Starscream
(Legends of Cybertron)
(For a full review on the larger Starscream
toy that this is based on, check out the review here.)
Starscream's vehicle
mode is a pretty faithful representation of his larger (MUCH larger) version--
many of the major paint apps that are on the larger version are on this
toy, minus the red stripes on the nosecone and the rear wings. The metallic
red paint also looks really good, too-- actually better than the red on
Supremescream. The only things really missing at the landing wheels, which
of course couldn't be included because of the small size, and the red part
of the nosecone in front of the cockpit stops a bit short of the actual
front tip of the plane. On the larger version, it tapered out slowly, but
on this version, it stops abruptly where the black nosecone/robot feet
begin, making the front look less aerodynamic when it otherwise would be.
This detracts slightly from the look, but not too much, as it's a somewhat
minor detail.
Starscream's robot mode
also looks quite good, with excellent proportions for a toy this small,
as well as plentiful mold detailing-- the head sculpt especially looks
good for its size. And what's more, minus the head and elbow movement,
Starscream can move in all the places his Supreme-sized self can move,
giving him some of the best posability of any of the Legends of Cybertron
toys. His shoulders are even on balljoints, meaning you can actually get
slightly MORE movement out of them than on the Supreme-sized version! Another
cool feature is that the Key gimmick-activated swing-out weapons on the
big version are on this toy, too-- though they aren't activated by a key,
of course, you just flip them out. A few slightly aesthetic differences
are apparent on the smaller version of Starscream that are worth noting.
For one, the feet have the little "points" used in jet mode molded onto
their tips, whereas you just folded them under the feet on the larger version.
It doesn't look as good as if they had flipped under the feet, but it doesn't
look all that bad, either, and considering the size I can see why they
didn't bother with that anyways. The wings are also a bit stubby when compared
to the larger version. Though this is obviously for safety issues on such
a small toy, it still doesn't look as impressive. And finally, instead
of splitting the rear jet wing in half and folding them down his back,
you just swing the entire wing/rear pieces around so that it points downwards
behind Starscream's back. I have to say, I actually prefer this option
over that used on the larger toy-- this way, the folded-down wings don't
get in the way of arm articulation.
Legends of Cybertron
Starscream is the best toy of its kind in the first two waves-- reasonably
well-articulated in robot mode, with good proportions, good paint detailing,
and accurate to the larger version. Recommended if you don't want to shell
out the big bucks for Supremescream or the medium-sized
Starscream.
Review by Beastbot