Of all the bots released in Takara's Robot Masters series a few years back, the seeker jets deserve a special mention for their sculpt and design.
The Robot Masters series of toys consisted of a few new and unique molds (all of em plastic) of famous bots like Optimus, Star Scream, Star Saber & Victory Leo to name a few. The remaining bots in this line were of obscure characters who were basically fillers and consisted of Gen2 or Beast Wars repaints.
The selling factor for the obscure bots would be the "special" energon-like (translucent colored) weapon that you get with each bot. And why would some buy the lot of em? Well, these weapons could combine to form some really silly looking weapon of mass destruction which the designers took little effort in creating... but let's carrying on with the better molds... the seeker jets...
The Robot Masters series of toys consisted of a few new and unique molds (all of em plastic) of famous bots like Optimus, Star Scream, Star Saber & Victory Leo to name a few. The remaining bots in this line were of obscure characters who were basically fillers and consisted of Gen2 or Beast Wars repaints.
The selling factor for the obscure bots would be the "special" energon-like (translucent colored) weapon that you get with each bot. And why would some buy the lot of em? Well, these weapons could combine to form some really silly looking weapon of mass destruction which the designers took little effort in creating... but let's carrying on with the better molds... the seeker jets...
In my opinion, the Robot Masters range of seeker jets, namely Starscream and the "exclusive" Thundercracker & Skywarp giftset, captured the very essence of the Gen1 jets as they were depicted in the cartoon show.
Every now and then we get different variations and interpretations of the Seekers. Some say that the latest Classics series gave us the best mold (not considering the Masterpiece version as that's of a different category). I beg to differ... the Classics seeker jets were way too chunky if you compared em to their on screen counterparts.
The Robot Masters seekers were given a slim and sleek frame which suited em well as Decepticon jets. They were after all terrors in the skies and a thick buffed-up body wouldn't do em justice in representing who they were (look at the Movie SS... big fat chunky chicken for crying out loud!).
Every now and then we get different variations and interpretations of the Seekers. Some say that the latest Classics series gave us the best mold (not considering the Masterpiece version as that's of a different category). I beg to differ... the Classics seeker jets were way too chunky if you compared em to their on screen counterparts.
The Robot Masters seekers were given a slim and sleek frame which suited em well as Decepticon jets. They were after all terrors in the skies and a thick buffed-up body wouldn't do em justice in representing who they were (look at the Movie SS... big fat chunky chicken for crying out loud!).
Transformation of the bot to jet mode is really simple (much like the Gen1 toy)... flip out and over the nosecone, flip over the wings, fold up the arms to the back, push up the legs, and flip up the feet... presto! A little plastic jet! (I didn't bother with transforming mine to jets... you can check out the jet mode on the box art in the first picture)
Articulation is an improvement from the Gen1 jets but what's really lacking is articulation in the hip (very limited) and knee joints. If only these bots could move their paralyzed legs... imagine the different poses you could put em in!
These bots come with a variety of accessories too... like clip-on chrome (why chrome?) missile launchers that slot nicely into the 2 chest cavities (much like what the Masterpiece version has, just that this is the cost-cutting version). Paint jobs on these bots were great... had no problems there.
Articulation is an improvement from the Gen1 jets but what's really lacking is articulation in the hip (very limited) and knee joints. If only these bots could move their paralyzed legs... imagine the different poses you could put em in!
These bots come with a variety of accessories too... like clip-on chrome (why chrome?) missile launchers that slot nicely into the 2 chest cavities (much like what the Masterpiece version has, just that this is the cost-cutting version). Paint jobs on these bots were great... had no problems there.
Now all I need are my MISB Takara reissued Gen1 seekers to pose these bots in front of. There's honestly no point in opening a Gen1 seeker jet (IMO) as they display better in their boxes than out of em (I like em but they are little bricks with wings). These Robot Masters are much nicer... yeeeesssss... A-
