Transformers Legacy Armada Starscream review

Starscream is usually depicted as a backstabber who wants to take over as leader of the Decepticons. That is something every fan knows about. Armada Starscream, on the other hand, is not quite like the others. Having more in common with Dinobot of Beast Wars fame, he does not value Megatron's visions, especially given the abuse that Starscream did not deserve. He's best known for not only wanting to join the Autobots just to defeat Megatron for a brief moment, but he willingly sacrificed himself after a duel against his leader while trying to warn him on the looming threat of Unicron. He sadly had his character development mindwiped in Energon, but he at least grew interested in taking the Omega Lock and the Cyber Planet Keys during Cybertron. If you remember the Transformers Generations line in its earlier years, we had a version of this design during the Thrilling 30 days where he was a Deluxe. I don't own that version, though we'll see if the size increase and 8 year wait is worth it with Legacy's take on the character.

Here is Starscream in his vehicle mode. It's a pretty faithful recreation of the jet mode he has in the cartoon, from the turbines reminiscent of G1 Jetfire to the fins on the nosecone. He also has the collapsed arms on the underside of the wings, which isn't really practical but is accurate to the character. His head is also exposed from the top, though it is at least somewhat hidden thanks to the turbines. 

The swords can be stored underneath the wings. It's nothing that new if you ask me; other jetformers did that in the past lol.

For a jet mode size comparison, here he is next to SS86 Coronation Starscream. Yeah, I got Coronation Starscream for a cheap price. Their sizes are slightly different from one another, depending on how long or wide they both are, especially with the designs being entirely unique. Oh and who thought trading the tailfin paint apps for those negligible gray spots was a good idea for SS86???

Transformation is pretty faithful to how he normally goes into his robot mode. The leg transformation, the placement of the wings, the way the cockpit folds down, and the arms straightening out are all accurate to the show and character design. We'll get to how the fuselage works in robot mode, but I should mention that the fuselage going straight down to the waist does mean that one of his articulation points won't be as effective as one would hope. His robot mode is undoubtedly faithful to the Armada series, which is a huge relief as someone that does not feel too happy with the TFP characters in Legacy apart from Bulkhead. Imagine if Starscream was just an Armada-colored Earthrise figure...anyways, Armada Starscream's got everything down to a tee, from the tailfin shins to the fuselage tapering down to the waist as mentioned before, and his wings combined with the turbines making for a unique look in contrast to the G1 design or most of the other Screamers. I like how the color scheme looks on him, with red, black, and gray being fairly prominent, though I wish those panels on the back of the legs were black instead of red so they can look more filled in.

Headsculpt is another slam dunk, being different from the typical G1 look with a more stylized appearance, yellow eyes, and a stern look that benefits his character in Armada, being less treacherous and more resentful towards Megatron's abuse. The white paint on the face also works surprisingly well. His articulation is a little annoying, though. His head is on a ball joint, though you have to move the turbines back if you want to get a little more range. Shoulders move front and back as well as in and out, his biceps swivel, elbows bend (no wrist articulation), waist swivels somewhat thanks to the nosecone, hips move front and back, in and out, thighs swivel, knees bend, and ankles pivot. He comes with his regular sword themed after the wings, only it's unpainted gray instead of being red like with the promo images, and the Star Saber he has is a simplified version of the combined appearance of the Air Defense Minicon Team's weapon mode. If he had his normal sword in red, it'd probably be a cool way to remind me of when Anakin held both his lightsaber and Dooku's. You can also swing the cannons from the turbines and give him his signature shoulder cannons. One problem: no Swindle Minicon's included. I don't mind that the cannons aren't activated like in the past, but GIVE US OUR MINICON DAMNIT. I don't get why Hasbro is inconsistent with who can come with their partner and who can't in the Legacy line. Blaster and Pointblank come with their partners, but Soundwave remains without his partner like in Siege while Starscream, for the second time, doesn't come with Swindle. And no, Evolution's Hot Shot doesn't have Jolt.

For a robot mode size comparison, here is Armada Starscream with his G1 counterpart, now included with coronation gear. You can tell how much has changed between the first and second incarnations of the character, what with the color schemes, transformation layout, and design traits, yet they feel pretty reminiscent in some ways. Armada Screamer's also taller than his bad comedy counterpart. 

While you're not supposed to give him the Coronation gear, you can sort of have Armada Starscream wear them by hinging the shoulders back to make room for the pads to slide on, while the cape can sort of peg into the back (though without there being a proper 5mm port), and his head, while not the right dimensions, can wear the crown somewhat. You do lose the outward shoulder movement, but it is a neat display option that I think compliments his look very well! So overall, Armada Starscream is the definitive version of the character, though he is not without his flaws; the limited waist swivel and lack of wrist swivels are disappointing for a swordsman like him, and some parts of him do feel a little cheap, and somewhat see-through. I still recommend him nonetheless if you're a fan of Armada nonetheless.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐