General Information:
Release Date: December 2020
Price Point: $29.99 (depending on retailer)
Retailer: General Release (Amazon, BigBadToyStore, Entertainment Earth, Target, Walmart
Accessories: Blaster, Blast Effect
Official images and product description in italics below are from Amazon:
- STUDIO SERIES VOYAGER CLASS: Voyager Class figures are 6.5-inch collectible action figures inspired by iconic movie scenes and designed with specs and details to reflect the Transformers movie universe, now including The Transformers: The Movie!
- 6.5-INCH SCALE SCOURGE: Figure features vivid, movie-inspired deco, is highly articulated for posability, and comes with a blaster and blast effect accessories inspired by the film
- BIG SCREEN INSPIRED: Figure scale reflects the character’s size in the world of The Transformers: The Movie. Figure and packaging are inspired by the iconic Heralds of Unicron scene
- 2 ICONIC MODES: Figure features classic conversion between robot and Cybertronian hovercraft modes in 19 steps. Perfect for fans looking for a more advanced converting figure. For kids and adults ages 8 and up
- REMOVABLE BACKDROP: Removable backdrop displays Scourge figure in the Heralds of Unicron scene. Fans can use the backdrop and pose their figures in the scene with their own style
Background:
The 1986 theatrical Transformers film introduced a large cast of new characters. This cast included powerful new Decepticons including Scourge. Unicron used the remains of the Decepticon Thundercracker to create Scourge, but he is a distinct character completely separate from Thundercracker. Scourge has been made into toys before including (but not limited to) his G1 toy, the Generations version and the Titans Return version. While many of those figures were great for their time, this is the first modern version that is meant to truly represent his animated counterpart.
Packaging:
Studio Series 86 Scourge is packaged in a standard Studio Series box. It is rectangular with a black background. The Transformers logo is set vertically on the right side with the Generations logo above it. The figure sits in a tray inside the box with a plastic window in front. Below the figure is the character's artwork showing him with his claws in front. The "The Transformers: The Movie" logo is next to that. The bottom has the Studio Series logo and the name of the character below that.
The back of the box has a red grid background and features the figure in both modes. It also calls out a 19 step transformation and a picture of the figure in front of the included background towards the bottom. The background included with the figure is a recreation of the scene where Unicron changes the bodies of wrecked Decepticons into Cyclonus, Scourge and the Sweeps.
Accessories:
Scourge includes two accessories:
- Blaster: Scourge's blaster is based on the design of the G1 toy's weapon with a ton of more details added in. From the G1 design it features a targeting scope towards the front, a pointed barrel and a small magazine underneath. The back features an angled section. The added details come in the form of sculpted details running along the sides of the weapon. This piece is made of blue plastic with no paint applications. There is a 5mm peg on the bottom and a small peg in the front to accommodate Blast Effects.
- Blast Effect: The Blast Effect included with this figure looks like an energy burst at the base with a small energy "beam" in front. This piece is made of translucent purple plastic.
Robot Mode:
Scourge's design is one of the earliest examples of a character whose cartoon representation was a highly stylized version of the actual G1 action figure. As the years have gone along, there have been various attempts to create a more "cartoon-like" Scourge toy including the Generations Deluxe version and the Titans Return figure. With Studio Series 86 the folks at Hasbro and Takara put a challenge to themselves to not reinterpret the character but instead make a figure that is as accurate to the original character design as they could within the limits of the budget for a Voyager Class figure. To be clear, nothing in this review is meant to diminish the previous attempts at Scourge figures. Each had its strengths, but this feels like an evolution from the previous ones.
One of the most difficult parts about Scourge's cartoon design being translated into a toy is that his robot mode was largely drawn as humanoid with curves mimicking muscles and body parts of a human. Given that, you can't have his curved arms forming say, the side of the vehicle mode without looking odd. Thanks to his "wings" however, you can create detailed parts like that and then have them "covered up" by the wings in vehicle mode. Thanks to that, Scourge's robot mode design features many details from the cartoon including:
- The robot mode silhouette is heavily based on the cartoon including his curved arms, pointed feet, distinctive head design and wings on the back.
- The robot head features a rectangular "helmet" section complete with a tube on top of the head (that could be interpreted as a weapon or targeting scope) and a face with angled cheeks and his distinctive mustache and beard.
- The area around the head has a "collar" piece which comes up pretty high (about half the height of the head).
- The torso section features a continuation of the "collar" design and the "abdominal" area looks like a series of overlapping panels in a horizontal pattern.
- The arms feature a round section on top with cone shaped sections sticking out the sides. His forearms have distinct, recessed sections with a series of horizontal lines etched into them.
- The hands feature fingers with pointed ends. Each hand is in a different position, with the left hand with extended fingers to show off the design.
- The thighs are curved, but feature a distinctive angled "point" in the front. This is based on line details etched into the thighs on the animation model.
- The lower legs feature curves on the sides but a section that is pointed on the knees that then widen down to the feet.
- The feet angle downward towards the "toes" that come to a point.
- The wings on the back of the figure are curved, with points at the top and bottom. Each wing has an additional section on the sides that look like blades with a point on the top and bottom.
Scourge is made up of blue and light blue plastic. Paint applications include blue, light blue, grey, red and pink. A purple and silver Decepticon symbol is tampographed onto the chest. For the most part these colors match up nicely with the animation model. It's not 100% accurate to the model, but the designers did their best to reflect the spirit of the deco.
There are twenty eight points of articulation on this figure. Now, I'm being generous here by including the two hinges on each wing and the "toe" and heel pieces, but even without those there are twenty points which is very standard nowadays. There are ten 5mm ports on this figure. That includes four on each arm, one in each hand and four on the legs. My only concern is that the ones on the shoulders and ankles have red paint in them, so I can imagine if you keep attaching and detaching accessories there may be some paint scraping off (but I have not experienced this, I'm just speculating). I really love how the designers managed to give each hand a 5mm port even while the two have different designs. You can also attach a Blast Effect to the scope on top of his head.
Transformation to Vehicle Mode:
- Detach the accessories and set them aside for now.
- Straighten out the arms and legs.
- Swing the toe and heel pieces onto the underside of the feet.
- Connect the two lower legs together.
- Swing each arm down, attaching the forearms to the tabs on the sides of the lower legs.
- Turn the "scope" on top of the head around.
- Swing the wings forward.
- Swing the piece with the circle on it in the back up.
- Lift up the panel on the back.
- Holding on to the back piece, pull the section with the head (and part of the torso) back.
- The back panel has two slots on the bottom that attach to the tabs on the back of the lower legs.
- Swing the bottom section of each wing back, swinging the smaller panels on the sides out.
- On each of the lower wing sections, swing the weapon pods up.
- Swing each wing in and connect the two halves.
- Push all the wing panels down and push the side panels in (this gets fiddly, one of the weaknesses of the figure unfortunately).
- Swing the panel in the middle back, covering up the head.
- Swing the blue wing segments against the bottom of the vehicle.
Vehicle Mode:
Scourge's vehicle mode is a hovercraft that often doubles as a spaceship. It has a roughly oval shape with a flat section in the back. The top has three pods on it that were shown in animation as blasters. Often time in the animation the surface of the vehicle mode had very flat panels with some big lines here and there. This version however has a bunch of nicely sculpted line and machinery details that look fantastic. The vehicle also has some sections that look like curved air intakes on the sides that were also present on the animation model. Overall the designers did a great job!
The blue and light blue colors are separated in this mode with the blue mostly in the middle while the light blue parts are on the edges. Some light blue paint is used on the rings around each pod on top of the vehicle. A large Decepticon symbol is tampographed n the top of the vehicle towards the front. The center pod has a tiny red dot in the middle.
The vehicle mode features four 5mm ports. The two on the side are good weapon attachment points and the two on the back are in the perfect place to attach Blast Effects that look like engine exhaust. You can also attach Blast Effects to the front of each pod on top of the vehicle.
Final Thoughts:
I feel like I say this almost every time a new Scourge figure is released but I really like this figure. That said, this is the first time that the designers have worked hard to create a G1 accurate Scourge and not a reinterpretation of the character. To that end they've done an amazing job. Highly recommended!
Pros:
- Excellent sculpt that reflects the appearance of the G1 character's animation model beautifully.
- G1 inspired deco that's admittedly not perfect, but looks great regardless.
- Good articulation and plenty of attachment points for accessories.
Cons:
- As effusive as I am about this figure, I will admit it's not a perfect interpretation of the animation model, but to me it's 95% there and amazing within the limits of a Voyager Class figure.
- The side panels in vehicle mode don't always stay flush against the figure.
