(NOTE: Because this is a repaint, this is not a full-blown review. This mainly covers any changes made to the mold and the color scheme, and merely compares it to Classics Starscream. For a review on the mold itself, read the review of Classics Starscream here.)
Hotlink is a pretty obscure
Seeker who shows up in the first episode of G1 and who Seeker fans have
been pining for (to some extent, at least) ever since. Now they finally
get their wish, with the mold that it seems no one can ever get enough
of (me included)-- the Classics Starscream mold. Hotlink's paint apps and
all but one of his colors are identical to the others in this "troop builder"
set, with only the main color being changed (a pretty ingenious idea, really).
Thus, he's got white on the upper legs (inaccurate to the toon, but really,
given how this set was put together, it's a small quibble), the middle
of the missile launchers and the triggers, and on a few minor connector
pieces, as well as the traditional G1 dark red-and-white Seeker stripes
along his main wings, tailfins, and robot shoulders. He also has a transparent
yellow cockpit window that fits right in with the other Classics Seekers,
some silver on the intakes, the knees, the inside of the toes and face,
and the landing gear. For black, he's got some on the nosecone, head, lower
arms, feet and part of the lower legs, rear thrusters, and a few other
minor paint apps here and there. There's also just a bit of dark red on
the eyes and the intakes. The main color that brings it all together for
Hotlink is a rather medium-- and slightly pale-- shade of purple, which
has a swirl in it that makes it look almost semi-metallic. It contrasts
against the white particularly well, and the other colors look pretty good
against it as well, though not as good as the white given the rather "medium"
shade of most of the paint apps (probably so that they'd contrast against
both dark and light colors). The medium purple also makes Hotlink look
a bit more different when compared to Skywarp,
which is always a good thing.
No mold changes have
been made to Hotlink.
Hotlink's medium purple
looks pretty good against the "standard" Seeker paint apps and colors,
with him taking the "middle" position in terms of how much I like him compared
to the other Seekers in this set. I do wish he had a few unique paint apps
to make him look more "Hotlink-y"-- like perhaps some cybernetic paint
apps on his wings-- but I get that people probably wanted more slavishly
G1 paint given that this is his first toy and all. Recommended for Seeker
fans, with the caveat that you'll be paying a mint for this on the aftermarket--
this set was by far the most popular BotCon 2013 pack.
Review by Beastbot