Toy Review: Leader Class Starscream

06/29/10

Leader Class Starscream

From the beginning of the Bayverse, I wasn’t a big fan of the re-design of the Transformers Characters. It’s probably the change resistant fanboy in me, but I hated that the new characters looked and acted like talking monkeys rather than beings that enjoyed a civilization eons older than ours.

Starscream was one of those that really fell below the bar in my book. He really was shaped like an ape; wide, with arms that reached the ground. My first impression of the original Transformers The Movie Starscream figure wasn’t very good. The pictures I saw of it showed that it was a thick, mal-formed hulk of a figure.

It wasn’t until I got the re-colored exclusive Ramjet and Skywarp that I really began to appreciate the toy. Not only were they pretty poseable, they were mean looking and had some fun action features (that’s right, FUN action features). Not long after, I decided to pick up the Revenge of the Fallen Voyager Starscream since I’d heard they re-did the entire toy, from the ground up. Not only was the jet mode more accurate and better proportioned, the robot had hands this time.

Now we’re coming up on the 3rd movie and we’re seeing some releases that are holding the franchises place in toystores until that happens. The “Hunt for the Decepticons” is the new name for the line, though it looks as if the same aesthetics are still in play, if the Ravage and this Starscream figure are good examples. If you liked the chicken-legged, insectile look of the earlier movie bots, a lot of these still share that look. The rest are toys that were slated for the “Transformers Universe” line.

Leader Class Starscream is one of those holdovers from the movie line. There’s been a lot of talk and preview pics of this figure on the forum boards and people have been waiting for it to show up. When it finally did, he disappeared from shelves pretty fast for a Leader Class. Let’s face it, p3,000.00 isn’t cheap. The more expensive toys usually hang around longer, but this one’s been flying off shelves as fast as the Deluxe toys.

Looking at him, it’s pretty obvious why. Unlike some of the other toys in this line, you can easily see where the money to make this toy went. It’s a finely detailed, well engineered, closely accurate portrayal of the Decepticon from the film.

Detailed because he’s excellently sculpted with fine techno-doodads and thingamajigs hanging off him, but surprisingly little kibble (obvious robot parts in vehicle mode and vice-versa), unlike the Voyager Class bot who is relatively smooth with lots of it.

Well-engineered because of the aforementioned kibbleless design and for the excellent articulation that blends seamlessly with the transformation process. Not to mention the fact that the electronics were worked in without affecting the lines of the figure. And all of this while giving us a figure that can balance perfectly without needing to lean on anything.

Closely accurate because, while he does not perfectly match the 3D model used in the movie, he’s damned close. One of the members of Cybertron PH pointed out that he’s closer to an equilateral triangle than the diamond shape that he has in the film, and the legs are lower than they’re supposed to be, but it’s a hell of a job, especially considering the that compromises had to be made to allow for the transformation, articulation, and the electronics.

Like the other recent Leader Class toys, Starscream has light up eyes and chest, and can say a few phrases. If you’re a fan of the show, you know that he usually says, “No one can defeat Starscream!” right before someone pancakes him or blasts him into the next life. He also has those happy transformation sounds and some jet sounds if you press a button on his fuselage.

Thankfully, they chose to make his sound trigger in such a way that you have to pull the thing rather than push like with the Leader Class Optimus Prime. When I first got that one I was pushing that thing every 5 seconds as I tried to transform him. Annoying.

He also comes with this nifty little, removable rocket launcher. His missles, which fit nicely under his wings, also fit into launcher. The great thing about it is that it is REMOVABLE. Yes that’s right, if you’re not a big fan of the BFG, then you can choose to just take it off. The launcher also stores on the bottom of the plane’s fuselage so that’s handy.

On the top of his arms, the figure also has a few gimmicks as well. The right one has a Gatling gun while the left has a pair of non-removable missles. Both weapons are hidden until you tab the little lever underneath his wrist, and they pop out. It’s a nice little add in that I feel adds a whole lot of playability to the toy. It’s too bad that that their inclusion means he’s got no wrist articulation. Trade off, I guess.

Other than the wrist swivels, he’s got some great joint work on him. Since he’s so big, most of his joints are ratcheted. It’s great since the locks allow him to keep upright despite his relatively small legs and feet. He’s surprisingly stable.

His arms are very nicely done. He’s got joints that allow him a good range of motion from the shoulder and elbow, plus some swivels and a a couple of hinges for his palm and fingers. He can’t really make a fist though, and the lack of wrist cuts can really limit what you can do with his claws. I do like the way he can swing his arms forward. That’s something that not a lot of Transformers can do.

His tranformation is easy compared to that of Revenge of the Fallen Optimus Prime. It took me an hour or more to figure out Prime while this guy took about 5 minutes. It’s pretty intuitive as these things go, and if you have any experience with these toys, it shouldn’t be too hard.

The jet is modeled after the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, an air superiority fighter that was top-of-the-line a couple of years ago, but now being replaced by the cheaper and more versatile (and less badass looking) F-35 Lighting II. This version of Starscream is probably the closest to the real F-22. The proportions seem spot on, and it’s not as thick in the middle as the original versions.

The jet is painted with the same Cybertronian tattoos that Bay and his people added to him for the second film. I’ll admit that I actually like this little beat that they pushed on him. It gives the vehicle a much more meanacing presence. The tattoos were present on the Voyager version. You may want to be careful, though, as they were prone to scratches on the old version. This new one looks to have a nicer plastic with some texture to it, so scratches may not appear as easily, but defitely watch out.

The Leader Class version is also much bigger than the old one, weighing in at about 2 times the mass. It’s a heavy beast. The color is a bit darker and more towards gray than beige. I honestly can’t wait for them to go and repaint this figure like the first two so that I can have a Skywarp and Thundercracker to buzz the Autobots.

I’m not really sure how much a F-22 Raptor masses compared to an M1 Abrams tank, but the Leader Class Starscream and Transformers the Movie Brawl are about the same in terms of size. For playability however, my money’s on Starscream. The extra bits are just much nicer, and his articulation is much better designed compared to the older toy.

Still look good together though.

Compared to the Leader Class Optimus Prime from Revenge of the Fallen, again I’d bet on the Starscream toy. Though the former really wowed me when it came out, the complicated transformation sequence really makes changing him a pain, plus the action features (his blades) are not worked into the design well, unlike Starscream’s. His balance is also off, making him harder to pose.

But again, both are excellent toys.

All in all, Leader Class Starscream is an excellent effort by the guys at Hasbro and well worth the p3,000.00 retail price. Definitely more so that the new Power Core Combiners or another set of re-colors of old toys. He’s still available at some Toy Kingdom branches, and I hear there are several stores in Greenhills that still have a few at similar prices.