull that off by waiting for an anime convention. Absolutely adore the toy, however he does lack the diecast found in Prime. Much lighter, doesn't feel as sturdy. Easily the best Megatron toy I've ever seen, hands down.

I almost nabbed Starscream, but I've heard so many things about how easily he breaks, and the new Skywarp with more diecast makes me wonder if an improved Starscream could be far off? I do want Starscream, I just don't want a fragile version that could break simply by transforming him.

Unfortunately, the Dealer's Room at Anime Central this year was pretty lacking on robots and mecha other than Gundam (No YF-19s! The shame of it all!). I was hoping to see a KISS Rodimus. The Alternators version has the G1 chest flames, but I think the KISS toy just looks better. Also, doesn't appear as if the Alternators version will come with the fishing pole.

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What about alien robots from another planet that evolved from naturally occurring gears, levers, and pulleys?

http://transformers.wikia.com/wiki/Image:Pulleys.jpg

That's from the first issue of the comics. And since the comic bok made it to market before the TV show, that's the first piece of Transformers fiction ever.

I actually have that issue. I laughed the first time I saw that panel.

What's funny is, their God Primus pretty set it all up for them to evolve. He created the Transformers to defeat Unicron. So while aethist TFs like Jetfire believed they evolved from naturally occuring gears and pulleys, it was Primus who set things in motion and gave them life.

Hasbro officially considers Primus and Unicron to exist somewhere in every single TF continuity as the same characters fighting an eternal war.

Edited by Fit For Natalie
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That's from the first issue of the comics. And since the comic bok made it to market before the TV show, that's the first piece of Transformers fiction ever.

Strange considering I saw the original 3 part mini-series on Buffalo WUTV(now Fox) at 4pm on Sundays before the comic hit any of my comicbook stores.

Megatron+Gun= Awesome. Therefore mass shifting FTW.

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http://seibertron.com/news/view.php?id=10304

AS much as I want this to be true, I can't help but call it a rumor. If there is not deluxe Starscream planned, this is our only hope for a sleek, non kibbled F-22 Starscream; and at the size we recommended to begin with! How about that?

Yeah that Starscream toy is Kibble central.

So far the movie toys I like are..

Leader Class Prime,Deluxe Bumblebee,Deluxe Barricade,

Maybe a Voyager Megatron but I am hoping for a Leader Class one without ice.

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A movie version would be nice, but I'd rather see G1 Starscream with an F-22 body similar to the IDW comics.

I'm so gonna set money aside if I can to get some of the movie toys in a couple of weeks. I think what I might end up doing on my day off is go hit every single toy store I can and pick up what I find available...if that doesn't work, guess I buy them directly off hasbro.

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Currently, I'm waiting for either a G1-style leader-class Prime repaint, or an Ultra Magnus repaint.

And a realistically-painted (and I darn well mean realistic, not "F-15E's are teal" realistic) F-22 leader-class mold. Or even better, Thundercracker colors. And that means deep metallic blue, not dull pale blue.

Actually, I don't plan to buy ANY of the first wave of movie toys. I want repaints, or bigger/better molds. Deluxes are just too small for most any of the movie designs.

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Currently, I'm waiting for either a G1-style leader-class Prime repaint, or an Ultra Magnus repaint.

And a realistically-painted (and I darn well mean realistic, not "F-15E's are teal" realistic) F-22 leader-class mold. Or even better, Thundercracker colors. And that means deep metallic blue, not dull pale blue.

Actually, I don't plan to buy ANY of the first wave of movie toys. I want repaints, or bigger/better molds. Deluxes are just too small for most any of the movie designs.

Agree completely on the Starscream and Thundercracker tidbit. His toy colors ALWAYS looked better than the baby blue bastard we'd see on tv. Why anyone would want those easter bunny colors for him is beyond me. Nostalgia or not, his cartoon colors SUCKED. Same with Starscream, his toy colors were more sinister and darker.

I would be excited to see a AF grey accurate leader Starscream with no kibble in vehicle mode and better proportions in robot mode. I just wonder how concrete the hlj confirmation was. All signs currently point to a listing discrepency but I still hold hope.

I wonder how good a G1 repaint of leader prime would be.

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I'll post a pic again of an all-red 379:

And if anyone wants to photoshop, you can get the frame of a 379 painted any color you want---it's just that 95% of them are still black. But I'm sure there's a red 379 with a blue frame out there somewhere. Add some blue half-fenders over the rear wheels and there you go.

Or maybe someone could just recolor a pic of movie Prime vehicle mode into G1 colors.

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Transformers the movie..... hmm...

Guys, forgive me if this has been already brought up, but hows the Starscream movie version

looking like? Can we expect similar makings of the F-15? OR as i barely glimpsed

in the trailer at the cinema, was it a raptor i saw? That's what might happen?

Starscreamer will become a raptor???? :o

Why i am asking this, is i would consider getting the Yamato Starscream

realistic colour version instead of waiting and waiting and WAITING for an

original anime colour version like so many of us are waiting for.

I am VERY interested in what Screamer will be like in the movie.

THEY BETTER GET HIS VOICE RIGHT! I'LL BE SO PISSED IF THEY SCREW IT!

:edit: i just checked out HLJ, there is a movie version done by Takara...

http://www.hlj.com/product/TKT77055

again with HLJ with their crappy no show pictures! Annoying.

Edited by ruskiiVFaussie
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Methinks Hasbro will eventually repaint most of them in G1-inspired schemes if they haven't already done so and think the toy will sell.

Yeah that Starscream toy is Kibble central.

So far the movie toys I like are..

Leader Class Prime,Deluxe Bumblebee,Deluxe Barricade,

Maybe a Voyager Megatron but I am hoping for a Leader Class one without ice.

You mean 2008 Camaro Concept Bumblebee? He rocks.

There is a Leader class version of Megsy, and that one has no ice.

Actually, I don't plan to buy ANY of the first wave of movie toys. I want repaints, or bigger/better molds. Deluxes are just too small for most any of the movie designs.

What about Jazz? He actually looks pretty good and could pass as a Deluxe from any other modern TF line.

What about Ironhide? Can't make him any larger without being pointless, and so far he's the one of the best Voyager class toys. I think black suits the vehicle better than red.

Transformers the movie..... hmm...

Guys, forgive me if this has been already brought up, but hows the Starscream movie version

looking like? Can we expect similar makings of the F-15? OR as i barely glimpsed

in the trailer at the cinema, was it a raptor i saw? That's what might happen?

Starscreamer will become a raptor???? :o

Why i am asking this, is i would consider getting the Yamato Starscream

realistic colour version instead of waiting and waiting and WAITING for an

original anime colour version like so many of us are waiting for.

I am VERY interested in what Screamer will be like in the movie.

THEY BETTER GET HIS VOICE RIGHT! I'LL BE SO PISSED IF THEY SCREW IT!

:edit: i just checked out HLJ, there is a movie version done by Takara...

http://www.hlj.com/product/TKT77055

again with HLJ with their crappy no show pictures! Annoying.

Movie version is a Raptor, but the main toy (at the moment) is a piece of crap, they're gonna eventually release it in G1-style markings. But either way, his robot mode doesn't look anything like the original Starscream (or later Starscreams) anyway, so any toy of him will be dissapointing if you are looking for something like G1 SS.

There is no Starscream toy by Yamato, since Takara owns the rights to make transforming Transformer toys in Japan. What you're thinking of is Masterpiece Starscream, but given its design was supervised by Mr Macross himself, it has the similar quality control problems and engineering not really suited for toys that you can touch :D

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I just inherently don't like the vehicle for Ironhide, never have. It's the ultimate poser vehicle. Just buy a friggin semi! Don't add stacks to a pickup... IMHO it's worse than the riciest of Hondas.

And I just don't like Solstices either. Not to mention there's one at the local dealer that is WHITE WITH BLUE RACING STRIPES. The perfect scheme for Jazz already exists, but they made him silver in the movie? As we've already all seen, there's way too many grey/silver bots in the movie.

So I'll wait for G1 color Jazz.

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Ironhide is an okay bot, I think. (This thing is more like Trailbreaker though) In alt mode, I think that engine/weapon parts are poorly executed compared to CG render.

My current favourite movie TFs are Wreckage and Swindle. Don't know if they are in the movie at all. I'd pick up those real gear ones as I liked pre-TF microchange series since I was a child.

I hope there'd be something like masterpiece movie prime...

Edited by konimon
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Movie version is a Raptor, but the main toy (at the moment) is a piece of crap, they're gonna eventually release it in G1-style markings. But either way, his robot mode doesn't look anything like the original Starscream (or later Starscreams) anyway, so any toy of him will be dissapointing if you are looking for something like G1 SS.

There is no Starscream toy by Yamato, since Takara owns the rights to make transforming Transformer toys in Japan. What you're thinking of is Masterpiece Starscream, but given its design was supervised by Mr Macross himself, it has the similar quality control problems and engineering not really suited for toys that you can touch :D

Arrh yeah i meant the MP-03 Starscreamer, lol, wow didn't know it was error ridden either. bummer. :(

Well i'll wait it out then, sucks that they won't do a decent Screamer for the movie! I'll wait for the movie.

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I just inherently don't like the vehicle for Ironhide, never have. It's the ultimate poser vehicle. Just buy a friggin semi! Don't add stacks to a pickup... IMHO it's worse than the riciest of Hondas.

And I just don't like Solstices either. Not to mention there's one at the local dealer that is WHITE WITH BLUE RACING STRIPES. The perfect scheme for Jazz already exists, but they made him silver in the movie? As we've already all seen, there's way too many grey/silver bots in the movie.

So I'll wait for G1 color Jazz.

I always kind of liked stacks, on pick ups. It usually looks better on a step side, where the stacks can come up beside the bed, instead of going through the bed. In Ironhide's defense, he is really a light comercial trcuk, with a pickup bed, instead of a box or a flat bed. Not that those usually have stacks.... Stacks on a pickup still isn't as bad as slapping a huge yellow wing on a red wedge shaped sports car.

I do wish they would have made Ironhide red. They made Prime blue, so I don't see the problem with giving Ironhide his proper colors.

That does sound like a much better scheme for Jazz. I like the Solstice, but I still haven't forgiven GM for killing the Firebirds. I want to see a Ford GT that transforms like G1 Wheeljack.

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According to the latest TV spot, Starscream's afterburners are still blue.

Arrh yeah i meant the MP-03 Starscreamer, lol, wow didn't know it was error ridden either. bummer. :(

Well i'll wait it out then, sucks that they won't do a decent Screamer for the movie! I'll wait for the movie.

I was kidding mate :p - Takara is FAR more experienced and is nowhere near as poo a toy company as Yamato. I don't care how detailed or accurate Yamato's products are - if I can't even play with them without the shoulder joint disintergrating or something snapping, at the price you pay, then the product is a piece of overpriced crap.

It's just that MP Starscream is considerably more fragile that what we are used to for Transformers, probably because it wasn't intended for Hasbro's markets.

The day that Takara becomes as bad as Yamato is the day to give up Transformers, I say ;)

Edited by Fit For Natalie
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