The History of the Transformers Classics Starscream Mold - Toys That Broke the Mold, Episode 1

[@batangbatugan]

5:07 EYYY! That's me and my cosplayer friends in 2007, I'm the one dressed as Rumble! The guys cosplaying Prime and Shockwave thought it would be funny if we all each make our own G1 Transformer costume as a jab against the Bayformer designs. Ironically enough the promoters of the movie hired us to be mascots during the film's release so we got to see several premieres of the original movie for free AND in costume. OH and I love my Thrust he's probably my favorite of the molds, sadly my original Classics Starscream already had degraded plastic, his tail fin already broke off. =(

[@ronbondujon9690]

Small world! Here I was, just finding a cool photo to show the fandom back the in the day, and you stumble on it! I won’t lie, that’s awesome! I feel like I’m talking to a celebrity 😂

[@Iron_Blood_Enjoyer1933]

Years ago I had made a Seeker OC out of a Classics Thrust that I painted dark green with black and gold striping on the wings and tail that I had named Downburst. He was the type to get very close to the ground and then fly at near Mach speeds to strike fear into the Autobots on the battlefield, but like Thundercracker, he was one of the few Decepticons to have a moral compass.

[@ronbondujon9690]

That deco sounds sick! I actually had my own OC when I was still a kid. It was a seeker named Undercut. He would lead his own squadron of Decepticon scavengers who was more of a talker than a fighter, and I always imagined he would sound like Krusty the Clown.

[@enemy-steel]

If we are talking about seeker ocs, I made one a while ago named sky assault he was a purple and grey conehead who had a empurata (he looks like 2007 dreadwing) i didn't think of personally at the time

[@ronbondujon9690]

@ That sounds sick! Frigging shadow play seeker!

[@enemy-steel]

@@ronbondujon9690 yeah i always wished there were more empurata victim s in transformers as a whole

[@ronbondujon9690]

@ It’s such an awesome comment.

[@bingbong4427]

I bought Starscream , skywarp and Ramjet for my son when these came out , well af the time I told myself they were for him. He is now 27 and these 3 figures still sit on my shelf today .

[@ronbondujon9690]

That’s just how it pans out sometimes. Even still, that makes those three special. You can always have the memories with them!

[@LIMITLESS2774]

do they actually sit on the shelf like three good boys

[@toxitron7385]

I remember, i got the conehead trio at the time, and then universe acid storm, skywarp and thundercracker, never could get my hands on starscream! Really a legendary mold!

[@ronbondujon9690]

It’s so funny to me that you got every version of the toy EXCEPT for the character it was made for 😂. It’s such a good toy. It’s been outdone since then, but there’s never been such a titanic leap in toy engineering in terms of the seekers.

[@toxitron7385]

@@ronbondujon9690 agree 100%

[@SammySinner6]

Classics Starscream walked so Earthrise Starscream could trip, fall, get run over and pickpocketed

[@ronbondujon9690]

😂 I take it your not a fan of Classics Screamer’s big bro?

[@christophersutton9358]

Don't understand the hate for Earthrise

[@calvinstraveldreams]

I don't HATE the Earthrise design...but the Newage Seeker design has so much more effort put into it (with much more modern engineering), and if it could just be upscaled, fitted with wing flaps that can fold away in robot mode (basically to give the jet mode accurate wings while also allowing the G1 Starscream wing shape in robot mode), fitted with butterfly and rocker joints in the shoulders (and perhaps pelvic articulation), and be sculpted to fit the CHUG aesthetic (along with other minor modifications), it would basically be PERFECT as a modern interpretation of the G1 Seeker design...

[@thefirstguyjaek255]

@@calvinstraveldreamsTHIS is exactly how I feel. Same with ER Soundwave. Both are design and engineering laziness at its best. It actually makes me angry just thinking about those molds 😂😂

[@francobonazzola5012]

All right Dr Lockdown hands up! We caught you !

[@stopgont7360]

I love this new format! Specially the history and the impact of the mold analyzed, would love to see more of this.

[@ronbondujon9690]

I’m glad this video is doing well! I’d like to do another series that would focus entirely on the designers themselves. Like, maybe a video that goes over the life and career of Shogo Hasui, and people like him.

[@stopgont7360]

@ronbondujon9690 That would be great honestly

[@soundblaster1987reviews]

To this day, my only ever copy of this mold was the Henkei Ghost Starscream version. A few minor QC issues with my copy, but he's still a fun figure and i can definitely see where the Earthrise version took inspiration from it.

[@ronbondujon9690]

It’s uncanny, how similar they are.

[@allendelarosa7891]

I didn’t start collection again until 2016, so seeing your historical takes on these lines are incredible to watch. Thanks bro, and looking forward to more content

[@ronbondujon9690]

I’m so happy people are enjoying this video! I’d love to keep going with these more specific vids! Next time, if actually like to focus entirely on Shogo Hasui and his career!

[@berrie-nice-to-meet-you]

What an ignominious end to what was a legendary mold, looking at the paint applications on that g2 starscream's chest vents really shows how slapdash they'd gotten with it. Like they'd decided to find out how lax the QC could be and still make money off fans

[@ronbondujon9690]

To be fair, that was the least bad thing about the final years of TFCC. There was some real creeps in that lot, and they loved nothing more than to try to weaponize the fandom against itself.

[@Muninn22]

Seekers look so good. This makes me really tempted to pick up a couple more 😂

[@ronbondujon9690]

Universe Acid Storm is always mocking me 😂

[@RiderOrigin]

This video was everything I wanted it to be. I had Acid Storm and loved that figure.

[@ronbondujon9690]

I’m so proud of this one. I think it’s one of the best I’ve ever made.

[@wasabi-in-my-eye3134]

Mannnnnnn that shattered glass thundercracker is so beautiful. My first time seeing this after decade of collecting tf. I don't think I would have wanted this when it was released back then.

[@ronbondujon9690]

It grows on you! All these year later, I think it’s universally loved.

[@raynekraven]

Seeker mold is among my favorites! And Thundercracker is at the top of my list!

[@ronbondujon9690]

I totally agree! They did the boy right.

[@TNThielen1982]

truly my favorite of the seekers toys before and since

[@ronbondujon9690]

It enjoys a rarified air!

[@jacosisaba]

I wanted this figure so bad, didnt get to purchase him till my older middle school days when i finally got acess to Ebay. Ive got both repaints of the Starscream with him being my favorite character. Its super cool to see how they upsized it to make an amazing Voyager class version of the figure with SS and WFC lines.

[@ronbondujon9690]

I love those voyager seekers. I almost have every unique character to come from those molds hanging out on my Seeker shelf. It’s one of my favorite groups in my entire collection!

[@harrisonwhaley7872]

Super fun video idea, I’m really excited to see where this series goes from here. I’m a big fan of how this episode went!

[@ronbondujon9690]

It was a nice change of pace, that’s for sure!

[@RetroRobotRadio]

14:24 you may notice that several of the other toys in this picture are in prototype colors that ended up inspiring figures, like the Ehobby GoBots.

[@ronbondujon9690]

Good eye! You can absolutely see Treads, Pathfinder, and Bad Boy all here!

[@Pooltastik]

Ooh, interesting. I feel like this series will have some doozies that will really catch people by surprise. As far as this specifically, wow, so this is where my favourite nose cone transformation method originated!

[@ronbondujon9690]

Yep! This seeker walked so every other version of them could run.

[@idiotproofdalek]

They did make a version of Starscream for the Pretender line, but it was very basic

[@ronbondujon9690]

Very true! However, that mold was still made in G1, same with Action Master Screamer.

[@sagaverse1466]

This series is a really good concept. We could learn the point of the mould

[@ronbondujon9690]

Maybe it needs to become an ongoing thing!

[@sagaverse1466]

@@ronbondujon9690 oh please many would love it👍

[@fancyteaches5003]

Great work! Really interesting and I learned a lot.

[@ronbondujon9690]

Amazing! I’m hoping to make more videos about designs soon, entirely to give spotlight to them.

[@MetalCheeseDeathAttack]

The only one I ever had was the original Starscream. Still one of my favorite toys of all time, I remember my dad buying it for me at Toys R Us. Now I have a bunch of Earthrise seekers, but haven’t completed any of the trios lol.

[@ronbondujon9690]

It’s hard! Of course, I also think it’s fun to have a mix-matched trio.

[@YaboyAJ_NG]

My classics thundercracker is the crown jewel of my collection. It's dark blue colors are beautiful

[@ronbondujon9690]

I love it. Still just a gorgeous figure all around.

[@YaboyAJ_NG]

@ronbondujon9690 I'm disappointed with the Advent of cartoon accuracy that he's a baby blue cyan now and not that wonderful color. I'd love a soundwave in that color

[@ronbondujon9690]

@@YaboyAJ_NG For real! What I don’t get is how much we ping-pong on Skywarp’s purple. The cartoon was so inconsistent with it, that we’re constantly switching up.

[@Dlnqntt]

They may have been what killed the collectors club, but if Naycell and G2 Starscream were ever to be re-released I would be first in line to collect them.

[@ronbondujon9690]

Yeah, I’m right there with you 😂

[@michelbeaudet4566]

This was the exact character that triggered the ripple effect of collecting since 2006.

[@ronbondujon9690]

It always comes back to Starscream, baby 😂

[@R10TDKM]

Another amazing video under your belt! Still waiting for a Springer video lol

[@ronbondujon9690]

We’ll get there someday! Admittedly, I’m drowning in requests at the moment.

[@darkangel076]

Great video, great subject. I still have all the US retail versions on display, even though the mild is dated, you can see the love that went into it.

[@ronbondujon9690]

Totally agree! There is palpable passion here.

[@Perajurit_Faqihin]

When I started collecting the MPM line (after years of dropping collecting since ROTF), I noticed that the molds used were basically improvements of the ROTF molds. So that's when I started to appreciate not only the different molds but the toy engineering behind it. My seeker collection is the the different molds of Bayformers Starscream in voyager class. I do not collect the same characters twice so it stands out from the rest. Each mold feels like different artists rendition of the same character, sorta like comic book artists but with cool engineering. I rly love this series idea. I hope to learn more about the molds n engineers behind them. N I hope u make a video of the recent revolutionary toy line (imo) that gave us modern movie toys: The Revenge of The Fallen line.

[@ronbondujon9690]

I totally agree with you. The deeper I get into the MANY Toys of, the more interested I am with just how these things even get made. I want to do a lot more of this series, as well as giving spotlights to the people behind them.

[@xhairstargetmaster6338]

I wish when they did the ER seekers they wouldn’t of used the classics one as we know they have the tech to fold the cone in to the chest! To give them a waist swivel

[@ronbondujon9690]

I wish the ER seeker was based more on the Siege Seeker. The Siege Seekers are such better robots with more impressive articulation. I’d just love to see that body with a more traditional jet.

[@xhairstargetmaster6338]

@ I can get behind that

[@azurill_sun]

Loving this pilot for a new series Been looking for a classics Starscream for months now cause I wanted a Starscream that was around the same height as Windblade, and this mold seemed the most solid

[@ronbondujon9690]

That would look awesome! Personally, I use the Thrilling 30 Armada Screamer since that’s how he looked in the Windblade miniseries.

[@azurill_sun]

@ronbondujon9690 it is closer, but I've heard some dodgy stuff about it

[@ronbondujon9690]

@@azurill_sun To be sure, it has issues. Especially in the legs.

[@rayvenkman2087]

A mold so famous that it virtually caused a nobody character from Divide & Conquer to take on a life of his own to the point of being as common a repaint pallet as Skywarp and Thundercracker.

[@ronbondujon9690]

For real! And that was a figure clearly made with love and filled with Easter eggs. Compare that to the copy and paste decos of the Botcon Rainmakers.

[@poweredrandy]

For Nacelle, the idea wasn't to make a character to just cash in on the popularity of the Seeker mold, but to give people another chance to own a variation of the 2007 BotCon Thrust mold, particularly his unique wings. Even after his and G2 Starscream's release people were still clamoring for the club to make a Red Wing figure from the Classics Seeker mold.

[@poweredrandy]

There were other releases with far worse quality control than the last couple of releases. Henkei Henkei (Gentei Gentei) Skywarp and particularly Thundercracker, in particular, were the worst. Take it from someone who had all 31 and multiples of each.

[@poweredrandy]

The decision was made to do Nightracer instead of Red Wing as the mystery final figure of that year's TFSS because they had done enough Seekers. G2 Starscream was done to complete the G2 Seekers (using a color scheme based on the original toy) and Nacelle as a fun nod to that poster art and getting those limited parts in people's hands again. A couple other notes, generally Hasbro and Fun Pub went for toy decos while TakaraTomy went for cartoon, with a couple exceptions. Takara's Thrust and Dirge had all new wings different than any other releases (Hasbro later recolored them for Generations). There were several iterations of the base Seeker mold, as there were slight changes that showed up in later versions and then it reverted back to an older version. So there may have been multiple copies of it. The Rainmakers originally had a much more cartoon accurate deco, with white hands and feet instead of black, the original mockup was changed by the Fun Pub deco guy to be less accurate, unfortunately. Just swapping the base color for another allowed the three to be cheaper than if they all had unique decos.

[@ronbondujon9690]

You’re on point about all the changes between separate releases. The one that kept coming up in my research was the soft sculpting of Classics Starscream that got corrected with Skywarp, but there were some later releases that still used the original face. The degradation began cropping up as early as Universe Acid Storm, and I had brought up in a first draft of this video. Believe it or not, this video was once over forty minutes long, but I chose to cut out some longer explanations for repeated characters and a lot of the talk of degradation. I also totally get the general excitement that people still had for the Classics Seeker at the time. When I was doing research for this video, I did my best to go through message boards and try to get a feel for general mood of the fandom. Most of what I found were people who liked the idea of Nacelle but hated the club, or people who just hated the club and didn’t bother mentioning Nacelle. I unfortunately don’t have any first-hand experience with that, I was about 13 when it came out. Admittedly, the general vibe around the later years of the TFCC nowadays is almost universally negative, so it was hard to find more nuanced takes. Thank you so much for telling me about all this. It was nice just to get a genuine perspective from today, not just a bad-faith put down or a comment on TFW from a decade ago.

[@poweredrandy]

The first mold change was seen with Skywarp with the change in the slant and detail of the shoulder pylons. This later showed up very late produced Classics Starscreams. Regarding the FunPub, there was some animosity due to things like issues with credit cards being stolen (and the slowness of alerting about the breech), general lack of tech savvy, and political incorrectness by certain members of the business. The level of animosity was mostly related to political beliefs of one vocal individual around the 2016 election and people having enough as a result of that and certain actions. As someone who saw both sides of this (I was asked to write a couple of bios for them as I was known through the fandom as being the Classics Seeker guy). People were also tiring of the expensive club model. Excitement was still high for anything Seekers until the end of their run. Especially for things not yet done (Red Wing, Nacelle, G2 Starscream). Nacelle had an unintentional misassembly but the figure still worked fine regardless. ​@@ronbondujon9690

[@poweredrandy]

This is not to say there weren't a lot of people that rightfully so had their fill of the Classic Seeker mold. As it continued to be used for almost 10 yeaars straight.

[@JollyMcCrowner]

man i love my acidstorms with blotches of camo-brown paint all over him. it makes good color breakup. collectors were mad that thundercracker was practically an exclusive, so in the modern era, hasbro fixed that by making him easy to get!… *and skywarp impossible to get :/*

[@ronbondujon9690]

I know. We are truly just one a cycle of the same mistakes over and over and over and over again.

[@TechWizard28]

This feels like yesterday

[@ronbondujon9690]

Yeah. Time doesn’t slow for anyone, I guess.

[@fduranthesee]

I like SG Thundercracker's colorscheme

[@ronbondujon9690]

It’s amazing! I actually got the Newage Shazaam just own some version of it!

[@Doctorshocks]

No sunday shockwave? Nice history review by the way! I loved it!❤

[@ronbondujon9690]

Yeah, I had to bump Shockers off the schedule this week. We’ll see the Parliament again next week!

[@bumbleblitz]

DUUUUUDDDDDEEE PLSSSSSSSSSSSS I JUST WANT THE HISTORY OF THE CASSTTES

[@ronbondujon9690]

I know. You’ve been waiting for quite a bit now. Listen, I can’t do all the cassettes all at once, and I’m burning myself with a lot of these longer videos. I’m really wanting January to be a little more low key, at least for a few weeks. At the same time, I know a lot of people want cassettes. What if I did Buzzsaw sometime in January? Would that be able to tide you over until I could do a more major one like Ravage or Rumble? Still a major character, but he has a lot less toys than the other season one dudes.

[@bumbleblitz]

@ronbondujon9690 sorry to hear that man

[@bumbleblitz]

The burn out stuff

[@bumbleblitz]

But the sounds grate 😀

[@ronbondujon9690]

@bumbleblitz Ah, don’t worry! I just too many projects at once! Once I take a few weeks to calm it back down, we can keep up the usual momentum!

[@christophersutton9358]

Very nice video. It wasn't Botcon's fault that it was difficult to complete the team. They took a real beating that year over it and they repeated over and over that they were only able to make them because Hasbro approved and had no intention of completing the set themselves. Clearly they changed their minds.

[@ronbondujon9690]

You’re on point! Plus, the Takara release of the same seekers very decently available, even in the States! I just wanted to properly convey the sentiment of the day.

[@spoopy29]

the Bitstream diss is heartbreaking 💔💔💔

[@ronbondujon9690]

Are you a big fan of him? I don’t mean to be rude, but, I mean, he’s an off-color Thundercracker.

[@spoopy29]

Bitstream is like the pet rock for me in transformers. I will always adore her and i am mad the only official one i have to fork up triple price.

[@ronbondujon9690]

@ That’s really cool that you have such a connection to Bitstream. I’m really curious, where did it come from? We’re they in a comic, or something? Or do you just dig them?

[@enemy-steel]

Im ngl im a Sucker for figures that are based off the g1 toys but stylized i wish it came back, so i love this mold

[@ronbondujon9690]

I feel like that was the brilliance behind the IDW redesigns. Familiar, but modern!

[@enemy-steel]

@ronbondujon9690 exactly that

[@majormalfunction1313]

universe acid storm was one of my first transformers ever, i love him so much. i'd give my left leg for a version that uses the earthrise mold with his deco. i'm sad red wing missed the boat for getting a classics starscream repaint tho

[@ronbondujon9690]

Red Wing would have been cool, but the dead horse was beat so much with this mold that there was no use in it. As for Acid Storm, I’ll always hold out hope!

[@majormalfunction1313]

yeah regardless of whether red wing or nacelle was the last out they would've left the same legacy: handsome seeker with no personality and dogwater qc

[@ronbondujon9690]

@ Yup.

[@Beedo_Sookcool]

Fantastic video! Thank you! Apart from the "Games of Deception" trio (sold out) and the Japanese 3-Packs (repetitive), I'm happy that I managed to get the rest of the Classics Seekers. And I would've happily replaced most of them with the newer, larger Earthrise versions of the Seekers, if only MOST OF THEM WEREN'T £*&@¥☆$ 18:57 EXCLUSIVES. I liked it when Hasbro decided to just start releasing a Seeker every second or third wave, until we got caught up. They should do that again. No more £*&@¥☆$ exclusives, just release a new Seeker every other wave or so until we've got them all.

[@ronbondujon9690]

That would be the dream. Of course, Hasbro couldn’t care what the fans want or what would sale, it’s all about the kickbacks you can get from stores by selling them exclusives.

[@andrewgrant2990]

This was a great video & I really like the deep dive into this mold which I too love. Maybe I missed something, but wasn't there a Japanese exclusive 3 pack Rainmaker set (w/ shiny chrome & a slightly different hue)? Why I ask is because I picked up what I thought was the set (3 seemingly matched Seekers) from a local comic & toy store- only to find out some of the bio cards were inadvertently swapped. I was able to get that fixed, but only to find out that the 3rd Seeker I needed was gone. (Botcon Dirge is still there as of yesterday.) Anyway, the funny part is when I showed my wife the purchases, which included Acid Storm (from another spot), she said "You basically paid all this money for the same toy?" No, they are different characters. :)

[@ronbondujon9690]

I know the pain 😂. I’ll never forget having to explain my seeker shelf to my roommate, he thought they were all just Starscream. As for the Japanese Rainmakers, I’m not sure. I know it’s not listed on TFwiki and never came up in my research, but there’s a lot of toys that fall between the cracks. However, I will say that I know there were a ton of luxury knockoffs of the Classics Seekers from places like Taiwan. They made characters like Sunstorm and the other rainmakers years before BotCon. We found out in the last few years that a factory used by Takara essentially just made their own seekers using the molds and then made knock off packaging. One of Thew’s older Knock-Off Beat-Downs had the Sunstorm. I’m not saying you have a KO, but you potentially might. At the same time, they were from the same factory using the same mold from the same workers, so they’re basically as good as official. Keep in mind, that’s just a shot in the dark on my part.

[@andrewgrant2990]

@@ronbondujon9690 Thanks for the reply! I researched & thought that too (about the KOs), but Transformerland & another site seemed to think they may have been a foreign store exclusive. Maybe I'll post/ send a picture of the 2 @ some point. There are any # of toys that slip thru the cracks, so no worries. I really like this video & will look forward to more of them in the future!

[@ronbondujon9690]

@ I’m hoping this will be a reoccurring series for me!

[@danielpatterson2758]

Great review of these figures. It seems as though Hasbro maybe took this as a cautionary tale when they released the Earthrise Seekers...there is so much potential for repaints and remolds there and I would buy all of them, but its probably never going to happen.

[@ronbondujon9690]

I’m still holding out hope for a Universe Acid Storm deco on the Earthrise Seeker. It was such a wonderful color scheme.

[@GUH-1916]

I know it's a relatively new mold (that we might see more of in the future, who knows) but I would love if you highlighted the Kingdom Airazor mold. It does an articulated beast mode so well and proved that female figures didn't need gigantic backpacks. I own almost all of the figures of the mold and I would say it's my favorite in all of my collection.

[@ronbondujon9690]

I totally agree, I love that figure. The only problem is, there’s only been three uses of it. I’d be interested in looking more into it, but I want to give it a little time and see how this new series pans out.

[@Omar_ZX]

The only other molds of characters that have been reused a decent bit of times, not a ton of times like the classics seeker mold but still they are also starscream molds lmao

[@ronbondujon9690]

There are a few Optimus molds that are probably up there! BW Dinobot as well!

[@youwayo]

Bitstream looks like Thundercracker that is suffering from photo degradation.

[@ronbondujon9690]

Like a Thundercracker that got sun-bleached.

[@Doiboy35]

Universe Acid Storm (along with Silverbolt) were my first Transformers toys of G1 characters. I had just seen the 1986 movie on DVD and knew nothing of Transformers G1 lore outside of it at the time, I just thought it was cool that they were producing new toys of the older designs. I remember thinking the green colorscheme was so cool and I still have it complete on display in my room. I know a lot of people were upset at Hasbro recycling the design for the Earthrise Voyager, but for me, because it was bigger, holding the voyager felt the same as holding the old deluxe back when I was 9. However, I'm still waiting for them to repaint that mold in Acid Storm green. Maybe I'll just buy some Rustoleum and get it over with, but it wouldn't be the same I don't think.

[@ronbondujon9690]

I want to make this clear: I love the Earthrise Seeker and I want as many of these characters using that mold. I want Acid Storm so badly. I’d kill to see him as a voyager.

[@Doiboy35]

@@ronbondujon9690 A Thundercracker and Skywarp reprint wouldn't hurt either! It's funny because I remember watching older reviews of the deluxe and one complaint I saw many times was that it was too small. Then, when the Earthrise figure came out the complaint I saw even some of those older reviewers had was that it was just the deluxe but bigger. Granted, I know what they mean as the voyager isn't perfect (could use better hip skirt, more Siege style joints, improved distribution, etc) but I still think it was a funny observation.

[@ronbondujon9690]

@ Just no pleasing some people I guess 😂

[@OPrime_Edits]

Honestly, I've seen one of the classics Starscream molds (I think it was Acidstorm)

[@ronbondujon9690]

The best one.

[@G0NZ-b9y]

When I got this mold as Thundercracker, I was surprised that the cockpit cabin in his chest was actually the real one from airplane mode. I wish I had Skywarp and Starscream. It has better proportions than the Masterpiece

[@ronbondujon9690]

Totally agree! I love how chonky they are, and the larger guns work so well!

[@G0NZ-b9y]

@ronbondujon9690 The large guns are the only thing I didn’t like. aside that, they feel really cartoony, whereas the masterpiece had disproportionate limbs and head.

[@ronbondujon9690]

@ Plus, nightmare transformation.

[@bigdaddyreviews2094]

Can you do a video on the many releases and repaints for the g1 Bruticus figure?

[@ronbondujon9690]

He’s definitely had a ton!

[@MetalRex92]

You forgot to mention that the classic Starscream had inspired Earthrise Starscream, which that figure gets a lot of hate for some reason.

[@gaylordfocker7990]

And SS86 Starscream and every other seeker and conehead. It's a crap looking figure at Voyager scale. Hasbro needs to retire it and give us fresh SS86 seekers. Not this fugly figure with kibble and greeble all over robot mode. It looks and feels like a cheap Authentics figure.

[@ronbondujon9690]

…I really like the Earthrise voyager 🥲I do agree we need a new mold, but that’s honestly more just for the sake of character availability over disliking the mold.

[@ronbondujon9690]

I actually had a bit where I talked about that, but I didn’t want to spend too much time on a mold I might make an entire video about later.

[@TFAutobotRedAlert]

0:17 red alert red alert red alert red alerttttt

[@robertbetschman9499]

Wooo woooo woooo woooo

[@ronbondujon9690]

🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨

[@TechWizard28]

You dont have to remove any wings or fins on G1 Starscream. Just the hands and landong gear.

[@ronbondujon9690]

Fair, but removing the wings does make it easier. Perhaps I’d be better served just saying removing the wings was a common, but unneeded, shortcut.

[@TechWizard28]

After seeing thr tiny masterpiece optimus from Magic Square, I know its possible to get a perfect F-15 jet to turn into a toon accurate Starscream in CHUG scale.

[@ronbondujon9690]

Yep, and there’s a few that come close! Hot Soldiers have a really awesome seeker that’s just a inch shorter than the classics.

[@TechWizard28]

@@ronbondujon9690 I'll check it out

[@panelvixen]

20 years and no Leader-1.

[@ronbondujon9690]

Breaks my heart. They’re literally the same jet!

[@Charletale]

Please do every toy of sixshot

[@ronbondujon9690]

I’d love to someday! I’ll make sure he’s on the list!

[@Transformers_photography]

"Aaaahahhhhhhhhhhhhh" starscream In every show he's in I'm on my second acc cause my mains out of battery Also what do you think of the re-release of tripticon?

[@ronbondujon9690]

It looks awesome! I don’t need it… but I am tempted 😂

[@valarmathypalpanaban7928]

Classics SG thundercracker is literally a crossover with DC Joker lol.

[@ronbondujon9690]

Did you see that Mastermind Creations made a Joker Transformer? It’s a remold of Chromedome!

[@valarmathypalpanaban7928]

@ronbondujon9690 wait, really? I gotta check it out!

[@ronbondujon9690]

@@valarmathypalpanaban7928 Yep! It goes with the Batman they made a few years ago!

[@valarmathypalpanaban7928]

@ronbondujon9690 that is so cool!

[@quocd5580]

Sold / gave the classics Screamer molds away. Replacing them w/ igear raptor seekers, reactivate Screamer (best mold), triology Cybertron Seekers.

[@ronbondujon9690]

Makes sense! Even still, you can never take away the legacy of this mold. Also, I totally agree with your with the Reactivate Screamer. I can’t part with him even so far as to put him on a shelf. I love posing him.

[@sagaverse1466]

Shogo Hasui the goat

[@ronbondujon9690]

For real! His design credits reads like a greatest hits collection.

[@sagaverse1466]

@@ronbondujon9690 you can't go wrong with his design

[@Notchjrgaming1269]

How did classics seeker effect seige seekers as you said it effects every seeker after 2006

[@ronbondujon9690]

Aside from the general repaint strategies, the Siege seeker as a design was expressly made to be the next evolution of the classics seekers, with a focus placed more on their proportions and accessories. The Earthrise Seeker is obviously inspired by Classics Seekers, but the designers did have the Classics Screamer in mind.

[@lareh5501]

I began re-collecting TFs as an adult, well after these molds were at their end life at retail & conventions, so went through the aftermarket tax as I began to collect these seekers. After 17:42, I'm surprised this video didn't touch on the history of the CHMS(?) KOs. Their history was apparently messy, and a part of it was them creating a website to order various color variants, that eventually got taken down... at least that's what I recollect from trying to piece whatever happened (and where to go to try and buy some variants) years ago. Would've been nice if this video made sense of that timeline (or maybe it's too convoluted, even if one was collecting during that time). ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I also remember that seeker mold being oversized to the MP scale. Sirtoys had some gaudy KO colored versions for sale, for cheap, years ago... but alas, that site closed down too. 😕😢 Those OSKO seeker versions had some simplifications, like detatchable wings, and each only came with one null ray, so I bought those in couples. The OSKO seekers with the color scheme of Metalhawk (blue, yellow, red) stays in my mind.

[@ronbondujon9690]

I actually did try to learn about CHMS and put it into the video, but it got increasingly messy. I was also worried that people would start confusing those seekers with the official ones. Basically, we found out that CHMS was operating out of a Takara Tomy factory in Taiwan. They had the molds there, and at least one person in the factory was aware of canon seekers that didn’t have official toys yet. Amongst other things, they did the rainmakers before Botcon, had a more accurate Sunstorm, and made a solid green Acid Storm. It was interesting to learn, but I was worried that it would make the entire video way too convoluted.

[@lareh5501]

@ronbondujon9690 wow, even in that last paragraph of yours, there were additional tidbits that I didn't know about. Thanks! I figured it was a jumbled mess, but sometimes laying out what we do know and then presenting some of the theories/grey areas helps build the blocks to eventually get to the truth. Maybe a separate video that's a bit more open-ended so others could share their insights on the situation? 🤔

[@ronbondujon9690]

@@lareh5501 I was honestly thinking about making a video about well-known KO companies and just theorizing how they came about.

[@JD_raindrop_YT]

Could you do a many toys of the dinobots but mainly sludge if you can

[@ronbondujon9690]

Absolutely! I’ll make sure they’re on the list!

[@LIMITLESS2774]

1:50 so missing link starscream before missing link starscream?

[@ronbondujon9690]

Basically 😂

[@tokuchris]

Eric SEE-BEN-ABLE-ER

[@ronbondujon9690]

The sad thing is, four people have all told me how to pronounce it, using different enunciations all four times 😂. I’m going to try to track down an interview with him just to see how he says it.

[@Thetfreveiwer]

Do one for needlenose where you talk about all his lore

[@ronbondujon9690]

Like a more character-centered thing? Or do you mean all that went into designing his figures?

[@theotakux5959]

While not a perfect match, I got the Robot Wars Skywarp & Thundercracker to go with my Classics Starscream. They were a little smaller, but not so much so that it looked terrible.

[@ronbondujon9690]

I think that would look great! It makes sense to me that Starscream would be slightly different from the other seekers.

[@theotakux5959]

@@ronbondujon9690 Yeah, him being the leader of the Seekers is how I justified the size difference in my head.

[@DavidQueamante]

uhm, agree to disagree on Nacelle. I'm the sort of collector that loves weird catalog-only variants and oddities (like the eHobby Minibots, Screech from the Skids mold, and more). Hasbro could have pumped out at least a handful more of this mold, like Redwing, and the _real_ Rainmaker colors, as well as Black/Death eHobby Starscream and the G2 Sandstorm redeco of Ramjet. Also, I have no issues with the QC on my Nacelle, though I have had plenty of issues with other Fanclub/Funpub Transformers, so maybe that's more of the problem.

[@ronbondujon9690]

That’s much more the point I was trying to make. Nacelle was the innocent victim left with the bag here. TFCC had become so condescending to the fandom, and many of their toys were rife with QC issues even outside of the seekers. Loose joints, sloppy paint, heads that were too big to transform; the figure were rough. Nacelle was a fun design and had better QC than his wave mates, but the tide against the Club wouldn’t be turned.

[@darkspider3050]

With this series you should do spy changers it probably be a long video though

[@ronbondujon9690]

We going to be talking about at least one Spy-Changer mold with the Hot Shot video on Friday!

[@Nostalgic-mt6lr]

Its a joke that Hasbro have not given us a new mold for the seekers

[@ronbondujon9690]

I’m sure there’s one just over the horizon. It’s been about five years, they tend to roll out a new mold around that time lapse.

[@Nostalgic-mt6lr]

@@ronbondujon9690 I hope so, I remember being in one of my local comic shops that happens to sell second hand toys and I saw one of the seekers that was released over 5 years ago but it was a lot smaller but essentially the exact same mold as earthrise and legacy. They just made him voyager size. So this mold is very old and I'm surprised they didn't give us a new mold for SS86 starscream as he is quite a popular character. I remember he didnt sell that well and it may well have been because it was the same shitty mold but with a new hat and accessories.

[@ronbondujon9690]

@ For real! Almost everyone who want an Earthrise Screamer at that point had him, and the chair didn’t do much.

[@harrisonwhaley7872]

Hey just a heads up for when he inevitably comes back up in another video, Eric Siebenaler is pronounced like “See-Ba-Nell-Urr”. At least that’s how I’ve always heard it said as far as I’m aware

[@ronbondujon9690]

Thank you, thank you! Admittedly, I took a shot in the dark here 😂

[@harrisonwhaley7872]

@ oh yeah trust me I get it, I only bothered to share since i figured you’d probably wanna know since he’s inevitably going to be in more episodes with how long he was at Hasbro 😂

[@ronbondujon9690]

@ For real! I glanced at his figure list, the dude got work!

[@bigconvoy9850]

6:30 you mention thrust using starscream's body unlike his two brothers. what do you mean by that? dont they all share the same body?

[@ronbondujon9690]

Poor wording on my part! What I mean is that Thrust’s wings still fold up onto his back, where as Dirge and Ramjet have different backs that lack the transformation hinge since their wings stay on their legs.

[@bigconvoy9850]

@ronbondujon9690 aaah, now i see. Thanks for clearing that up

[@thefirstguyjaek255]

This mold absolutely clears the Earthrise mold. That thing is awful. Those feet, greebling, and silhouette is pure hotdog water

[@ronbondujon9690]

I don’t know, I still like it. That said, it’s not a patch on the tree it came from.

[@blitzvoid_343]

you should do a video like this for the mp10 optimus prime mold

[@ronbondujon9690]

Ooh! That would be cool!

[@lareh5501]

Is there really much more to say than Takara darker blue, Hasbro ligher blue, black nemesis, white magnus, Year of the Horse, the: - OSKO MPP10 (which fixed some things, including the arm to leg ratio), and made a few color variants... - MMP10 which simplified the MPP10 and repeated some of the same color variants, while adding a couple more. - MP10V which downsized the MPP10 to voyager class/size - Lewin which OS'D MPP10 to the 1/12 scale, i.e. matching the size of 6" figures like Marvel Legends, and did a captain America deco with shield (I'm still wondering if those Lewin Resources are or are not bigger than the HasLab Unicron) ...actually, as I think more and more about it, examples like the Bape color variants (red, green, grey(?)), the KOs of them, the Evangelion color schemes, Shattered Glass official and not, orange LeBron homages,... yeah... that MP10 mold merits its own video. 😅

[@ronbondujon9690]

@ Yep! And that’s without also considering the context of it coming from MP-01, and the storied history of Shogo Hasui and his amazing run with Masterpiece.

[@OverlordOfTheRubberDuckies]

a many toys of i'd like to see is that of the abominus terrorcons since i know you are waiting to do bumble bee

[@ronbondujon9690]

Abominus is my favorite combiner; not my favorite team, but my favorite combiner! I’d love to add them to the list!

[@OverlordOfTheRubberDuckies]

@ronbondujon9690 that would be awesome

[@scottduncan5525]

honestly would u count all of the earthrise seekers molds as the same as this because they are almost one to one the same mold, just blown up a bit in scale

[@ronbondujon9690]

I think that could be its own episode, one that could maybe connect back to this one.

[@scottduncan5525]

@@ronbondujon9690 very true, honestly im my opinion, we need a new seeker mold from the metalhawk mold

[@ronbondujon9690]

@ That would be awesome! I didn’t even think about using his body, but it would work!

[@marvelousball]

Many toys of Wheeljack please thanks

[@ronbondujon9690]

I’ll make sure he’s on the list!

[@megagundamva2694]

Wow I'm used to Peemium Bandai milking us but ET-TO Botcon/Hasbro....Et-to!!!

[@ronbondujon9690]

The betrayal is real 😂

[@megagundamva2694]

@@ronbondujon9690 it's MADNESS!!!

[@tylerferguson3193]

Hope you'll have a good day

[@ronbondujon9690]

I hope you did as well, Tyler!

[@ShaneSkaalerud-nk2jk]

Are you sure it was starscream as the first? Diaclone could have had thundercracker or ... Why the hell can't I remember his name??? Skywarp.

[@ronbondujon9690]

Do you mean as a toy or as a character? If you mean the G1 toy, then in diaclone there were the figures that would become Starscream and Thundercracker, released in a 2-Pack. Skywarp was made by Hasbro later. As for who had a character first, it’s Thundercracker. He was originally pegged as the seeker leader, which is also why he was usually front and center in the theme song and the early comics. However, Starscream soon became the leader and second-in-command of the cons.

[@ShaneSkaalerud-nk2jk]

@ronbondujon9690 yeah I was thinking of the generation 1.

[@OURBacon48]

Star sssssssscccccccrrrrreeeeeeaaaaammm

[@ronbondujon9690]

Well, now that Megatron has, how shall we say, departed…

[@aboodbayayda4233]

Next is nemesis Prime

[@ronbondujon9690]

Someday, when the time is right!

[@LIMITLESS2774]

also i finded this guy without a wing and maybe nullrays? should i get him? i found a thrust with the same thing maybe i could buy them both and replace screams wing with thrusts and repaint thrusts wing first too

[@yellowpete79]

Nah

[@ronbondujon9690]

The wings are exactly like Starscream’s, so I don’t know how it would come out. That said, you could always try to customize your own character! That would be awesome to see!

[@drlove1014]

Rip

[@ronbondujon9690]

Yeah, this mold has to be dead now. I don’t even think you could release it any more, not at mass retail.

[@Doopyhpp]

8:44 is he stupid?

[@ronbondujon9690]

😂 Does that means this is Sics Scream