G1 Starscream

Starscream has always been an important character in the Transformers mythos. His classic voice and cowardly usurping ways in the cartoon are firmly entrenched in most of our nostalgic minds. I don't really recall too much of the toy from my childhood, never having owned one, although I do remember the way in which the nosecone transformed - it always seemed very complex to me! Of course it's pretty simple now, but back then I had no idea. I had the TRU reissue for a while, which is a great toy, awesome packaging and all, but I decided I'd like to see what all the fuss was about regarding the "proper" sized missiles from the 80s. I got the Takara reissue (not the book-style one, but the one from a couple years prior, with the repro packaging) and you know what? The missiles are OK but hardly worth getting excited about. The shoulders suck - the joints are not tight and his arms flop all over the place. But other than that, this is a great toy! Moreso than the car-based Autobots, Starscream has a 70s giant robot look to him, due in part to the grey/red/blue colour scheme and the panel lines with their implied rivets holding his outer shell together. As mentioned, the rotating nosecone/cockpit part is easily transformed, but as kid I had absolutely no clue. The myriad of loose parts on this toy probably didn't help either. I mean, the early G1 stuff as a whole had a bunch of loose parts, like hands and weapons, but the Seekers are just crazy with the stuff that could be easily lost by a kid! Maybe I never saw a complete Screamer as a young 'un...or it's been too long too remember. Oh, another thing adding to the 70s look are the stickers which are supposed to indicate complex electronics and stuff but end up looking more like the yellow circles and red bars that they actually are. I have no problem with this; I love stuff like the arrow stickers on the feet. Speaking of feet, the fact that the plane mode's jet exhausts become Starscream's heels is actually really awesome, especially if you've seen that old pic where he's using them to fly in robot mode. The Seekers probably did this in the show as well but I don't specifically remember it. Doing this review I just noticed some of the red paint flaking off the die cast chest. Must be a problem with red on metal - my Prime re-issue is suffering the same even though my G1 TFs basically sit on a shelf and collect dust. In plane mode, Starscream's Diaclone roots are revealed with an excellent 80s toy version of an F-15. This is a big reason why G1 TFs are so cool - the alt modes are just the best! The grey colour helps make this mode look even more realistic despite the red. Perhaps they're performance colours for a prototype. I'd like to get some Diaclone drivers someday so I can have a pilot for his plane mode.