Starscream's Assault (Wal-Mart Exclusive)

Set Price: $30 U.S.

(NOTE: Because this set is composed of repaints, this is not a full-blown review. This mainly covers any changes made to the set and the color scheme, and merely compares it to the original versions of these molds. For a review on the original RotF deluxe Mudflap mold, go here. For a review on the original RotF voyager Starscream mold, go here.)
 

Mudflap
Vehicle ModeRobot Mode
Allegiance: Autobot
Size: Deluxe
Difficulty of Transformation: Hard
Color Scheme: Tannish gray, bluish gray, light tan, dark tinted clear plastic, light milky tannish orange, and some white, dark gray, light sky blue, light milky gray, red, light red, and silver
Individual Rating: 7.0

    Mudflap here looks like he's been in the desert for a looong while. His very color scheme looks like it's got sand and dirt all over it, with less of his "real" colors showing through the light tan (meant to represent sand) than the actual tan coloration itself! (That's because the tan itself is the plastic color this time around, with the "real" red underneath being paint apps-- however, it should be noted that Mudflap's original colors were dark orange, not red, which makes this detail a little off.) Likewise, the bluish gray has mostly been painted over in vehicle mode with a slightly muddier version of the color, which looks REALLY nice and more realistic-looking than almost any other "battle damage/wear" paint apps I can think of. Mudflap's front windshield also has a bit of "sand" (read: a white spray paint app) across the front of it, with the rest of the windows being so darkly tinted to the point of being nearly opaque. This is good news, since if they were too easily see-through you could make out his robot bits behind the windows, so kudos there. In robot mode, although a bit of that ugly "light milky gray" color that's far too common on Transformers these days comes through on some of the smaller parts, overall Mudflap is a cornucopia of different colors. In addition to the tan and bluish gray from his vehicle mode, he's also got a very nice light milky orange which-- as per the "theme" of this redeco-- looks like it's been faded out from sand and wear-and-tear. Mudflap still has a bit of dark gray and silver to give even more color variety to this mode, and it all comes together quite well, with most of the tannish colors contrasting nicely with the grayish colors without looking too dull.
    No mold changes have been made to this version of Mudflap.



Mudflap Tech Specs:
Strength: 4.0
Intelligence: 5.0
Speed: 7.0
Endurance: 5.0
Rank: 2.0
Courage: 9.0
Fireblast: 4.0
Skill: 3.0

 

Starscream
Vehicle ModeRobot Mode
Allegiance: Decepticon
Size: Voyager
Difficulty of Transformation: Hard
Color Scheme: Light whitish tan, black, glossy gray, and some transparent yellow, dark gray, and metallic gunmetal gray
Individual Rating: 8.7

    Starscream, like Mudflap, has a similar "sandy deco" of his original paint job, but it's much more subtle on this version. The main plastic on this version is roughly the same hue as that on the original release of this mold, but a couple of shades whiter. The "Cyberglyphs" on the jet mode are also a bit of a glossier shade and less metallic than that seen on the initial release, to simulate sand partially covering (or having worn away) the edge on the Cyberglyphs. There's also a few extra paint apps on the jet that are meant to simulate battle damage, as they look like parts of Starscream's hull have been ripped away or blown off to reveal some gears and the like on the inside. (It should be noted that this effect is entirely paint apps, though, not mold changes.) It's nice, but given how close in hue it is to the Cyberglyphs, it took me a bit to try to figure out exactly what they were supposed to be. The transparent plastic has similarly been lightened a bit, from amber on the inital release to a lighter yellow on this release-- again, to fit with the whole "sand worn" theme. The black plastic parts and gunmetal gray paint apps are still the same, however. Taken all together, the overall feeling of the color scheme is pretty much the same as the original RotF voyager Starscream layout, but a bit more "bleached".
    No mold changes have been made to this version of Starscream.



Starscream Tech Specs:
Strength: 8.0
Intelligence: 4.0
Speed: 10.0
Endurance: 7.0
Rank: 9.0
Courage: 5.0
Fireblast: 8.0
Skill: 8.0

    "Starscream's Assault" is the weaker of the two Wal-Mart exclusive "Hunt for the Decepticons" voyager/deluxe 2-packs. Mudflap has a great deco scheme that has one of the most realistic "sand wear" paint jobs I've ever seen on a Transformer, but unfortunately the mold is mediocre at best. Starscream-- the larger of the two toys in the pack and easily the better of the two molds-- is largely unchanged, looking like a bleached-out version of the original's colors and generally not the most attractive to look at. If you don't have any other version of the RotF Voyager class Starscream mold yet and want one or a version of Mudflap, this may be worth a pickup if you don't mind complex transformations. Otherwise, pass.



Starscream's Assault Bio:
If he had thought to ask the other Autobots, Mudflap would have learned that going after Starscream alone was a bad, dangerous idea. But Mudflap has never been one to skip doing something just because it's a bad idea.

Reviews by Beastbot

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