General Information:
Release Date: September 2012
Price Point: $5.99 (varies depending on retailer)
Retailer: Limited Markets (Dollar General, Big Lots! etc.)
Accessories: Null ray rifles x 2
Back in 2011, the small "Reveal the Shield" line of Transformers was released with figures on different size scales. This included the "Legends" Class (now referred to as the Legion Class since "Dark of the Moon"). This small group of figures introduced classic characters such as Starscream and Optimus Prime in new molds in a small size. About a year later, these same figures were repackaged (sans heat sensitive rub symbols) and put on "Generations" style cards (minus the actual "Generations" logo) and re-released at stores such as Dollar General.
Fast forward a few months, and it was announced that several Legends Class figures were going to be given new decos with some even getting retooling and weapons as part of the "GDO" Asian exclusive line of Transformers. This included Thundercracker, who was a redeco and retool of "Reveal the Shield" Legends Starscream with new weapons. When this wave of figures needed refreshing, this mold (with retooling and new weapons) was put out again as Starscream.
This review is going to focus on the changes made to the figure for this release. For my original thoughts on the sculpt, check out my "Reveal the Shield" Legends Starscream review.
Robot Mode:
Since he's the same character as the previous release of this figure from "Reveal the Shield", there's almost no significant change in the deco. The main difference is actually a carry over from the Japanese release of this figure. Whereas the first iteration of this toy painted only the front of the head (and even that was left out of early assortments), this version has the entire head painted black. While this does give the figure a nice look all around, it winds up sacrificing some visual appeal in vehicle mode since the nosecone suddenly winds up with a black section for no apparent reason. Of the two choices, I would have preferred they stuck with only front of the head being painted black allowing the illusion of the vehicle mode's nosecone left untouched.
Starscream now includes two rifles that are based on those seen on the arms of the Seekers in the G1 cartoon. However, this sculpt already has weapons that fold out onto the sides of the arms, so the hands have been retooled (given a more curved shape) to accomodate the pegs on the rifles. This effectively gives Starscream four weapons now in this mode instead of just two.
All the joints on this figure are tight and the paint job is done well. Overall he looks great!
Transformation to Vehicle Mode:
- On each lower leg, swing out the vertical/horizontal stabilizer pieces.
- Swing the nosecone up over the robot head.
- Swing the entire head and nosecone piece back.
- Swing each of the robot arms up.
- Swing the Null Ray cannons forward to fill in the middle of the vehicle.
- Swing the legs up to the sides, connecting them to the underside of the wings.
- Rotate the robot head/nosecone around.
- Attach each rifle to the holes on the underside of the wings.
Vehicle Mode:
The only significant deco changes in this mode revolve around the aforementioned "black paint on the head" portion of the nosecone and the wings. The original version of this figure had a heat sensitive rub symbol. The subsequent releases had Decepticon symbols on the wings, and this version follows suit with a large, purple Decepticon symbol painted onto the top of each wing. I prefer having the two symbols and I think it looks fantastic!
Each of the wings in this mode have been modified to accomodate the new weapons. There is now a hole in each one, but if you attach the weapons the silver color blends nicely so it doesn't look like Starscream's been damaged with holes in his wings! This also gives the added bonus of making his vehicle mode look even more like the cartoon model than it already did. Overall I'm really happy with these new accessories and what they add to the figure.
Final Thoughts:
I'm often hesitant to recommend a redeco if it's the same character as the first release, but the new weapons really do add a lot to the figure and make him more accurate to the G1 animation model so he totally appeals to me. Recommended!
