Toy Review: Reveal the Shield Decepticon Legends

02/4/11

Reveal the Shield
Decepticon Legends

The Decepticons are badly outnumbered in Legends Class assortments from Hasbro’s various Transformers lines these past few years. Not only were there no bad guys included in that first set of classics inspired Generation 1 (G1) Legends, the new Reveal the Sheild (RTS) Legends wave has a 2 to 4 ratio. So while you can currently turn your desk into an Autobot parking lot, it’s going to be awhile before we can see it become an airfield for Decepticon flyers.

Though it’s not long in coming. One of the figures that was redesigned and released this year was Starscream, the Seeker. The Seekers are basically a team of 3 (or 6 or 9 or 12 depending on the continuity) robots with the same body, but different colors and personalities. Whenever we see a Starscream in a toyline, you know that Thundercracker and Skywarp aren’t far behind.

 

The RTS Legends Class Starscream, like the Classics/Henkei/Universe/Generations Seekers, turns into a classic McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F-15 Eagle. You have to really want to see it though, since the accuracy of his vehicle form was sacrificed to allow the for the transforming gimmick. The proportions make his silhouette look more like an F-18 I think.

I don’t remember the F-15 being in any media except the G1 Transformers cartoon. We got F-14 Tomcats in Top Gun, F-16 Fighting Falcons in Iron Eagle, Boeing AH-64 Apaches in Firebirds, the B3 in Broken Arrow, the SR-71 in X-men, the Bell 222 in Airwolf, the Mikoyan MiG-31 in Firefox, the SWAT Kats’ Turbo Kat, Battlestar Galactica’s Colonial Viper, VF-1 Valkyries from Robotech, and A-Wings from Star Wars… Nope, no F-15s. We never got to see this aircraft in a big role and that makes me wonder how the guys behind the original designs decided on it.

But as I was saying, the alt mode; It’s funny-looking.

 

Because it’s such a small toy, there’s nowhere near enough space to hide all the kibble. This isn’t the Masterpiece Starscream where parts switch back to front and tuck into little nooks and crannies. A look underneath and you’ll see his legs clearly folded up, no effort at all to hide them. However, that’s completely understandable. I never expected Hasbro to create a design that miraculously squished a robot and a plane mode into 3 inches of space. It’s enough for me that he’s got two wings and a nosecone.

The conversion process is more involved that you’d think. It deserves the one point mark up from “Very easy” to “Easy”. His wings are the center of the design and every thing orbits around them. The feet swing outward, the arms are tucked up in the back, the fuselage flips over to form his head. What’s really interesting is how his null-rays are built in this time, connected to his arms by a hinge, instead of seperate pieces you take off and fit back on after transformation. They don’t really LOOK like null-rays, but it’s the thought that counts.

 

Articulation is probably the worst among the new RTS set. Only the shoulder joints and knees are of any use. The neck joint is blocked from it’s full range because of his nosecone, which sticks out the back of his head, and his hips only move outward to the sides.

I understand that it was probably the only way to make it feasible, so it doesn’t bother me that much. 3 inches of robot isn’t much to work with.

It’s interesting that the nosecone can also be positioned on top of his head. Instant Conehead mold! That’s another 3 Decepticons right there (sort of)!

Paint is about what you’d expect, which is a lot more than is usual. Many Legends Class figures only have one or two simple paint applications. Screamer’s got FIVE extra colors (red, blue, gold, silver, and black) applied on various parts of his body.

Over all, Starscream is a great piece to add to your collection, even if he isn’t all that poseable.

 

Megatron is the other Decepticon that is included in this wave. He’s a pretty nice figure, with decent articulation (shoulders, hips, and knees), his requisite fusion cannon, and the familiar helmeted face.

He’s much closer to the G1 model than Henkei Megatron, but I’m not sure he’s as much of a bad ass.

 

Unlike the Generation 2 Megatron released during the Revenge of the Fallen line, this one transforms into a GUN!

SINCE THIS IS THE COOLEST THING SINCE “I’LL RIP OUT YOUR OPTICS”, I’VE GONE AND CAPS LOCKED MY KEYBOARD. EVER SINCE THE STATES STARTED ENFORCING SAFETY MEASURES FOR TOYS RESEMBLING GUNS, HASBRO’S SHIED AWAY FROM MEGATRON’S ORIGINAL ALT FORM. TO GET A TOY LIKE THIS AT RETAIL IS JUST UNBELIEVABLY AWESOME.

Ok, I’m done now. Hasbro did compromise in one way by casting him out of orange plastic and leaving the tip unpainted. That’s right, he’s cast in orange plastic. It’s not a cap on the tip, which is what I thought too. Let’s hope they used some good paint and it doesn’t chip off.

 

I’m not sure if the weapon mode is a Walther P38 like the original, but it’s pretty close. Unfortunately, he doesn’t come with the barrel extension, stock, or the scope that the first toy or the Masterpiece version comes with, but the way he transforms is just genious.

Paint is a little iffy on this one. Since the gray paint is so far from the orange of the plastic, it’s easy to see mistakes or uneven lines. He’s only got 4 colors (gray, silver, black, and a bit of red), but they are spot on to his G1 form (except for the day glow orange).

Over all, it’s a great little figure, and probably the most fun out of ALL the new RTS Legends.