Sunstreaker's vehicle mode is a sportscar, as it's always been. The shape of the car is nearly spot-on when compared to his G1 toy, which is pretty cool. It's a fairly bland shade of yellow, hoever, and the painted hood doesn't quite match the shade of the rest of the plastic. Still though, that's a minor complaint seeing that this mode is completely kibble-free and doesn't even show a hint of a robot mode from any angle (except the bottom, of course). The mold detailing is a bit sparse, but that's likely because of the speedy nature of the mold-- it gets considerably more detailed in robot mode. There's also some paint apps on the front and rear bumpers to help break up the yellow a little, and there's a nice nod on the license plate-- it says "WE R 84", and 1984 was the year Transformers first came out in the U.S. The G1-accurate "rocket pack" on the top of the car mode is a pretty neat extra in this mode, even if it's honestly a bit unneeded. There's some other really nice details, such as clear headlights, windows that look clear but actually aren't (a really good compromise between painted windows and completely clear windows that show robot innards, I think), and tail pipes on the back end that form a gun in robot mode. Still, a bit more paint detailing, like a stripe or two, really could've helped to make this mode look a bit less dull considering the plastic color.
    Sunstreaker's robot mode isn't the most original-looking for a car Transformer, but that doesn't mean it's poorly done. The transformation is complex and original enough, and although he has a few minor car parts hanging off of him like the rear bumper and the car doors, they're small bits and don't get in the way of movement. (What's most innovative about the robot mode is that it has an "alternate transformation" that's used for an upcoming repaint of this toy.) Sunstreaker's proportions are pretty spot-on, though his hood-chest is a little flat and a bit long compared to the rest of his main body, but that's a small quibble. A slightly larger quibble is that his lower legs are hollow, which looks a bit odd, even if they are still pretty stable because of the shape of the feet. The mold detailing is top-notch, and the head sculpt is very good. In fact, the last thing you're supposed to do when transforming him is to rotate the hood around, which in turn pops up the head, and the side crests pop out all by themselves! Pretty cool, that. Another little detail I like is the transparent blue panels in his legs. It's totally unnecessary, but it looks pretty cool and is a nice detail. His color scheme is brought out more fully in this mode, with the black providing a nice, if unoriginal, contrast color against the yellow. The milky light gray is nothing to write home about, but it works as a tertiary color. Still, the aforementioned paint details are what make this toy stand out more than the overall color scheme. About the only paint app I'm not crazy about on this guy is the safety orange coloring on his shoulders, which clashes horribly with the yellow. As for Sunstreaker's articulation, it's fantastic-- he can move at the neck, shoulders (at two points), elbows (at three points), wrists, waist, hips (at two points), knees (at two points), and ankles. So really, every major point is covered here, and with his lack of kibble and his even balance, that means a ton of poses. As for weaponry, Sunstreaker has two little extras. The first is a fairly small gun that he can hold in either of his hands, and the second is the little missile pack... thing... from his vehicle mode that can clip onto his upper back. It doesn't really do anything, though, and it's more there to be "G1 accurate" than to actually have a purpose. Plus, it's not hard to imagine it being lost rather easily, so I'd have preferred if that part of the budget had been spent elsewhere. (Some people have gotten it to clip onto the gun, but that connection looks rather iffy and I haven't been able to do it, myself.)
    Universe Sunstreaker is a fantastic toy, with almost no kibble in either mode and a robot mode that is extremely well-proportioned and articulated. If you only want to get one version of this mold, I'd hold out for the better-colored Sideswipe repaint, but this is one mold even casual fans probably wouldn't mind having two of.

Review by Beastbot

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