Review: #99
Name: Starscream
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Decepticon
Line: Robot Masters (RM-12)
Year of Release: 2004
Size Class: Deluxe
Variations: repainted into Skywarp and Thundercracker
JET MODE:
Robot Masters Starscream was one of the first modern takes of G1 Starscream. As expected, he transforms into a F-15 Eagle fighter jet. The bright colours used makes Starscream look very cartoony.
A simplistic jet, there are a lot of seams here caused by the transformation. The colours are mostly accurate, biggest omission would be the solid blue tailfins (but I can't remember if he had those details in jet mode in the cartoon).
The cockpit opens and I think there's a seat sculpted inside, not too sure since the opening cockpit is required for transformation anyway.
In jet mode, he's a tiny bit smaller than a Deluxe from that era, although he might be on par with Deluxe nowadays.
He features three point landing gear. Interestingly, the two rear ones (which are attached to his feet) can roll, while the one underneath the nose is molded solid.
You might have noticed some chrome on the underside in the pictures above, it's actually an accessory and you can detach it for a slightly sleeker look.
The red in the fuselage break the jet a small bit, but a very good attempt at G1 Starscream for the time, even if the toy focuses on a cartoony style rather than realism.
TRANSFORMATION:
If you've been used to the Classics mold, then Robot Masters Starscream's transformation will feel very similar. However, the way the arms form are much more clever and interesting. This means that RM Starscream doesn't have that gap underneath the fuselage like the Classics mode. The wings are also attached on balljoints, so it gives more leeway. That said, with age, Starscream feels very fragile, and easy to break. I was extremely careful with this one since all the joints were loose. Just something to watch out. In this mold, the nullrays detach from the wings and become reattached onto his arms, that's the only detachable part though.
ROBOT MODE:
The cartoony proportions carry on here, with big feet, weedy arms, and a tiny head. Still it's not all bad, Starscream looks okay. The baby blue used is nice.
There's not much paint here, and the grey can be somewhat ugly. The huge torso and wings doesn't help much either.
As mentioned, Starscream comes with two chromed missile pods that attach to his chest, and two null rays. The null rays seem really really tiny but are actually scaled just right for the robot.
The head sculpt needs a lot of improvement, it looks very generic and the face doesn't invoke Starscream that much. A splash of silver paint would bring out the details much better. It's also a very very tiny head.
One thing I found interesting was that you could keep the nose of the jet up, to get some sort of 'conehead'. Not that it means anything since this mold never got retooled into the three Coneheads.
While nearly Deluxe sized in jet, it's tinier in robot mode, not quite Scout/Commander sized but getting there.
There are peg holes just behind the fist, and you can plug in one of the null rays there to make it seem like Starscream is holding it. The holes are also there so that the weapons from other Robot Masters can be used.
You can plug in the chrome missile pods onto his chest, it does bulk it up considerably, and the shininess doesn't quite match the blandness of the torso.
Those missile pods open up to reveal... missiles, obviously they don't fire.
Poseability is very very limited. The head is on a balljoint so it's fine there, but the arms and shoulders are restricted, and the legs are terrible. They only have limited movement in the hips and swivel, there's no knee articulation at all.
A good robot to display but not to play. It does capture G1 Starscream quite well, and considering that it was one of the first attempts, it's not bad at all.
OVERALL:
At the time, this was probably a great toy, as it is, toy engineering had rapidly advanced, and Robot Masters Starscream has fallen behind. The thing that kills him is the lack of knee articulation and weird proportions. There are better G1 Starscream representations, but if you like him, and can find him at a decent price, then it's not a bad figure. Just be very careful when handling him.
----------------------------
A few other toy reviews can be found at this page.