KOToys has posted new images of Blaze Master, a deluxe autobot figure from Transformers Revenge of The Fallen. With markings for “Channel 7 Action News”, and a sleek helicopter alt mode, this autobot flies sky high from the smoke and ashes of battles below.
Click on the title bar to see one of the only airborne autobots from the main line!
Autobot Burnout
Hmmm, might pick it up, depends if I have money and nothing else better to buy. The legs don't bug me to be honest, and the hands are fine too (I love movie Incinerator, who essentialy a cybertronian Edward Scissorhands, just replace the scissors with huge sharp propelers of death). I also like the head, personaly.
AniProwl
Besides the chicken legs and crab claws, I'll buy it.
SMOG
In that case, not to worry… you're doing very well considering.
Well, "more humanoid" is not necessarily the same thing as "exactly like a G1 animation model".
Now that I've mentioned some of the aspects I would have preferred, and also discussed the Breakaway design, you probably have a better idea of what I mean.
Fair enough. We all have our opinions… but the argument/debate comes when we try to express why we think it should be that way, in objective terms. I certainly can't fault you for liking the design… but I can disagree with some of the reasons that you give for it being a "good" design in the context of the film.
Yeah… after the piece of junk the first Starscream mold was, you guys deserve something better, at least.
zmog
knoted
Sorry, english is not my first language….
Sorry, but you weren't really saying what you would deem a great design for him in specifics ; so I can only guess at what you would precisely want to see.
I give up on this argument game I'm just saying from my honest pov how I feel about the design. If you can't see or acknowledge that, then the convo kind of ends here.
Well, at least….. the fans who like movie Screamer…at least we got him in 2 movies & 2 toy molds…and the upcoming leader class version
SMOG
Some of the new designs do fare better at incorporating a strong visual connective motif between the 2 modes… in the case of Starscream, however, I think they carried over the least visually attractive aspect of the F22 in order to make a misshapen looking robot with goofy proportions.
I think you mean "distinctive" or "unmistakable" , not "indistinguishable", since that means sort of the opposite of what you are getting at.
And I agree with your point comparing Starscream to Megatron… though part of that is because Megatron's alt mode is already pretty unrecognizable to begin with.
The weak decision would be another Silver Bolt : blocky bot with jetbackpack.
You seem to be reading my comments, but you should work on your comprehension. I think you would like peg my opinions into a convenient "geewunner" pigeonhole, so you're basically making stuff up and pretending I said it… but that doesn't really advance your point at all. Try again.
Starscream looks like a big messy gorilla with bird legs. You can exclaim all you want over how "exciting" that design is, but in the end, even within the parameters allowed for Bayformers, I think they could have done a lot better for Starscream. Something sharper and sleeker, with a looming wingspan, maybe? More avian, less simian? Something alien that still conveys a languid speed and power without sacrificing elegance? And yes… something more humanoid, perhaps? For all the "bestial" influences on Bayformer Monstercons (er, Decepticons), I believe they are most inappropriate for Starscream… at least in as much as Movie Starscream is still fundamentally the same character as his G1 self (much as Prime, Jazz, Megatron, etc… all reflect their original personas).
True. Too bad they didn't choose appropriately for Starscream.
Er… no. Still a monkey… or perhaps a chimp? Bonecrusher was basically a chimp on rollerblades.
Again, I think you're reading too much into it. Starscream had embarrassingly little screen time, and barely any character development in TF1. Ask a viewer with no pre-existing awareness of Transformers what they got from Starscream, and I can pretty much guarantee you won't get much of anything, let alone a emotive portrait of traditional Starscream traits.
Interesting, when one considers that there's a world of difference between those two designs. Personally, I think the Breakway design would have made a great starting point for Starscream, though his proportions are a bit heavy, and he would emote Starscream's haughtiness better with a higher placed and more articulated head.
Which curiously didn't impede the very-humanoid Autobots from bounding around like a troop of Cirque de Soleil tumblers.
A lot of fans tend to try to rationalize the Bayformer designs on the basis of pragmatic concerns and perceived "realism" when the truth of the matter is that those aesthetics are as defined by whim and style as any oldschool bots. Starscream had bird legs not because he needed them to hop around like a sparrow or seize prey like a hawk, but because the designers wanted to make him birdlike (and apparently apelike as well), and that idea informed their design process. In actual fact, there's no reason he should be any less humanoid than Prime or Megatron.
I would say that there's no reason for him to caper like a fashion model in order to convey human notions of vanity or arrogance, but in a movie where Jazz breakdances, Bumblebee bounces like Muhammad Ali, and Ironhide handsprings like a Peking Opera performer, I don't think you have a bird-leg to stand on.
And that's not even stopping to consider what antics Mudflap and Skids will no doubt be up to in the next film, or what kind of "feminine" posturing the bike triplets will do. Jetfire's got a friggin' robo-stache and A CANE, and gripes like an old man while scratching his ass! Talk about human mannerisms!
And you're trying to argue that an inhuman bird-monkey-like model is the only sensible option for Starscream? It is to laugh.
What do you want me to say? Yes… Blazemaster does look even stupider than Starscream. And the Unicycle-bots are some of the ugliest excuses for Transformers I've ever seen. Agreed. Got me there.
I agree. His bird legs bother me… but if he had better arms and bodily proportions, this might still be on my "to buy" list. I bought Dropkick in the first Movie line, and I loved it. Instead, Blazemaster just looks like a half-assed, unfinished concept.
zmog
darfjono
that's what the premium releases are for
Terrorcon Blot
And segueing from legs, I'm a little sad that Blaze Master appears to have lost his gold legs from the Hasbro stock photography. While the white isn't a bad color, and it matches all the other white on him, I just liked the gold for an even stronger Blaze Master tribute.
Alexander Quinn
Eh. Weird ass legs I can deal with. Only getting one finger and having it made useless by being entombed in kibble makes me cranky. Unless the "hands" can be brought out more, then I'm thinking 'no'.
knoted
I disagree. The fragment-shrapnel aesthetic ( & having car bonnets split up in two 45 degree angles, to form a chest / torso ) is an ailment of some of the TFTM 1 designs.
Starscream however, was an exception to that already and so he already 'previews' the improvements of the new ROTF character designs ; see all the new ROTF characters for reference.
Strong designs usually have indistinguishable silhouettes ( think Mickey Mouse with the iconic Mickey ears ) ; movie Starscream has that ; his diamond shape, just like the F22 raptor ; thus it a very strong design decision. (He's certainly not looking like a shrapnel fragmented TF1 Megatron.)
The weak decision would be another Silver Bolt : blocky bot with jetbackpack.
Sorry, but I think you misread me there. I said it is appropiate to his actions, in robot mode ; I refered to the aerial scene where SS slashes through the F22 squadron while he's in flying/jumping robot mode.
It's called Transformation. Something which Transformers do.
You probably mean, you would rather see an altmode shape which only has to extend & pop out a few blocky parts in a very linear & straightforward manner, for 'transformation'…..
I disagree. Even so, there are a lot of animal behaviour sets & articulation which emote to us a human ; a Praying Mantis, spread Eagle, proud like a Peacock, etc etc.
Also, I don't think he moves like a monkey. He's more like a slashing kind of creature…. an airborne version of Bonecrusher who slashed through that truck on the highway.
..which still depends on which G1 traits those people deemed most prevalent. Despite the lack of Decepticon textlines of the first movie, SS definitely emoted that to me.
Wasn't one of the main character designers a Japanese guy contracted by ILM ? (aside from Ben Proctor) Correct me if I got that wrong, but if that's the case it explains a lot. Just look at ROTF Breakaway ; another design I really like ; which has some anime mecha influences such as a torso which kind of reminds me of Macross Valkeries in gerwalk mode. It's neatly integrated into the F35 mode aesthetic he's supposed to represent and imo, that's a nice touch.
Like someone else said in this thread : those kind of legs have traits which are more favourable for such leaping & landing actions, the way movie Screamer performs them.
The human skeletal & muscular system is like a jack of all trades ; master of none. Hence, it is a pretty logical & ideal decision to choose for the way movie Starscream is. Why would he need to 'parade/ cat walk' like a self obsessed metrosexual fashion model ? He doesn't. Instead, he jumps up transforms, and takes out his enemies with slashing melee action, then lands down again sliding into ground battle (the scene where Ironhide goes "It's Stahhh-scream !") . …..
Thus, he doesn't need a humanoid leg structure.
Besides, we now see many more ROTF bots with similar chicken legs … and even weirder ones than Starscream's ; see this Blaze Master…
…and then there was the phenomenon, Wheelbots…
SMOG
I'm not sure if you actually are understanding which one of us is contradicting himself. Saying that Starscream's diamond-shape in robot mode reflects his F22 Raptor shape only points out how arbitrary that decision is… as MOST of the other movie designs, as a point of principal, break down into such tiny fragmented forms, that there are almost no recognizable shapes or chunks of alt mode that carry through to the robot mode. Having SS's 2 forms echo each other is a whim of the designer, not something dictated by any underlying design aesthetic (other than "bad guys = bestial" which is a pretty superficial approach, really).
Again, no… you were saying that bird-like legs are appropriate to his aerial alt mode. I was pointing out that since he radically transforms his entire body from one distinct form to another, having "bird-legs" in his robot mode is irrelevant. He can have any kind of legs he wants. There is no particular internally logical reason that bird legs would be favoured over any other. The only reason we see it that way is because we humans associate birds with flying things… an association lost on giant alien robots.
Hilarious. You're trying really hard, aren't you? Where you see Starscream-esque narcissism, most people simply see boisterous simian movements. To convey an aloof, preening, arrogant body language, there are far more human-like (and yes, even bird-like) gestures that would suit the character… instead, inarguably, Bay's Starscream looks and moves like a monkey.
I think MOST people, both those who liked the Movie and those who didn't, would disagree with that point on Starscream. That design does have its fans, no question, but in terms of capturing the essence of the character, I think it's a miss.
I do. Michael Bay is the prominent iconic creative driving force behind this particular, distinctly different, incarnation of Transformers… lock, stock and barrel. A director must be considered to be responsible for the vision of his film. I see no problem with nicknaming this variety of Transformers as "Bayformers".
If it bothers you because you see it as somehow a derogatory term reflecting the evident hubris in Bay's attitude towards reinventing the franchise, well… that's just a bonus.
Yeah… "digitigrade" is formally more accurate… but good luck. People will go with the analogy that is most obvious or evocative for them. Digitigrade legs may be common among animals, but birds are pretty much the only bipedal digitigrades, and since the "digitigrade" design is most prevalent on the aerial Bayformers, and clearly aiming at avian associations, "bird-legs" is pretty much how people are going to see it.
Or if they want to rob the design of more dignity, "chicken-legs". Editorialism is hard to avoid on the internet.
zmog
Caterwaul
I wish people would actually use 'Digitigrade' instead of 'chicken legs'. Considering most legged animals above the reptile level have digitigrade leg structure, it's not like birds have a monopoly on the design. On an engineering/design level, animals have the leg structures they do for very specific reasons. Robots with similar fuctions would have similar leg structures. It makes engineering sense.
The hands though…those need work.
Fort Max
Not bad at all, I like how they've folded up the entire tail, far too many chopper bots of lines past have just had it as one massive piece of plastic.
I don't feel it's a must have though, I might pick it up at some point.
knoted
So, basically you just stomp the movie designs again…trying to argument it as if your logic, rooted in your aesthetic preference, makes more sense….
So, now you say it is irrelevant whether he has more humanoid legs or not. Contradicting yourself.
Besides, the dogfight sequence over Mission City was completely awesome. Yes, he turns into a plane but the way he is built with those jet engines on his back enable him to fly in botmode and at the same time slash through those F22's in a beasty awesome way. And yes, it's animated with such fluid grace that it directly reflects the narcistic nature of G1 Starscream. Same applies to the acrobatic flip turn at the Hooverdam bridge.
Ok, I'll go out on a limb here, stating that imo, he's one of the BEST designs. (Along with Jetfire, Sideways, the Constructicons etc etc.)
C'mon, I don't think Bay was the one behind this design concept. You wanna generalize all movie bots, tagging them Bayformers ?
shroobmaster
All I know is that movie Starscream design looks damned cool in my opinion, and that's all that matters to me when I'm at the toy store.
Now Blazemaster is a whole different story, I think he's ugly all around, shape and color-wise, I'll just buy one and give to a friend's kid to make the shelves less ugly.
SMOG
errr… hence my derogatory nickname for him above… GorillaChickenKite. I'm not sure what you're arguing… He looks like some sort of ape mixed with a kite, with tiny little bird legs. He's already a pretty radical departure from "regular" TFs in general, and for a name character like Starscream, all the more so.
Because as a Transformer who changes into a plane, having proper legs as opposed to bird legs in robot mode is completely irrelevant to his flying ability. Birds are "designed" the way they are because of specific functions and limitations of their biology. Transforming into a jet is not really a bird trait.
No, he was able to do that because the animation team animated him doing so, which they could have done just as easily working from a humanoid base, or even an intermediate "gerwalk" configuration. The form/function aspect of it is really unimportant . Computer generated characters "do" what they are made to do. Either way, it's not an especially credible sequence, but we allow a suspension of disbelief based on the fantastical premise of transforming alien robots.
LOL! Which is funny since the entire structure rearranges unnecessarily itself to this end, just as the Autobot models also have next to no large recognizable car structures in their designs. The bird motif is a conceit, nothing more.
Honestly, I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with incorporating a "bird of prey" theme into a Seeker design… however I think they completely nerfed the design in this case. Overall, I have to say that Bayformer Starscream is probably my least favoured of ALL the Movie designs… except maybe Megatron, who in addition to having a fairly meaningless robot mode (a man covered in shrapnel with dental tools for hands?), also lacks a credible or recognizable alt mode. Flying pair of scissors? Pile of wreckage with tank treads? Hmmm… must have been hard to engineer that transformation.
You mean that awkward, ugly toy I picked up purely due to his having a relatively mundane car alt-mode, and because I thought I MIGHT be able to wring some kind of kitbash value out of him, and then gave up, and dumped him in a box of spare parts?
I think I'll skip that this time around, and just avoid Blazemaster altogether, like I did for half the first movie line. Being a completist is for bozos who don't actually care whether they like something, just so long as they have ALL of them.
zmog
big hank
I'm waiting for a video review. I'll most likely get him, there are so few deluxe whirly-birds in the TF world. May end up a decent Blades for a ROTF Defensor with a bit of help.
Brawlastator
Oh, man. This guy is hilarious! I gotta pick this guy up so he can hang out with to Breakaway.
I'm sure all of you who're shitting all over this toy will pick him up and probably end up loving him. He looks like the new "Movie Swindle" of ROTF.
knoted
It's still a very opinionated argument. I see Starscream and the actual bulk of his torso is the mid section, basically the canopy.
He hasn't really got a bulky gorilla torso : viewed from the side – en profil – he's basically thin like a kite.
And yes, there's logic to his legs too ; if big bulky legs are analogue to big heavy armoured human warriors boots, why would a flying warrior want to wear those heavy armoured boots instead of lightweight sleek shoes ?
Besides, the skeletal bone structure of such bird-like legs creates for increased leaping & landing abilities, compared to human legs ; that's why he could was able to tear up those F22's in movie 1, jumping from one to the other in flying botmode.
Aesthetics-wise ; the robot mode interpretes the diamond shapes of the F22 altmode perfectly. I'm glad this F22 SS doesn't turn into a straightlined blocky former with jetbackpack kibble.
But yeah, to each his own, I think he's a brilliant design and this Blaze Master is pretty cool too.
shroobmaster
That is extremely true.
It's like HASBRO and Takara designs heard Bay saying to Hasbro's CEO (yeah the designs are going to be really alien in this movie) and started to exagerate beyond proportions what "alien-like" is.
Compare BLAZEMASTER to Blackout or Springer, see a difference? Yeah, their transformation is convicing.
Terrorcon Blot
I'd agree with you, if this wasn't so blatantly Blazemaster.