Starscream's already had quite a bit of presence in the Movieverse when it comes to his toys that I've covered on the site. I first reviewed the Studio Series version, then I took a look at the Leader Class figure from Hunt for the Decepticons, and 2 years later, I reviewed the Bumblebee movie version. But while I am alright with the first Voyager, liked the Leader, and was disappointed with the second Voyager, I always wanted more from the guy. Ever since I started collecting the Masterpiece line, I knew I had to get myself more from this character. So I finally jumped the bullet and decided to get Starscream when he was at a good price. Now I haven't seen many reviews on the guy because I wasn't too focused on getting the MPM line back then, but now that the amount of MPMs has quadrupled to go along with Optimus Prime and Bumblebee, what better time than now to finish off the currently released MPMs from the first movie than with the Decepticon released last year. In other words, IT'S STARSCREAM!!!!!
Here is Starscream in his jet mode, which is a licensed F-22 Raptor Fighter Jet from Lockheed Martin. As always, the vehicle mode is accurate to how it looked in the movie, and while this deco may not be quite as prominent as the more famous tattoos he received in Revenge of the Fallen, I'd say it looks better in-hand than with some of the earlier stock images; they made him look like he's on a less accurate shade of gray and darker than usual camo that didn't make him look that great. Here, Starscream looks very good to how he appears in MV1, especially with how subtle the deco on real F-22s are. The panel-lining is there, and while a wash would help accentuate the details, the plastic quality is great enough that it doesn't feel washed out. I also love how there's a seat inside the cockpit, with the canopy being in an orange clear plastic that, while not accurate, does feel like Starscream and would look weird without it.
The undercarriage isn't that great, however. It's not that he has it but moreso that it looks pretty messy. Previous versions have varied with how the undercarriage should be handled, but the legs especially make it look messier and fragmented from the sides. If they were removed, I'd say that the undercarriage would likely look less egregious than it currently is. At least there is some landing gear to make it evenly balanced, but it's kind of hideous if we're being honest.
The weapon storage is serviceable, though while the minigun looks pretty coon underneath the cockpit, the other weapons look out of place when stored underneath the wings. It is what it is, there's no other way to store them in clever ways unless you make them further complicated.
For a comparison with the HFTD Leader Class figure, it's not going to be a 1:1 comparison because one was made with gimmicks and an easier transformation at the time while the other is more of a collector's item and has had a decade's worth of lessons learned from previous Starscream toys while making this one accurate. That and their decos aren't the same, as they're based on different movies, too. I can't really say that one is more accurate than the other in terms of proportions since, unlike the Optimus Primes from the ROTF and MPM lines, these two are barely different in terms of silhouette and sculpting. Sure, one may be more refined than the other, but at first glance, there's not much that makes them different apart from the tiny fins on the MPM nosecone.
Comparing the undercarriage proportions for both is a different story, because they're not 100% perfect by any stretch of the imagination, and the side profile is where you might see some differences. For example, the nosecone of the Leader is shorter than the MPM, but undercarriage is where things are different. The Leader's undercarriage is smoother as far as flow is concerned, while the MPM is messier by comparison. Basically, one has fewer gaps than the other. Also, the landing gear is more noticeable on the Leader, but both do roll beautifully.
And here we have Starscream next to Megatron, who may have barely been in jet mode together in the movie and were even distanced from each other in robot mode, they did look like they'd have this exact size in the movie. It's hard to tell since Starscream tends to shift the jet parts around so as to not tower over Optimus Prime too much and to be shorter than Megatron, but they line up well here.
Now here's a picture I always wanted to recreate. The Autobots as well as Starscream and Barricade recreating a promo photo of the many vehicles used in the movie. Obviously, Megatron's not a real jet, but it is amusing how Blackout, Brawl, and Bonecrusher were not in the photo. Anyways, the size is DEFINITELY not accurate to the real world equivalents. Bumblebee, Jazz, and Barricade were already a little oversized next to the bigger Autobots, but Starscream's undersized next to everyone else. If the other guys were Studio Series sized, perhaps that would help make the figure feel accurate to the way he appeared in the movie.
Transformation is RIDICULOUSLY complex. I know Starscream's design is the least easy to tackle for toys, but the efforts went in making this guy feel accurate to the movie is so devoted that it makes me feel more like I'm transforming a third party rendition of an AOE/TLK figure than I am a normal Movie Trilogy figure; those designs are easier to do in toy form, and while I appreciate the uniqueness he has in how he handles it, my God was it so long to do, but it's even worse in vehicle mode because the parts have to be in certain places or else they're going to confuse your brain and make it fart like it happened to mine. The new steps are great and likely never implemented on previous figures, but man is it a long ride. The resulting robot mode, however, is very accurate to the movie, with the exact proportions, wing positioning, and foot design that I feel had only been replicated properly by the ROTF Leader. AS we'll see later in the comparisons, this guy captures the gorilla-like proportions of Starscream quite well. The details of the figure are quite well done, too, especially with how a good majority of the figure doesn't have the details etched onto big chunks of the robot mode and instead make him look more mechanical and complete. The chest is the perfect example of it all, as he looks like he's actually got a proper amount of parts to make it lack any gaps that other attempts would have. The wings are especially spot-on, and the back doesn't have any structural hollow bits (and neither does most of the front view because of the layers of parts), but the best thing about this Starscream is that he's the first to have the back boosters that I don't think previous attempts had until now. Some may find the colors of this guy to be not 100% accurate or a little drab, but for what it's worth, he looks appropriate for the deco compared to, say, the beige or gold of the Voyager and Legends from MV1. Oh, and he has die-cast on his shoulders and feet.
Head sculpt is good to represent the character, and I like how uncompromised the eyes look thanks to the sculpt work and paint apps, but it does such that his noggin's not given a sweet silver head to further complete the look. I'd be okay if it was the only major robot part painted silver so long as it blended in with the rest of the toy. Also, no Decepticon insignias? C'mon, son! His articulation is quite extensive for a figure of this design, but one major point is missing. His head can swivel left and right as well as look up and down, the mouth can open and close, the shoulders move front and back, though despite using ratchets, the left shoulder is looser than the right shoulder (which leads to a problem as we'll get to in a moment); the elbows can bend, the forearms can swivel, and the hands can swivel at the wrists, flex at two points for the thumbs, and hinge their three fingers. There are butterfly joints, which is surprising given how uncommon that is for a Transformer like this. Hips move front and back, in and out, the thighs swivel, the knees bend a two points, and the lower leg swivels. There is some ankle pivots, but untabbing the feet may provide unofficial points of articulation. If you were paying attention, you should know that he's missing bicep swivels. Yes, the more expensive figure is missing a joint that other, cheaper versions of the character have. WHY?! I know the transformation's kind of hard to make it possible, but if the cheaper toys can add biceps, why cant' he?!
The accessories he has are nice to use in this mode, whether it's the mini gun or the sawblade combined with the rocket launcher. I know the saw blade was actually from ROTF, but it's like the blades and Matrix of MPM Optimus: he's gotta have it. The saw blade spins nicely and the rockets can swivel to simulate it having that reload scene from when Starscream was on the bridge near Hoover Dam. And going back to the tightness of the shoulders, combining the added length and weight makes the shoulders harder to hold the weapons up in higher spots, especially the left shoulder because of how loose it is. Seriously, I don't know why it's like that, and I can't take it apart because it uses bolts instead of screws!
As far as weapon storage works, it all tabs in on the back perfectly fine, though the gun is more subtle than the other weapons are.
The inevitable repaint known as the ROTF tattoo paint job looks deliciously iconic, and it further completes this guy since he's better known for the tattoos. He has stronger ratchets but still no bicep rotation.
For a mold comparison, where we have the MPM next to the Leader, and yep, one is taller than the other, but the proportions and general robot mode accuracy are also different! The chest is wider on the MPM, the wing positioning is more accurate on said version of the guy, the details better capture the look of the figure, and the overall accuracy feels much more complete than the other versions of the guy are. It's also where I appreciate the colors of the MPM version as it's more consistent than the Leader's brown plastic and red indicators for gimmicks. Also, the weight may be about the same; Leader Starscream has fewer parts than MPM Starscream but they're denser and are complimented with the gimmicks and electronics.
The minigun execution is different for each figure, with one being an accessory and the other being a spring-loaded gimmick (on top of the former being able to spin), while the rocket launcher looks better for the MPM than the Leader, though the latter does have the simpler connection and a missile launcher.
So who's better?So the MPM version wins in the looks department, but honestly, even if it's inaccurate, HFTD Starscream is still a nicely done version of the guy for his time, and I think he's still good even in spite of some of the dated design traits he has. He's kind of like the good parts of Classics, Universe, and Generations, where the figures may be less proportionate or refined than the WFC counterparts but are at least nicely made toys nonetheless. While you can still own ROTF Starscream and not go for the Studio Series, I'd say you should still get MPM Starscream but keep the Leader if you want. Both he and Optimus Prime are characters that have had good Leader Class toys and good MPM figures.
And for a size comparison, here he is with Megatron and Barricade. He's definitely in-between them in terms of height, and it makes me want to see the other Decepticons in the line. I really hope we get a Blackout at some point because he would be so awesome to get (the price will make me say otherwise, though). I do believe that the height is accurate, even if Barricade should be shorter or Starscream should be at a closer height to Megatron.
Overall, MPM Starscream is one of those figures that I do like in spite of some of the issues I have with the toy. Jet mode looks great from the top yet has some ugly undercarriage junk, transformation is the most accurate yet can be confusing, robot mode looks perfect yet some details can be under detailed, and the articulation is almost there (BICEP SWIVELS). There are other things I don't like about the figure, like the weak shoulder ratchets and the way some things on the guy don't quite tab in securely. He's still an amazing figure, though he is one of the few you may want to get from a 4th party KO with better paint apps. I got the regular version for consistency sake with my other MPM's, and he was at a cheaper price than the KOs at the time I got him.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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