Review: #630
Name: Starscream
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Decepticon
Line: Masterpiece
Year of Release: 2020
Size Class: Masterpiece
Mold Status: new
PACKAGING:
As part of the Masterpiece line, Starscream comes in a windowless box. It has the signature black packaging with the big stock photo on the front.
The back is filled with pictures and looks a tad bit bare without the words to support it. It shows off all the gimmicks and detail the figure has.
JET MODE:
Starscream is based upon his mode in the first three movies, and the paint job from the first movie (given his lack of tattoos). He transforms into a Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor Jet.
Given its size and price point, this is a pretty good jet. Unfortunately, like most jet Transformers, he suffers from undercarriage kibble, and you can even see it sticking out from underneath the wings.
That said, the camo paint job is fantastic and uses various shades of beige and grey to achieve the layered effect.
In term of size, Starscream is massive. He is easily much bigger than a Leader class figure, and a Deluxe is placed above for scale.
The undercarriage is thick when viewed from the size. A neat plus is that he has three landing gear that folds down, and the wheels on them roll as well.
There aren't many gimmicks in this mode. The cockpit is detailed with a seat and other things but it doesn't open like you would expect it to.
The robot weapons can store in this mode but pegging underneath each wing with the small Gatling gun under the nose. Looks ridiculous but helpful to not lose them.
This is a great jet mode overall. He has a nice size and heft to him.
TRANSFORMATION:
Transformation is understandably very complicated. There are a lot of small moving parts that the instructions doesn't necessarily always make clear on what you needed to do. The undercarriage is a bunch of pieces that will need to manipulate to form his torso and arms. That might sound easy but it is not as there are many small pieces that unfold and clip together. The legs are much easy as while they still are from the undercarriage kibble, they pretty much just swing down. Most of the top of the jet then breaks apart and folds to his backpack. To be honest, it's not really a transformation that is recommended to be done for fun.
ROBOT MODE:
The tough transformation is definitely worth it because the robot mode is absolutely amazing. It beats any previous Starscream toys, including the Leader class one we had from Hunt for the Decepticons.
The attention to detail continues to his back, including the two jet thrusters that we saw from the first movie that allows him to fly. Considering everything, he doesn't actually have that much kibble on him.
The head sculpt is suitably detailed as well, with nice gold highlights. The only negative, and this extends to the whole figure, is how it is a lighter unpainted grey plastic rather than a darker more metallic shade.
As with all the MPM figures, he has a small gimmick in relation to his head. It can lift up to open up his mouth, it's a tad bit subtle.
In term of size, he still towers over Leader and Deluxe figures, although true to his design, he is a bit wide as well.
There are plenty of details to be found on the figure. There's the aforementioned rear thrusters, that are on various joints to allow them to be posed however you want.
Then the front has a ton of pieces to replicate the complex Movie designs. This is definitely the best integration of the cockpit that we've seen on a Starscream figure.
The feet are the only pieces that are cast from die-cast. They add a bit more stability to him but more will be covered on that later.
The hands also sports many joints, with individual hinges for both thumbs and each finger.
While most of the figure is unpainted, there are various spots where he has a nice silver touch or metallic sheen.
Poseability, as you can expect, is absolutely amazing. He mostly has ratchet joints, which is required for something of his heft. While his chest doesn't quite flex inwards and back as much as the Leader class version did, there's still some movement allowed.
The bigger problem are his legs. He has the double jointed backwards facing legs, but unfortunately, the ratchets there doesn't seem to be able to fully support the large upper body.
What usually happens is that you will need to fiddle around with his legs and feet (which sports ankle joints as well) in order to not have him collapse upon himself. It's not as bad as it sounds, but is prevalent enough to be mildly annoying.
And therein lies his biggest advantage and disadvantage: he is a big hefty figure, and as such, can be "tiring" to play and pose with.
It is very odd that the rear wings don't also seem to clip into place, relying rather on friction instead. His shoulders also like to hit the wings too.
He comes with three weapons, a Gatling gun, a circular saw, and a missile pod launcher.
The Gatling gun is simple, it just attaches to his forearm, and it can be either arm as both have the slot required.
In order to attach the saw, you need to fold the hands in, and then open up the bottom attachment of the weapon and clip in into the arms in two places.
Once in, the saw looks like a natural extension and is a huge weapon.
Similarly, the missile pod launcher attaches in the same way and while it is cool, it does seem to be a tad bit too big for the arm to handle.
If you don't want to use any of the weapons, that is fine as well since all three can attach on his back for storage.
Just to reiterate, the amount of sculpted detailing here is extremely impressive. There is a good usage of paint to highlight certain areas.
Due to transformation, he does lack a waist joint but considering how many other joints he has, it is not missed at all.
And of course, Starscream can use both weapons at the same time. This is an absolutely amazing robot mode and is the definitive figure of the character (as should be expected of a Masterpiece figure).
OVERALL:
Yes, the jet mode had to be compromised, albeit slightly, to achieve the near perfection that is the robot mode. It's not bad, and the jet still looks great. However, the key star is definitely the robot mode which is simply the best rendition of the character we have ever had. While he may be pricey, it is justifiable due to the high parts count and complexity of the design, and hey, he's still cheaper than the G1 Masterpiece figures that are two-thirds his size.
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