Decepticon Air Superiority, 2017 !
Exactly 5 years ago on this day, I presented a short post about Decepticon Air Superiority. Well, 5 years later, I also find myself with lots of Decepticons jets lying about here and there. So it’s time for another post that will remind the Autobots of Decepticons’ sheer and utter dominance in the not-so-friendly skies.
The 5 jets presented here are all very nice figs that represents how far transforming toys have come. All of them have clever engineering mechanisms that showcase how well a transforming jet can be made today. The oldest figure here, in terms of when the mold was first released, is Masterpiece Starscream. What I have here is a 2017 re-issue of the MP-11. I missed out on the MP-11 when first released. But I have enough other characters that utilize this mode, including MP Thundercracker (picutred 5 years ago), MP Acid Storm, and MP Sunstorm. This mold is the 2nd one used in the official MP line from Takara. The design feels a little dated today, and the mold’s poor durability after all this time is well documented. But I’m glad to finally have a Starscream in this mold in 2017. And the copy of I have feels ok in terms of build quality.
The two jets in front are some of my most recent acquisitions from The Last Knight: Voyager class Megatron and Nitro. Megatron is the dark grey futuristic looking jet, and Nitro is the light grey F-16 with the black nose cone. Both figures are excellent additions to the LK line. Megatron is a pure joy to transform and play with. Both modes look good, the figure is well built, and the transformation is fun, intuitive, and refreshing. Nitro is one of the more difficult figures in the LK line. But he’s a testament to modern TF engineering. He’s a non-symmetrical transformer, like many of the motorcycle figs. In jet mode, when done right, he comes together so well that the difficult and frustrating transformation sequence is easily forgiven. Both figs were acquired in the past 2 weeks.
The black jet in the center is Combiner Wars Skywarp. I acquired him in November of 2016, and left him out in the open all this time.
Last but not least, we have ToyWorld Requiem, their MP styled homage to Dirge. He’s the blue jet with brown wings. And let me tell you: this is an amazing figure! A lot of other TransFans are turned off by these TW Coneheads because of their scale. Yes in robot mode they are a bit tall. But seriously, don’t let that discourage you! These Coneheads are so well built and designed that they put official MP Seekers to shame. The TW Coneheads have a nice heft to them, and in your hands they feel more like the real deal and make official Takara products feel like knock offs. The Takara Seeker mold is so used now that figures produced feel cheap and sloppy. My Starscream (mentioned above) feels ok, but some fans have not been so fortunate. I have outlined how poorly my official MP Ramjet is in terms of build quality. TW Coneheads have no build issues whatsoever. All joints feel nice and tight. But what ultimately impressed me about TW Requiem is the design and engineering. The transformation is many times superior to Takara MPs. It’s enjoyable and intuitive, and the nice and solid construction means that everything properly tabs into place. In robot mode, Requiem looks slender and sleek instead of wide and bulky. I got the set of 3 TW Coneheads for only $159.99 from TF Source on a sale in August. This is probably the best TF purchase I have made this year.
So who is leading this bunch? LK Megatron? Or MP Starscream? You decide.
Transform and Roll Out.