Here is Starscream in his jet mode. It's pretty faithful to the F-22 Raptor he takes the form of in the original trilogy, though this version comes with the tattoos seen in Revenge of the Fallen. Given how most jetformers tend to have a large amount of kibble for the undercarriage, this jet mode at least manages to have a decent flow from underneath with the slightly curved design of the legs. It's slightly bulky yet at least doesn't look clunky as with some G1 jet modes.
Its tattoos look wonderfully applied, as they don't look sloppily done and add to an otherwise plain color scheme that military jets are known for, though the amber cockpit adds to the jet mode by having a different color.
The cannon can be stored from underneath, and it can be hinged forward to serve as a bit of an attack mode should you want to use the missiles to shoot any Autobot figures.
Starscream's transformation works nicely overall, with a large part of the jet mode being integrated into the robot mode properly. I'm quite happy with the way this figure manages to change up the jetformer transformation sequence, such as the integration of the wings, the way most of the robot parts are hidden fairly well, and the approach in hinging most of the length of the jet mode to have its parts further compact in vehicle mode. The legs tabbing in can be a bit hard to undo when going into robot mode but is otherwise the only annoyance with my figure.
His robot mode certainly captures the wide, monstrous appearance quite well, though compared to the other ROTF Leaders made before him (and the HFTD line), Starscream looks the best in terms of screen accuracy and being a figure overall. For a Decepticon that's fairly abnormal in appearance, the figure looks slick and doesn't suffer from any crap that the 2007 figure had. My only real issue is that the weight of the figure makes it hard to stand up on its legs, even with the ratchet joints. I haven't had this issue with the Deluxe or Voyagers, so maybe it's just the Leader being a bit too heavy with the electronics. Now the added brown in the robot mode was fairly absent in vehicle mode, but it's more commonly seen for the robot mode. I have a hunch the HFTD line tried to add a bit more color to the more monochrome toys compared to ROTF, but I dislike the brown plastic on this guy; it's not screen accurate, and it overall makes the figure feel a bit like someone tried to add some chocolate pieces instead of ones made of gray plastic. Beyond that, this figure is pretty good.
From the side and back, he's just as well put together as he does on the front, though he is missing the thrusters that the CG model has. Hopefully inexpensive Fans Want It kit, anyone?
The head sculpt is certainly Movie Starscream, though the eyes are sadly in a clear plastic that can only be seen with better details if they lit up. Also, I have to mention that the figure has a weird glitch with the electronics; the batteries are included yet don't make the figure activate its lights and sounds unless the battery cover is removed. Yeah, I don't get it either. Also, the electronics should be "No one can defeat Starscream!", "Decepticons will crush the Autobots!", and play jet wooshes. My copy, however, is the international version, and when the sounds do work, all you get is Starscream saying his name and his faction. Lame.
Articulation is outstanding for this design! Head looks side to side, shoulders move front and back, in and out, and the biceps below them swivel. The elbows bend fairly well, and the hands can hinge at the wrist and at the fingers, while the thumbs can only hinge. Since Movie Starscream has no waist swivel, he makes up for it with butterfly joints. The hips move front and back, in and out, bend at two points at the digitigrade knees, and the lower legs can swivel. I kind of wish the upper knee joint can swivel to sort of serve as ankle pivot.
This figure is one of the earlier instances where the weapons were implemented within the forearms, though they are actually retractable compared to the ROTF Voyager. It's a feature that I like quite a bit, though the left arm tends to have the rockets catch when retracting them.
Starscream's actual accessory is the missile launcher, which can peg into either hand and replicate him shooting down his enemies, or more notably, Hoover Dam. You can launch the missile if you like, though it does look awkward. It's certainly missing the points sticking out at the side, which were seen rotating when Starscream launched his missiles.
These can be stored on his back with no problem. They look alright stored on there, and it was something I forgot to mention with the MPM Optimus Prime and Bumblebee reviews because with Bumblebee, it was kind of negligible, and with Optimus, it looked stupid and ruined the look of the robot mode.
In terms of variants, this guy's surprisingly been in 2 entirely different lines after the Hunt for the Decepticons/2010 line ended. First up, it's the Masterpiece Movie figure, which was Takara's version of the mold and annoyingly came with the MV1 deco. It looks pretty nice and would have been nice if it was reissued with this deco, though the prices are insane for a Leader Class figure. Shame too because this is a nice repaint overall. That said, I hope we get a new MPM version that's a bit more accessible.
The next release (and one I don't think will be easy to find) is the GDO variant from the time China and some other places got repaints of figures from Revenge of the Fallen, Universe, Reveal the Shield, Generations, Dark of the Moon, and even Transformers Prime. While the US got the Legends, Scouts, Deluxes, and Voyagers in Toys R Us, the Leaders were never brought over. This and Ironhide were the only ones made for the line and in G1 colors. Both of their alt modes look decent with the classic colors (Starscream more so since Movie Ironhide looks kinda wimpy in red), and the black scorches add to the jet mode as it did with Walmart's Masterpiece Starscream, but the robot mode looks like a mess in comparison, what with the color palette looking garish due to it not having the right spots that would normally be associated with it. Also, is his crotch supposed to look like an umbrella? This repaint is even harder to find, though I remember it having been knocked off years ago when there were fake Transformers with the Taikongzens label.
For a size comparison, here is Starscream next to Optimus and Bumblebee, both of which are the MPM versions. Starscream is noticeably shorter than Optimus when he's normally the taller guy of the two. I think Hasbro used to make Starscream a lot shorter to have Optimus and Megatron be seen as the Leaders of their factions, though by now, they know that Starscream is taller than Optimus like in the movies and scale charts. He's not massive, but measuring at 31 feet in height, he does tower over the 28 foot tall Optimus Prime.
Until we get a proper MPM version of this character, I think this guy looks pretty decent next to the MPM figures aside from the size and some of the colors. It's my favorite Leader Class figure from the older Movie lines, especially compared to the other 3 ROTF guys, with Optimus ranking behind him, Jetfire being placed in third, and Megatron being the weakest. His transformation is complex yet doesn't have any of the crappy instructions like with ROTF Optimus and is neither as underwhelming like with Megatron or somewhat frustrating like with Jetfire. I also like that they've added a good amount of articulation to better let this guy look more alive compared to some of his previous Voyagers. While fans may be happy with the Studio Series figure if that's the collection they're going for, this guy at least manages to be worth owning for those that do want to have either a stand-in for the MPM line or want to get plenty of Starscreams in their collection.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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