These new legends-class 2-packs have been a lot of fun, and the strongest offering among them at this point has to be this Starscream and Waspinator set because out of all of the 2-packs so far, these two make the most sense in terms of being packed together. Both characters are longtime fan favorites, but the two characters are connected in a much more substantial way. In the Transformers: Beast Wars episode titled “Possession,” the ghost of Starscream took over Waspinator’s body, establishing a connection that may as well be permanent as far as the fans are concerned. This was also one of the key episodes where Beast Wars “found its legs,” so to speak, so it’s very fondly remembered for that reason as well. Starscream didn’t occupy Waspinator’s body permanently, of course, and he was eventually driven out, but now we have the two officially joined once again in toy form as Waspinator becomes Starscream’s Targetmaster.
They come packed in Hasbro’s “Thrilling 30” packaging with both characters prominently featured in the artwork. The brief bio on the back gives a quick overview of their relationship, but now that Waspinator has been established as a character in Robots in Disguise, it’s likely these two will actually be featured side-by-side in the near future. And I really have to wonder if the comics’ writers will reference the old Beast Wars episode. I hope they do.
Starscream has never looked… beefier. Seriously, he looks as though he’s been hitting the gym and going a little extra-heavy on the Creatine. Starscream has rarely looked “powerful,” not even when he’s all decked-out in his coronation gear, but he does look pretty powerful here due to the highly stylized design of his ‘bot mode. He’s never really looked “weak” either, not even in Transformers: Prime where he was the very definition of skinny and scheming, but this look is going to take some getting used to. I’m not 100 percent sure which look this figure is based on. Like the other new legends-class figures, it’s probably from the IDW comics, but I can’t figure out which, so please chime in below if you know for sure.
His colors, however, are perfect. The red and blue both look great and they nailed the perfect shade of gray.
His articulation is pretty average for a modern Transformers figure. It consists of ball elbows, ball hips, ball shoulders, and standard knee articulation. It’s easy to get him in action poses, but he is a little top-heavy due to his wings, so that can limit his poseability. Otherwise, he’s pretty fun to pose and to play around with.
In terms of size, he’s about 3.75 inches tall, which makes him a good deal larger than what used to pass for a legends-class figure (see the pic with Cosmos). He’s roughly the same size as Optimus Prime, give or take, which makes him look all the more imposing. Granted, the scale in this new legends line is all over the place (Megatron is the smallest one!), but still. ‘Screamer looks formidable. I almost feel happy for him.
His alt-mode looks great and is only an ever-so-slight departure from his G1 jet design. His transformation is on the simple side, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing because sometimes it’s nice to have a transformation that isn’t overly complex. Many modern Transformers can be a bit on the challenging side, but this guy is pure hand candy.
The underside of his alt-mode gives away just how simple his transformation is, but it’s not a deal-breaker at all; it just makes the transformation all the more intuitive.
The only nit I have as far as his alt-mode goes is that big, gaping hole on his back. The hole is there so Waspinator can be attached. Speaking of Waspinator…
Even though there’s an awesome new deluxe-class Waspinator on the way early next year, it’s so awesome to add this guy to the collection, and, if I’m totally honest, Waspinator here is the basis of this set’s appeal. It’s not a great figure by any means, but it’s still 100 percent Waspinator, so that’s all I needed to know and I had to have this set.
He’s a little light in the paint app department. The only paint he has is on his eyes in bug mode and just the tiniest bit on his eyes in ‘bot mode. that’s it. He would have benefited from some black and yellow stripes on his bee butt, but the different color plastics used do a decent enough job. And his sculpt has a surprisingly high level of detail for such a small figure. His wings and tiny ‘bot head both look awesome.
He’s basically a Targetmaster/triple changer. What’s so cool about these is that they have the simplest transformations ever, but they’re still legit triple changers — they really do have three distinct modes. One of them may be kinda crappy and nonsensical, but it’s still a third mode.
To transform him from bug to ‘bot, all you have to do is flip the wasp head down to form his chest, and then fold the tail back. That’s it. Then to form the “gun,” all you do is flip the bug head down and move his midsection (that forms the barrel) forward. His wings move automatically. Presto! He’s a “gun.”
Starscream can wield Waspinator in his hands, or Waspinator can be attached to Starscream’s back in his jet mode. The gun mode definitely requires a bit of willingness to say, “OK, sure. It’s a gun. I’ll buy that.” It’s not very convincing, but his other two modes are a lot of fun, so I can forgive the superfluous third mode.
Of the four new legends-class sets released so far, this is the one to get, but that may be my blind bias toward Waspinator speaking for me. Starscream is a solid figure and I’m surprised by how much I do like him since I wasn’t all that blown away by Prime or Bumblebee. Starscream does feels like the more satisfying purchase. These guys are just starting to hit retail right now, and I was able to secure my set through Fwoosh sponsor Big Bad Toy Store, but it looks as though they’re totally sold out. If you’re on the market for them, retail or maybe Amazon will be your best bets.
