The Starscream Diaries

As some of you may know, one of my all time favorite toys is, was, and always will be steel Starscream. The original. G1 and all that specific crap. I love it to death. It doesn’t have the sentimental value that Castle Greyskull has or anything - but it’s just special. To explain: when I was, I dunno, maybe 3 or 4 or so, I had an original steel Starscream. Brand new at the time. I played with it outside a few times, as that’s what I did. At the time, while I enjoyed it, I didn’t appreciate this toy as much as I should. I left him outside one night, with his feet buried. I was Optimus Prime and it was the only way to stop him (because in my mind, Starscream always was the leader of the Decepticons, despite what the story or Clayton have to say about it). I then went inside and stayed there for the rest of the day/night. That night there was a storm that surely must have been a lesson from god to not leave such precious things outside. Apparently the steel to plastic ratio in Starscream when you add water, is a deadly combo. Essentially what I found the next day was a stump that kinda had some of the Starscream colors and a few of his decals. Horribly depressing. It was the last time I ever had steel Starscream...

... until now!

Yes, the original steel Starscream is back in my possession (well, not that one... he melted or something) but it’s AN original one. He’s wicked. Only, he’s missing quite a few parts. I’m talking guns, arm canons, and hands! Frickin’ hands weren’t included in this deal! This diary will chronicle my building of a complete steel Starscream - the one from my past. It’s a slow and arduous process, but hopefully it will be worth it. Let’s go. Transform and roll out.

Sept. 9, 2005:
Today I received one of the greatest gifts anyone could ever get - the bulk of the original Starscream.

He’s actually not as big as I remember him being, but then, the last time I saw him I was about 3 feet tall, so I guess it’s all a matter of perspective. I also don’t remember him being so... I dunno... gimpy looking. Yeah - he’s missing many parts, which makes him look kinda lame in his robot form. He’s still pretty wicked looking in plane mode though, as none of those parts are involved in that form.

Yeah, I think I’ll leave him in plane form til I get some more parts to throw on him.

Dec. 25, 2005:
Merry Christmas to all. Today I received a complete Starscream! Although, it’s not exactly what this project was going for, it’s still pretty wicked, and a nice jump considering it has grown pretty cold since September.

Yep, the new Starscream from the Cybertron series is pretty kick ass. He’s quite a bit bigger and bulkier than the original, but he’s also the biggest toy of the line. This one is a scaled down version, but he’s still bigger than ol’ stealy. But fortunately for us all, he came with hands that DO NOT detach. Hooray for logical toy design!

Jan. 24, 2006:
Just a month since the arrival of the new Starscream, the original gets the upperhand... sorta... if you consider the left hand to be the “upper” one.

Yup, there it is in all its glory. Got it at the comic shop in Sydney (which has easily become my favorite store on the island) for FREE no less! In fairness, how much would you charge for a tiny plastic left hand? I would have paid nicely for it, but whatever. The point is twofold: first that store is awesome and a bastion of great toy-ness; and second that now Starscream looks a lot less lame in robot-mode. Well, at least if you look at him at the right angle.

Oct. 27, 2006:
More than a year after the journey began, I got my first complete version of the original Starscream! Sort of...

This Starscream may just be 2.5 inches tall, but that doesn't make him any less kick-ass! Hell, he even came with a Decepticon symbol to stand on. That in itself is pretty damn rad. Plus, the exhaust - nice touch. I now see what he's look like, not only with hands, but with hands and FLYING! Rad!

Dec. 23, 2006:
Oh my god! Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! It finally happened! Take a look at this folks:

Now, I know what yer saying: that's not ACTUALLY the original steel Starscream. That's true. It's the "Classics" model. With a few very slight variations, it's almost exactly the same though. When in plane mode, he's almost interchangable. He's abotu the same size, all the same parts (except his damn hands are attached!), same colors, etc. The cockpit folding it different, and the wings are shaped a bit different, but other than that, it's the original. I am pleased.

Dec. 24, 2006:
Remember on Christmas last year, I got the scaled down version of the new Cybertron Starscream? I was pretty happy with that, as he's pretty damn cool. Well, he got out cooled this year, quite a few times actually (though he's still pretty damn cool). For example, the post above, and this one! The full-sized version!!

I put the other one with him, just so you could tell the major difference in size. 3 foot Batman is in the background, just to further the comparison chart. I hadn't noticed before that they also reversed all the colors on the scaled down version til I took that picture. Oh well - he's still neat.

And, you'll notice on the big guy's head - the Decepticon crown of leadership. Starscream now rules over my basement with an iron-fist (which holds a mic, you may have noticed). He's got a giant Dark Knight to back him up, just in case Optimus of Darth Tater get out of line.