Starscream's alt mode is-- as it's pretty much always been-- a fighter jet, with a rather sleek look in jet mode with swept-back wings and a generally "light" look (it's also a bit small for a deluxe, which helps with this look). That is, it WOULD look like that, if it wasn't for the big chunk of robot mode legs hanging off the bottom of this mode, roughly doubling the vertical thickness of this mode. At least the legs and robot waist don't stick out if you look at Starscream from a top-down view, so he looks mighty nice from that perspective-- but from most others, those big pieces of robot mode down there rather ruin the sleekness of this mode. Other than that major caveat, this mode is pretty good, having rather unique stylings to keep him looking different from most other Decepti-jets, with a rather bulbous-looking cockpit and relatively skinny wings (the main wings are a bit short proportionally, but otherwise they're alright). His mold detailing is a bit more complex than most Prime toys', with several areas-- such as his cockpit, the area right behind it that forms his robot chest, and the sides of this mode-- quite detailed, with rivets and everything. Even the back end-- with the long robot toes poking out-- there's still a rocket thruster molded in back there, which is a nice touch. As for Starscream's color scheme, he's a bit dull, being mostly various shades of gray and/or dark blue. There's a bit of silver here and there, and the few apps of red and medium blue on him really give a lot of pop to those areas of his scheme-- I wish they had been used more. Still, none of the colors clash, so it's certainly not BAD, just not eye-catching. Starscream's nosecone and missile pieces underneath his wings are made of bendy plastic for safety reasons, and his missiles on each wing can come off if you want to "fire them" at someone (all three missiles under one wing are one piece, however, and no, they aren't spring-loaded missiles). Starscream does technically have landing gear in this mode, but they're not extendable-- they're just small little circular nubs on the bottom to keep him relatively level.
    Starscream's transformation is quite impressive and intuitive, with even minor bits like his jet exhaust port folding away in steps that are completely unnecessary but appreciated. Thus, despite the fact that you can see a good number of his jet parts somewhere in this mode (like his wings behind his shoulders and his tailwings behind his head), the only piece I would consider outright "vehicle kibble" is the cockpit nose behind his butt. The wings frame his slim silouhette very well and enhance his look. Speaking of his look, it's definitely a different one for Starscream, and one of the most unique body types among all the Transformers-- he's incredibly skinny and sleek, yet has enough "sharp" points on him (the wings, his long fingers, his toes and kneecaps-- the latter are made of soft plastic) to still make him look rather dangerous. In fact, in some respects he's so skinny he looks rather anorexic in terms of his body structure, which is unusual for the character but, given Starscream's backstabby, skulking nature and shrieky voice, it works oddly well for him in terms of shaping his personality. His slightly hunchbacked posture also works well with this, though his neck is jointed in such a way that if you don't want him hunchbacked, he doesn't need to be. His sculpting continues to be well-done in this mode, with the curved-yet-pointy Prime aesthetic shining through in areas like his leg design and his long, claw-like hands. His headsculpt is also masterfully done, with the usual Starscream smirk on his face. I don't like the little crest in the middle of his forehead, though, as it's made of soft plastic and-- given where it sits in vehicle mode-- has a tendency to get bent a little bit. Starscream's missile accessories can be fitted onto the halves of the tailfins that are on his lower arms, another ingenious idea that fits in with his show model. In fact, except for some minor stuff on his back and his nosecone-butt, he's incredibly, surprisingly show-accurate in this mode, pretty much to a fault. For articulation, Starscream can move at the neck (at two points), shoulders (at three points), knees (at two points), wrists (at two points), waist rotation (though if you rotate it more than little, it looks odd given that the center of rotation is not the center of the waist), and movement at the hips (at two points), knees, and slightly at the base of each toe & heel. Other than sideways knee movement, this means that you're VERY well-covered in terms of articulation for him, but unfortunately, with his stiletto heels and rather small feet, he's rather difficult to stand up by himself.
    First Edition Starscream has one of the most impressive, unique, and show-accurate robot modes out of any of the Prime toys, with a great intuitive transformation that has a lot of nice little extra touches. Unfortunately, his very obvious and relatively bulky waist & leg kibble on the underside of his vehicle mode ruin the sleekness of that mode and are a bit of an eyesore, and he has some definite stability problems. He's also a bit small for the size class. Still, if the robot mode and show accuracy is what matters the most to you, this is the version of Prime Starscream that you want to get.

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Review by Beastbot

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