Earthrise Dirge

Prelude: In most incarnations of the Transformers, the Seekers are the workhorses of the Decepticon military and usually come in all kinds of colors. It does not happen often, though, that the six named Seekers from the G1 cartoon are all released within the same toyline, despite being repaints of each other. War for Cybertron Earthrise managed it, though. Today we are looking at Dirge, who snatched the coveted store exclusive spot from Skywarp this time around (together with Ramjet). So let’s say go!

Many thanks to my buddy Reyjin, who loaned me Dirge for pictures and review.

Robot Mode: Naturally this figure uses the same base mold as Earthrise Starscream, Thundercracker, and Skywarp, all of whom I have previously reviewed. So best read the Starscream review first for the full low-down on this mold, then come back here for the changes made for Dirge. You’re back? Good, so let’s continue.

There are three main changes that have been done to this mold to differentiate it from Starscream. First, the head. Dirge is one of the so-called Conehead Seekers, so he gets… well, a cone for a head. Unlike G1 Dirge, the cone of Earthrise Dirge is not actually the nose of the jet, but it looks pretty good and screen accurate. Second, the wings, which we will look at in alternate mode. And finally, the paint job, which has been changed into Dirge’s classic colors of a dark blue and beige with some black, silver, and purple highlights. That’s pretty much it. Apart from those changes, this is basically the same figure as Starscream. Same articulation (including the lack of a hip swivel), same size, same hollow chest, same everything.

So bottom line for the robot mode: it’s clearly Dirge. So mission accomplished.

Alternate Mode: Dirge transforms into a modified F-15 fighter jet. Apart from the colors, the main change when compared to Starscream are the wings, of course. Dirge comes with delta wings and a front canard. He also foregoes the tail fins, just like G1 Dirge. Not sure how he’s supposed to steer like that, but I guess we just say “Cybertronian technology” and don’t think any further on it. No other changes to the jet mode. So with the beige wings and blue body, it’s clearly Dirge. So again, mission accomplished.

Remarks: Much like most of the season 2 cast of the original G1 cartoon, Dirge and his fellow coneheads appeared without explanation and were treated as if they’d always been there. In the comics he had a bit more backstory, having been one of Straxus’ henchmen on Cybertron before being summoned to Earth by Megatron when the space bridge became operational. Dirge apparently died in the 1986 Transformers movie when he was swallowed up by Unicron, but reappeared in season 3 none the worse for wear. Maybe it was simply another Seeker that looked like him.

I am not the biggest fan of the Earthrise Seeker mold, to be honest, given that it’s basically just a scaled up version of the 2006 Deluxe Classics Seeker mold without fixing its hollow chest and lack of hip articulation. Still, fans have been clamoring to get all six named Seekers in the same size class and design aesthetic for years, so Earthrise made quite a few of them happy. Not all of them, though, seeing as the two-pack with Dirge and Ramjet was an Amazon-exclusive and demand far outstripped supply. Amazon had to cancel quite a few preorders for this set, given that so many people ordered them. Hasbro later reissued Dirge as part of the Legacy line.

So bottom line: if you are a fan of the Seekers and want all six of them, then Dirge is a must. Everyone else, be aware that this figure here is good, but not showing you anything you haven’t seen many times before.

Rating: B-

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