Movie Leader Class Starscream

Actually from Hasbro’s “Hunt for the Decepticons” line from back in 2010, but I’d feel embarrassed to type that more than I have to.

I have a strange relationship with movie Transformers. Back in 06’/early 07’ I really didn’t like but a handful of the designs. At a certain point however, I think I really warmed up to them. The decepticons especially have a certain, grotesque appeal, which is nothing like that of their classic portrayal, but it’s fun in its own right.

Starscream has one of the more interesting designs though capturing it in toy form has been difficult. The original voyager class toy did his arms poorly and didn’t seem to really give the look any life. A new voyager was made for the second movie with a much better design, but as I already had the other one I never felt like bothering with it. Then a year later they released the leader class toy.

This one’s design seemed closest to the movie, which I think comes from a certain level of complexity the larger toy features. I’m not too fond of toys that are overly large, but this one is just about the right height for me. Plus the larger size allowed for him to be packed with all the bells and whistles Hasbro could possibly fit on it. Sounds, light up eyes, and some very well engineered pop-up weapons in his arms.

The design is based off his ROTF appearance which does mean he has the strange tattoo like markings all over him, but I think they can be appreciated. In robot mode they’re not noticeable at all and in vehicle mode they keep the design interesting.

Speaking of vehicle mode, this is another bright spot on the toy, and yet perhaps it’s only blemish. The F-22 Raptor is very well done; most Transformers tend to have trouble with jets, but this one goes together rather nicely without leftover robot parts breaking it up (like the 2007 one). The problem here is getting it there. The transformation is pretty complicated, and the way all the parts just kind of wad up in robot mode really makes it a frustrating conversion. It’s a shame when you consider it’s such a fun toy in robot mode and yet the transformation kills a lot of that fun, fiddling aspect.

This Starscream is somewhat of a centerpiece in my collection of movie Transformers, and if I were to own just one figure based on the movie, I might have to chose this Starscream. He goes good on his own and just as well with others. To say the least I think it’s a definitive piece from the movie trilogy.