Monday, September 3, 2018

Transformers - NOVASTAR!

Transformers: Power of the Primes - Deluxe Wave 4 - NovaStar - Hasbro 2018

NovaStar is the newest addition to the unprecedented barrage of female Transformers we've seen in the past few years. All my collecting life, Transformers was easily the least gender-diverse toy property out there. I think all the fans gleefully accepted Arcee as the token female of the show, but the lack of toys seemed to be accepted as a "never gonna happen" situation. I was in this same mindset. Transformers toys were always blocky and almost featureless representations of their cartoon counterparts. But making a robot appear specifically feminine in the cartoons seemed to be all about subtle (and not-so-subtle) detail differences. I think we all assumed the toys would miss the mark. And this was generally true. The first ones to really look good (in my opinion) were the ladies from the the Transformers: Animated line in 2008 and 2010. But now fast forward to 2018 and we've been given a true treat with perfect renditions of the original female autobots from the iconic 1985 episode: The Search for Alpha Trion.





NovaStar is a renamed Firestar from the female Cybertronian resistance fighters led by Elita-One. This year we got an Elita One and a Moonracer to be teamed up with the 2014 Generations Chromia (Also, there is a brand new Chromia coming in 2019). There are a lot of wishes for Greenlight and Lancer (the two remaining female autobots from the classic episode) to be released, but personally I'd rather see Beta, the green crossbow-bearing rebel who is one of the earliest female Transformers (she appeared in the flashback episode Forever Is a Long Time Coming).



















There is an alternate way to store her kibble. By placing the windshield piece low like a waistcoat, it makes her backpack kibble look less bulky. But it also hinders her leg posing and you can see it between her legs from a front view.





Novastar comes with her Prime Armor and a Blaster Gun. The Prime Armor functions as a hand for the combiner-arm-mode. Unfortunately they try to incorporate it into the robot form by having it hug the front of her abdomen (making her look like a true pie-eating champion). There are pics of this on the packaging art above.









I really like the vehicle mode of this figure. It's sleek and futuristic and I'm thankful that it's not a motorcycle!

















Firestar had a fun version introduced in the IDW comics a few years ago as Nautica's roommate. 
I really like her design with the flaming hair.










I'm always excited by the prospect of a female combiner, but the reality of it is always far less appealing. I wish there would be a 6th robot that formed a proper waist-crotch-upper-thigh zone. That would eliminate her stocky wedgie appearance and give her the proper height to balance out those arms (also, the legs pieces look just as good backwards). The black feet (against the black cloth) give the illusion of her being shorter than she is.. but don't get me wrong, she still is disproportionately short. For the record, the Torso is Elita One, The Right Arm and Leg are two Moonracers, and the Left Arm and Leg are two Novastars.
















Time for some Group and Comparison Pics!


Here is an assortment of the recent Cybertronian ladies: Arcee, Moonracer, Elita One, Chromia, and Novastar.





And here are Moonracer and Firestar side-by-side. They share identical bodies with differing headsculpts and weapons.








Cheers!



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