General Information:
Release Date: February 2020
Price Point: $14.99 (Varies by retailer)
Retailer: General Release (Amazon, Entertainment Earth, Target, Walmart etc.)
Accessories: None
*Images and text below from Amazon.com:
- 5.4-INCH STARSCREAM FIGURE: Warrior Class Starscream figure is 5.4-inches tall. REPEATABLE ATTACK MOVE: Convert the evil Starscream to activate his signature Starseeker Missile move. Fun attack move can be repeated through easy reactivation steps.
- 2-IN-1 CONVERTING TOY: Easy Transformers conversion for kids 6 years old and up! Convert Starscream toy from jet to robot mode in 5 steps. Makes a great gift for kids!
- TRANSFORMERS CYBERVERSE CHARACTER: Blue, grey and red Starscream toy robot inspired by the Scheming Decepticon Second-In-Command from the Transformers Bumblebee Cyberverse Adventures cartoon, as seen on Cartoon Network and YouTube.
- INSPIRED BY CARTOON NETWORK SHOW: In the G1-inspired Cyberverse series, giant Transformers robots from the planet Cybertron engage in epic battles, activating signature abilities known as Action Attacks! Kids can imagine unleashing this special power with this Action Attackers figure!
Convert to Activate Signature Action Attack Move Easily convert and attack with Transformers Bumblebee Cyberverse Adventures Action Attackers toys! Simply convert Starscream figure from jet to robot mode in 5 steps. The last step of conversion activates the figure’s Starseeker Missile move! Once converted, move can be repeated through easy reactivation steps.
Evil Decepticon Starscream Starscream seems to finally have gone over the edge and will stop at nothing to finally destroy Megatron, and he’s willing to take the Autobots — and Decepticons — down with him. Maybe it’s because Megatron called him an “imbecile” one too many times. Maybe he got tired of hearing Megatron call his null rays “puny.” Maybe he was just sick of letting his skill and military training go to waste working for a boss who treats him like scrap. Whatever it was, Starscream has gone totally loopy. And not the “hey cool look he’s doing donuts in the sky” kind of loopy. More like the “he’s gone totally mad and is going to use the most powerful artifact in the universe to destroy us all” kind of loopy.
The third season of Cyberverse featured the Transformers returning to their homeworld of Cybertron. Minor spoiler: in the third season Starscream makes a return appearance and it is a wild one that is unexpected yet still fits the character. Interestingly, this figure is not based on that appearance but rather a hypothetical "Cybertronian" mode for the character.
Packaging:
Like previous Cyberverse Warrior Class figures Hot Rod is inside a bubble attached to a card. The packaging colors use the design for the (very long) series title: "Transformers Bumblebee Cyberverse Adventures", a sub-line of figures that appear to be devoted to one of the story arcs in the third season of the Cyberverse cartoon. The package art looks like a generic promo image used for Starscream, but it matches the figure in the packaging so that's what counts. His "action feature" is listed as the "Starseeker missile" which seems to imply the figure has projectile firing capability (spoiler alert: it does not).
Robot Mode:
In the G1 cartoon, several Decepticon Seekers were introduced in the first episode and much like their Autobot enemies, they featured jet parts on them that looked like they came right off an Earth jet (because, well, they did). Their basic robot design did not change much over the course of G1 regardless of whether they transformed into an Earth or Cybertronian vehicle. This design concept seems to continue into this figure which is meant to represent a Cybertronian aerial vehicle while retaining iconic Seeker design elements. These include the head design with a small crest and "vents" on the sides, having large wings on his back, turbines in his chest, thrusters on the front of the lower legs and weapons (seemingly) built into the sides of the arms. From an aesthetic point of view this figure succeeds wildly where its predecessor was mildly successful at best. The figure is filled with sleek and cool looking angles and I really dig the look of it.
Starscream is made up of grey, blue, red and translucent orange plastic. These are all colors found on previous Starscream figures and it fits the character's iconic appearance. I was very happy to see the Warrior Class appears to have upped its game in the deco department. Each wing has a bold red stripe on it with purple Decepticon symbols. Grey is used on the chest and hands while red fills in detailing on the shoulders. A beautiful metallic blue is found on the lower legs and feet. This is much better than the first Warrior Class Starscream which left many of the details on the figure unpainted.
This figure also beats out the first Warrior Class Starscream in articulation. Altogether it has nine points of articulation including (surprisingly) elbow and knee joints! His action feature evokes the Triggercons from G1. Press the nosecone section on his back and the translucent orange blasters (that only look like they are attached to his arms) swing up. Push them down to reset them. It is a simple, yet reliable gimmick. Personally I would have preferred they just attached the weapons to his arms but for kids looking for an action feature it delivers.
Transformation to Vehicle Mode:
- Straighten out the arms and legs.
- Swing the cockpit section on the back down.
- Swing the legs back and push them down against the back.
- Swing the wing extensions forward.
Vehicle Mode:
I confess to being surprised that the designers did not attempt to do some approximation of the "Tetrajet" design (like Siege Starscream. Instead, we wind up with a scifi looking fighter ship that reminds me a lot of the video game Gradius! I really dig the wing design with wide wings flanking the back of the vehicle and smaller wing extensions flanking the (very Earth-like) cockpit section. There are some great details worked into this figure. The sculpted lines on the robot knees for instance wind up looking like air vents here. Interestingly there are also two pilot seats inside the cockpit!
The colors from the robot mode carry over here, but I have to confess I am disappointed to see the wings in this mode do not prominently display Decepticon symbols on them.
Final Thoughts: Compared to the first Warrior Class Starscream figure in Cyberverse this figure is almost at Generations level of engineering. I am glad to see this figure has articulation and a fun action feature. I also really dig the vehicle mode. Recommended!
Pros:
- Much better articulation than the previous Starscream in the line.
- Nice deco with bright color choices.
- Fun play value.
Cons:
- I would have liked a tiny bit more deco in vehicle mode.
- Some fans may find the action feature detracts rather than adds to the figure.
