• Front of "Generation 2: Redux" Boxed Set*
• Side of "Generation 2: Redux" Boxed Set*
• Tech Specs
• Official Photo (Vehicle Mode)*
• Official Photo (Robot Mode)*
• Vehicle Mode
• Vehicle Mode (Side)
• Vehicle Mode (Back)
• Vehicle Mode (Front)
• Vehicle Mode (Back view)
• Vehicle Mode (Angle view)
• Vehicle Mode (Rear view)
• With Prowl (Vehicle Modes)
• Robot Mode
• Robot Mode (Side)
• Robot Mode (Back)
• Robot Mode (Close up)
• Robot Mode (Focus on head)
• Robot Mode (Angle view)
• Robot Mode (Holding weapon)
• Robot Mode (Posed)
• With Prowl (Robot Modes)

*Official photos from Botcon.com.

The age of Transformers Generation 2 was filled with figures that never saw a mass release, some commanding thousands of dollars on the collector's market. One such figure is the Generation 2 redeco of Streetwise, the Protectobot police car from Generation One. Despite being a repaint of an existing sculpt, this figure has gone on to become an oft coveted item that was been known to sell for more than $1,000 on it's own. This made him an ideal choice to "balance" out the Botcon set since we had another "unreleased" combiner Generation One character who was given a new deco, Breakdown.

The character was originally conceived as Streetwise, and for all intents and purposes of our fiction he is Streetwise. However, trademark issues led us to having to find a different name, so instead the name "Streetstar" was chosen for the packaging. This name originates from Generation One, where Streetstar was the Japanese exclusive redeco of Streetwise, bringing the character/mold names full circle in an odd, cosmic way. This figure will cover the changes made to the figure for this release. For a detailed look at this sculpt as it was originally released, check out my review for Universe Prowl.

Vehicle Mode:
Both G1 Prowl and Streetwise were police cars, so Prowl was a natural choice to serve as the base mold for Streetstar. Like Breakdown, we decided to use the colors of his unreleased G2 figure for this deco, and like Breakdown it was decided that we would stick as close to that deco as possible.

The plastic color replacement in vehicle mode is pretty simple. The wheels remain black, the white plastic on Prowl has been replaced with black and the clear windows are now translucent blue. These colors are directly inspired by G2 Streetwise's figure, which was mostly black with blue windows. Where things get really interesting are the paint applications and tampographs.

Part of G2's claim to fame was the generous use of tampographs and words on the decos and Streetwise was no exception. On the top of the vehicle are the numbers "95-4" in gold with a white outline, a direct homage to the same detail on G2 Streetwise. This refers to the year (1995) the toy was intended to be released and Streetwise's "component" number on the Protectobot team (#4). On the windshield of the vehicle is a G2 Autobot symbol (a stylized Optimus Prime head) next to the word "Autobot" in yellow (so much for robots in disguise!). On each door is a gold and white logo that is a police style shield with the G2 Autobot symbol in the center. This detail is also directly copied over from G2 Streetwise. It should be noted that such tampographs as the shield/symbol are not just copied from the G2 toy onto this one, it had to be painstakingly reconstructed to send to the factories as a graphic to be imprinted on the figure. This is the level of loyalty we felt had to go into the figure to make it successful.

Paint decos on the vehicle are done in black, red, blue, silver and yellow. The black is interesting as it is used not only to paint the top sections of the cabin cover, but also the black was used to paint over the headlight details on the car, making it resemble its G2 inspiration much more. In lieu of those headlights, yellow lights are painted onto the front of the car on either side. Silver is found on the sides of the wheels, the exhaust pipes and the front grille. Some of these details are unexpected since on mass releases they aren't generally touched, in particular I was surprised to find the exhaust pipes painted. It's a small but beautiful touch. Two shades of blue are found on this figure. The rear windows are painted blue in a shade that matches up with the blue paint used on the G2 Streetwise figure. A darker blue is used for the left half of the lightbar on the top of the vehicle. The other half is painted in red, as are the rear lights. The triangular sections on the top of each lightbar are painted silver to draw emphasis to them. It should be noted that it would have been easy to just leave the lightbar translucent and it would have looked great unpainted, but again we wanted to pay proper homage to the G2 figure and thus the lightbar is painted to match the one on the G2 figure.

Transformation to Robot Mode:

1. Flip the car over and detach the gun from the front end. Fold its halves out and set it aside for now.
2. Swing up the panels at the rear of the vehicle.
3. Swing back the rear of the vehicle.
4. Swing the roobt feet pieces forward, and swing out the heel pieces.
5. Pull the sides of the vehicle out and rotate them around on the ball joint (if it pops off, just snap it back on).
6. Swing the robot arms down and then out to the sides.
7. Fold the two halves of the car sides together.
8. Swing the center of the car's front section forward and the robot head will swing up automatically, push the section back down.
9. Swing the robot chest down.
10. Swing up the rocket launchers over the shoulders.
11. Straighten out the arms and put the gun in one of the fists.

Robot Mode:
G2 Streetwise's robot mode carried over a lot of black from the vehicle mode, but it also added in some red robot parts as well. To that end, Streetstar's robot mode pieces are a combination of red and black plastic. For instance, his upper arms are metallic red while the lower arms and fists are black. His missile launchers are metallic red while the robot head is black. The same paint colors from the vehicle mode carry over here, but this time silver takes a more prominant role. Silver is used to paint the ends of the missiles and the robot head as well as the triangle shaped cross hatch on his waist. Red is found on the ends of his feet, an appropriate homage to G2 Streetwise who had red on the ends of his feet. To reference the half blue/half red light bar, Streetstar has a red detail on the right side of his waist and a blue one on the left. I like this bit of continuity between the vehicle mode and robot mode and think it looks great.

I've said it in previous reviews, but the color combination of red, black and silver is one of my favorites on a robot, and Streetstar embodies that. Combined with the slick look of the classic Transformers Autobot design (car hood as chest, car back as legs) and the door "wings" on back this is a fantastic looking figure.

Some warnings on the quality control however. Streetstar's fists seemed to have been not inserted all the way, so they can come loose very easily. You just need to push them in tight and they'll snap into place. Also, I noticed on the right "horn" on my Streetstar's head there is some plastic flash, a bit of "extra" plastic sticking out the side which looks rather unattractive. This can be easily remediated using a sharp knife (if you're under 18, please be sure to have a parent help you with that) but it is something to be aware of. Despite these issues, all of Streetstar's joints are as tight as those on my Prowl, Smokescreen and Silverstreak, so the quality has not gone down completely.

Final Thoughts:
I have to admit for a fondness for this particular figure. Sure it has a bit of a quality issue with the flash and the hands, but it's nothing that completely impedes the functionality or appearance of the figure. I think as a homage it's spectacular and the mold totally fits the character. Recommended with the previously mentioned reservations.