I don't believe it us meant to push in more. I believe someone mentioned the slots are meant to relieve tension on the plastic. It seems the updated version has more of an angled axis that it rotates on. Hard to explain but it feels as though you have to slightly flex the plastic to pull the peg away from the hole and when you release it, the peg goes in.

 

I fucking hate Hasbro so much today. I bought two of those Starscreams and both had the loose back peg. I filed a complaint with them over a month ago and told them I wanted one of the new mold. They denied its existence so I gave them the images from this thread as well as the link. They said they weren't in stock and would send me one when they had some. A month later I get an email telling me that the mold change is exclusive to Takara and closed my case without sending me a replacement. I reopened the case. I'm so pissed at Hasbro. If I could afford it I'd go exclusively third party. So just to confirm, there are those of you out there that have gotten the Hasbro version with the mold change, yes? Please let me know so I can put those Hasbro assholes in their place!!!

 

I don't have it but I've seen them in stores twice. You cannot go by the production number stamped on the back, I've seen 2 or more with the same numbers yet the some had the fix, some did not. If possible, you should just get a refund and buy a new one when you find a "fixed" one in stores. Best way to check is to shine a light(like from a mobile phone) into the box from the top and look to the left(the right side of the actual figure). You'll be able to see if the backpack peg notches are carved out.

 

Thanks Shin. I saw one and I looked in the box but I couldn't tell if it was or wasn't. But thanks for the specifics I'll give it another try if I see it again.

 

You're welcome, it can be hard to see but once you tilt the box towards you and shine a light in from the top, you can see it for sure.

 

I asked the manager to open one of em for me so I could check the back peg and he agreed! Legend.

 

Bought this yesterday. Won't stay together in jet mode and torso mode barely stays together.

Also it's got two of the left arm panel which makes jet mode even less likely to stay together. Holds on in torso mode though.

The cockpit on the torso mode opens less wide than I thought it would, which makes it slightly harder to get the enigma out than it should be.

The panel that Starscream's head is on seems a little too long, making it difficult to fold it into the torso.

The combiner feet are great though, and torso mode is pretty good too.

All in all, I give this a 5/10

 

Someone needs to make limb bots of menasor, victorion, computron, and devastator so we can semi recreate that silliness of the combiner wars cartoon

 

Robot Mode: Remember Animated Starscream and his truly humongous chin? Well, this Starscream here tries to outdo him with his truly, epically humongous feet. Can we call him Bigfoot Starscream? Epic Boots Starscream? Super Feet Starscream? Anyway, Starscream has really big feet, it’s pretty much the first thing I noticed about him. Second thing to notice: he basically carries his jet mode on his back, very little of the actual robot becomes part of it. The jet cockpit on his chest is faked, too. Which isn’t a bad thing in and of itself, mind you, but not a good start, either.

Overall Starscream is a somewhat strangely proportioned robot, but not quite so much as to appear comical. As usual he has his null ray cannons on his upper arms (or shoulders rather), which can be removed and held in hand, too, If you want. The fact that they’re affixed to the shoulders instead of the upper arms somewhat limits the possible shooting-poses, but it’s not a big thing. Additionally Starscream carries the two feet for his combiner mode (see below) with him, each of which can also serve as a container for a Prime Master or the so-called Seeker Enigma Starscream also has as an accessory. The Feet-Matrix-Holder-Guns can also attach to Starscream’s shoulders and have the weapons plugged in, allowing Starscream to give a pretty good Galaxy Force Starscream cosplay.

Overall the robot mode isn’t bad, but not particularly good, either. I was very much looking forward to a Voyager-sized G1 Starscream (we never had one of those before), but the robot mode is mediocre at best. Probably not the reason to buy this figure.

Alternate Mode: Unsurprisingly Starscream once again transforms into a jet. It still vaguely resembles his classic F-15 Eagle mode, but looks somewhat rounded and a bit stunted. And then there is the underbelly. Now there are jet-mode Transformers with very little underbelly (only very few), jet-mode Transformers with some underbelly (most of them), and then there are jet-mode Transformers where pretty much the entire robot mode just hangs there underneath the jet, barely disguised. Sadly, this Starscream here is one such jet-mode Transformer.

Well, as long as you look at the jet from the top, it looks pretty good. It has a front landing gear, too, though the need for a rear landing gear is removed by the fact that Starscream’s humongously huge and epic feet are still there in this mode, easily serving that function. The guns from his robot mode remain plugged into his shoulders and are now somewhat under the wings. Of note: Starscream’s sticker on the jet note reads D-22 – his original G1 Takara ID number – and on the wings you can read “Ghost Attack”, referencing Starscream’s time as a ghost.

Bottom line: one of the worst jet modes I’ve ever seen outside the 1-Step-Changers and other super-simplified toy lines. Definitely not a reason to buy this figure.

Combiner Mode: The redeeming feature on this figure (and the one NOT advertised on the packaging, interestingly enough) is that he can become the torso of a Combiner Wars style combiner. Starscream basically does a handstand with his jet mode wings, cockpit, and robot mode legs forming the chest of the combiner. A new head flips out from his chest, wearing the crown we remember from the 1986 animated movie. And speaking of movies, the resulting combiner torso bears a strong resemblance to the general design of the live-action movie Starscream, being a very broad, powerful-looking guy.

To my knowledge the Starscream combiner does not have a separate name (likely Starscream’s ego would not allow it to be called anything but Starscream or possibly King Starscream), nor a fixed team. In the pics above he has Dreadwing as an arm and Darkwing, once I get him, will form the other one, but use whatever legs tickle your fancy. Combiner Starscream can also carry either the Seeker Enigma or a Prime Master in his chest, simply open the panels above his cockpit. So bottom line: Combiner Starscream looks really good. This is the reason to buy this figure.

Remarks: Nothing much needs to be said about the character of Starscream, I believe. He is so famous that he’s got his own TV trope named after him (the treacherous second-in-command of the evil boss is ‘The Starscream’). So after sitting out Titans Return (and getting but a repaint in the preceding Combiner Wars), Starscream now returns for Power of the Primes with an entirely new mold.

As toys go, though, this Starscream here is a mixed blessing. The jet mode is one of the worst in a long time, the robot mode is only so-so. What saves this figure is the combiner mode, which looks pretty cool and manages to be a multiple homage at the same time, too. So in closing I can only say: if you want a Starscream combiner, then this figure is for you. If you are merely looking for a good stand-alone Starscream figure, though, there are better options for you to look at.

Rating: C


Source: Transformers-Universe.com

 

So I decided I was not going to pick this figure up but I had some TRU Rewards points and TRU gift cards to burn before they close their doors so I ended up with this Starscream. The stickers are garish, I absolutely hate the silver portions of them because it just take so much away from the figure. Some stickers aren't bad it is Hasbro went a little too overboard. As for everything else about the figure I am quite surprised with it. It looks a lot better in person than it does in the photo and the torso mode is growing on me. As is if TRU weren't closing down I would have passed on Starscream for this mold and only grabbed Elita-1 and not had a second thought about it but I am kind of glad I did pick SS up now.

 

I changed my mind on picking up Starscream after Amazon had a sale last week... was able to snag him for $9.48.
He showed up yesterday and luckily I got a version w/ a corrected back notch as seen earlier in this thread.
In hand, he's not as terrible as I was led to believe -- certainly not D, F grade, more like a B-/C+ grade.
I like how he scales w/ the classics-now-generations Megatron, Soundwave, and others I have:


I was on the fence about the stickers so I removed some and stuck them to wax paper this morning. I trimmed down the
wing stickers so that he could retain a red stripe, then added some printed-out Decepticon symbols for his wings.
Also painted his canopy orange-yellow (still a WIP)

Debating whether or not to paint the nosecone white or leave it. Animation colors are all over the place on this.
My previous Starscreams have all been white, but I think in this case it works better w/ the blue.

Also, I love the combined mode torso... it was fun figuring out how to get it into this mode (w/o instructions, as I normally do)
and having fun is the main point of owning a toy, IMO.

Not terribly happy about the size of the feet nor the fact that the tail doesn't want to stay together well in plane mode, but
overall I think this will be my main Starscream for awhile.



B-

 

so you just cut out the red stripes from the wing stickers?
If that's the case, it's a neat solution, I may do it myself (I was thinking about painting them, but experience taught me that with bright colors like red or yellow the result is not always perfect)


By the way, I found a quick solution to make the legs tab better in jet mode.
Looks like the issue is with the panels of the inner legs (the one that tabs on the knees) got too much plastic, preventing the legs from tabbing together properly.
Sanding the round tabs (the one that connects to the knees in robot mode) a bit solves the problem.

 

What did you use to cut the sticker? I’m gonna have to try that.

 

Thanks! I used a sharp exacto hobby knife and cut the stickers while they were still applied, lifting the part I didn't need to ensure a clean cut.

 

So I bought another one during the prime day deal hoping that it was the one with the fixed issues, it wasn’t, even though it was 73101 version. It does stay in jet mode better and lacked the qc issues my other one had. Is it worth returning at this point or is the fixed version that much different?

 

Personally I don't see a huge difference between my SS and E1.

 

At this point it probably costs more to return it.

I did the exact same thing you did, but did it knowingly so I could at least cannibalize him for parts and custom as I see fit (in particular a head transplant).

 

Got mine from the recent Amazon sale. Luckily, I got one with a notch at the back.

 

When in jet mode, those two circular nubs in between it's legs which are keeping the two legs from sitting flush, can one of them be sanded down? Or are they needed for something else?

 

De-stickered! WHAT a difference!