PP03A, E and J Attack, Elegy, Jet, aka Not-Thrust, Dirge and Ramjet (pic heavy) Options

[Dake]

They arrived today (didn't think FedEx worked Saturdays) and all I can say is "Wow"!

Right off the bat I'll say that those who are on the fence but worried about quality I don't think you have anything to worry about. These have the look, feel and (so far) build heft of the real thing and fit right in nicely.

This is mostly pictures as I imagine we are nearly all familiar with the MP Seeker mold on which this is based [completely copied].

First off, packaging: the box is the exact same dimensions of the MP Seekers' give or take a millimeter or two. The interior plastic is the same as well though they added the card board stiffeners to keep it from wrinkling (which my MP TC's plastic did). Placed side by side they make a pretty picture. "Attack's" box was pretty dinged up but the bigger box everyone came in was not so it must have happened on the boat over - the toy was fine.
(IMG:http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/7958/48829513.jpg)

(IMG:http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/5889/21723297.jpg)

(IMG:http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/6025/30874222.jpg)

On to the jets:
(IMG:http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/6057/64377118.jpg)

(IMG:http://img830.imageshack.us/img830/2639/31440699.jpg)

(IMG:http://img842.imageshack.us/img842/4470/52216696.jpg)

(IMG:http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/8423/93928474.jpg)

(IMG:http://img585.imageshack.us/img585/5817/20599299.jpg)

One of the things I never realized from any of the pictures is just how pretty the paint is on these guys. They all have a very subtle metallic sheen to them that doesn't show up well in photos. Elegy/Dirge's wings especially are a very lush, bronze that I was not expecting at all but it looks fantastic. You can just barely tell there's more depth to the paint in the next picture. I don't know how to do it justice other than to say it looks sharp.
(IMG:http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/9792/13047190.jpg)

These guys still have metal in the same places as the originals - the nose gear/connector and the back "rail".
(IMG:http://img849.imageshack.us/img849/5829/68131026.jpg)

Bot mode:
(IMG:http://img542.imageshack.us/img542/5613/19649253.jpg)

The only change to the sculpt (besides the heads of course) are Prime-like wrist communicators. They have one on each arm with only one repeat. These are neat little additions that take nothing away from the toy. I'd be curious to know if these are random assortments or if everyone has the same stickers across all toys.

Onslaught? (IMG:http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/8097/81355227.jpg)

(Ram)jet: (IMG:http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/3710/20575319.jpg)

Shockwave (also on Jet's left arm): (IMG:http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/1778/91804754.jpg)

Thundercracker: (IMG:http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/4580/40348286.jpg)

Megatron: (IMG:http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/4083/75602118.jpg)

All their faces are the same with no swapping or anything. Also, you'll notice their "cones" are painted on, there's no seam or other detail separating the cone from the rest of the head. Fortunately the lines are clean and they all seem to terminate at the same point along the head so it's not like one has a longer appearing cone than another.
(IMG:http://img849.imageshack.us/img849/3071/67820219.jpg)

(IMG:http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/527/76984663.jpg)

and for fun:
(IMG:http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/9250/44933482.jpg)

This post has been edited by Dake: Aug 20 2011, 04:50 PM

[Dake]

Simply put, I have no buyer's remorse about these guys at all and am considering picking up not-Sunstorm. The plastic feel is closer to that of the US MP Seekers than the Takara ones which seem to be made of a more brittle feeling plastic to me. Bearing that in mind, these actually feel sturdier than any of the official ones. Everything is tight with good ratchets. Everything fits together snuggly and holds. MP Thundercracker seemed to be the worst of the bunch as parts such as the nose and back panels didn't necessarily line up well - none of these have those problems. The only tiny issue I had was placing the jets on the stands as they are more tail heavy than any of the official Seekers due to their much larger wings.

I have only two complaints, neither major but issues nonetheless.

First is a QC issue that I can't get too crazy about as I imagine it could happen to an official product as well. It's still a nuisance considering the price though. I can't say it makes me not recommend these either because I could be the only one it happened to. One of the screw covers is completely missing on Jet. It's nowhere in the box so it must have disappeared somewhere in the production run.

(IMG:http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/7113/oopsf.jpg)

I'll follow up once I find out how hard (if possible at all) it is to get that piece replaced.

The other complaint are the legs. I studied all the pre-production photos and it really looked to me like they adjusted the tails of the aircraft to make up for the fact that they stick out further than the engine nacelles.

* Edit: I just learned they did adjust them - the whole piece slides up so they can stand normally. Woot!

(IMG:http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/9707/17756672.jpg)

Lastly more an odd note than anything else but there are no instructions. I guess they figure no one would be buying these that didn't already have the regular MPs but still sort of weird.

I'll continue this post with some of their accessories like the comic books and stickers. As for the other stuff, it's all the same as the MPs: flight stand, regular missiles, gun-Megatron clip and Dr Archeville.

This post has been edited by Dake: Aug 21 2011, 12:59 PM

[Dake]

The comics:
(IMG:http://img713.imageshack.us/img713/7932/comics0001.jpg)

(IMG:http://img832.imageshack.us/img832/7479/comics0002.jpg)

(IMG:http://img825.imageshack.us/img825/1355/comics0003.jpg)

(IMG:http://img844.imageshack.us/img844/6914/comics0004.jpg)

(IMG:http://img593.imageshack.us/img593/126/comics0005.jpg)

(IMG:http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/756/comics0006.jpg)

Are they hiding from Unicron there?

This post has been edited by Dake: Aug 20 2011, 06:09 PM

[Dake]

(IMG:http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/3886/comics0007.jpg)

(IMG:http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/383/comics0008.jpg)

(IMG:http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/4177/comics0009.jpg)

Each bot comes with a ton of stickers. Basically, every tiny little jet detail that was a tampo on the Hasbro/Takara versions is a little sticker on these. They also each come with one sheet of character-specific stickers so I scanned those along with the tech-spec cards. The reverse side of the card just has a bigger picture of the bot and they are made out of credit card grade plastic.
(IMG:http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/9818/mpnotseekercards.jpg)

The individual stickers are pretty neat if not really useful on these - I can easily see putting them on some Joe toys or something. Meanwhile, I'll probably have to pick up some reprolabel symbols or something.

This post has been edited by Dake: Aug 20 2011, 05:25 PM

[DINOBOT SLUDGE]

Neato, thanks for the thorough notes on these. Sucks about the legs, I was really hoping the modified the length of the tail fins. I think I still might bite though.

[Dake]

Neato, thanks for the thorough notes on these. Sucks about the legs, I was really hoping the modified the length of the tail fins. I think I still might bite though.

I just edited my review - the downside to no instructions is you can miss things and apparently I completely missed the fact they DID change the legs. The whole side piece slides up and down on the outer calf so they can stand normally after all.

[Bainreese]

Where did you pick them up?

[Dake]

Where did you pick them up?

I used Tfsource as shipping with them was way cheaper despite the earlier, lower preorder price from Igear direct. That being said, I just preordered Not-Sunstorm and yeah - based on the quality of these, Not-Ironhide - from Igear as the price was better and they have free shipping now.

This post has been edited by Dake: Aug 21 2011, 07:01 PM

[Llwynoh]

They look great, my finances are furious at you for this review (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-waspy.gif)

[DINOBOT SLUDGE]

Neato, thanks for the thorough notes on these. Sucks about the legs, I was really hoping the modified the length of the tail fins. I think I still might bite though.

I just edited my review - the downside to no instructions is you can miss things and apparently I completely missed the fact they DID change the legs. The whole side piece slides up and down on the outer calf so they can stand normally after all.

Brilliant! Bought.

[BB Shockwave]

I am only not buying these because of my hatred of the MP Starscream mold. It is a pain to transform and pop everything to place, and in robot mode, he is prone to falling over. I am happy with the smaller Henkei/Generations coneheads. Otherwise, these indeed look like true masterpieces.

This post has been edited by BB Shockwave: Aug 29 2011, 04:15 AM

[Spark]

The Engrish going on especially in Ramjet's comic is kind of hilarious.