Right before the holidays this year, news broke about the possibility of another version of the Masterpiece seeker mold and described it as a Ghost Starscream figure. This instantly created a buzz amongst many fans and the usual barrage of unanswerable questions were posted with reckless abandon. “How much will it cost?” “When will Hasbro release their own so we don’t have to import it?” “What new accessories will it have?” It’s simply enough to make a grown man beat himself repeatedly.
Yet not only 24 hours later, the announcement was deemed a hoax by the original source, Robo Robo in Singapore. Sighs of relief were breathed by completest and Starscream fans alike. Weren’t Transformers Masterpiece completest already hurting enough as it is with the releases of MP-1B Black Convoy and MP-08X King Grimlock? Certainly this must’ve been a misleading hoax, for a ghost version of Starscream had just been released not only days before this announcement. This disturbance in the Force has been remedied and all was back to equilibrium, until…
Big Bad Toy Store's announcement and preorder for the figure seems to have cemented belief in the figure becoming a reality across much of the fandom.
Preorders. Actual preorders began appearing at various online retailers after Christmas and the biggest and baddest of them all joined the rest in confirming the existence of Masterpiece Ghost Starscream. It seemed all of our darkest fears had come true after all – another redeco of the Masterpiece Seeker mold.
The prices for the figure are ranging from $98 USD at overseas retailers such as Robotkingdom and $129.99 USD at domestic importers like Big Bad Toy Store, which is a bit higher than the original prices of the Masterpiece seekers. Is the increase in price due to the clear plastic expected for this figure or is this the new reality of Masterpiece figures?
As someone who focuses on collecting Starscream, I must admit I am not necessarily excited about this announcement. Of course I will end up getting one or two, but for some reason I feel that it is a bit excessive. I’d prefer a Sunstorm or, God forbid, a new conehead remold. The excitement I felt for the Henkei Ghost Starscream has been washed away by the announcement of this large and expensive version. Sure, it’s cool that we get a Ghost of Starscream once in a while, but I preferred the exclusivity of it not being overdone. Perhaps this figure will not disappoint, but until we see some testshot photos, I will remain skeptical. My biggest question is whether it will be in G1 colors or retain the original Green-Scream colors from MP03. Your guess is as good as mine.
All in all, at least the Masterpiece toyline is continuing to thrive. It’s been almost 6 years since the first Masterpiece Convoy was released and we have gotten a fair share of amazing toys from this line. Perhaps the teaser about the special 2010 Masterpiece figure will blow the lid off our fanboy cans. Whispers of Rodimus and Galvatron can be heard echoing down the dark halls of internet forums… let’s just hope Ghost Starscream isn’t the only surprise we have in store this year’s Transformers Masterpiece line.