Armada Starscream interview

Another figure I've wanted for quite some time is Armada Starscream, so I asked another of my friends to give an interview for him.

Miraging:: How tall is he compared to Universe Ratchet?
Shadow: Off the top of my head I'd say Universe ratchet comes up to like... midchestish area? He's rather big.
Miraging: Oh, he is big.
Miraging: How's the alt-mode fit together?
Shadow: It's not all that difficult a transformation. (If I can brainlessly figure it out--mostly--it's easy. I'm hopeless at figuring out how to transform them 8) I have a little difficulty getting his legs to fold properly under his wings but uh, that could be because I'm probably doing it wrong.
Miraging: But he holds together nicely, no gaps or anything?
Shadow: Yeah.
Miraging: Okay.
Miraging: How's poseability in mech mode?
Shadow: Oops, he's missing a cannon, it seems. Anyway, he's easy to get standing solidly as long as you remember to fold out the stabalizer things on his feet (unlike G1 Star who you have to put in weird positions to get to stand upright at all), but he's very topheavy so that makes posing difficult sometimes if you aren't careful balancing him.
Miraging: Okay.
Miraging: Where is he ball-jointed?
Shadow: Hm~ hips and shoulders it seems
Miraging: Okay. No waist?
Shadow: His waist kind of... how do you put this. Locks into place underneath in robot mode--when transforming him you pop it free to give his legs room to bend around underneath him in his alt-mode.
Shadow: If that makes sense.
Miraging: Oh, I see.
Miraging: Okay, so any complaints about him or anything you really like?
Shadow: My only real complaint is trying to transform him or just handle him in general and hitting the button on his cockpit that makes shooting noises. I never really was one for noisy toys.
Shadow: Other than that I really like him.
Miraging: What was the price on him?
Shadow: Uh... I honestly don't know. He was a Christmas gift from my brother, who bought him a long time ago when HE was into collecting the toys.
defectionpendin Ohhh, I see.
Miraging: So I suppose I can't ask you about the condition of the paint when it was new XD
Miraging: Is he loose anywhere in mech mode, or does he hold together?
Shadow: well his shoulder cannons tend to pop off, it seems. And his wing, but that's supposed to do that and become his sword.
Miraging: Ahh, right. So he has the working wingblade?
Shadow: Yeah.
Miraging: Awesome.
Shadow: It just pops off and unfolds.
Miraging: Sweet. I love that feature for him.

Alas, she had to go off to bed, but that figure is on my "once you get a job, must buy" list along with ROTF Sideswipe, Soundwave and Knockout and Binaltech Mirage, so hopefully I'll have it soon enough and can do a video review of my own.

Revenge of the Fallen Sideswipe figure interview

Many thanks to my friend Naaly, who recently purchased Sideswipe, whom I've been wanting to get and, so far, have been unable to. I pulled her aside for a short interview about him.


Miraging: Okay so, how tall is he compared to, say, Voyager Prime?
Naaly: Um... about his waist.
Naaly: He's not very tall
Naaly: Sorry, just transformed him and posed him upright.
Miraging: Awesome.
Miraging: So, how tall is he?
Naaly: 6-7 inches by very rough guesstimate. (Later measured, he's about 6.)
Miraging: Short, huh.
Miraging: Wow.
Miraging: Okay.
Miraging: Alt-mode fit together nicely?
Naaly: Yup, some parts are finicky and may not snap together well if you have no idea what you're doing, but when everything's in place he looks pretty damn smooth.
Miraging: Rolls well?
Naaly: Yup.
Miraging: Awesome. Okay, for the mech mode, is there anything you really like about it?
Naaly: Overall sexiness and he is pretty sturdy on his feet. Anyway you pose him he looks damn cool.
Miraging: So he's pretty poseable?
Naaly: Yup, you can bend both of his knees to an extent, his head turns almost 360 degrees -- I didn't want to reaaally twist his head around in case I break him, and his arms can bend at the elbow and shoulder for a wide range of poses.
Miraging: Right. So there're ball joints at the knees and elbows and shoulders? What about his hips and/or waist?
Naaly: His legs are attached pretty niftily to his torso by this weird little ball joint, but they can only move so far to the side and to the front.
Miraging: Okay.
Miraging: Any complaints in general?
Naaly: I have this feeling his joints might become a little rickety if transformed too often, but right now he's a pretty sturdy bugger. (Oh, and his damn hood is a biznatch to fold back properly ffffff).
Miraging: All right-- would the hood be easy to snap off, or is it just difficult?

(While Naaly was working with Sideswipe's chest piece, I went searching for a solution to her problem, and found this: "And here's one to keep Sideswipe's chest from unlatching constantly. You just need to create some pressure by sticking something about the thickness of a playing card or two in the gap where the windshield folds down against his back, thus jutting the chest forward a bit and the latch works.")

Naaly: If you're reaaaaaaaaaaally frustrated.
Miraging: Okay. XD
Miraging: Okay, does he have any weapons? And do mine eyes deceive me or are those doorwings on his back?
Naaly: They look like it, but it's the front parts of the hoods that don't really go anywhere on the figure.
Miraging: Ohh, I see.
Miraging: They look all right, though? Not like the Animated twins and Safeguard. >.<

Naaly: they look pretty cool, almost like they're supposed to be there all along.
Miraging: Good.
Miraging: So, weapons?
Naaly: Armblades of awesome <3
Miraging: Wrist blades are awesome.
Miraging: Oh-- and on a side note, did Voyager Prime come with his two blades?
Naaly: No, only his two smokestacks that can be converted into cannons.
Miraging: Damn.
Naaly: Leader Prime has the blades.
Miraging: Ahh, I see.
Miraging: I want Leader Prime, then.
Naaly: He's pretty big.
Miraging: Price on Sideswipe was $12.99?
Naaly: Yes.
Naaly: No, $11.99.
Miraging: Ah--
Miraging: Where-- WalMart?
Naaly: Yup.
Miraging: Mmhmm. And he has a battlemask?
Miraging: Faceplate.
Naaly: Yes.

And that pretty much wrapped it up <3