Of tattoos, the dirty basement, and a smorgasbord of pics

Before I say anything else, I'd like to say that, yes, this is another gift from my ever-supportive better half.

Less talk, more pics. Here's the Transformers Hunt for the Decepticons Leader Class Starscream starting of course with the obligatory MISB images.

Pics are a bit high-keyed, eh?

Taking it out of the box, you'll be able to confirm up close that the robot mode's got tons of details! Maybe if I were to custom-paint this huge action figure, it'd take me at least a week to detail all the hydraulics, wires, panel lines and whatnots. Click on the pics below to view larger versions.

I straightened out the legs since I didn't quite like the chicken-leg orientation based on the movie.

The alt-mode, a Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor, looks awesome, especially if viewed from above. The build is great, almost all the panels are flush and tight, and there are no rattles due to something loose.

Wicked-looking F-22 Raptor

Speaking of wicked, one gripe I have with this Seeker is its tattoos. They're awesome, but Hasbro should've colored the tats in a lighter shade. I don't know, dark gray, maybe. Not black!

Want another party-pooper? Lower your point of view all the way to ground level and the aesthetic accuracy to the real jet all goes downhill. I know, almost all Transformers toys are like that (esp. practically all the movie versions of Screamer), but this, being a Leader Class, shouldn't have robot parts sticking out like a sore thumb on its underside. The the more frustrating thing is, Takara Tomy made a Movie Masterpiece version which shows no improvement at all. It is just a re-color of this toy — USAF camouflage patterns sans the tattoos.

I haven't got side-view pics of TakTomy's Masterpiece G1 Starscream in order to show you guys how stream-lined the F-15 version is, compared to this one. I probably will take those pics in the near future just for the sake of comparison. I guess it wouldn't take a G1 aficionado to say that the Movie Masterpiece really, really is not up to par with the original Masterpiece.

See all the "garbage in the basement"?

However, here's one mode that I do like, and it's not even on the manual — the not-so-Gerwalk mode — which extends from my discovery of TF Animated Starscream's Macross/Robotech-inspired mode.

Transformers Animated Voyager Class Starscream in Gerwalk mode

I should've let its arms out in true Gerwalk form, but I was already in mid-transformation, and was just too lazy to start over with the arms again.

Whew! It's been a while since I made a long one, huh? So there's my photo-blog-ish take on Hasbro's Transformers Hunt for the Decepticons Leader Class Starscream. Like it told you, more pictures. I wasn't able to hold out on the narratives, though. And I didn't even touch on the subject of the figure's electronics (i.e. lights, sounds). Actually, I never cared for it. Hasbro could've stripped all those gimmicks off and I wouldn't have minded.

Click on any of the thumbnails below to view more images on my Flickr.

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