Transformers Cyberverse: Starscream

The Decepticon Starscream was given a makeover of sorts for the new "Bumblebee Cyberverse Adventures" series. Since I haven't really followed either the animated series or the toy line I don't recall seeing his new form before I found to the toy hanging on the pegs at my local Walmart.

 

Starscream is part of the new subseries of Transformers Cyberverse and as such sport the new logo. The left side of the package still features a vertical yellow strip with the Transformers name in large black blog letters. A large Transformers faction symbol adorns the top left corner. The back of the blister card shows Starscream in both modes and touches on his "Starseeker Missile " play gimmick. At least one of his wave mates is the autobot hammerhead shark, Hammerbyte. 

I absolutely love the look of this version of Starscream. He has had his fair share of looks over the years in various Transformers series', but I think this one ranks as one of the best. I do wish his arm cannons were the same opaque gray plastic as the majority of his body, but the overall look is great. He has ball jointed shoulders, hips and head, allowing for a full 360 degree rotation. His elbows and knees are on hinge joints. 

On the back side of Starscream's wings you can see another set of wings folded up...this gives a hint as to how his new jet mode looks. The jet cockpit hangs off his back, but is movable. This unlocks his play gimmick when lifted up, but you can leave it in the middle (as pictured) or lower it. Problem with lowering it is you'll see the nose of the jet between his legs. There are a few hollow areas on the figure that will bother some fans, however by now we should be used to that cost cutting measure by Hasbro. The feet are wide enough that it gives the figure good support in robot mode.

While I forgot to the take a picture of his "Starseeker Missile" attack mode, this is activated by pushing up on the jet canopy on his back. This will make his arm cannons spring forward in extended fashion.

Transformation from robot to jet is done in just 5 steps, but I found the transformation to be fun. I like how his legs fold up and over the top of the jet instead of just being tucked in underneath. You would think this would make for a bulky jet mode, but it works amazingly well. I love the look of both the front and rear wings...one of the best looking Starscream jet modes I've seen in awhile.

Starscream makes the 5th Warrior Class Cyberverse Transformer I've bought so far and I feel as if he blends in well with some of the previous toys, such as Shockwave. 

The Cyberverse line isn't for everyone, however if you can look past some of the simplistic designs and transformations I believe you'll find some fun Transformer toys.

Transformers Bot Shots: Starscream

February 2012, Transformers Prime First Edition toys had just hit local Toys R Us stores in my area. I was on my way out of town for a business meeting and there just happened to be a TRU right off Hwy I-85 I was traveling. I ran inside hoping to find the new Prime figures (which I did, grabbed Arcee and Starscream that day). I also found something else that was just released, Bot Shots.

I had previously saw pictures of these toys on TFW2005, but this was my first encounter with them at retail. All I knew about them was they featured a spring loaded transformation that was activated when they were crashed. The figures were used as part of a 'paper, rock, scissors' type game. They were small, super deformed-esque and inexpensive. I grabbed a few to see what they were like. The first wave only contained a few, Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and Starscream.

These toys are small, simple and don't feature a lot of paint apps or articulation, however the designers crammed a lot of detail into each figure. I love the head sculpt of Starscream (as well as most of the other figures) as they nailed his G1 self. Even the sly little smirk on his face has been captured in plastic.

While I ended up buying a lot of the G1 character based Bot Shots from the next few waves, I ended up giving them away to children at Charticon earlier this year. I had originally planned to do a Bot Shots tournament, but my plate got full and that idea was scrapped. The kids that stopped by my table didn't seem to care however as they were able to play w/ the toys and even take a few home with them for free.

Transformers Universe: King Atlas

During the early 2000's Hasbro introduced a new series of Transformers simply called Universe. The entire line started with redecos existing molds from several previous series'. I always looked at the line and thought it was a filler line. Basically something new for retailers to order and fill up their shelves.

Like with most Transformers during this time I bought up just about every release I could find. Even if I thought it was ugly I bought it because, well, it was a Transformer. Thankfully I've come to my senses since then, but not before I ended up with a lot of Transformers that don't fit into my collecting scope now.

I wasn't crazy about a lot of the early Universe releases, but King Atlas was one of the exceptions. If you aren't familiar with the mold it was first used in Europe as Predator Skyquake. Kenner/Hasbro later used the mold in the KB Toys exclusive Machine Wars series as Starscream. In a sense this was the first time this mold had a wide release. I think eHobby even offered this toy to eastern audiences as one of their USA Exclusives.

Hasbro was using a lot of Beast Wars molds at the beginning of the line so who thought in 2004 when King Atlas was released that they (Hasbro) would go back and use a mold from 7 years earlier? I sure didn't. I can remember hitting several different local Target and Walmart stores hunting for this toy. I had to have it. At the time my only exposure to this mold was Machine Wars Starscream. Even though the toy had been altered from it's initial European release it was a fun toy...plus the new Autobot deco was too good to pass up.

There is no doubt that this mold is a G1/G2 mold. It's a big 'ol brick. No real articulation. Loud ratcheting joints. I love it. I guess one of the reasons that really fueled my desire to buy this toy was the fact that it was an older mold. When I did my first big collection purge last year I decided to keep King Atlas based solely on the fact that his mold was from the "original" era. I'm still trying to find the best place to display this monstrous toy. I should've taken a side view picture as the large scope just hangs off his back. This makes it hard to display on a crowded shelf.

I didn't break out the measuring tape, but in robot mode this figure is quite large. The new Autobot color scheme is very good, although some of the added detail can't be seen as well in robot mode. Former Hasbro designer, Aaron Archer, said the deco was purposefully done to resemble the G1 Japanese exclusive character Dai Atlas. Nice. A nod to us collectors!


King Atlas' only accessories are 6 yellow bombs / missiles. The spring loaded hand held gun that Skyquake originally came with was not included in this release - just like Machine Wars Starscream. From what I know it was omitted for safety reasons due to the incredibly strong spring inside the gun. The missiles can be attached to the underside of the jet or placed inside the wings in the bomb compartments.

Where this toy really shines in in jet mode. I've read the mold was based loosely on the SR-71 Blackbird, but I can't really see the influence. I've already mentioned the awesome deco, but what you couldn't see in robot mode you can see while in jet form. I typically don't like white toys. They look bland and I worry about the white plastic yellowing with age. You have to protect white Transformers from sunlight like they are a Mogwai. Thankfully Hasbro decided to give the toy brushes of gray paint all over the jet to give it a weathered and worn look. I'm also glad they omitted the goofy shark face sticker on the nose of the jet.

The only downside to this toy is the fact that the main play feature Skyquake had (Megavisor) was left off. Not surprising since MW Starscream didn't have it either. The translucent plastic in the mid section of the jet and the viewfinder piece are now an opaque black plastic. He does still retain is "carpet bombing" gimmick allowing you to drop bombs on unaware Decepticons below.

In terms of fiction, King Atlas was used by 3H Productions as part of their OTFCC Transformers Universe comic fiction.

In my opinion a lot of the Universe toy releases were really uninspired and boring and didn't warrant a purchase...then or now. King Atlas however breaks that mold and delivers a pretty satisfying, albeit brick of a toy. I recently pulled this toy off the shelf to sell, but after fiddling around with him and writing this post I've decided that I'm still too attached to say bye. So off he goes back up on the shelves with a few of my other Transformers misfits.

Transformers Henkei! / Gentei!: Ghost Starscream

QUICK INFO:
Name: Ghost Starscream
Line: Transformers Henkei! (Japan)
Company: Takara Tomy
Year: November 2009
Price: $79.00 USD & up
Info: Transformers Generations 2009, Vol. 2 mail-away exclusive

Today we have the latest mail-away exclusive from the 2nd volume of the Transformers Generations book. In order to obtain this toy in Japan you had to buy the book and fill out an included order form to send away. If you didn't live in Japan you had to go through a 2nd party re-seller and it wasn't cheap as I've seen it being offer for as much as $120.00 USD! Is it worth your hard earned money? Hard for me to say, but let's take a look at one of the most iconic Generation One characters, Starscream.

Starscream comes packaged in the standard Henkei! style blister card, however as you can see the package is done in blue monochrome. I was a little surprised to see that the image used of Starscream is actually the translucent version and not simply a monochromed shot of the regular toy. The included tech spec trading card features the same product shot as the front packaging, only a full body shot with the power ratings on the reverse side.

I normally don't care for translucent toys, Transformers or not. The use of the translucent plastic this time around makes sense though and it works really, really well. Ever since Megatron returned as Galvatron and obliterated Starscream in the classic cartoon fans have wanted a ghost version of Starscream in toy form. Granted this is not the first version of Starscream in his ghost form (e-Hobby did a translucent version of the original G1 toy a few years back), this is argubaly the best version to date. I don't have many complaints about the toy in jet mode. I was a little disappointed that the Decepticon emblem is not tampographed on the underside of the wings. Small gripe granted, but it doesn't really take anything away from the rest of the toy.

The toy looks great under regular lighting, but it really shines (no pun intended) when exposed to natural light. I used a little sunlight in these pictures to show just how ghostly the figure can look. The only solid plastic used are the thighs and the silver chrome around the tips of his missile launchers. The rest of the body is fully translucent, even his head!

Here is good comparison shot of the toy in natural light (sunlight) and regular lighting (florescent).

This toy is wonderfully done and would make a great addition to any Transformers Henkei! or Classics collection. Because of it's exclusive nature and price it isn't for everybody. If the price tag scares you away then I highly recommend you track down the regular Henkei! version of Starscream as you see in this last comparison picture. It is much more G1 accurate than Hasbro versions. A fellow collector friend of mine brought to my attention that this mold surprisingly doesn't appear to be suffering any mold degradation. Seeing how Takara Tomy has used this mold approx. 11 times (Classics, Henkei!, Botcon uses) prior to this release one would think the mold would start to show some signs of where. All the joints are very tight which is really nice since there are a lot of points of articulation in the figure. Of the 4 Gentei! figures released thus far (the other 3 being Mirage, Wildrider, Strafe) I have to say Starscream is tied for being my favorite. Takara Tomy hit a home run with this release and I can see it being very popular with the fandom for years to come.