Possible Asia-Exclusive Classics Seekers Set?

[Dominic]

True, I could unload some of my older Seekers to get the money for this set. (My trio of Henkei "first three" would likely bring in most of the money for the first set.) But, what would be the point? The figure that would arguably be an upgrade would be Skywarp, the one I care the least about. The trouble of selling my old ones would make the effort more difficult than it is worth.

Also, I contest that the mould hasn't aged well--unless you're talking about mould degration. The original Classics toys might be slightly less complex than some recent efforts but that doesn't mean much in the long run.

The robot mode is blockier than I would like it to be. It is not terrible, but I have plenty of better looking toys in general. And, the fists are too chunky/blocky looking. (This was common at the time the toy was originally designed. But, recent toys have improved on this flaw, which makes it look worse if only in relative terms.)


Dom
-it is still arguably the best mould for these characters though.

[BWprowl]

Also, I contest that the mould hasn't aged well--unless you're talking about mould degration. The original Classics toys might be slightly less complex than some recent efforts but that doesn't mean much in the long run.

I’m actually with Dom on this one, in that I’m not crazy about the mold (but at least appreciate it for what it is, being the only decent Seeker toy), and will go further to say that mold degradation actually *improves* the toy! No, seriously: One thing I’ve always hated about it are the damn elbows and how stiff they are and really only jam into ‘straight’ or ’90 degrees’ positions. The degradation on UniverseScream actually softens his elbows up so they’re usable, it’s great!

(Aside: I recently pulled them all out and ClaScream is the same height as FOC Shockwave, so.)

NO! Deluxes used to be ten inches tall until this year! Hasbro hates us and these tiny, Legends-size Deluxes are proof of that! Quit being such a corporate whore!

Spoiler

And this is why Transfans just don’t deserve nice things. We got maybe a year and a half of abnormally large Deluxes for prices that have been out of date for a decade, and entitled bitchy fans got spoiled and acted like it was the end of the world when things when back to the normal parameters.

True, I could unload some of my older Seekers to get the money for this set. (My trio of Henkei "first three" would likely bring in most of the money for the first set.) But, what would be the point? The figure that would arguably be an upgrade would be Skywarp, the one I care the least about. The trouble of selling my old ones would make the effort more difficult than it is worth.

I would think it was less about Skywarp than it was about getting a set of Seekers that ‘match’, which you know, you only complain about CONSTANTLTY.

The robot mode is blockier than I would like it to be. It is not terrible, but I have plenty of better looking toys in general. And, the fists are too chunky/blocky looking. (This was common at the time the toy was originally designed. But, recent toys have improved on this flaw, which makes it look worse if only in relative terms.)

Now, I agree with you on this one, the arms being out-and-out rectangles having always been a special point of contention I had with this mold. But one thing you’ve got to realize is a lot of fans absolutely *swear* by the ‘stack of boxes’ G1 aesthetic, and this toy fits that perfectly. This is the reason many people prefer the original MP-01 over the more dynamically proportioned MP-10.

[Dominic]

And this is why Transfans just don’t deserve nice things. We got maybe a year and a half of abnormally large Deluxes for prices that have been out of date for a decade, and entitled bitchy fans got spoiled and acted like it was the end of the world when things when back to the normal parameters.

Moldern Deluxes are not only smaller now, they are consistently less complex than at any other time in the history of the franchise. Hasbro has been cutting corners since '09, and it is really starting to show.

I would think it was less about Skywarp than it was about getting a set of Seekers that ‘match’, which you know, you only complain about CONSTANTLTY.

I have my "Henkei" set for that.

The coneheads will never propertly match up in G1 terms, unless of course the upcoming set uses the BotCon wings for Thrust. Ironically, I would have been fine with the colour schemes on 2006 Starscream and Ramjet if we got the other 4 painted that way. (Japan got Thrust and Dirge painted in a similar style. But, those were expensive in Japan. And, we never got Skywarp or Thundercracker painted that way at all.)


late edit:
TFsource has pictures of the second set (the coneheads) up. I would be interested in Ramjet (for customizing). But, the other two do not do much for me.

Dirge is very similar the US retail edition. That makes sense for Japan. But, there is no reason for me to get one at import prices. Ditto for Thrust. And, since it is using the Henkei/Generations wing moulding, I have no reason to pick it up.

But, I would take the Ramjet (at cost) if somebody wants to split the set.



Dom
-going to dig out those "Henkei" Seekers tonight.

[Shockwave]

BBTS now has the second set up. Still 150.00 but the description says that the price could go down before release.

EDIT: You guys are crazy. The Seeker mold is still fantastic. The fists are still comparable to what's made today (just compare them to Shockwave) and the two that I have still have tight joints and good range of movement. Yeah, it's a little blocky, but where is it written that every TF out there has to be sleek and streamlined and oh so stylized? I might sound a little Geewunny here, but I've always thought the "they can't look blocky anymore" argument was bullshit. They tried to force that crap on us regarding the movie designs and most of those are terrible. Besides, they're robots, not humans, they SHOULD be a little bit blocky.

[Dominic]

Nobody is saying that the mould is the worst thing ever.

But, it is really not *that* good. It benefits greatly for being better than what came before, at least in the US. Before that, the best moulding for Starscream and co was the PVC. And, that did not properly represent the cone-heads. The G1 toy was insultingly bad 25+ years ago. The Pretender core-bot was barely passable by the standard of the time when it came out. (Some would argue that the "Robot Master" Starscream was better. But, that is hardly a universal sentiment. And, it never came out in the US.)

But, on the '06 moulding, the robot mode body is more blocky than it should be. The arms and fists are not quite Legos, but they are exceptionally blocky. Look at Thundercracker's hands and compare them to the hands on a nominally contemporary toy, like Wheeljack.


Dom
-still needs to dig out those Henkei seekers....

[Shockwave]

I think my point is that, to a certain extent, they're supposed to be blocky. They're not Animated or Prime or Bayformers, they're updates of G1. As for the hands, I actually like them better than some of what we have currently. Jazz and Wheeljack both suffer from open hands which looks ridiculous when they're holding weapons. It looks like the gun is just sorta magically staying there. And like I said earlier, the Seeker fists are no different than those on Shockwave or even several of the other FoC figures that are/or coming out.

[Onslaught Six]

Yeah, I'm with ShockTrek, I actually don't like most of the "open hands" we've been getting recently. Starscream and some of the others aren't exactly the best we had, but Hasbro could've made the pegs smaller and worked on that if they thought it was a big deal. If anything, the mould's major problems are his launchers (The problem is not his wings or his arms at all, and people who say so are lying. If the pegs were further back on the launchers, they would fit fine and look great.), his head articulation (could just be a little better, really, just a tad!) and that his missiles are a little too crazy long for robot mode--and that's something that couldn't really be helped, unless they put them out the back of the launchers.

I said this when ClaScream came out, if anyone recalls--he's actually not a really good Starscream toy, he can't do much more than a couple basic--but effective--poses. I mean, Starscream can be one of the most expressive characters out there, especially if you like your Starscream a little effeminate. (Hands on hips, flambouyant gestures, that sort of thing. What? He's drawn doing that kind of shit!) I always said he would be way better in the context of two or five other guys who looked just like him--and he is! When you get all the guys together, it looks damned cool, and that was Hasbro's plan all along, I'm sure.