Transformers Cyberverse Deluxe Starscream review

Starscream's appearance in the Cyberverse line felt more successful in getting his goals than his G1 version. First of all, he's been able to lead a Seeker army rather than just be stuck with 2-5 other guys who happen to look like him. Then he used the Allspark to make the Scraplets and trick people into thinking they're the fallen Primes. At one point, he assisted the Quintessons and became one of their own with a Grey Alien and a Velgrox! This guy is also more sinister than the G1 version, and his design is even more distinct than the rest of the Seekers with sharper wings, a more defined head, and null-rays on his forearms. After waiting for a decent Deluxe Starscream toy, now we have one in the Cyberverse line!

Here is Starscream in his jet mode...which looks pretty bad if you ask me. Now it's been a while since I saw Starscream in Cyberverse proper, but I don't like how this jet mode turned out. The proportions are a mess, the gap between the wings and the front of the jet, and the exposed arms and lower legs, I almost thin this guy is mistransformed. I think that the upper section was supposed to shift into forwards and downwards to complete the vehicle mode. Either way, it's not a solid jet mode.

The effect pieces can be played on their ports, and while you'd think the two blasts are enough, then be sure to check out the middle port that lies underneath the nose that lets you display the rockets. One nitpick I do have is that the wing stripes are not entirely painted all the way.

Transformation is pretty involved, and despite my initial thoughts on the jet mode, I do have to give it credit for the unique approach it has with getting to the robot mode. Aspects like the waist swivel, the knees straightening out, the heel used for the feet, and the hinges used on the wings, ab crunch, and cockpit are all aspects of the figure that I don't think are commonly used on most Starscreams. And despite looks, the robot chest's cockpit is not fake! The resulting robot mode looks nearly perfect. From the front, the things that stick out to me weirldy are the lack of paint on the wings, the waist looking more orange than red, and the tailfin sticking out more than the head. The latter is not awful, but it's still going to make the silouhette odd and look like he's got ears. The sides and back are self-explanatory.

Head sculpt is perfect! It captures his more angular appearance from the show, and it makes him distinct from the rest of the Seekers on top of his zig-zagged wings and arm-mounted null-rays. The articulation is the same as with the past two Deluxes reviewed, and just about the rest of the Cyberverse Deluxes and the WFC line.

The effect pieces can be placed on his null-rays and even on either port on his chest, giving him plenty of firepower options. I'd compare him to his first Warrior figure but the second one might be easier. Aside from the different jet mode and approach in gimmick, I do find the Deluxe figure the best of the two options and the best of the three Deluxes in terms of robot mode, though the jet mode is still pretty cack. And that covers the remaining Cyberverse Deluxes...or does it? We'll see what the two movies rumored to show up have to offer later in 2021.

Final ranking:⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Transformers Cyberverse Deluxe Soundwave review

Soundwave's appearance in the Cyberverse cartoon is quite interesting. He's somewhat silent and doesn't sound as roboty as he usually does. He's a more reserved version of the character, and he also makes use of the G1 design while turning into an SUV, something that the Evergreen design he's based on utilizes. Either way, he gets a larger role in Season 3 when he is one of the initial Transformers who gets rescued from the Quintesson Loop, albeit in a more unintended way. Now let's see how he works as an action figure in the Deluxe line!

Here is Soundwave in his SUV mode. It's got the attributes of a modern take of G1 soundwave that I expect, what with the satellite dish and the more armored design. Like it reminds me of something spies would drive if they wanted to be tough, too. In terms of proportions, they're kinda wonky and a little too much like Soundwave trying to be like TFP Breakdown, but while Breakdown worked as he was a Voyager and was also given both modes to work with, this guy mostly leans towards the robot mode. That especially rings true with how the chest sticks out. Other glaring details are how small the grille and windows are; the wide door panels don't even go all the way in. You can complete the look by adding the shoulder cannon on the right and add the blast effect piece on the satellite. I love this blast piece because it has a nice-little sound wave etched inside.

Transformation is fairly involved, though parts of it remind me of that Authentics figure, and while the arms and legs are fairly decent, and hell, I like how the grille spins away to the back, the backpack is kind of a letdown. All you have is just an empty turtle shell with no real integration in the robot mode. At least the rest of the robot mode looks fairly solid, if a little stiff than I'd expect. Seriously, this guy looks like he's constantly standing straight upon hearing Megatron telling everyone to line up and receive orders. As with most Cyberverse figures, he's based on the Evergreen design but with more stylized tweaks (also adding to that is the new altmode). 

Head sculpt is certainly distinct from the normal Soundwave design, as it's more angular and sleek than the norm. At least it's painted well, even if the visor is slightly off-set. The articulation is the same as with almost every Cyberverse and WFC figure, though the waist swivel is slightly hindered by the grille on him.

His accessories are pretty much the same stuff already covered. They can be hand-held if you want, though it'd look better if they were on his shoulder.

Placing the shoulder cannon back where it belongs, we can now focus on the chest, which not only has some nice sculpted details to represent the cassette aspect of him, but we also have a tape inside!

Here is Laserbeak in his tape mode, which looks just like how I'd imagine the guy to look as he resembles the G1 version. I kind of wish there'd be more black parts on him as the gray sort of contrasts the look of the black base.

Transforming it is pretty much similar to the G1 version as always, though the lack of black plastic or paint makes him look a little more prototype-ish, especially with the head. At least the gold paint on the beak looks nice, though this guy has no back boosters on him.

You can have him peg on his arms like how anyone would, and it's an easier job than with Siege Soundwave's Laserbeak!

Here is Soundwave next to his Warrior self, it's hard to like one or the other much. The Deluxe is the more accurate of the two, yet the Warrior isn't a bad toy. The Warrior figure has less articulation but it's got just enough to make it work like with Prowl's Warrior toy. And also, he has a Laserbeak that can pop out of the chest but not be removed. It depends on what you want, but I think this guy is the best of the three new Deluxes just because of how complete he feels. Still don't like the backpack on him, and his vehicle mode's still wonky.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Transformers Cyberverse Deluxe Prowl review

While Prowl was not a huge contributor to the Cyberverse show like most of the characters are (as I remember him most for being rescued by Optimus on Cybertron and later taking a shot made by Shadow Striker), it was neat to see him get an action figure in the Deluxe line, especially after the already decent Warrior figure. We previously had Cyberverse characters in the Deluxe line, which consists of the pieces used to make Maccadam, but does that make the toy just as good?

Here we have Prowl in vehicle mode, which follows the same route of being coupes that we got with G1 Prowl and Movie Barricade. While Prowl usually has black markings on his car mode, Cyberverse PRowl has blue markings instead. He also has the same kind of front grill found on Barricade and actual police cars. Aside from the blue metallic paint, the front has some headlight paint in a light blue while the siren is picked out nicely. It should be worth mentioning that the tires are a different shade of black and nearly gray than the grille guard. I kind of wish that the pegs on the front tires would be painted to fit in better with the rest of the tires.

The effect pieces can be placed on the exhaust pipes to mimic the car racing to the battle while the gun can be placed on the roof. Also, look at how thick the back looks compared to the front! Makes it look like a Hot Wheels car! The back's got some discrepancies with the robot parts being a different color and the hollowed-out parts but at least the taillights are picked out. The white itself is a little more pearlescent and just slightly see-through, which can be distracting but is a little more noticeable in robot mode. 

Transformation is pretty much what I expect from most versions of Prowl made before. Car hood chest, door wings, back becoming the legs, blah blah blah. What I find new are steps like the shoulder cannons hinging in place while the feet have their outer sides filling in the gaps with their wheel arch parts. The robot mode is once again very close to the G1 design, but stuff like the specific leg transformation and shoulder cannons make him more reminiscent of the Universe 2008 toy yet his promotions are mostly reminiscent of the Siege toy. Stuff like the more stylized head chevron and the gold police badges make him more distinct on top of having blue paint apps. It's a traditional design though I won't lie when I say that this guy does look kinda generic. Like while G1 Prowl and Movie Barricade look distinct, this guy just feels like a basic transforming toy robot you'd find on Aliexpress or Amazon when looking up the actual Transformers. Had it not been for the actual head, the Autobot insignias, and the specific engineering aspects of Hasbro toys, this guy would probably be an off-brand toy. The shoulder cannons are kinda small, to the point that they're not even needed (which is true for Prowl because while he has used them on some toys and media, it was Bluestreak as well as Smokescreen that used them instead). One positive is that the back of the legs are covered up, unlike the Earthrise Smokescreen mold.

Head sculpt is certainly stylized compared to the normal design, but it's actually even more stylized than the actual Prowl head design in the show. The chevron's not that long or thin, and his face wasn't that blue. Certainly odd, as is the minimal amount of paint used on the rest of it. As for his articulation, he's pretty much the same sort of range of motion that we'd expect from the other Cyberverse and especially the WFC lines. Head is on a swivel, hips move front and back as well as in and out, the shoulders move front and back as well as in and out, the biceps swivel, elbows bend, and wrists swivel. The waist swivels, the hips move front and back as well as in and out, the thighs swivel, knees bend, and the ankles pivot. 

The accessories he comes with are pretty much the stuff I already covered, including the effect pieces. The one on his gun looks pretty solid, though the other one looks like it's pissing. Next to the Warrior version of Prowl, While the articulation is better, I don't think it's 100% that much of an upgrade to the Siege version. The blue looks better, and the badges look closer to how they do in the cartoon. The shoulder cannons also feel more prominent, and while the flap behind his head is distracting, you're not really getting that much of an upgrade from Warrior to Deluxe. If you already got the Warrior toy, you don't really need the Deluxe one. I already am happy with the Deluxe figure because I saw the new wave early and wanted to get the Deluxes that were already out, of the three, he's fine but not that mindblowing.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Power Rangers Lightning Collection Zordon & Alpha/Silver Wedding 2-pack review

One of the things that I'd be concerned about with the Lightning Collection is the inclusion of mentors and villains in the line. While I'd be fine with getting a mentor like Dr. K or a villain like Sledge, I'm not sure if I'd want to get a Lightning Collection Gosei when I could look for the Bandai toy and prop him on a wall (and does anyone care about monsters of the week?); that being said, I couldn't resist getting the pairs of mentors and villains of Mighty Morphin' fame. Zordon is a pretty good mentor to the Rangers despite being a bald head in a tube while Alpha was a charming ally for the team despite being the epitome of MMPR's role as a heavily localized Zyuranger; as for the villains, Rita and Zedd are pretty cool additions to the line, and while their characters may have fallen apart somewhat for being more comedic, I do like Rita's witch attributes and Zedd's earlier appearances being fairly badass for a 1990s villain. With all that said, let's take a look at these 2-packs!

Let's start with the good guys of the set, and with one of them being the head in a jar precursing the ones we'd find in Futurama, it's Zordon! There was no doubt that Zordon would receive an appearance in the Lightning Collection, though I'm kinda iffy on how he turned out. Obviously, there's so much that Hasbro can do with a head in a jar, and while I commend them for at least making him work in a release, part of me wished he'd come in a "playset" that would work for the Lightning Collection Rangers. In terms of what we do have, I like that the top and bottom parts of the tube (which are based on his appearance in Zeo and Turbo) have decent panel-lines and somewhat look like metal; the blue plastic is fairly translucent to give his face a distorted and liquidy look, and the back has some sculpted detail to make it look more liquidy, but it's hilariously ruined by the warning text (PUT IT IN THE BOTTOM). If you happen to own three Triple-A batteries, you can use them to light his face up like in the show, and while it's neat, it kinda exposes some modeling imperfections. Also, I need to mention that his face doesn't quite look like David Fielding, but it does the trick alright. Better than the 2010 version that looked more like it came straight out of Futurama.

And this is Alpha, who looks like how he should and I feel is already going to be considered the best Alpha-5 toy for the Lightning Collection, but I gotta say "not so fast". He's proportionately accurate, and while the details are there, I don't think it's 100% perfect. There should be paint for the thigh and shin pads, the buttons on the chest need more paint, the hands shouldn't be entirely blue,  and the back of the legs definitely need more paint.

The articulation is pretty solid, as he has a ball-jointed head, arms that move in the same ways like the Lightning Collection girls, a diaphragm joint, and his legs move the same like with every LC figure made in the past. He lacks butterfly joints, but you got all the points of movement to do that AY-AY-AY schtick he does. While he has no alternate hands, he does come with a Teddy Bear, which has a head that looks like his (though it kinda looks like a burger), and two beads that look like eyes. Kinda funny-looking but at least the teddy bear body has some sculpting to make it look like it's got a fur-pattern.

And for a size comparison, here we have the mentor and assistant with not a  Mighty Morphin' Power Ranger but a Space Ranger who killed him (don't worry, MMPR-only people, Zordon told him to do so). The size works surprisingly well when you look back at Countdown to Destruction (though obviously Zordon should be in a higher position most of the time). And now that I mentioned Andros and In Space, I realized Hasbro could have easily added a red LED to mimic the time Zordon had lava filling up his tube...and add to that as well as Alpha's missing paint apps, I wish there was more to make the set more justifiable. Maybe instead of leaving the light on, every button press has Zordon say a line from the show like how the Power Morpher says the morph lines of the five Rangers? Maybe there could have been some silver-paint on the gray parts to make it look a little more worth the price? And how about some control panels? Just something to make it feel more than just a collector's version of that 2010 set of the same characters...I don't think this is a bad buy, but $30 is a little too expensive for an Alpha who's not that different from the previous versions and a Zordon who doesn't even come with the batteries to make him be a glorified night light.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐ and a half ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Now let's get to the villains in the Silver Wedding 2-pack! While I may have covered the Mighty Morphin Black and Green Rangers in more detail than with Zed, it's really because the differences between the two here aren't that different. Basically, the colors are slightly brighter for the new Zedd, his finger nails are painted, his Staff has the proper point, the tubes may be a little more blue, and his effect piece is purple instead of red. Zedd was an already great figure, and while it does suck for fans to get another Zedd if they want to get the two-pack, I don't feel as bothered by it as I would with Lost Galaxy Red and the two Psychos that were made before the 5-pack because he's at least a unique figure and one that I don't mind owning again (maybe I can customize the other one into a movie version?)

Aside from the hands and growth grenade with added paint apps, the only new accessory he comes with is the crystal of the Green Ranger. This was used to further drain his powers because regardless of all the love Tommy gets from PR fans and MMPR-only peeps, Tommy sucked at keeping his powers. And it's funny how this stupid thing got to us getting the White Ranger powers, and while many would be like "GREEN 4 LIFE", I'd like to remind them that the White Ranger had no such bullshit to worry about until Zeo came along.

Now it's time to take a look at Rita Repulsa! If you're going to buy this set, you know it's for Rita Repulsa! I'm going to say right off the bat that while this is indeed the best Rita Repulsa figure ever (hell, it's the only good one we got because Bandai previously made a shitty 4 inch version and canceled a 5 inch version), there are still some things that I will complain about. This figure nails the appearance of the character, and while the cloth dress is commendable since past ones did make her dress a hard material, it does make posing her or even standing her up a little hard. At least the dress is nicely made, and the details stitched on it look as good as the paint apps on her collar, headgear, and...pointy boobs. I kind of find it amusing that many would joke about her chest armor and then get more freaked out about her more revealing appearance in the 2017 movie. The back doesn't have much paint for the collar piece, but I kind of wish there'd be more drybrushing for the feather flap.

Head sculpt captured her angry behavior perfectly, but I have two things to say about it: 1) Doesn't it resemble the Wojak angry face? And 2) I wish we had an alternate head that represents her with a more smiling face. The likeness either resembles Machiko Soga or Carla Perez, and I think that making the price a little more worth what it is would mean giving her an alternate head. Like this works, but it needs a bit more of a Rita smile because she grins as much as she does frown. I mean I can recreate the first ever pose we see her make in the show but she looks less like she's going "AAAAAAHHHHAFTER10000YEARSIMFREE" and more "AAAAAAHHHHHHGOLDARIHAVEDEFECATEDMYDRESS"

Here are the accessories she comes with, which are her signature magic wand/staff, two alternate hands, a bouquet of flowers, and a perfume.

I like that you can either display her with the romance get up or the staff, but it makes me wish that she'd come with an alternate head to represent her appearance when Carla Perez played as her. Just SOMETHING to better add to the poses! Oh and she and Zedd can share a cake that looks more like it's gray clay melting. At least the spider and tiny versions of the couple look good. in terms of sculpting.

And that covers the villains! I'll be honest and say that this set is already the better of the two I've reviewed, though I won't deny that even this has issues of it's own. Those who are bothered by buying another Zedd will be upset, but I do like owning it since it's a figure I already liked for being a unique sculpt. As for Rita, I like owning her because she was a character that I did enjoy seeing with Zedd, though I won't deny that she could really go for an alternate head with an evil smile too her. Also her staff could go for more paint. But while Walmart has a pretty so-so set of Ranger allies, Gamestop has a more solid set of Ranger villains.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐