Thursday, July 14, 2011

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

HFTD Leader Class Starscream

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.

HFTD Leader Class StarscreamHFTD Leader Class Starscream
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.

HFTD Leader Class StarscreamHFTD Leader Class Starscream
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.

HFTD Leader Class Starscream
HFTD Leader Class Starscream
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.

HFTD Leader Class Starscream
HFTD Leader Class Starscream
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.

Starscream does Gerwalk... again.
Starscream does Gerwalk
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.

HFTD Leader Class StarscreamHFTD Leader Class StarscreamHFTD Leader Class StarscreamHFTD Leader Class StarscreamHFTD Leader Class StarscreamHFTD Leader Class StarscreamHFTD Leader Class StarscreamHFTD Leader Class StarscreamHFTD Leader Class StarscreamHFTD Leader Class StarscreamHFTD Leader Class StarscreamHFTD Leader Class StarscreamHFTD Leader Class StarscreamHFTD Leader Class StarscreamHFTD Leader Class StarscreamStarscream does Gerwalk... again.Starscream does Gerwalk... again.Starscream does Gerwalk... again.Starscream does Gerwalk... again.Starscream does Gerwalk... again.Starscream does Gerwalk... again.HFTD Leader Class Starscream


4 comments:

chrismandesign said...

definitely i’m not in love with this version of Starscream, specially compared with the masterpiece & i agree that the more it looks like a fighter jet, the better... with all the detail it has, the proportion is too weird... but ur pics r always awesome, pretty clean, pretty white (almost surgical HEHEHE)...

i think a good toy / collection figure deserve a good photo & that’s something i don’t see usually & then i wonder... if those collectors spend U$400 in a figure, why don’t get a good camera ??? but then i realize, a good camera doesn’t make a good photographer & i realize as well that i’m quite corrosive with my comments & sometimes i save’em for myself BUAHAHAHAHAHAHA...

NelMan said...

Thanks for the kind comments, Chris. I'm really partial to high-key photography with regards to toys! =D

The photos of your collection are awesome too, man. And yes, a good camera doesn't make a good photographer. One can use a cel phone's cam, and the pics will still come out great. I know of a lot of pro toy customizers out there who use point-and-shoot cams (I think FrenzyRumble and FrogDNA), and my shots would definitely pale in comparison hahaha!

Joel said...

Hi, I came across your site and wasn’t able to get an email address to contact you. Would you please consider adding a link to my website on your page. Please email me back and we'll talk about it.

Thanks!

Joel Houston
JHouston791@gmail.com

NelMan said...

Hi Joel. Wow, sorry for the super-late response but, yeah, I can add a link to your website from mine. It's rcworldtoday.blogspot.com, right?

Thanks for dropping by, bro. :)

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