Lately I've taken a second look at the 2008 Universe version of Sunstreaker, and bar some weirdness with the shoulders, I like it. Poseable, with spoiler and accessories, solid in hand, and very much evocative of Sunstreaker as a character. The automorph head reveal, and the dual use as his brother Sideswipe just put him over the top. I'm thinking of picking up the MP, but I wonder if I'd get more satisfaction out of it than I do from Universe.

Which version of Sunstreaker is your favorite?

On Friday, February 3, 2023 at 12:02:59 PM UTC-7, Codigo Postal wrote:

> Which version of Sunstreaker is your favorite?

Sunstreaker is a character for whom I don't feel like we've yet gotten a definitive, be-all-and-end-all version.

The Earthrise version is very good, and while I'm not a hundred percent happy with the way they designed his arms, he's still perfectly adequate. The Universe toy you mention was good for the time period, and the inside-out Sideswipe transformation was clever, but I strongly dislike the way the tail light chunks just hang over the sides of their legs, and he's not Geewun enough for my liking.

The Masterpiece toy is... it's so complicated. Like, in my mind, it's the second-most complex official Transformers toy ever engineered, second only to Masterpiece Megatron. If you want a good, cartoon-looking Sunstreaker to sit on your shelf, and you never plan on touching it (which is exactly what I do), then he's boffo. But the actual transformation made me burst some blood vessels in my brain. I have aneurysms just thinking about picking him up and trying to figure him out again.

Honestly, I have a deep fondness for the G1 toy as well. He's so iconic, as arguably the first Transformer ever designed, and he has a simple charm to him despite his rather long monkey arms. You can easily remove the support strut on the back of his legs to separate them, and it doesn't negatively affect his vehicle mode or transformation at all.

Zob (have we really NEVER gotten a Legends-sized or Core-class Sunstreaker? It's a crime, I tells ya)

On Friday, February 3, 2023 at 1:02:59 PM UTC-6, Codigo Postal wrote:
> Lately I've taken a second look at the 2008 Universe version of Sunstreaker, and bar some weirdness with the shoulders, I like it. Poseable, with spoiler and accessories, solid in hand, and very much evocative of Sunstreaker as a character. The automorph head reveal, and the dual use as his brother Sideswipe just put him over the top. I'm thinking of picking up the MP, but I wonder if I'd get more satisfaction out of it than I do from Universe.
>
> Which version of Sunstreaker is your favorite?

1. Masterpiece Sunstreaker. Yes he's ridiculously over-complicated. It's why I love him. I also love him more every time I hear someone else complain about him.
2. Earthrise Sunstreaker - Well actually I like the mold used on Spin-out and Cordon, but the Sunstreaker is still pretty good.
3 and 4 are kinda tied between 2008 Universe and the original G1 Sunstreakers. I like them both. The different transformation of the Universe toy I love, I regularly compare it to the T30 Springer/Sandstorm retool, only they din't need to go as far.
5 is the Binaltech Sunstreaker. He' not supposed to be a Dodge Viper, it's just wrong.

I'm surprised we haven't gotten more Sunstreaker, there's more than 4 times as many Sideswipe toys.

On Friday, February 3, 2023 at 8:01:42 PM UTC-5, Ob1k...@att.net wrote:
> On Friday, February 3, 2023 at 1:02:59 PM UTC-6, Codigo Postal wrote:
> > Lately I've taken a second look at the 2008 Universe version of Sunstreaker, and bar some weirdness with the shoulders, I like it. Poseable, with spoiler and accessories, solid in hand, and very much evocative of Sunstreaker as a character. The automorph head reveal, and the dual use as his brother Sideswipe just put him over the top. I'm thinking of picking up the MP, but I wonder if I'd get more satisfaction out of it than I do from Universe.
> >
> > Which version of Sunstreaker is your favorite?
> 1. Masterpiece Sunstreaker. Yes he's ridiculously over-complicated. It's why I love him. I also love him more every time I hear someone else complain about him.

I've been wary of Masterpieces ever since getting Megatron 2.0, which I've transformed back and forth once, and have sworn off doing ever again.

Then again, I transformed Kingdom Rhinox the other day without help, so I'm feeling cocky. Maybe MP Sunstreaker should be next on my hit parade.

> 2. Earthrise Sunstreaker - Well actually I like the mold used on Spin-out and Cordon, but the Sunstreaker is still pretty good.
> 3 and 4 are kinda tied between 2008 Universe and the original G1 Sunstreakers. I like them both. The different transformation of the Universe toy I love, I regularly compare it to the T30 Springer/Sandstorm retool, only they din't need to go as far.

Has anyone tried out the Zhong Jin/KO G1 Sunstreaker? I see him on AliExpress and have been tempted to take the plunge.

> 5 is the Binaltech Sunstreaker. He' not supposed to be a Dodge Viper, it's just wrong.

Poor Combiner Wars Sunstreaker, lost in the shuffle again.

> I'm surprised we haven't gotten more Sunstreaker, there's more than 4 times as many Sideswipe toys.

I feel like the twins benefit from being part of the Season 1 cast, because they had more personality in their techspecs than they ever displayed in either the cartoon or the comic.

On Friday, February 3, 2023 at 2:41:11 PM UTC-5, Zobovor wrote:
> On Friday, February 3, 2023 at 12:02:59 PM UTC-7, Codigo Postal wrote:
>
> > Which version of Sunstreaker is your favorite?
> Sunstreaker is a character for whom I don't feel like we've yet gotten a definitive, be-all-and-end-all version.
>
> The Earthrise version is very good, and while I'm not a hundred percent happy with the way they designed his arms, he's still perfectly adequate. The Universe toy you mention was good for the time period, and the inside-out Sideswipe transformation was clever, but I strongly dislike the way the tail light chunks just hang over the sides of their legs, and he's not Geewun enough for my liking.

He doesn't look like Sunstreaker to me, which is my stated reason for not picking him up. My actual reason is that I forgot to preorder him, and he was out of stock by the time I got around to it.

>
> The Masterpiece toy is... it's so complicated. Like, in my mind, it's the second-most complex official Transformers toy ever engineered, second only to Masterpiece Megatron. If you want a good, cartoon-looking Sunstreaker to sit on your shelf, and you never plan on touching it (which is exactly what I do), then he's boffo. But the actual transformation made me burst some blood vessels in my brain. I have aneurysms just thinking about picking him up and trying to figure him out again.

I wonder if Masterpiece toys will ever seem simple by comparison. I remember when Alternators and RID01 Car Brothers were seen as insanely complex, but some mainline transformations are arguably moreso (Kingdom Rhinox).

>
> Honestly, I have a deep fondness for the G1 toy as well. He's so iconic, as arguably the first Transformer ever designed, and he has a simple charm to him despite his rather long monkey arms. You can easily remove the support strut on the back of his legs to separate them, and it doesn't negatively affect his vehicle mode or transformation at all.
>
>
> Zob (have we really NEVER gotten a Legends-sized or Core-class Sunstreaker? It's a crime, I tells ya)

On Friday, February 3, 2023 at 9:09:14 PM UTC-6, Codigo Postal wrote:
> On Friday, February 3, 2023 at 8:01:42 PM UTC-5, Ob1k...@att.net wrote:
> > On Friday, February 3, 2023 at 1:02:59 PM UTC-6, Codigo Postal wrote:
> > > Lately I've taken a second look at the 2008 Universe version of Sunstreaker, and bar some weirdness with the shoulders, I like it. Poseable, with spoiler and accessories, solid in hand, and very much evocative of Sunstreaker as a character. The automorph head reveal, and the dual use as his brother Sideswipe just put him over the top. I'm thinking of picking up the MP, but I wonder if I'd get more satisfaction out of it than I do from Universe.
> > >
> > > Which version of Sunstreaker is your favorite?
> > 1. Masterpiece Sunstreaker. Yes he's ridiculously over-complicated. It's why I love him. I also love him more every time I hear someone else complain about him.
> I've been wary of Masterpieces ever since getting Megatron 2.0, which I've transformed back and forth once, and have sworn off doing ever again.
>

Mybe i'm just a transformation masochist

> Then again, I transformed Kingdom Rhinox the other day without help, so I'm feeling cocky. Maybe MP Sunstreaker should be next on my hit parade.
> > 2. Earthrise Sunstreaker - Well actually I like the mold used on Spin-out and Cordon, but the Sunstreaker is still pretty good.
> > 3 and 4 are kinda tied between 2008 Universe and the original G1 Sunstreakers. I like them both. The different transformation of the Universe toy I love, I regularly compare it to the T30 Springer/Sandstorm retool, only they din't need to go as far.
> Has anyone tried out the Zhong Jin/KO G1 Sunstreaker? I see him on AliExpress and have been tempted to take the plunge.
> > 5 is the Binaltech Sunstreaker. He' not supposed to be a Dodge Viper, it's just wrong.
> Poor Combiner Wars Sunstreaker, lost in the shuffle again.

Who? Oh, you mean wrong headed yellow Breakdown? I'm trying to forget him but I just can't.

> > I'm surprised we haven't gotten more Sunstreaker, there's more than 4 times as many Sideswipe toys.
> I feel like the twins benefit from being part of the Season 1 cast, because they had more personality in their techspecs than they ever displayed in either the cartoon or the comic.

On Friday, February 3, 2023 at 8:09:14 PM UTC-7, Codigo Postal wrote:

> Has anyone tried out the Zhong Jin/KO G1 Sunstreaker? I see him on AliExpress and have been tempted to take the plunge.

I was personally dissatisfied with the Zhong Jin version, partly because he was missing some stickers (the little black triangles for the sides of his legs) but also because I had some issues with the rubber tires splitting. However, I was trolling eBay looking at the Zhong Jin selection just a couple of days ago, and the Sunstreaker currently up for sale is the "new and improved version." I'm not sure what it is that they improved, though.

But, with a true vintage Sunstreaker, you're going to deal with a broken spoiler and paint chipping off the die-cast parts and missing fists and things. I think it would be an even more unsatisfying experience if it's your first time handling the toy. So, in this case Zhong Jin is definitely the way to go—at least it would be a brand new toy. If you can get him for like $40 or $50 or so, I'd say take the plunge.

Zob (just keep his elbows perpetually bent, like you're supposed to do with G1 Ultra Magnus, and the monkey arms won't be as obvious)

On Friday, February 3, 2023 at 8:11:10 PM UTC-7, Codigo Postal wrote:

> I wonder if Masterpiece toys will ever seem simple by comparison. I remember when Alternators and RID01 Car Brothers were seen as insanely complex, but some mainline transformations are arguably moreso (Kingdom Rhinox).

I think RiD was a huge culture shock for a lot of us. We went from oversimplified transformations from Beast Wars and Beast Machines, with the famous "stand the animal up on his hind legs and now he's a robot" nonsense, to the highly complex Japanese-engineered transformations from the people who brought you The Shellformers: More Than Meets the Shell (also known as Beast Wars Neo). Ain't nobody in America was ready for that.

But, something tells me some of those Masterpiece toys are always going to be the gold standard for complex transformations. Like, Masterpiece Megatron didn't come with an instruction *booklet.* He came with a full-blown instruction BOOK that documents something like 200 individual transformation steps. I would have to take some time off work and schedule an entire afternoon with him if I ever wanted to transform him back to gun mode.

Zob (but, when I was eight years old, I thought G1 Jazz was too complex to figure out, so it's all relative, I guess)