My Starscream Custom & Collection #9 Review

[ComicKaze]

[i originally posted this at Allspark but I was hoping some MWers would know how I could take off the factory applied decals - what are these called actually?]

So off I went to a family dinner thinking that it would be mundane when lo and behold, my aunt who lives in Asia brought me Starscream! (And yes, it was 2003, not 1984). Because I was unhappy with a lot of it, I made it into a custom with some paint and some parts so Starscream would actually look more like his G1 cartoon counterpart.

What do you think? Can you spot the differences?

I would like to ask something about the Megatron that comes with the toy. It also includes a modified Prime fist so he can hold Megatron (this doesn't matter for us as the North American TRU reissue uses the modified Prime fist). The strange thing is that there is a wierd blue clip on the side of the grip and I can't figure out what it's supposed to clip onto. It looks gharish and out of place. You can see it in the fighter-mode pic aways down. What is it for? Also, the box shows that I can connect the gun to the bottom of the fighter but it's in a wierd way - connected via the scope. The instructions simply have a reproduction of this picture and there isn't anything that shows me how to connect Megs to the bottom of Scream (hehe).

How do I do this?

So, back to my story...

I was actually quite excited because this was my first actual Japanese G1 Reissue Collection toy. All my others had been TRU Commemoratives and I had missed out on Starscream because he had a limited run in Canada. At first I was really happy then I noticed some things that were wrong.

First I noticed that it was the odd version that doesn't include the TF DVD.

That's okay, I can live without 3min of TF CG.

But then I looked at the actual toy colors and stickers! Noooo Takara! Bad!

Yes, the Megatron gun is cool and that is the clip I was talking about but first things firsts. The Decepticon Logos are backwards and crooked! Takara decided to use factory applied decals for the Decepticon logos and trim on the wings and stabilizers. Unfortuantely, they are in the wrong direction and look very silly. THe point of the Decepticon chin usually faces forward and makes Starscream looks faster like when he's diving at Springer & Arcee in the movie. Now it looks like his two halfs are flying in opposite directions. Compare it with the decal on his nose. In all the TF we've ever seen, these decals are also facing in the same direction as the wing. This leads to more problems later on in robot mode because then they really are upside down when you transform and stand Starscream up.

See, here the original toy and they are in the right direction. Compare it to my custom where the logos are upside-down in robot mode (I want to change this but I don't know how to remove them) and in opposite direction in fighter mode. Like all the pics on the package, they are a wierd mix of the G1, the first-run reissue, and the collection version. See the fighter has the double-angled stripes but the robot has the solid red stripe.

Also! They altered the stripes on the wing so it's no-longer the classic large red stripe that Starscream has but angled white&red stripes more like the ones on Skywarp. Finally, the blue parts have been changed from navy blue to a light blue and the canopy is orange with silver stripes. Perhaps these changes were made so he would look more like his cartoon version but he's also a darker grey so he looks less like the animated SS which is close to white. These changes inevitibly made me turn in into a cartoon custom instead of displaying it as a classic G1 toy for nostalgia.

Here are scanned pictures from it and the original toy as well as both first-run reissues from Takara and Hasbro. You can see that they have user applied Decepticon logos, the red wing-stripe, and darker blue. This is always how I saw SS in the catalogue and always how I wanted him. Yes, cheesy but nostalgic.

From Ben's:

So now HOW DO I REMOVE THOSE FACTORY DECALS? Thankfully, Starscream still comes with a sheet of his normal stickers which has foil Decepticon logos but I have to take the ones off his wings first. Does anybody have any ideas? I'm not going to sand them off because that would damage the wings. Maybe some kind of paint thinner or something? An eraser? Brake fluid? Has anybody done this before? Any clues? Maybe I should buy a cheap TF:Universe toy and experiment with ways to get their factory decals off without damaging the plastic.

This is still a great toy, and I'm glad I have it. I never realized how cool the boolet inserts that are in the Japanese collection series are. There are like 10 pages and a fold-out seekers poster from Dreamwave as well as other things. I'm also glad I have the Japanese version as the missiles fire very hard and aren't modified for child safety. I guess Japanese kids are smarter. Make sure when you buy it that you check if it has the DVD or not if that's important to you. There is a big sticker on the front that tells you. As my only other Seeker toy as a kid was a 2nd-hand Thrust that I eventually sold, I'm loving ol'Screamer clutching Meg's handle in his fist (hehe). It took some work to make him look decent though. His normal foil stickers seem out of place and make him look a little cheesy. And as with all Seekers, it's a little annoying having so many parts that must be changed or replaced when transforming. Does anyboy know why there is a gap between the wing and the fuselage? I filed it down a bit so it would be more flush but it just seems like a strange design like this whole toy. Another strange thing is that his weapons have a slot to slide into the side of the arm but it doesn't fit and they sit out a bit.

[LePoseur]

Just a quick bit. The blue nub on Megatron is so that you can mount him under StarScream when he's in Jet mode. Just plug him (Megatron) into one of the two (exhust?!?) holes in Starscream's chest.

[orguss01]

Fir the decals try Goo Gone... this stuff is mad to take "sticky residue" off items..

[eriku]

The lighter blue parts and orange cockpit are supposed to be that way to match the animated Starscream (like the changes on the New Year Prime reissue).

[GobotFool]

for some odd reasons the gaps show up in the re-issue and later vintage seeker jet toys. I can only attribute it to crappy atention to molding.

[ComicKaze]

for some odd reasons the gaps show up in the re-issue and later vintage seeker jet toys. I can only attribute it to crappy atention to molding.

Yeah, I sanded and filed them down as best I could so they would sit flush with the body.

[orguss01]

Yo chief peep this site, dope Tformer stuff, variants galore...peep tis one, hiya!!!

to answere your question about the wings, its all about the pegs baby........

Edited November 29, 2003 by orguss01

[BoBe-Patt]

ok, what everybody else said and as for the stickers on the wings being upside down. If you watched the transformers series carefully, they are actually upside down most of the time in both modes. Takara is trying to make an accurate t.v. series starscream as much as possible. I still like this version and plan on buying it later as I already have the first takara reissue starscream and the original.

[Guvava]

Yeah the new re-issue (stripes included) is definitely the Starscream from the Movie and TV. The classic toy design SS is pictured in the old comics and the box art. Just wish they would have made his face grey and reduced the eyeball paint.

[waylandcool]

for some odd reasons the gaps show up in the re-issue and later vintage seeker jet toys. I can only attribute it to crappy atention to molding.

I have all six of the orginal G1 seekers and the three Takara reissues plus Sunstorm and the gap between the wings and body is the same on all of them. So what ever the issue there is, it started from the beginning.

[ComicKaze]

Yes, I do realize I was overreacting before and this all works out for the better since I was trying for a more cartoon accurate Screamer anyway

It just looked a little odd to me. If only there was a way to get rid of the nosecone and to mount the wings a little higher...