Time for another Mastermind Creations release. Luckily, it's not another Azalea...well, technically she's not...
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| Arcee's laundry day? |
Paradron Medics are settlers of Planet Paradron, home of pacifist Autobots escaping the Great War plaguing Cybertron. Cyclonus and Scourge who were injured by Superion, fled through a vortex and accidentally found the planet which is inhabited by these pacifists and sure enough, they conquered it...easily.
Led by Sandstorm, they requested help from the Autobots in Cybertron but even under Rodimus Prime's lead, they fail to retake the planet and ended up detonating Paradron's energon core, destroying it. Good Job!
Paradron Medic never really received a toy treatment aside from the non-transforming Super Collection Figure and Heroes of Cybertron version.
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| Pic Credit : TFWiki |
Even the redeco of Energon Arcee is not really Paradron Medic but rather "Ariel (Arcee's name in Japan) Paradron-Type". However, back in 2008, she was supposed to be released under Binaltech line using the same mold as Binaltech Arcee but was later cancelled.
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| Pic Credit : TFWiki |
In Package
Dubbed Parapax Medic, Zinnia comes in a box following the Reformatted Series with the design following Azalea and Azalea Stealth Assassin's design.
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| Back View |
There's an black-and-white artwork of Zinnia of the window of the box with green highlights on the shoulders and thighs (unlike Azalea's full black-and-white artwork)
Zinnia comes with a tech spec and an instruction manual/comic just like Azalea (and her variants). Was surprised that even though Zinnia is a character, just like Azalea, she doesn't get her own version of a comic book.
Unlike Azalea, Zinnia only comes with a pair of guns and a flight stand, without the swords. The flight stand is made out of translucent green plastic, something that was not used by the previous releases.
Alt Mode
Nope, you're not wrong. Zinnia's alt mode is different from Azalea's.
Zinnia doesn't comes the flap that covers the side of her front, resulting her looking more like a cybertronian carrier rather and a hover car.
Not only that, the fins are also made out of green translucent plastics unlike Azalea's variants.
This should've been the official alt mode for Zinnia since the wings are fully translucent green and this is the only way to fully show them.
Comparison
The absence of the flap changes Zinnia appearance and feel compared to Azalea. However, the front does look abit naked where the shoulders and elbows are quite visible. Maybe it would've been better if they replaced it with smaller flaps, enough to cover those parts.
*sorry as Azalea Stealth Assassin is missing from these pictures
Robot Mode
Mastermind Creations did the right thing by excluding the flaps/wings, giving Zinnia a different look and aesthetic.
Aside from the wings on her knees, the most notable use of translucent green plastics are as her shoulder guards. Not to worry though, the translucent plastics are very sturdy and doesn't look like they'll break anytime soon. The head sculpt used is the same as other Azalea's variant with blue eyes following Azalea normal version.
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| Side View |
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| Back View |
Without the flaps behind her shoulders, Zinnia's robot mode looks even more cleaner in terms of design. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Azaleas shouldn't have them, especially they're practically homage and one of the design that defines the character.
Normally I would say Zinnia looks plain due to the color scheme but seems that it work for Zinnia. She does look gorgeous. It might not be obvious but following the black-and-white artwork, Zinnia does have green stripes on her shoulder guards and the side of her thighs.
Comparison
The changes MMC made on Zinnia allow her to look substantially different from Azalea, enough to give her her own character.
I'm not sure why but I feel Zinnia is more appropriate to do feminine poses instead of Azalea. Hmmm...
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| Stability Test |
Zinnia might not come with a pair of swords but it seems that equipping her with the guns are enough. She comes with a ball-jointed head, ball jointed shoulders, double-jointed elbows, wrist swivels, ball joint between the chest and torso, waist swivels, ball joint on the thighs, double jointed knees and ankle tilts.
The absence of the shoulder flaps gives Zinnia more room to move her shoulders and not making the upper body looks crowded. MMC maintained the quality of the Fembots as Zinnia's joints are as tight as all the previous releases of Azaleas.
I find it hard to accept that MMC already released 4 version of the same mold. Yes, 2 of them might be legit characters but the first variant released was not even the normal version. If I'm not mistaken, the last time this many straight repaints was release by a 3rd party company were Fansproject Commander Trailers (there are few others but with at least retooled part like KFC Mugen series).
IF I have to choose, Azalea (normal version) and Zinnia would be the only version of this mold that I'll get. I wonder if R-10 Eupatorium (Not-Elita One) and R-11 Salvia Prominon (Not-Solus Prime) will get the same treatment...
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