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All posts for the month May, 2012

Collecting suckerpunch – I’ve been KO’d

Posted by StayingInTheBox on May 31, 2012
Posted in: 1984 Decepticons. Tagged: , , , , . 14 Comments

Well, what a twist this has become … Thanks to a reader’s comment on my most recent post about Starscream – the treacherous leader of the Redecos I’ve discovered that my “vintage 1984 G1 Starscream” is not what I thought it was. After asking several collectors for advice and insight I was able to come to the conclusion that my Starscream is actually an early 1980’s Diaclone knock off by Kingdam company pictured below.

There is not a ton of information about this figure on the web so researching was a bit difficult. I’ve handled plenty of Transfomers KOs before and I can honestly say this figure stumped me. Not for one second did it cross my mind that this figure might be a KO because 1) it was purchased from a very reliable vendor that I’ve dealt with before and 2) many of my collecting friends didn’t take notice to this either.

The give away sign is the orange canopy. Although other G1 Seekers as well as reissues have this orange canopy,  a reader of the blog pointed out that the orange canopy does not appear on G1 Starscreams. From there I started my research trying to identify other suggesting signs to determine if this was a case of a swapped canopy, reissue, or KO. The Diaclone KO is pictured just below, the follow picture is of my figure.

From what I can tell, all of Starscream’s parts (blasters, fins, wings) are vintage. I didn’t find anything to suggest otherwise, but I could easily be wrong. The body of Starscream though seems to be a very well done KO. Although I cannot be certain, I couldn’t find any relevant information to debunk this figure not being a KO. There is no date or copyright stamp on the figure and there are no signs suggesting there were modifications done to the cockpit area. Unfortunately, this one’s going in the books as a knock off.

As some of my collecting friends have pointed out, acquiring this figure actually isn’t the worst thing to happen. I’m very disappointed in myself for not being able to identify this figure as a Diaclone KO, but in a strange way this figure does hold a little bit of historic value. My research suggests this is pre-Transformers as it has no copyright stamp on the legs, so although it’s tainted a bit by it’s KO nature this is a little taste of what came before Transformers was officially established. This has now easily become the oldest figure in my collection and it’s very cool to think about just how many different owners this figure may have had. Someone originally bought this figure in the early 80’s as a KO and from there it’s undergone drastic changes: lost accessories, new cartoon accurate wings, fins, etc. and then a complete new set of stickers from me. This figure has come a long way to where it is now and it truly has my touch on it.

Regardless, this is a lesson learned in collecting and it probably won’t be the last time I’ll buy a KO unknowingly. My goal though is to have a collection void of KOs. Although it’s cool to have this figure in the collection, it’s back to Ebay, e-retailers, and sales threads to find a G1 Starscream again. Thank you to the reader who sparked this investigation; it really is appreciated.

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The treacherous leader of the Redecos …

Posted by StayingInTheBox on May 29, 2012
Posted in: 1984 Decepticons. 5 Comments

Starscream. The name evokes so much history and memories for every Transformers fan. Along with Optimus Prime and Megatron, Starscream is easily among the Mount Rushmore of Transformers. When I decided to actively pursue a G1 collection, Starscream was very high on my list. I wanted to get Starscream’s figure first before any of the other Seekers. During BotCon 2012 in Dallas, Texas I had that chance to finally have a G1 Starscream! I came across a deal that I could not pass up and immediately jumped at the opportunity to purchase Starscream … among other Decepticons …

This entry is about Starscream though. I purchased Starscream in pretty decent shape. He is an original 1984 figure, but the amount of sticker wear definitely shows his age and it quickly became a distraction from enjoying the figure. I took this opportunity to utilize a resource that I’ve really wanted to try out: Reprolables. My friends and readers should know this by now, I hate stickers, but seeing my newly acquired Starscream in poor sticker condition gave me the motivation to improve things. I really saw an opportunity to improve this figure and more importantly put my touch on it. I’ll do my usual overview of Starscream, but I also want to show off the before and after effects of applying my own stickers to this figure. Here’s the rough shape Starscream was in:

Sticker condition aside for now, as always let’s start with Starscream’s alt mode, a gorgeous and slick F-15 Eagle fighter jet. From owning several Classics Seekers as well as Masterpieces, I feel like there’s little to nothing better than an army of Seekers sitting on my collection shelves. Seekers are just downright cool and the way they just seem to occupy their own shelf is even cooler. I don’t know if a collector can have too many Seekers … The G1 Seekers seem to be proving the same.

The fighter jet mode has been used so much in the Transformers franchise for nearly 30 years, but it never seems to get old. Starscream’s G1 alt mode still holds up to many of the later updates the character has received and I’m willing to almost put it at the top of the all-time best Seeker list if it weren’t for the massive amount of easily lost accessories. Regardless, Starscream has a lot going on in his alt mode: opening cockpit for a Diaclone driver, detachable landing gear, and two missile firing blasters (which of course, mine do not work). It’s easy to see how Starscream probably received a lot of play time back in the 80’s and even by today’s standards he is a fun toy to play around with.

I’ll be completely open during this transformation segment. As I’m being exposed to more G1 figures, the transformations I’m finding are relatively easy compared to modern day figures. However, while I was waiting for the next panel to start at BotCon 2012 I took the time to fiddle around with Starscream … and I honestly had trouble transforming this figure. Embarrassing enough, I had to take a look around and make sure no one was laughing at my inability to figure out how the legs do not extend out any further, where the hell were his arms, and how to properly place his parts in robot mode. G1 engineering, it baffled me on this figure … However, I figured the transformation out shortly thereafter and was pleased to finally have a transformed figure of one of the greatest Transformers of all time.

The parts forming is really the only issue I have with this figure, I’m just not use to having a handful of parts during a transformation sequence. I’m more concerned with losing the pieces if anything though due to the lack of storage for various parts. Another negative about this figure is how Father Time has caught up with him. During robot mode the entire cockpit piece is very loose and does not stay in the upright position, which I assume is due to the age of the figure and how many times he’s been transformed. To fix this I applied a small piece of tape to act as a point of contact to keep Starscream’s cockpit area in place with his head looking forward.

Parts forming aside, the robot mode of Starscream is still a fun and addicting figure, above average at worst. This figure actually surprised me quite a bit with things I did not expect. First, I can transform Starscream into a conehead if I wanted to. I always thought there was a molded difference between the Seekers, but it seems there’s only minimal changes. Second, the diecast chest. Many of the G1 figures I have do have some diecast, but Starscream’s entire chest is molded in it which really makes the figure stand out. It’s heavy, bulky, and prone to scratching; everything I love ( except the scratching) about G1 figures! And the last surprise was the two different lengths of missiles. I guess I’ve been adjusted to always having overly big missiles for modern figures because I got all giddy when I saw just how small a pair of missiles Starscream could use in alt mode … and then he had another pair of longer, more null ray looking missiles to utilize in robot mode! I just love this added attention to detail, which really separates this figure from updated variations. The robot mode for Starscream may be a product of parts forming, a less than desirable process for me, but he still easily stands tall as one of the most pleasing figures to display.

Now, the fun part of this project: the before and after of the Reprolables application! First off, taking the stickers off of this 25+ year old figure was a pain in the royal ass. If anybody knows of a good, non-damaging way to remove stickers, please inform me. Regardless of the hardships, I will be Reprolabling any figure that needs a touch up. With Reprolables I feel like I made this second hand figure MY figure; it has my touch on it. The improvement on this figure is beyond words, so I’ll let the pictures do the talking. Bottom line though, I can’t recommend Reprolables enough! Get ’em!

Now for the comparison to the modern day Starscream. The Classics Starscream figure was actually my first exposure to the G1 character. I originally purchased Classics Starscream back in 2006 and completed his Seeker army this past BotCon. Comparing the two figures is actually quite enjoyable because in my opinion there really isn’t much difference between the two; as always I’m putting poseability and articulation aside. Both figures share the similar fighter jet mode and besides from some  gaps on the G1 figure they practically mirror each other. Likewise with the robot modes, the similarities are plain as day. It’s satisfying to hold both figures in hand because you can visualize the natural evolution from G1 to Classics. Nothing is lost in the translation and nothing spectacular is added. In my opinion, G1 Starscream and Classics Starscream are a remarkable pairing of one iconic character represented in two different generations.

This was one of my favorite overviews to date and I’m really looking forward to reviewing the rest of the Seeker army … which should happen soon! Thank you all for reading and if you have any suggestions, comments, etc. please drop a line! I have connected to many new people via this blog and I’d love to hear from more of you!

The newest addition to my collection wanted to help out with this entry. Kitten Miko says hello to the Transformers world!