G1 Starscream

Robot Mode: Starscream looks a bit cumbersome in robot mode, what with his wings and tailfins hazardly sticking out and the over-sized guns on his rather small arms. He still manages to look quite menacing, though, and despite not having much in the way of posability (he can move his arms, that's it) he is one of the better-looking Decepticons from the early series.

Alternate Mode: While he looks cumbersome as a robot, Starscream looks sleek and deadly as an F-15 fighter jet. His forearm guns go underneath his wings and can be equipped with missiles instead of the laser blasters. Only real drawback is the landing gear underneath the cockpit, which doesn't unfold but has to be attached and detached as needed. Apart from that, a kick-ass jet.

Remarks: Like many of the early Transformers Starscream suffers from two things: One, the lack of posability, and two, the large number of accessory parts that can get lost. His fists, the wings, the tailfins, the guns, and the landing gear all detach. He is still a fine Transformer, though. Everything from his design to his colour scheme matches with his cartoon counterpart.

Speaking of the cartoon, Starscream was bar none the most interesting character of them all. Arrogant, scheming, and always looking to replace Megatron as leader of the Decepticons. His popularity was such that, even after his death in Transformers the Movie at the hands of Galvatron, he returned as a ghost both in the third season of the G1 cartoon and later on in Beast Wars. Do I need another reason to add this vintage G1 Transformer to my collection? I don't think so.

Rating: B