(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

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