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Transformer Masterpiece - MP-3 Destron Air Commander Star Scream |
| Series | Transformer Masterpiece |
|
| Title | MP-3 Destron Air Commander Star Scream | |
| Release Date | September 2006 | |
| Manufacturer | Takara | |
| Suggested Price (JPY) | 9,800 | |
| Scale | Non-Scale | |
| Height (cm) |
Vehicle: 32 x 22.5 (wing tip) x 9 cm (tail height with landing gears) Robot: 22 cm head height, 25 cm full height) Base: 18 x 11 x 2 |
|
| No. of Parts | 1 F-15 Eagle + 6 parts + 1 color manual + 1 ID Card + 1 stickers | |
| My Rating | Good |
Related Items:
Comment
Takara's Masterpiece is a commemorative series
to celebrate 20th Anniversary of the ever-popular
Transformers series. It is first release in year
2003, as MP-1 Convoy featuring an anime accurate
design and most probably the most impressive G1
Convoy ever seen to date in the Transformers toy
line. MP-1 got a very hot response from fans and the
item was sold out in a short while. It seems like
Takara has struck gold mine. In order to prove the
point, they put up a simple stupidity test on fans
where they spray the Convoy entirely in white and
rename it as MP-2 Ultra Magnus. The frenzied fans
can no longer differentiate between Convoy and Ultra
Magnus and obsessively buying whatever with a
Masterpiece label on it.
After 3 years, the so-called 20th Anniversary Commemorative series is no longer purely a commemorative series to Takara but a good means to suck out more blood money from fans thus MP-3 Star Scream is a born, the third item in the series and the second true design.
The question here is… Is this Starscream worth to be called a Masterpiece or just another markerting hoax to suck more money?
Packaging
Starscream comes packaged in the traditional
MP-1 style black box with his robot and plane mode
on the top of the box. The box is surprisingly large
(slightly larger than MP-1) and yet the packaged is
surprisingly weight much lighter than MP-1. I cannot
help but to have a bad feeling on this.
The following are the part list:
- 1 Starscream in F-15 Eagle fighter plane mode
- 1 black display base with 2 slots for its stand
- 1 clear plastic stand to display star scream in robot or in plane mode
- 2 missiles pack (2 Sidewinder missiles each)
- 1 Dr. Archeville (painted in green and white)
- 1 connector for Megatron gun
- 1 20 pages color manual
- 1 ID card
- 1 sheet of decal stickers
Plane
Starscream, unlike Convoy, comes packaged in his
alternate mode that is an ultra realistic military
fighter jet, the F-15 Eagle. It comes with ordinance
bay under the wings housing the twin Null Ray Guns
as seen in the anime. Alternatively, the Null Ray
Guns can be swapped with the provided more realistic
looking pair of Sidewinder missiles to match the
F-15 Eagle.
The plane comes with retractable landing gears with wheels and working air brakes and flaps. Other gimmicks include a nose cone that can be open revealing the radar dome. Not to forget about the weathered thrusters that moves independently.
The cockpit canopy opens to accommodate an in-scale Dr. Archeville as its pilot. Dr. Archeville is not the most handsome scientist around and maybe after a prolong exposure to Gamma ray Takara decided to painting him in green while wearing a white trench coat. That is the only excuse I can think of for Takara for making such a stupid mistake.
Paint Job
I will say the paint job is done in only so and
so quality. Takara’s QC has some problems over here.
The plane is painted in navy blue with the panel
lines drawn and comes with tons of detail mini
decals. There is weathering effects applied being
some black dirt rubbed on here and there. The
mentioned black dirt can be rubbed off and in some
places; the application is not done evenly and
easily being mistaken for some sort of manufacturing
problems.
As in Yamato’s Macross series, Takara is providing an additional piece of sticker for the owner to apply the additional decals. It is a nice thing to do but then I feel a little awkward for a Masterpiece. I will not complain if Takara is branding this item as a Binaltech or the latest Kiss Player series but then having a sticker for a Masterpiece item feel like Rolex is giving out loose diamond to stick it on their masterfully done timepiece. This is a Masterpiece and I expect everything should be perfect right out of the box. Why would Takara give additional work to the owner of this item?
Robot
The robot mode of Starscream is true to the
anime with his G1 head sculpt and body design. There
is one serious problem here where fans are crying
aloud with the non-original color scheme. Starscream
should be in a typical Gundam color (white, red,
blue, yellow) and Takara is choosing a more
realistic color over the original might put off some
hardcore fans.
The robot comes with some gimmicks though. His face comes in 2 expressions, the normal one and the smirking face. This is done by swapping the face by a clever rotating mechanism. The next gimmicks include his chest opens revealing 6-pack of missiles on each side and the slot on his arm to fit in the Null Ray gun.
The articulations for Starscream are not as good as in MP-1 Convoy. It is slightly disappointing but good enough considering the limitation of a plane Transformer.
The head is ball jointed granting a free range of movement. The shoulders come in click joints for durability. There are articulations on the upper arm that allows rotation. The elbows are employing hinged-joints that allow the hand to fold at about 135 degrees. Sadly, there is no waist joint. The pelvic are using click joints but most of the movement is limited by the front skirt armor. His upper thigh rotates. The knees are using the durable click joints but it could only bend slightly less than 90 degrees. The feet are a smart design utilizing the plane thruster as sole where both feet and sole can be angled sideway for a realistic standing pose.
There is nothing much he can do in Robot mode not to mention stability is also an issue here. That is the reason why Takara is providing a stand for the robot mode.
Metal Compositions
Takara’s recent move to cut cost by removing
most, if not all, of the metal composition from
their toys. This is a disappointing move and it has
taken a heavy toll on this Masterpiece Starscream.
There are almost no metal is use on this figure
beside the screws. I have to, literally, runs it
thru a metal detector to spot all those metal parts
on this figure a listed below.
- The black slider piece that connects the blue lower torso
- Metal swing at fuselage
- Airbrake pump
- Connector on nose cone to cockpit that house the front landing gear
- Chest missile pods colored in red. Only on the top that opens.
Issues
I do not think I am writing a positive review here
and now I am adding oil to the fire. This item comes
with tones of issues and the following are the most
commonly found problems.
- The hinges on Starscream come packaged tightly and stress marks reveals on plastic surface no matter how careful you play with it. There are some places where stress marks appear without reason.
- Weathering dirt effect is a nice touch but it is done sloppily. Most of us will think those dirt effect are dirt from production instead of an applied effect.
- There is an ugly mold release line in the center of the cockpit canopy. This is a stupid oversight not to hide this.
- The Null Ray Guns comes with a hollow underside that looks like parts coming from a cheap Gundam High Grade or non-graded model kits that required a putty job.
- Missing paint job on Dr.Archeville
- Starscream fingers can easily pop-out. It is small and easily got lost.
Conclusion
Takara could do better. It is a big let down for
them to slap in a Masterpiece label while pushing an
issue prone product hoping fans will gobbling it
down as in MP-1 Convoy. MP-3 Starscream in overall
is a good toy and I will rate it as excellent if
they label it under Binaltech series or something
equivalent. I feel slightly cheated for this under
par Masterpiece release.
This item is purchase at Berjaya Time Square.
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Document Date : 2006-10-16 |
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