Transformers Studio Series Scourge review

Scourge being an antagonist for Rise of the Beasts is an unexpected treat, especially since we continue the trend of Megatron not being focused on in the movies. With a unique design, a new faction for this continuity, and being played by Peter Dinklage, this guy is already winning fans over more than Shatter and Dropkick did last time. We'll see if he is either more in common with Lockdown or Sentinel Prime, some of the best non-Megatron antagonists. If anything, let's see how this new iteration of the character is going to win fans over as an action figure!

Here is Scourge in his truck mode, depicting him as a Mad Max-esque truck that is vaguely reminiscent of DOTM Megatron, only without any trailer for him to haul. He isn't exactly screen-accurate on this altmode, as the fifth wheel is actually shorter on the back of the truck than it is here, the front of the vehicle has an inaccurate grille protector, and the color scheme is a little different in terms of the shade of grey. There is also a bit of a gap where the fuel tanks are, and I wish there wasn't a disconnect between the smokestacks and the cab. That said, I do like the design and the red-tinted windows, especially since it rolls nicely in comparison to Megatron in the same line. 

If you remove the grille guard, you can see all of the insignias he has taken, including Autobot, Decepticon, Wreckers, Mercenaries, and Maximals. His own Terrorcon insignia is placed similarly to that of Movie Optimus Prime, with fans wondering if this is a future, corrupted version of Optimus as we've seen with Nemesis Prime...we'll see how it'll go. Oh, and on his messy back, you can have Freezer pegged in place, though I recommend he is pegged in as tightly as possible. He doesn't really move much as I was kind of hoping he'd be able to rotate like a turret.

For a vehicle mode size comparison, here he is with Studio Series Optimus Prime from the Bumblebee movie and Battletrap from this year's movie. He's got different design traits from either figure yet manages to mostly feel like a Leader, which is common for fans to not expect if they're not used to the current trend of Leader Class figures. Perhaps he may scale with the regular ROTB Prime in vehicle mode.

Transformation does a much better job at giving him a cleaner robot mode than a lot of toys made for the AOE line, as the back kibble is much more compact than one would expect for a lean, mean design like this. The legs were already set to be robot legs halfway through, which explains why the truck bed looked a bit messy. The front of the truck becomes the chest, which is in contrast to the torso being made of the upper body containing the windows. And the resulting robot mode makes him much more intimidating in a different way from Megatron; while he was a hunched-over brute, this guy is slender and much more unpredictable by design, especially with his asymmetrical hands and longer-than-usual neck. The addition of chains around the robot mode also makes him look more like a patchwork character. Unique to this guy apart from the grille torso are the wheels being placed withing the inner sides of the legs, which is in contrast to the typical approach of normal Transformers that turn into trucks. Once again, the figure is based on concept art, as seen with the neck and mouth, which is seen in the promo art vs the movie's on-screen model. Amusingly, the backpack reminds me of AOE Galvatron's first Voyager toy. OH, and be careful with the clear plastic on those heavy-duty hinges. His cannon can be pegged on the butt if you want (while the arm peggs on the backpack).

Head sculpt is, as mentioned before, inaccurate for the mouth and the neck, which is longer than it is in the movie. At the very least, the general head is correct, and the light-piped eyes are nice to have. That being said, it is not recommended to shorten the neck by removing the middle piece both for the ball joint tolerance/sizes and the fragility of the ball socket. His articulation has two neck joints, shoulders moving front and back as well as in and out, bicep swivels, elbow bends, four points for the left hand, conjoined fingers for the right hand, a waist swivel, hips that move front and back, in and out, thigh swivels, knee bends, and ankle pivots. The knees' ratchet joints are pretty soft-focused in comparison to the normal ratchets one would expect from older Leader Class toys. His right hand can have the blade clip onto the hand so it would make for a proper melee weapon this time around.

His left arm can be swapped with a cannon that is interesting since it's reminiscent of the way older versions of Studio Series Bumblebee would swap forearms for the arm cannon...so if a Leader Class figure can do it, and a Deluxe could, too...why can't ROTF Megatron do that???

Alternatively, he can hold Freezer in his weapon mode with a 5mm port, which does mean his elbow joint would be limited somewhat unless you want to see this as a finisher weapon mode of some sorts. We'll see how this will work in the movie.

For a robot mode size comparison, here he is in-between the same characters once again. He is appropriately scaled, though I feel he'll be slightly taller than Prime if his neck was shorter, so the longer neck makes him look more uncanny than he already is next to the standard design of Optimus Prime and/or Battletrap. Overall, Scourge is a pretty solid figure that is worth getting even in spite of his own flaws that hold him back from being a five out of five, somewhat like with The Fallen. Now we shall see if this guy is the same as Optimus post-TLK somehow...

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐