eHobby Ghost Starscream

Stupid eHobby.  Here I am, getting close to my goal of finishing the US G1 run, and my mind gets stuck on eHobby releases.  The solution?  Why, getting Ghost Starscream, of course.  Besides, it's a Seeker mold, and I love those.

There really isn't much to know about this version of Starscream.  He was released in 2001, over 15 freaking years ago,  I remember seeing him on BigBadToyStore's site for what seemed like the longest time and I just kept passing on him.  There was a point in time where I didn't believe that eHobby figures were real Transformers.  Even though they were released by Takara, I just felt like they were non-entities.  Time and experience eroded that view, so I've some catching up to do.

I really like this iteration of Starscream.  He's just so cool looking, and he reminds me of one of those fabled "Lunchtime Specials" that I keep hearing about on the Internets.  And that nosecone!  The color is so light, yet it looks perfect next to the translucent plastic.  Look at those tail fins!

Look!  You can see through Starscream's wings!  So sexy.

Know the great thing about Takara Seekers?  Working missile launchers!  Know what's great about Ghost Starscream?  Everything! Man, check out those translucent fists!  Check out the translucent...everything!  This is a true piece of beauty.

Here's a profile shot. Starscream is so ghost-like.  I love how that orange canopy just stands out.  If you have to chance to grab one of these, pick one up.  Prices are all over the place on eBay.  I've seen these posted at prices ranging from $100-$200, all MISB.  I've also seen loose or MIB specimens going for $100.  With enough patience and luck, you should be able to get one at a decent price.  I got mine for $100, which I felt was a decent price.

Finally here's a shot of some Seekers, but not all that I own.  Don't pay any attention to the other eHobby Starscream.  We'll talk about him later...

Here they are in alt-mode.  I like Seekers, and I cannot lie.

Masterpiece Thrust

Look, another Seeker.  Man, Takara is really getting their money's worth out of this mold, not that I can blame them.  Thrust was always my favorite of the Coneheads, so surely he'll be my favorite of the Masterpiece Coneheads, right?

This is how Thrust was supposed to look, thanks to design by Floro Dery.  To be honest, I never really paid attention to the character model when I thought about Thrust beyond the head.  Until Masterpiece Ramjet, I hadn't realized that the bulky knees were a thing.  I don't even flip the nosecone up on the original figure.

Until now, I didn't realize just how close to the animation this guy was.  That actually adds a nice level of appreciation to Thrust and Ramjet now.  At any rate, articulation is pretty much what one would expect from this mold that's about 10 years old.  There appears to be a loose waist situation with a lot of these guys now, most likely from mold degradation.  Still, Thrust looks great in robot mode.

My, does Thrust look spectacular in jet mode.  Those VTOL wings look great in Masterpiece scale.

While Ramjet had shells that could fit over the null rays to give him a more cartoon accurate look, Thrust comes with null rays that fold up in this mode and extra missile pods that attach to the wings.  Very cool look.  This is how I wanted Thrust as a kid.  Man, those reds, grays, and blacks are just so gorgeous.  Just based on jet modes, Thrust is my favorite Masterpiece Seeker so far.

As much as I love Thrust, I do a have a minor quibble with the way the wings attach to the body in jet mode.  The right wing, left as you look at the picture, doesn't really want to tab in.  Every attempt to keep the wing in is momentary at best.  It doesn't look so bad in the picture, but it's annoying.  Thrust always looks like he's leaning.

Here's Masterpiece Thrust with his G1 version.  As you can see, they look just alike!

Thrust and Ramjet, together again, at last.  It's amazing what a set of wings can do to a figure.  I didn't really care for Ramjet mainly because of the bulky wings.

And now Thrust gets to live out his fantasy of taking out Prime.

MP-11NR Ramjet

Ugh, another Seeker mold.  It's funny that I would have that type of reaction to the reuse of a mold after all of the reuses of the Lamborghini mold that I eagerly snatch up without hesitation.  Then again, I've never really been a fan of the Masterpiece Seeker mold.  The lack of waist articulation, the fact that every time I pick up a Seeker in my case, the freaking torso lifts up all add up to a figure that just doesn't appeal to me for the most part.  Why do I keep buying Seeker mold figures?  Because they look so damn nice.

Out of the box, Ramjet is a stunner.  Many people prefer the iGear versions of the Coneheads, but, in my opinion, their heads are way too small.  MP-11NR's head is in just the right proportion.  I was actually pleasantly surprised by the transformation sequence with the cockpit - it actually twists during transformation. 

Poseability isn't something that Seeker's are known for, but I think I did the best I could with these pics.  Then again, I'm sure there will be tons of better poses out there.  I don't put a lot of time in trying to achieve poses with the Seekers.  They're just too fiddly for me.  The large wings actually helped with some of the poses that I tried.  They offered a bit of stability.

I will say that I got fascinated with how Ramjet is able to turn his head.  I mean, that's just a standard feature now, but I really got into it.  Possibly 95% of the pictures I initially took were just of Ramjet turning his head.  Part of me wants to say that I'm joking, but I'm not.  After decades of having a Ramjet that couldn't turn his head, I got stuck on it with this guy.  Sure, every Ramjet released after 1995 is capable of doing such a simple thing, but they don't have the right stupid look on their face.

Yeah, I love the stupid look on Ramjet's face.  It's perhaps the most beautiful thing I've seen in a long time.  Ramjet was always a bit of a dullard thug on the show, and the Masterpiece sculpt just really nails it.  I've seen a fair bit of outrage online over the sculpt, and it usually boils down to "He looks stupid!"  That's the point.  Ramjet looks stupid because he is stupid.  Great job, Takara on capturing the look.

Ramjet transforms into a jet.  I know that this is shocking to most, since Seekers are usually known for transforming into recliners, but Ramjet breaks from tradition.  At any rate, I really like the balance Takara found with the missiles.  Ramjet still sports the skinnier rays while in robot mode, but shells can be placed over them while in jet mode to give Ramjet the fat missiles.  They can also be added while in robot mode if you're looking for a more toy accurate look.

Ramjet seems to beset with quality control issues.  Just recently, Takara issued a recall on the figure to fix an issues where the left and right shoulders were swapped.  I've also read reports of landing gears falling off and just over poor quality.  Luckily, mine arrived in pretty good shape.  The shoulders are fine, as is the landing gear.  There is a spot where the left wing tabs in where the paint flaked off a bit, but it isn't major.

Here's a horrible shot of all of the Seekers together.  I didn't feel like pulling out the Wal-Mart MP-03 deco, or the original MP-03.  I do have the Skywarp MP-03 figure in this shot, however.  Sadly, Skywarp is the great miss in my collection.  I passed on him for unknown reasons, and I've been kicking myself over it ever since.

The rest of my MP-11 mold figures seem to feel the same way as they've turned their backs on him. 

Bring on Dirge and Thrust!  Or else Ironhide gets it...

100th Post Spectacular! Introducing Adakar!

 It's my 100th post!  Something like that means I need to bring something special to the table.  What's more special than a figure that no one else owns?  I'm not Heroic Decepticon awesome with the rarities that makes others drool, or have ginormous all-encompassing collections like flywheels or Arkvander, or have the ability to influence others through the power of the written word like Maz, so don't think that I have some ultra rare figure that no one else has even heard of.  Nope, this is just a simple custom that I created to indulge my love of Seekers.  Hopefully, this goes well.

Adakar has been a long time coming.  I'm actually embarrassed that I posted a pic of him so long ago before he was completed.  I really didn't factor on how long it would take for the custom missiles to arrive.  Seriously.  Most of this post was originally written in November of 2012.  Thinking that I was being smart and thrifty at the same time, I opted to go for reproduction missiles.  That proved to be a mistake.  I ordered them in October and here it is nearly a year later, I have yet to receive them.  According to the guy I ordered them from, they're still processing which makes me wonder if he's whittling them from a large block of plastic.  Getting frustrated, I finally caved in and ordered real missiles.  Lesson learned, I suppose.

At any rate, here's his bio:

Name: Adakar
Function: Assault

Adakar's lust for destruction and chaos knows no bounds. At the start of the war he was heavily recruited by both sides but chose the Deceptions after Optimus Prime realized that Adakar wanted nothing more than wanton destruction.

Adakar's loyalty to Megatron is absolute as long as Megatron allows him free reign to destroy. He has no ambition of power. While Megatron has made Adakar a Seeker, he does not affiliate with them unless commanded by Megatron, which is rare.

Adakar is normally sent to outlying planets or outposts to prepare them for siege by the Decepticons. He will arrive and destroy military installations and bodies of government. Once a planet's defenses have been weakened, the main force will arrive to finish the job while Adakar journeys to his next target. This is a job Adakar has expressed to Megatron that he would continue even after the war is over no matter which side wins.

Despite the efficiency and prowess Adakar displays at his job, he is not popular with other Decepticons. Adakar's penchant for wanton destruction carries over to his fellow Decepticons - he will destroy anything in his path be it friend or foe. It is this reason why Megatron gave him his current assignment. The other reason for Decepticon distaste for Adakar is his habit of decorating his quarters with parts of those he has felled in combat. Many find this disconcerting. The only Decepticon to actually communicate with Adakar on a regular basis is Starscream, who wants Adakar to side with him in his quest to overthrow Megatron. A quest that Adakar has rebuffed knowing that Starscream would never be able to pull it off.

So that's his bio. It's a work in progress as I'm not so great at coming up with backstories. I didn't even come up with his name. When I was part of a Transformer Roleplay group, we did a roleplay without any "real" TFs and Adakar was the main villain. Unfortunately the person playing as Adakar got bogged down with work and school, so we never finished. I always liked the name, so I decided to use it. His backstory and alt-mode have been completely changed.

Creating Adakar was relatively simple.  I had tons of Seeker parts literally just lying around.  I had accumulated several bodies in various stages of decay and disrepair so I was able to just cobble together pieces to make the body.  As you can see, not all of the parts are in the nest of shape.  One wing is kind of chewed with the post for the launcher on the one wing is broken, and the nosecone isn't exactly pointy, but I'm fairly pleased with how the pieces fit together once painted.

 

The hardest part was picking the color.  I went with gunmetal gray as the primary color with a red chest and blue accents for the launcher and fists.  Painting was a breeze.  I gave my wife the parts and the paint and she did it all for me.  See?  Simple.  She's much better at painting things than I am, so I was fine with letting her have all of the fun.

In case you're wondering why Adakar is only equipped with the so-called long missiles, I'll let you in on a little secret: I don't like the short missiles.  The cluster bombs just don't do anything for me.  The longer missiles just look awesome.  Well, there's also the fact that I had to cram the missiles into the launchers.  The paint made them kind of thick, so they won't be coming out without any kind of breakage.  It's the classic look from the cartoon, and I just love it.

For decals, I involved my wife yet again.  I showed her the three original Seekers - Skywarp, Starscream and Thundercracker and let her decide on which decals worked best.  She chose Thundercracker, and I agreed.  Gotta say, I really like the way they look on him.

Well, that's it for Adakar.  I hope that everyone likes him as much as I do.  I had a blast making him, but I wish it hadn't taken close to a year to complete.  Ordering reproduction parts will not be an option again after this.  If, for some reason, I actually do get these parts in the mail one day, I'll use them for something.

Seekers Unite!

Missile launcher Seekers

 Thanks for taking the time to stop by and check out my little corner of the Internet.  I know that I'm not the biggest blog out there, so I'm very appreciative to all of you who do stop by.  After this first hundred posts, I'm hoping do a million more.  Here's to the whatever the future may bring and to whatever Transformers I happen to get along the way.  I'll see everyone back next week for my next post!

My Custom

I've been planning this for months. I've put this off for months. Finally I did it. Finally I've built my custom Seeker. Well, nearly built. I'm still waiting on a few things, but the hardest parts are done.

This custom finally came about thanks to my wife, actually. My wife has a furniture restoration business and volunteered to do the painting for me, which was great since I suck at painting. Sure, I can paint a room or a house, but I can't spray paint worth a damn. I just can't spray evenly.

Anyway, I decided to do this custom because I realized that I had a ton of seeker parts. I had like eight tailwind, six rudders, four or five launchers, two sets of wings and a Thundercracker body. Unfortunately, hardly anything matched so I couldn't just create another Thundercracker.

Once I started this, I realized that my Thundercracker body had broken where one of the feet connects. Quickly, I purchased a junker Starscream which proved beneficial as I wanted to use the blue nosecone.

Overall, I'm pretty stoked at how this guy came out. I still need to decal him and get his missiles and fists, but for now he's looking pretty good. Well, I need to come up with a name, too.
In the meantime, enjoy these pics of him in jet mode.