Transformers Studio Series 86 Thundercracker review

It's that time of the year again where the Seekers have yet another redo, this time for the Studio Series 86 line. It's amusing how far back we have gone with the Classics Deluxe mold and the stupidly compromised approach towards completing the main 3 and the cone head trio (two mainline releases, one Target exclusive with an Albino Prime many later wanted when an upgrade kit came out, three convention exclusives), and then there was the issue with Henkei Seekers either having poor quality control issues or bootleg infestations, Hasbro later painted 4 of the 6 Seekers while forgetting about Ramjet and Skywarp, and we finally had 3-packs sold only for Asian markets. Fast forward to 2019 when the Siege Seeker mold was made, and while we did have 3 main Seekers with a few non-Conehead bonuses, Earthrise came a year later and had us buy more faithful versions people would generally want in spite of the obvious Classics engineering with tweaks here and there. Is this new version of the design going to be a slam dunk, or should we give up on the Seekers altogether? Also, interesting choice starting with Thundercracker given the trope of starting with a Starscream, but I guess the Skybound comics were giving him the spotlight this time. Let's see what this mold has to offer.

Here we have Thundercracker in his jet mode, which is the usual design we have seen with this character by this point. It is kind of refreshing that it is not on the grey with red and blue accents seen on so many Starscream toys I have reviewed, but this shade of blue is much lighter than people normally expected fo Thundercracker, and the blacks are now a dark grey. By now, many should expect what this altmode is like when it comes to the proportions and details, the latter thankfully not simplified as badly as I expected given how hard Hasbro tried to make their figures so accurate to the Sunbow models. The grey bits in-between the wings are accurate to the cartoon, though they do appear random. One new thing is that he has landing gear, at least in the front. Nothing mind blowing but it amazes me how the Earthrise version skipped that.

Unique to this figure is an opening cockpit, which thankfully doesn't compromise the toy compared to PRID Airachnid, but idk if that justified making him more expensive than he has any right to be.

For a jet mode comparison, here he is next to the Earthrise version, which is the original Thundercracker we got back in 2020's Target 2-pack with Skywarp rather than the Dramatic Capture Series.  It much else to say beyond the different shades of blue, though the grey patches are at least "accurate" to the cartoon for SS86. I kind of wish there was silver added on what will be the robot chest and shoulder pylons, but again, accuracy. What surprised me is that they kept the cockpit canopies translucent rather than opaque.

And why not, here is a pic I took with Cybertron Skywarp. If only it was actually Thundercracker since they are both the instances of a mold first belonging to him rather than Starscream, especially since Cybertron Starscream had his own design. 

Transformation is pretty involved for a Seeker design, feeling closer to how the third Masterpiece version worked in the past. Gone is the borrowed engineering we had with the Earthrise Seeker taking from the Classics Deluxe, and we now have a somewhat new method of bringing the fuselage into the cockpit while hiding the nosecone better without it sticking out behind his head. As for the robot mode, it is once again very close to what the third MP looks like, though now at a much smaller scale and without being as rounded out if that makes sense. Being closer to the Sunbow design does mean that it isn't as "dynamic" looking as what the Earthrise figure has in its aesthetics (though they were once again taken from the Deluxe). The chest does look somewhat like it slopes downward a bit more at the pecs, or it could be how low the shoulders hang this time around. While he isn't as greebly as the older Voyager, he still has some details kept intact, so he thankfully won't be as lackluster as a Titan Hero. Honestly, this isn't a bad figure in terms of a Voyager, though somehow the rear stabilizer fins end up appearing oversized around the lower legs just from being raised up higher than they should be (they would probably not throw people off as much if they were right next to the feet). I kind of feel like the back panels should close all the way in to hide the nosecone, but it doesn't appear to. As for the edges of the wings, they come detached out of the box for spacing reasons; since the Seeker wings are going to have the same shapes to begin with, why bother making them separate pieces if you're better off saving money with just the one solid part? I bet you the next Seeker remake will have the entire wings detached and in another baggie.

His head sculpt has him with an open mouth, almost like he's in the middle of talking compared to the alternate open mouth yelling head we saw with Earthrise Skywarp. The face kind of looks doughy (probably thanks to the small size and grey paint combined), but it is G1 accurate...is2g that is starting to be more like an excuse for some decisions Hasbro does. Anyways the articulation includes a ball jointed head, shoulder rotation, outward arm movement, bicep rotation (including the 5mm ports on them instead of the shoulders), hinged elbows, wrist swivels, waist rotation, universal hips, thigh swivels, hinged knees, and ankle pivots.

The rear stabilizers are on 5mm ports and can be removed to clean the lower legs up, with the backs of the wings having spots for them to peg onto. Would be nice if they were to use the $44 "budget" to make them relocate in the wings without partsforming, but at least this is optional. Sadly, this means the wings cannot fold back like they used to, even without the pieces attached.

Here he is next to his Earthrise counterpart. I appreciate that the new Voyager is slightly taller to be in better scale with the other characters who have been SS86-ified, but it's crazy seeing how much softer toys have gotten in terms of sculpted detailing no doubt thanks to fanboys complaining that their already G1-accurate figures aren't as Sunbow smooth as their brains.

And here we have him next to Megatron and Soundwave. Feels a bit weird not having Starscream in this size comparison, but besides that, the scale here is also kept accurately to the cartoon. I know Hasbro has a Shockwave on the way, but so far, I'm extremely uninterested in getting a smoother version of a character just for the accuracy when he is not upscaled and cost barely less than the price that Siege Shockwave went for in 2019. As for Thundercracker, is this the bestest version of the Seeker mold since the last one we got which was also since the last one we had? If you love your characters to be as accurate to the cartoon as possible, then by all means, this is a slam dunk. However, I'm not entirely convinced by the price hike being a factor that will go against this figure. I'm also not sure if the landing gear and opening cockpit, gimmicks we have seen on other figures long ago, is enough to convince people that the budget is used at its best. I mean, we have had Titans Return play patterns a decade ago, so this figure is far from mind-blowing on that front. As for a huge warning I must give out, while my copy is perfectly fine, there have been reports on either certain unpaintable parts not color matching the rest of the toy (which is nothing to do with yellowing like with a lot of 2020 figures), the wings' mushroom joints being poorly molded, and defective molding for the tips of the wings not pegging in right. If this keeps on happening with Skywarp and Starscream, you are better off not bothering with any other versions of the mold past that point. So I wrap it up by saying that Thundercracker is a decent figure, but totally not worth the $44 price tag.

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