Transformer Super Thread 6

[eriku]

sorry i'm clueless to TF news but the MP SS(cartoon colors) is being sold in the states for $50?

i was hating on this when it was $100 but for $50 it may be worth it.

It's a WalMart exclusive that they are currently selling for $48.99 (or therabouts). It's cartoon colors but has a good amount of black 'battle damage' or 'weathering' on it that can be easily removed with alcohol. It can also be made even more cartoon-accurate by removing the silver paint from the nosecone, which is the same blue color as the tailfins underneith.

[Dobber]

Yeah, the Carbon "streaking" came off real easy with rubbing Alcohol, but the silver on the nose was harder to remove. I needed to use thinner...now it looks great!

Chris

Edited November 12, 2007 by Dobber

[do not disturb]

thank you sirs!

i'm gonna see if i could find it but i quick search on ebay says, gougers have already raided the stock at most walmarts.....so gay.

Edited November 12, 2007 by do not disturb

[do not disturb]

Yeah, the Carbon "streaking" came off real easy with rubbing Alcohol, but the silver on the nose was harder to remove. I needed to use thinner...now it looks great!

Chris

do you have a good before/after shot of your SS?

[Fit For Natalie]

Nice find!! Didja pick any of 'em up? I am looking forward to Landmine, despite his catcher face ....

I picked up Landmine for a friend, so I didn't open it. But he's very accurate in vehicle mode. I thought the cryo-freezing tanks in the back were from the vehicle's concept art, but no, there they are on the prop vehicles in the movie.

I'd like to see them do a Mission City or Hoover Dam Screen Battles set with Lennox, Eps in the seats and that big soldier manning the auto grenade launcher.

Just to make sure - they've only been sighted in Australia so far, so they probably won't be out in North America until December.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

After handling Hasbro's MP Screamer, I have to say this might possibly be my favorite transformer. Very solid. Perhaps MP-03 was made of very fragile plastic, as this version does not feel fragile at all. Some of the alternators give me more scares compared to this. Alternator Smokescreen is much more difficult to transform than this. Someone compared this to Alternator Windcharger, and its a correct observation. My only dissapointments, are that some parts are not flush, however other than that, I love it. I look at it as an F-15C with 2 cannons, CFT's and thrust vectoring. This has a pleasing transformation, something some transformer toys do not have. My idea of a pleasing transformation, are the transformations of Classics Prime, alternators Sideswipe/Windcharger/Shockblast, Movie Screamer, movie Leader Prime, et al. Of the ones I mentioned, the transformation complexity is on the same level as Movie Leader Prime, who is not difficult to transform at all.

The stand is great and makes it harder to lose pieces, because there is a place to store everything. For you Yamato Macross lovers, I have a 1/48 VF-1S and if you love that, you'll love this. Its awesome that Archeville can remain in the cockpit even when transformed, this is something that I did not know was possible. The flaps hold their position, the nose randome is impressive, and overall this is great for the price. Not ONCE did I ever feel like I was going to break this toy.

Bring on Skywarp and Cracker Hasbro. Something tells me g1 toy color accurate MP Thundercracker would RULE. Hasbro did say those weren't out of the realm of possibility for release. Oh and please make one a Target exclusive, so its easier to find. Besides, it wouldn't surprise me if Target got one.

[Vermillion21]

Thanks for letting me know Fit For Natalie. Yeah, I can't wait to get Landmine & Stockade, the last of the TF movie Deluxes.

Thanks for the review of Masterpiece Starscream Shin - as always, I'm impressed you manage to find the latest toy release with ease.

I am jealous.

[eriku]

After handling Hasbro's MP Screamer, I have to say this might possibly be my favorite transformer. Very solid. Perhaps MP-03 was made of very fragile plastic, as this version does not feel fragile at all. Some of the alternators give me more scares compared to this. Alternator Smokescreen is much more difficult to transform than this. Someone compared this to Alternator Windcharger, and its a correct observation. My only dissapointments, are that some parts are not flush, however other than that, I love it. I look at it as an F-15C with 2 cannons, CFT's and thrust vectoring. This has a pleasing transformation, something some transformer toys do not have. My idea of a pleasing transformation, are the transformations of Classics Prime, alternators Sideswipe/Windcharger/Shockblast, Movie Screamer, movie Leader Prime, et al. Of the ones I mentioned, the transformation complexity is on the same level as Movie Leader Prime, who is not difficult to transform at all.

The stand is great and makes it harder to lose pieces, because there is a place to store everything. For you Yamato Macross lovers, I have a 1/48 VF-1S and if you love that, you'll love this. Its awesome that Archeville can remain in the cockpit even when transformed, this is something that I did not know was possible. The flaps hold their position, the nose randome is impressive, and overall this is great for the price. Not ONCE did I ever feel like I was going to break this toy.

Bring on Skywarp and Cracker Hasbro. Something tells me g1 toy color accurate MP Thundercracker would RULE. Hasbro did say those weren't out of the realm of possibility for release. Oh and please make one a Target exclusive, so its easier to find. Besides, it wouldn't surprise me if Target got one.

I agree 100% on all of your points. This toy is fantastic. And once I got a lot of the mud off of him he was even more fantastic. The transformation did start to frustrate me until I consulted the instructions and saw that I was just being stupid.

My one gripe is that I can't seem to get the two cockpit halves flush with each other. There's about a 1mm gap in between them that I can't seem to correct.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

Thanks for letting me know Fit For Natalie. Yeah, I can't wait to get Landmine & Stockade, the last of the TF movie Deluxes.

Thanks for the review of Masterpiece Starscream Shin - as always, I'm impressed you manage to find the latest toy release with ease.

I am jealous.

Oh no believe me man this was not easy to find. I was hunting for it for just about 2 weeks give or take, and I decided with a hunch to go to the walmart I doubted would ever have it(the crappy one in my area, not the super ones which I expected to have it). This one is always a wreck whenever I walk in, not much space for everything and I've seen broken transformers in there. Also the past weeks I've checked it, it NEVER had it. Anyways I loathe going there but had the hunch and it turned out fruitful. After searching about 3 walmarts prior to it that day, I finally found it. One left on the shelf too. Earlier on it was said that the walmarts that moved toys the quickest would get it, this is no longer the case. The walmart I go to does not move toys as quick as the super walmarts and bigger ones closer by. With that said, in this case, its good to check ALL the walmarts near you, and even though some of them might suck and never have anything, chances are they might one of these days. Which is the exact same thing that happened to me.

Also, you wouldn't believe how long it took me to find Mcquarrie Concept Boba Fett, but thats a story for another thread.

My one gripe is that I can't seem to get the two cockpit halves flush with each other. There's about a 1mm gap in between them that I can't seem to correct.

Me too man, I've heard it just has to do with aligning the parts more and playing with the nose section more when moving it into position. Have yet to fix it, but it doesn't bother me too much.

[areaseven]

Here's another awesome custom by Jin Saotome:

Omega Supreme

[mikeszekely]

Sometimes you just gotta be patient. It's been, what, about a month since MP Screamer started showing up in stores? Since then, I've been in and out of my local Wal-Mart, not even bothering to drive around looking at other ones. All the while, I'm hearing people go on about how their Wal-Marts have been raided by scalpers and Screamer's going for double or more now online... but today I checked my local Wally World on my way out to get groceries, and they had a whole display full of them. I love him almost as much as I love 20th Anniversary Prime (yeah, i know MP Prime was better, but I rarely if ever import). Transformation is complicated, but not too complicated (as opposed to some of the movie toys and their damn automorphs... I doubt I'll ever take Bumblebee out of bot mode). He looks gorgeous in both modes, and as mentioned, the stand is great in that it holds all his accessories. I haven't tried cleaning him up yet with the alcohol, but I think I'll try it later, although I don't mind the score marks the way a lot of people do. I do want to clean the silver nose cone, though... part of the reason I was psyched for this one was the G1 accurate colors (if I want F-15 accurate colors, I'll buy a model F-15, dammit!).

I'm passing on the Takara Skywarp, Prime Trailer, and Ultra Magnus, but I do think I might import Megatron, since he doesn't really stand a chance of getting a real release in the States. But if Hasbro releases any other MP figures domestically, I think I'd be inclined to collect them all.

EDIT: The silver nose cone stays, I think. Yeah, I know just about every other G1-based Starscream toy has a blue nosecone, but I don't want him to be toy accurate, I want him to be show accurate. I don't feel like digging around for clips from the cartoon, but I did watch the 86 movie from the part where Hot Rod shoots down the ship until Starscream shoots himself in the foot. He's show in jet mode about three times, and all three times the nosecone is the same color as the rest of the fuselage.

Edited November 13, 2007 by mikeszekely

[Hoptimus]

Yup in the G1 cartoon Starscream has a grey/silver nose and he has only the Decepticon logos on the wings that end up being upside down in bot mode. I love mine. One awesome toy.

[UN Spacy]

It looks like a few TFW'ers that own MP SS are starting to get the same stress marks that cursed MP-3.

[promethuem5]

Even with the stress marks, MP SS rarely broke, so I'm not too concerned about it...

[eriku]

The only stress mark on mine so far was cause by my own dumb ass self tugging on an engine cover to see if it would come off. It didn't come off but a nice stress mark formed by the hinge.

Stress marks suck, but like Promethuem5 said, as long as it doesn't break I wont get too bent out of shape.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

It looks like a few TFW'ers that own MP SS are starting to get the same stress marks that cursed MP-3.

Most stress marks were there prior to opening, and I saw mine, checked to see if they got worse while moving parts, and none of them did. Its probably just from when the factory workers inserted the pins, thats all.

[David Hingtgen]

Ahh, Lil'formers:

http://www.lilformers.com/comic0067.php

[mpchi]

Finally got my MPSS, through the help of a friend. Its great in a lot of ways, but at the same time, it didn't blow me away like it did to a lot of others. The paint job does look sloppy Hasbro tradition, with one side of the arm with panel lines, then the other side doesn't. And the shoulder ratchets seems really weak. Good that the arms are light, so its enough to hold poses without issue, and the rest of other joints are all pretty sturdy. One thing does bother me a lot is that SS can't stand very good on its own unless the legs are angled in a specific way and the whole figure leaning forward at a good 15-20 degree. I strengthend the toe swivel so it helped too. But the lean doesn't look as good in a relax stance, while the display stand is a bit wobbly. Hip kibble does get in the way when posing, but too long to stand properly when attached to the lower legs. So I left it at the waist.

Its still a great toy nonetheless, and definitely worth it for $50. But I can see why people were not too happy for MP-03 back then, then they all paid $100 or more, especially this MPSS already fixed some issues of the previous release. A worthy 8.5/10 for me.

P.S. In robot mode, don't try to force too much raising the big wings when you want it angled. I snapped a hinge easy without lifting it too hard. So be careful on those wing hinges. Good that it glues right back.

[mikeszekely]

Is MP-05 worth the cash? I'm thinking about preordering one of the December/January restocks. I'm thinking about going through Action-HQ. Are they any good, or is there another place you guys reccommend?

[mpchi]

Is MP-05 worth the cash? I'm thinking about preordering one of the December/January restocks. I'm thinking about going through Action-HQ. Are they any good, or is there another place you guys reccommend?

Its worth it if you want the best looking & most complex G1 Megatron. Very nice finish, and whole body is full of tight ratchet joints, but the ankles are weak (need to be strenghtened by superglue or nail polish). But be prepared to not transform it too much though. Some small pegs will break after transforming a few times. So depends if you are the hands on transforming type collector, or you just love a cool display piece that you can fiddle with.

Edited November 14, 2007 by mpchi

[do not disturb]

Is MP-05 worth the cash? I'm thinking about preordering one of the December/January restocks. I'm thinking about going through Action-HQ. Are they any good, or is there another place you guys reccommend?

so worth it.

i don't even collect TFs but picked this(as well as MP OP) up anyway. its probably one of the most complex toys i've played with next to the konig monster. its not the best "toy" but its a really great display piece. its probably the best $100 i've spent on a toy in quite a while.

[konimon]

MP5 stands tall. It is much taller than MPSS. Looks much better in person proportion-wise as well.

I'd also say it's worth the money.

Edit:

There are some pegs that worry me, some review sites show where they are. You just have to know where you should be careful with.

Other than that, it actually survived 4-foot drop onto a hard floor after a battle against my cat, so it's pretty tough as well.

Edited November 14, 2007 by konimon

[mcpaz]

And...

It will keep you busy for about 45 minutes every time you want to transform it...

Believe me, I've been collecting transformers since '84 and I've got 12 yammies... I know what I'm talking about.

Worth it, anyway. Definately.

manu

Edited November 14, 2007 by mcpaz

[mikeszekely]

Thanks for the advice. Yeah, I played with Transformers growing up, watched the cartoon, collected the Marvel comic, got back into comics with the IDW Transformers, but never really thought of myself as a collector. I ignored all the post G1 toys right up until the Classics line. I wound up buying all the Deluxe and Voyager Classics because I loved how they captured the spirit of the toys I played with but better. I also bought the 20th Anniversary Prime, the Toys R Us Soundwave, and the Wal-Mart Devestator. My interest has waned a bit with the movie toys (I only bought the ones that had screen time in the movie), but I definitely knew I wanted Starscream.

Basically, I've enjoyed the Masterpiece line enough that if they're priced reasonably in the US, I'd buy all of them, but not serious enough to import Ultra Magnus, Prime's trailer, or Skywarp. I really do want Megatron, though. I'm a little concerned that he might be a little fragile for playing with, but I love the way he looks, and I really want to put him with my Prime and Starscream. So I think I'm going to bite the bullet on it.

Again, I'd like to ask, has anyone had any experience with Action-HQ? They have the December Reissue for $95 plus shipping available for preorder.

[HoveringCheesecake]

I bought my CF from Action HQ. The only problem I had was the time it took to get here after it was shipped. Then again I probably used the cheapest method, I can't really remember for sure.

[promethuem5]

I'm debating getting MP05 as well, but I really was hoping it was as playable as MP Prime...

[Radd]

I've never regretted getting MP Megatron. Easily the best Megatron toy I've ever seen. He's a bit more awkward to pose, and possibly a bit more fragile than MP Prime, but that's kinda like saying a tank is a little more fragile than a bulldozer. MP Megatron survived a fall from my desk without even a scratch. Granted, the floor was carpeted, but if one of my Yamato VFs took a spill like that I would have had a fit.

He stands eye to eye with MP Prime, possibly a bit taller. I've had no issue with weak joints on mine.

Edited November 15, 2007 by Radd

[mikeszekely]

Oh, I'm definitely going to get one. I just have to decide when and what method of payment.

OK, so those of you who bought one, where'd you buy yours? Plug or no plug? What kind of service did you get?

[eriku]

Anyone considering cleaning off your Masterpiece Starscream with alcohol, RECONSIDER. I've never heard of a problem with alcohol harming plastic before, but a few people over at TFW2005, including myself, have ended up with bad results. I cleaned the engine flaps last night with 91% alcohol and everything looked great. The toy sat all day today and when I got home I checked it over and one of the hinges for the flap has almost crumbled through. There is a jagged, gaping crack there now and I'm afraid to move it. I'm guessing alcohol got into the hinge and wasn't able to evaporate right away, but I didn't take any precautions against that because I've NEVER heard of any problems with alcohol. Since the toy just sat untouched I can't imagine anything else causing this.

[David Hingtgen]

Hmmmmn. I've never known rubbing alcohol to affect plastic like that. I've had plastic parts soak in sealed containers of 99% for days and it does nothing. (Though 99% will leave a slight white deposit/film on almost all parts with only a few minutes' contact--never figured out why).

Anyone tried 70%? That usually won't strip paint, but I presume the silver paint on a US MP-03 is very "weak"---TF paint often is, and all metallics are inherently "weak".

PS---same question as Mike Z----where's a good place to get MP Megs now, with the "least damaging" plug attached?

[promethuem5]

I thought HLJ's plug was easily removed, but I could be making that up...

[mpchi]

Hmmmmn. I've never known rubbing alcohol to affect plastic like that. I've had plastic parts soak in sealed containers of 99% for days and it does nothing. (Though 99% will leave a slight white deposit/film on almost all parts with only a few minutes' contact--never figured out why).

Anyone tried 70%? That usually won't strip paint, but I presume the silver paint on a US MP-03 is very "weak"---TF paint often is, and all metallics are inherently "weak".

PS---same question as Mike Z----where's a good place to get MP Megs now, with the "least damaging" plug attached?

I actually used 70% alcohol, rubs off the burnt mark just fine. Takes quite a few rubbings, but it sure comes off slowly. However, they are not strong enough to get the silver out, nor the red. So in my case, I'll leave the silver paint there. Starscream does have grey nosecone in the animated movie anyway, so its not totally inaccurate. Plus don't want to risk breaking the toy, as the silver paint sure needs something pretty strong to get them off.

[Radd]

I got my MP Megatron at an anime convention. No plug to be removed.

[mpchi]

I thought HLJ's plug was easily removed, but I could be making that up...

Thats very correct. HLJ just has a yellow rubbery plug that pulls right off. Didn't even take 10 secs to take mine off.

As of expecting MP-05 Megatron to play like MP Prime, don't. Its not fragile in a sense that its going to crumble of things fall apart. But some small locking pegs (the ones that has hook to lock parts together in gun mode) may not take the stress very well after a few transformation. They tend to stress, and eventually breaks, just like any overstressed plastic little peg. But even if a couple of those broke, the gun will still hold together well enough. And Megatron is perfectly stable and fine as long as it doesn't hold the big fusion cannon, and helps when you strengthen the ankle ball joints. In robot mode, you can pose and fiddle the thing all you want. it won't break on you. Its the transformation to gun mode that you have to be more careful with.

[Axelay]

I have a vague recollection of this, but didn't someone here on the board mod their Japanese Starscream so that it could carry both the missiles and guns on the wings while in fighter mode?