#64: Transformers Dark of the Moon - Thundercracker

Despite Starscream being one of my favorite Decepticons, I haven't bought any of the many toys based on the movie version. Partly because I'm not a big fan of the design, partly because the colors are completely different, and partly because the only decent toys have been the larger and more expensive versions (such as the Leader or Voyager class toys). For Dark of the Moon, they have re-done the Deluxe class toy, but I'm not digging the color scheme (they did a G1-inspired repaint of the first movie's Deluxe class toy, but the toy itself isn't very good). Fortunately, Thundercracker solves that problem with a G1 inspired paint job. So I'm convinced, it's time to get my second Thundercracker of the year.

The robot mode is pretty cool, and the arms in particular are loaded with articulation. They do a lot of folding up to get into the alt-mode, so they need all that articulation. There are two weapons, a bladed something or other, and the Mechtech weapon which looks like some sort of chainsaw. Since his hands aren't made for holding weapons, they can plug into his arms, his back, or (oddly) his sides. While I still think the design of the robot mode is a bit funky, I do like the toy. Since it has an earthly alt-mode, unlike Shockwave, it is somewhat recognizable as something that can turn into a jet. I'm glad they kept the cockpit chest like the original Seekers. There is even some bit of wing sticking out behind the shoulders like the originals. Once you get the hang of how his arms fold up, the transformation is pretty easy.

The alt-mode is a pretty good representation of the F-22, for the most part. The bottom does suffer a little from folded up robot pieces, but it looks a lot better than previous versions did. It's within the limits of what I consider acceptable for a toy of this size. The weapons only plug into one place on the jet, the underside of the wings. The landing gear can be folded up, and in bot mode, the rear landing gear becomes the heels of the feet.

I'd say this is a figure worth picking up. It's a nice throwback to G1, and both bot and alt-modes are pretty solid. Now if they re-release this mold as Starscream in G1 colors and as Skywarp (apparently that already has a confirmed Japanese release) I may find myself with a second set of Seekers.