General Information:
Release Date: November 2010
Price Point: $10.99 (depending on retailer)
Retailer: General (Toys R Us, Target, Wal-Mart etc.)
Accessories: Blaster weapon
*Images and text in italics below from The Official Transformers web site:
Little is known about the origin of the immensely powerful hunter known as SCOURGE. He rarely speaks, and never reveals his secrets. Few who encounter him survive to tell the tale. More often, he descends on his target from the sky, lays waste to all who oppose him, and disappears back into the darkness of space.
Race into action with this fearsome SCOURGE figure! Press the button to reveal this figure’s robot allegiance and then prepare him for a battle. In robot mode, this fighter is as tough as they come — but with blasters that combine to form a battle rifle, he’s got power, too. When it’s time to chase down his enemies, convert him to recon jet vehicle mode so he can pursue them from the “air”! Ages 5 and up.
*It is interesting to note that the write up above describes Scourge as if he were part of the Reveal the Shield line with a heat sensitive rub symbol. He does not have this symbol and his packaging firmly places him as a "Generations" figure.
In the classic 1986 "Transformers: The Movie" feature film, a large group of new characters ewre introduced into the Transformers universe. Among them was Scourge, a Decepticon formed from the damaged bodies of other Decepticons by the Dark God Unicron to serve Galvatron (and by extension, Unicron himself). Since then, the character has been used in many different ways in various forms of Transformers fiction. Even in Generation One, his origin was rather convoluted (involving a good bit of time travel). Regardless of his origin, Scourge is back and has been given a makeover courtesy of the "Transformers Generations" toy line.
Vehicle Mode:
The original Scourge's vehicle mode was a hovercraft (that really could fly anywhere) shaped like a boat with sensor pods mounted on top. It was a "futuristic" looking mode at the time and resembled something fans would expect to see on Cybertron more than Earth, but it fit into the (then) far future year of 2005 (when "Transformers: The Movie" was set). Part of the idea of the "Generations" toy line is to give the Transformers in the line vehicles that are reminscent of their original G1 forms, but are still distinctive in their own right. In the case of Scourge, he has been given the form of an aerial vehicle similar to the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit. There is some influence from his G1 form that you'll find in the middle section of the vehicle. There, you'll find a pointed front end and a sensor pod sticking out in the back. Indeed, if you just cut off the wide wings on the sides, he would very much appear to be an updated and more angular version of the G1 Scourge character.
The wings mounted on either side of the central section definitely distinguish Scourge from his G1 predecessors (toy or animated). The middle section has small windows for the cockpit section, and if you take that size ratio of windows to a human into account, Scourge winds up being huge (relatively speaking). I like the idea of Scourge being this large vehicle that dominates the skies as it befits the original character's portrayal as a tracker and hunter. Also impressive looking are the two huge thrusters mounted on either side of the central section of the vehicle. Both look like they can put out some significant power. Add to that a third thruster where the central sensor is and Scourge looks like a powerful bomber that means business!
Scourge is really sleek looking, and there isn't a ton of kibble on him, nor does he have excessive detailing. He has just the right amount to look good but not overdone. This includes lines sculpted into the wings representing different armor panels meeting. He also has shapes that look like plates bolted on to the wings (as evidenced by the tiny circles at the edges). Overall Scourge has a fantastic sculpt that evokes his original form while brining something fresh to the character.
Scourge is cast in blue, dark blue, off-white and silver plastic Most of the vehicle mode is made up of the off-white color, from the wings to the cockpit section. The thrusters on the sides and the middle area are primarily blue, with some dark blue sections on the underside of the vehicle. Silver is used sparingly in this mode. You'll see a bit of it as the center rear thruster and his landing gear. If you want to see more detail, each of his wings opens up to reveal the weapon storage areas but also some nicely done line detail for a section that is out of sight most of the time. I was very impressed that the designers went to this trouble to provide him with this level of detail inside the wings.
Paint applications are done in blue, black, off-white and red. The blue color is found mostly in the middle and front section of the vehicle. The black details are most noticable on the windows in the front area. The off-white color is used on the repeating bands on the two side thrusters and red can be seen on the inside of the sensor pod on the top of the vehicle. On the blue section in the middle is a Decepticon symbol in silver and purple. This bold, large style of Decepticon symbol was used more in Generation One than any other Transformers line and it's nice to see that reflected on Scourge. The colors are very clean and simple, and they all align with the color scheme found on Generation One Scourge. It's great to see his sculpt and colors pay homage to the character even in vehicle mode.
In terms of functionality, there are some cool little nuggets here and there. The landing gear is rather non-standard. Two panels swing down from the underside, each one with three wheels sculpted into it. On the back section, again on the underside are C clip rods to attach more weapons. Another bit of functionality is a bit of a silly homage to Scourge in his animated appearance in Generation One. If you pull the sensor pod up, you'll reveal Scourge's head. This was something he did in "Transformers: The Movie" and always struck me as odd and funny even as a kid. It's cool to see such an obscure bit of functionality available on this figure.
Transformation to Robot Mode:
- Open each wing panel and remove the weapon halves. Connect them together and close up the wing panels.
- Swing the wings down.
- Pull the side thrusters out to the sides.
- Lift the blue panel in the center of the vehicle.
- Split the front of the vehicle and pull each half forward to begin forming the robot legs.
- Pull the dark blue panel with the wings attached out.
- Rotate the silver section in the middle up and pull the robot head up.
- Push the chest panel with the Decepticon symbol on it up.
- Rotate the lower body around.
- Slide the ends of the cockpit sections down and swing them up to form the robot feet.
- Rotate the legs to point forward.
- Swing the dark blue panel on the back up and connect the squares on it to the matching holes on Scourge's back.
- Fold the wings back.
- Swing the thruster sections of the arms down.
- Pull the forearms out to the sides, this will reveal the arm's middle section.
- Rotate the part you just pulled out around.
- Push the arm sections in, the thrusters will point out to the sides.
- Rotate the forearms around and slide the hands forward using the tabs on the underside of each forearm.
- The weapon halves can be attached together or the top half can be held on its own by swinging down the peg.
Robot Mode:
In the past few years the designers of the figures that began with the "Classics" line have taken liberties with the vehicle modes of various characters. However, when it comes to their iconic robot modes, there is much more fidelity to the original Generation One characters that inspired them. This holds true with Scourge, whose robot mode is unmistakeably the G1 character in a new form. His overall shape is very close to his original form. His head has a distinctive sensor on the top, his shoulders have circular points on the sides while his legs and feet have several pointed sections. Another piece inspired by his G1 model are the wings, which wind up on his back. The official transformation has the wings closed, but you can open them up to create more of the "cape" effect G1 Scourge had in robot mode.
The overall shape isn't all Scourge has in common with his G1 predecessor. Many of the smaller details from that version of the character are covered here as well including:
- The head sculpt has all of the details from G1 Scourge's animation model including the rectangular parts of the helmet and a very prominent mustache and beard.
- On either side of Scourge's neck is a distinctive "collar" piece, details which were featured prominantly in his animation model.
- The chest panels are divided by a inset area in the center of the chest. This design comes from both the G1 toy and animation model.
- The "abdominal" rea on Scourge has a section representing several horizontal panels overlapping each other, a detail which was used in a more simplified set of horizontal lines on the G1 figure and animation model.
- Scourge's shoulders end in circular shapes, similar to the original figure and cartoon model.
- The forearms look like he has armor over a set of loops which are exposed in the middle.
- Each hand/fist has clawed fingers, a detail taken directly from the Generation One animation model.
- The leg designs borrow elements from the animation model, especially the pointed knee and foot sections.
- Scourge's weapon is designed to resemble his G1 "Targetmaster" weapon Fracas (though it is not described as such on the package), complete with two barrels on top an done larger one on the bottom.
All these nods to the Generation One toy and animation model look fantastic and I was very happy to see so many of them represented in this figure. I would say my biggest disappointment is simply that the weapon is sculpted to look like Fracas when it isn't a fully transformable Targetmaster like Nightstick, who was included with Universe 2.0 Cyclonus. I do understand that the price of oil has gone up, thus making it more difficult to get your "bang for your buck" when it comes to Transformers figures, but since these "Classics" style figures are meant to be homages to their G1 selves, it is sad to see a missed opportunity with this figure since the figure itself looks great and truth be told, the weapons sculpt looks great. Heck, I would have taken a figure with zero articulation, just put legs on it and have them swing down like the G1 figure had. Having the top of the weapon able to act as a separate gun is neat, but doesn't make up for the lack of a Targetmaster partner.
Scourge shows a lot more blue color in this mode. Blue plastic makes up most of the head, torso and arms. The rest is a blend of dark blue, off-white and dark silver. For the most part, these colors conform to his G1 self. This includes how the paint applications are put on. For instance, the forearms are dark blue but have the "bands" colored white. This same color is used on his face, but oddly his eyes are a translucent plastic rather than being colored red. The light piping doesn't really work however, I would have preferred red being used instead. A bit of silver paint is used on the shoulders and a copper color is found on his knees and fingers. The fingers were pink on the Generation One animation model, so I think copper is a good compromise color-wise. One of the nicest details is the way the Decepticon symbol from the vehicle mode winds up right on his chest in this form.
If you include his wings, Scourge has twenty points of articulation in this form. This includes waist articulation (which I give points for nowadays as it has been sacrificed often for transformations in recent time) and four points of articulation in each arm. As mentioned earlier, the weapon can be split up to be used as two blasters instead of just one. His fists are standard sized so he can hold other weapons including "Mech Tech" and "Energon" weapons.
Final Thoughts:
Scourge is literally right at the doorstep of being a super highly recommended figure. He has a cool and uncommon vehicle mode in the Transformers universe that pays homage to the original character. His robot mode is wonderfully sculpted and posable. However, the lack of a Targetmaster partner really hurts the figure a lot in my eyes. Recommended with that one (strong) reservation.
