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Transformers Toy Review Archive (older series, 1984 to date)
Robot Mode:
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zeoman4.5's review: Activators Starscream

Name: Starscream
Allegiance: Decepticon
Function: Decepticon Air Commander
Group: Activators

Sneeky, mean, and ambitious would be a bad combination of personality traits in anyone, but in a giant robot warrior bent on conquering the universe they're the worst. Starscream loves power for its own sake and will blast anyone who gets in his way. There's no reason he does all the awful stuff he does, except that he thinks he's so much better than everyone.

First of let me say, "Yes, I know that this is a different bio than the Voyager class figure." This is what they put on the package. It's accurate though, that's for sure. Second, you might be wondering why I would get a figure which is mostly regarded on forums as a "baby toy". I was just browsing my local Wal-Mart, and thought he looked cool so I bought him. Not expecting much, I was surprised.

Animated Starscream holds true to his previous incarnations in that he is a back-stabbing, lowdown coward. The master of treachery never looked better. This Starscream was one of the Decepticons with Megatron in the first episode of Animated, he would betray Megatron, get abandoned, then battle Optimus for the Allspark. Later he would get slagged by Megatron, and find out he is immortal thanks to an Allspark fragment embedded in his head. He would then go into the cloning business, and in a moment of gloating lose it all and get trapped in space, bodiless.


Robot Mode:

Since this guy is packaged in robot mode I'll start the review with here.

The look is just cool. He looks almost exactly like the TV character. He is truly nifty; none of the images on the web quite do him justice. His color scheme is mainly a grey/blue, with metallic red on the chest, shoulders, and wing stripes. His lower arms, feet, and shins are black. Of course he's got a cockpit on his chest, which is orange. His face is pure Starscream. Its got a huge chin, a G1-esque seeker helmet, and a little smile that is pure evil. His red eyes stand out on his silver face and pull everything together. He is a great looking figure, not at all like the Fast Action battler figures from the Movie line. This is a welcome surprise and makes him match up to his larger Voyager class incarnation in quality of design.

He is very well articulated for a smaller figure. His shoulders, elbows, knees, hips, and neck are all ball and socket joints. His feet are clamp-like but they balance well and can be adjusted to help him stand in numerous poses. He is incredibly poseable, making him very fun to display. As for play, heck yes, he is very play worthy. He's got a null-ray on both of his arms. They don't fire missiles like the Voyager figure, but they are show accurate and look cool. Honestly his good looks and articulation make his robot mode very cool and I find myself playing with him for no reason ‘cause he is so neat and almost hypnotic...


Alternate Mode:

As he is Starscream, he transforms into a jet. I'm not really sure what kind of jet he is though. He has reverse wings, and a blocky nose piece. He has the null-rays under each wing. This mode is generally the reason why people call this figure a "baby toy". It is very blocky, a little squished, and his robot arms are showing. It’s not as cool as his robot mode, but it looks like a jet, has the right colors, and is still very fun to play around with. Not great, but it works and it could be worse.


Gimmicks:

Gimmicks for the Animated line as of yet have been very mediocre. Blackarachnia's grapnel launcher, Ratchet's spring loaded arm things, or Bumblebee's stingers. However the Activators gimmick is truly a bright spot in my Animated collection so far. What is it? The ability to transform from his jet mode to robot mode with the push of a button, and a couple little things being flipped up. The transformation is just fun. I always wanted my Transformers to change as fast as they do on the show, even though I like the challenge of changing them. With him it is finally as I like it and this is the evolution of a theme that started in G1 with the Jumpstarters, Topspin and Twintwist, and now is perfected to the degree where it is truly cool. This is what surprised me and makes me think (along with his cool robot mode looks) that this is a great figure. I'm happy with him, trust me, I think any good fan would be.


Marks out of ten for the following:

Transformation: 1 – Difficult, but incredibly fun.
Durability: 8 – He is pretty tough, but he's got a lot of springs which could get jammed, although he seems to be built well.
Fun: 10 – So much fun, poseable, transforms, fun overload......ahhh!
Price: 8 – Worth the price – $7.99, basic price nowadays.
Overall: 8 – A really nice figure and worth getting, but if you own the Voyager figure you don't need to get him. I don't own that one, so this is truly a blessing.
 
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