G1 Starscream (Anime Version) Review

U.S. Name: STARSCREAM Jap. Name: SAME

Cartoon First Appearance: Episode #1: More than meet the eye P1, Season 1, Sept. 1984

Marvel Comic First Appearance: The Transformers #1, Sept. 1984, $0.75

Dreamwave Comic First Appearance: G1. Vol. 1, Issue #2, May 2002, $2.95

Toy Catalog Number: 22

A quick comment: Back to G-1: Review D-II Teletran-1

This is my second Starscream toy. I bought it on Jun. Xxi Mmiii and it cost me $XLV, Besides Soundwave and Rumble (blue), he's my third favorite decepticon.

R-0 Original Starscream's motto and tech specifications:

Affiliate: decepticons | Subgroup: none | Function: air commander | Alt. Mode: F-15 eagle jet|

| STR 7 | INTL 7 | SPD 9 | ENDN 7 | RNK 5 | CRG 8 | FRPW 7 | SKL 7 |

Original G1 Starscream Motto:

"Conquest is made of the ashes of one's enemies."

Original G1 Starscream Bio:

Seeks to replace Megatron as leader. Ruthless, cold-blooded, cruel... considers himself the most sophisticated and handsome of Decepticons. Believes Decepticons should rely more on guile and speed rather than brute force to defeat Autobots. Fastest flyer of group, can reach Mach 2.8 and an altitude of 52 miles. Shoots cluster bombs and null-rays which disrupts the flow of electricity. Very good at what he does, but sometimes overrates himself.

These images were all photographed and scanned by me. If you're a Transformers fan, this will definitely bring back some reminiscences.

NOTE: Images are clearer when viewed with Internet Explorer browser.

- Click on the Thumbnails to view them at a Larger Scale -

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R-1 Starscream in its Original condition:

1 - Starscream in its brand new condition from the box.

2 - Here's how it look once you opened the cover revealing Starscream and the Data files. (No it does not included Sixshot PVC, he was there to hold the cover from closing)

3 - Here's how the content looks once the box was removed.

4 - These are all the contents that were included in the box/ package/ card: "1" jet body, " 2" main wings, "2" small rear fins, "2" small vertical fins, "2" hands, "2" missile launchers, "2" long missiles (aka gun), "2" small missiles, "1" landing gear, "1" Optimus Prime hand, "1" small Megatron in gun mode, "1" Starscream trading card, "1" sticker sheet, "1" instruction sheet, "1" miscellaneous text sheet, "1" region 2 dvd, "2" data files (images of Starscream and Blitzwing), "1" world art image featuring Starscream box art, "1" page review of episode #55 to #63, "1" toy catalog page covering D-61 to D-63 plus Runamuck and Runabout.

Pre-Applied Paint Decal:

There are 8 Pre-Applied paint decal that had been applied onto Starscream. The first two are located on either side of the main wing. It's that long red strip of sticker. The third and forth paint are located on either side of the vertical tail fin. It's that red and white sticker. The fifth paint decal is a small Decepticon Insignia located on the nosecone. The six and seven are the large Decepticon Insignia located on either side of the main wing. The last pre-applied sticker is the Decepticon Rub Sign logo located just above the cockpit canopy.

Sticker Sheet:

There are 14 registered numbering of stickers on the sticker sheet. These registering numbering do not include the Pre-applied stickers.

R-2 Starscream in Vehicle Mode:

In vehicle mode, Starscream is a hot F-15 Eagle fighter jet. Each of the Decepticons F-15 jet has the ability to open their cockpit canopy. To add the excitement, the missile launcher also fires missile especially if you own the Japanese version. Unlike the original and the first reissue (See R-6), the book style #9 Starscream was repainted to look more like the cartoon. The dark blue color was changed into more of light blue or cyan. In addition, the cockpit was also repainted from tinted black to orange. R-5 will cover more on the new changes regarding this version.

R-3 Starscream in Robot Mode

In robot mode, Starscream is not so sleek or beautiful as his toy vehicle mode or his cartoon counterpart. The front side is okay but the rear side is too flat and too plain. These Decepticons Seeker jets are good for display and not for playing since they don't have too much playing value. Other than shoulder articulation and the feet, there are no other movement. Unlike the regular Starscream Starscream, the box #9 Starscream joints are very tight from the arm to canopy. I thought that was a big improvement. I didn't apply the decals onto this Anime Starscream because the stickers and mold were basically the same as the regular Starscream.

R-4 Starscream & Prime with Megatron:

Starscream and Optimus Prime showing off their new weapon, Megatron gun, lol. I must say, I'm very impress. The darn thing looks great. Another feature that I thought it was hot is that Megatron gun can be connected onto Starscream's jet mode, see middle image. Here's how it work,, Starscream (or all the seekers) has a hole on either side of their chest which can be connected onto a little blue peg that can be founded on one side of Megatron gun, see R-5 for close up image.

R-5 The New Changes on Starscream Book Style Box #9:

For convenient purpose, clicking the left image will open a new window so you can reference the number back to this section.

Besides the obvious change in color from dark blue to sky blue or cyan, the new Anime Starscream had some other nice alterations to match his cartoon counterpart appearance. Here are the changes as well as some other special goodies:

1 - The Decepticons Insignia are printed up side down to match the cartoon. The insignia on the main wings and nosecone are paints, not sticker.

2 - All Pre-Applied decals are now converted to paint. It's no longer like the original or the previous reissue which were stickers.

3 - On the main wing, the red line no longer run straight to the edge of the wing but made a 90 degree turn to add another vertical line. In addition, a White Line is added and run along the red line.

4 - Starscream hands are now remolded so that he can hold the little Megatron gun. You will notice that the new hand has a hole to hold the top portion of Megatron.

5 - This little peg on the bottom of Starscream is connected onto Megatron stocking extension or bottom part of his gun.

NOTE: The new and old hand are interchangeable, meaning the new hand can be used onto the old Starscream.

6 - Megatron top portion of the gun has a peg that can either be held by new Starscream hand or the new and old Optimus Prime hand.

7 - To make thing a little bit more spicy, Takara decided to give a New Optimus Prime Hand so that he too can hold the new little Megatron with top portion and bottom porting just like Starscream. The difference between the new hand and the old Prime hand is that the new hand is molded with additional peg at the bottom of the hand. This extra peg allows the new Optimus Prime hand to be connected onto the stocking/ extension of Megatron. If you don't have Prime, then this additional hand is useless.

8 - This peg on the stocking extension is plugged onto Starscream chest during jet mode, see R-4 middle image.

9 - Two gray line had been printed onto the outside of the cockpit canopy. The original/ previous reissue did not have these lines.

10 - The Cockpit is now repainted to a more bright orange instead of the light tinted black.

Words on Megatron gun:

The gun is made up of two components. The top portion is just the gun and the view finder. The bottom portion is the black extension or stocking. The gun itself is actually plastic, not PVC. Oh yeah, the insignia on Megatron is painted.

Words on the DVD:

The DVD that came with Starscream is a Region 2 DVD which mean unless you have a DVD player that play multiple region or live in Region 2 like Japan, you won't be able to play this DVD. If you live in the U.S. or Canada, you are in region 1 so this DVD will not play. Anyhow, the DVD contained two menus: Generation 1 game trailer for PS2 and a toy commercial featured Prime/ Megatron, Rodimus Prime, Chromedome, etc.

R-6 Regular Starscream Vs. Anime Starscream

R-5 had listed all the new changes regarding the Anime Starscream version. For more clarity, here are the images showing the differences between the Original Starscream (left side) and the Anime Starscream (right side). Please note that both Starscream come with the same Sticker Sheet. The Regular Starscream in this image had been applied with the Stickers while the Anime Starscream has not been applied yet so ignore the stickers if they both don't correspond with one another i.g. eye and chest stickers.

R-7 Rémy's Starscream (Anime Version) toy review:

Manufacturer - Takara.

Line, Series/ Wave: Generation 1 Line, Transformers Collection - Box #9.

Year Issue: [June. 2003 Reissue] - The original toy was released in 1984.

Made: [China] - Although the original toy was made in Japan, the qualities and materials are pretty much the same as the reissue.

Scale: [N/A]

Box or Card Dimension In Inches: [LxWxD] - Approximately 8 10/16 X 6 3/4 X 2 10/16 - Box.

Packaging Method: Mint In Seal Box. Contents were packed with the following procedure:

Taped down and sandwiched between two clear plastic trays are: "1" jet body, " 2" main wings, "2" small rear fins, "2" small vertical fins, "2" hands, "2" missile launchers, "2" long missiles (aka gun), "2" small missiles, "1" landing gear, "1" Optimus Prime hand, and "1" small Megatron in gun mode

On the back of the card board and not inside the clear plastic tray, a taped down bag which contained: "1" Starscream trading card, "1" sticker sheet, "1" instruction sheet, "1" miscellaneous text sheet.

Also on the back of the card in a seal envelop with window: "1" region 2 DVD.

Mounted onto the front cover of the box are: "2" data files ( images of Starscream and Blitzwing), "1" world art image featuring Starscream box art, "1" page review of episode #55 to #63, "1" toy catalog page covering D-61 to D-63 plus Runamuck and Runabout.

Box Special Note: Front Box: Starscream box art. Back Box: No box art, showed Starscream contents and other reissue TFs ads. Used Book style format, that is, the flap or cover opened revealed the toy through a window opening.

Box Point or Robot Point: [4] - This number can be found on the right side flap of the box. You have to open the box to see it. It contains number and either Autobots or Decepticons insginia depending on which faction you are getting.

Approximately Toy Dimension In Inches: - Height Up To The Head: 5 1/16 Maximum Height: 5 7/16 (top of the chest air intake) Width from shoulder to shoulder: 2 3/16 Maximum Width: 4 1/2 (from wing to wing) Dept: 3.

Toy Stamp/ Fine Print Location: - Can be found on the outside of Starscream left leg.

Transformation Of Difficulty: [Medium] - Average, pretty easy.

Material Durability: [-A] - Pretty durable

Toy Materials: Die Cast Metal: chest plate / body, landing gear and his back wheels. Chrome Metal: None. Rubber: Jet Nose. Plastic: main material. Clear Plastic Window: cockpit canopy.

Stability: [-A] - Robot mode can stand on any surface...but his hands tend to fall off easily.

Fun Toy: [-A] - Pretty a fun toy.

Negative Drawback - Basically it's just the articulation.

Articulations: Head: Cannot be rotated. Shoulder: Can be swung at a 360 degree and a 45 degree backward. Arm/ Elbow: Cannot be bent. Wrist/ Hand: Cannot be rotated, pull hands off to hide hands. Hip/ Waist: Cannot be bent or rotated. Leg: Cannot be bent. Knee: Cannot be bent. Ankle/ Feet: No sideway movement. Feet can bent upward.

Rub Sign Logo: [Yes] - The Decepticon's rub sign located on the right side of his jet body, but earlier version does not have the rubsign.

Robot's Cartoon looks alike: [A] - He looks pretty much like the cartoon..

Vehicle's Cartoon looks alike: [+A] - Utterly the bomb!!! Very Hot.

Special Notes: Here are "2" special notes which I thought you should know:

1 - Starscream's missile launcher came with spring to fire out missile so check for spring.

2 - In robot mode, you can store the front landing gear by putting inside the cockpit.

Overall Grade: [+A] - With the new colors, the joints improvement, and the special goodies, I think the great Starscream deserved this grade. For those that had never owned or want to own Starscream, I am highly recommended you to buy the Takara Book Style #9 Starscream. This toy is utterly beautiful especially in jet mode. Besides, he's my third favorite deceptions in only to Soundwave and Rumble (blue). 160

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