First off, before I start the review, a bit of background info is needed on this toy. Supreme Starscream is not the "default" size of this mold-- the normal size was a Voyager-class toy, released in the Japanese version of the Cybertron line, Galaxy Force. Supreme Starscream is a large-scale version of the same mold, with a few relatively minor modifications. Since I'll be referring to the Galaxy Force "normal-sized" version several times in this review, I thought it'd be good to clear that up first.
    Starscream's vehicle mode is a highly futuristic jet, which is meant to be a nod to how G1 Starscream looked in his alternate mode before he was reformatted on Earth. However, most kids probably won't notice this, and overall, Starscream looks like a diamond-shaped big hunk of metal with a cockpit and a few wings. The body of the plane is FAR too large to even picture this thing being able to fly, especially when compared with the relatively miniscule wings. If the huge lower robot legs weren't off to the sides of the cockpit section, it would have made this mode look significantly more streamlined-- though I'm not sure where the legs could have gone on a jet shaped like this anyways... And also, some of the flaws that were only minor in the Voyager-sized Galaxy Force version are magnified here because of the sheer size of the mold; the rear wings being noticeably higher than the parts directly in front of them, as well as the two not connecting together in some way; the hollow rear wing; and the rather visible robot head between the rear missile launchers. The mold detailing is also the same as the Galaxy Force on 95% of the toy, which at this scale, means Starscream looks a bit underdetailed on certain parts. The paitn detailing is likewise rather simplistic, with almost no small paint apps, but at least the overall color scheme is nice-- the metallic red looks really cool, and the gray and black are, as always, Starscream-y colors. A bit of purple is thrown in for good measure, though a bit of blue on the wings or legs would've helped to break up all the gray a bit more. There are a few features in this mode that aren't on the smaller version as well; the (non-firing, alas) guns to the sides of the cockpit can move up and down, and if you press the small red piece sticking out of the top of the left rear missile launcher, a firing sound is heard as the launchers blink on and off. However, I would've REALLY liked to have seen Hasbro take full advantage of making Starscream so big by making the roof the cockpit flip open, and being able to fit a Minicon in there by deepening the cockpit just a little bit. But no such luck.
    Starscream's robot mode looks great, and even though it's simplistic, it still manages to look imposing on such a big scale. A few words about the transformation; however; it's very hard to unfold the robot legs without accidentally popping off half of the wings, which is rather annoying. Also, a portion of the nosecone folds away so it doesn't protrude too much from his waist in this mode, while the smaller version doesn't have this extra step. The rear wings also turn in a little big when you fold them down on Starscream's upper back-- this helps to make them less obvious in this mode, a feature which the smaller version also doesn't have. Starscream's proportions are pretty good, except for his arms, which could stand to be a tad longer. But what's really cool about this robot mode, however, is that it's a big HONKING nod to Dreamwave's War Within (pre-G1) Starscream, to the point where it looks almost identical in this mode! It's a really, really cool fan nod. Starscream's articulation is decent-- he can move at the head; shoulders, elbows, hips (at two points), and knees (at two points). You can get a reasonable number of poses out of him, but at such a large scale, modifications to give him more arm articulation (which is limited at both the shoulders and elbows), or to give him individual finger articulation, would have made the toy more desirable here. Supreme Starscream, unlike the normal-sized Starscream, comes with a Decepticon Crown of Leadership, which looks almost exactly like the crown Starscream was wearing in the '80s movie-- another huge fan nod. Unfortunately, there's nowhere to really store it in his vehicle mode without it being blatantly apparent. Also, instead of one Cyber Key activating both his arms as on the smaller version, Starscream has TWO Cyber Keys-- a "normal" Decepticon one and a golden Earth one-- to activate each arm gimmick separately. There's also a slot on his back where you can store one Cyber Key when it's not in use. When his right arm is activated, a sword pops out-- swing said arm up above his head, and a "sword clinging" sound is made while his launchers light up red and his eyes light up green. It's rather lame, as EVERY time you raise Starscream's arm above that point, the sound is made-- I would have MUCH preferred the sound just coming on when you activated the gimmick. As for his left arm, a futuristic blaster swings out, which can fire a missile, which also makes small claws on the side of the gun pop up as you do so-- a rather cool effect. When you raise this arm up past the head, it makes another "firing" noise as the missile launchers light up-- though I have the same complaints with this sound as I do with the one on the other arm.
    Starscream has a very cool robot mode, and is decent enough, but he's just FAR too simplistic to warrant getting a Supreme-sized toy made out of what is clearly a Voyager-sized mold. He has a couple of small modifications and gimmicks made to try to justify this, but it's not nearly enough-- more mold and paint detailing, an openable cockpit, and better articulation would have made the toy at this size more appetizing, among other things. Unless you're a completist or just really REALLY like Starscream, I'd stick with ordering the Galaxy Force version (it's cheaper, even though it's from Japan, since it's a normal Voyager size), or sufficing for the Legends of Cybertron version. Starscream just doesn't offer enough bang for the buck as a toy of this size-- if only he was smaller, he'd have gotten a substantially higher rating.

Review by Beastbot

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