All Hail Lord Starscream; Ruler of the Decepticons and Emperor of Cybertron.

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The name "Skywarp" is probably one that is more familiar to fans that closely follow the Transformers franchise than by casual observers. Much of it is due to the name falling into disuse since the G1 line's end and didn't appear again until 2002's Armada series. It's also because Skywarp is usually little more than a repaint of his more infamous companion Starscream and as such is lost in the shadow of a more familiar and popular character. The fact that he's usually characterized as little more than a loyal grunt under Megatron probably hasn't helped, either.

For the 2006-2007 Classics series, Skywarp is again a repaint of a sculpt previously used for Starscream. If this wasn't enough of an indignity, he's only available at Target stores as part of a two pack alongside Ultra Magnus, another character who's become infamous for being a repaint of a notable character. For this review, only the changes that have been made to Skywarp will be covered. For a more in depth review on this figure, please check out my review on Classics Starscream.

Because Skywarp is a simple repaint of Starscream, he shares his "brother's" alt, the famous F-15 Eagle. Skywarp's primary color is black, with purple on the nose tip, edges of the vertical tail fins, engine thrusters, intake sides, and lines on the wings and engine block. Silver has been added along the wings, engine block, and intake vents. His canopy has been molded in dark orange clear plastic with black painted on the canopy supports. Like most Classics figures, Skywarp bears a heat rub stamp on his left wing, in the same spot as the stamp found on Starscream.

Skywarp colors are much closer to the pattern on his G1 predecessor than Starscream is. Personally, I would have preferred that the manufacturer have kept the engine thrusters the same gun metal color as found on Starscream for a bit more realism, but this is the only detriment to this figure. As for any changes in the sculpt itself, there is very little that is noticeable. The joint attached to the part of the nose cone that covers the head has been tightened, so it's not as easy to accidentally knock it off during play. There is also a slight re-mold on Skywarp, which will be covered later. Other than that, all the flaws found on Starscream can also be found on Skywarp.

Anyone who's had experience with Classics Starscream will have no trouble transforming Skywarp. If not, it's still not a difficult task to perform and may not require the instructions, though I recommend keeping them around, especially since Ultra Magnus' instructions can be found on the same piece of paper. It should also be noted that the joints on Skywarp are also a little tighter than on Starscream. He's also packaged in robot mode, so one will be starting from this point, as opposed vehicle mode as is the case with Starscream

Aside from color, Skywarp is virtually identical to Starscream in height and form. There's more silver and purple visible on Skywarp in this form; most of the silver found on his chest and waist. Red has been used in his optics and inside the intakes on small trapezoid-like etches. Like Starscream, Skywarp's helmet is black but his face has been painted silver. In my opinion, the silver brings out more of his facial features than did the light gray on Starscream. It's an excellent choice, one that makes one wonder why the same wasn't done for Starscream.

It should be noted that the paint scheme found on the actual figure is not what is displayed on the package. The picture of Skywarp on the box shows him with some extra red in his feet, silver on either side of his shin, purple in the center of his waist, and black on the fingers of his fists. It's a discrepancy that his package-mate Ultra Magnus; however Skywarp is considerably closer to his box photo than is Ultra Magnus. It's nothing that a kitbasher or repainter couldn't easily fix if they cared to, and it's probably not really necessary. Another minor note is that Skywarp has been remolded slightly in his intakes. In Starscream, there are four trapezoid-shaped markings in his intakes, stacked on top of each other. Skywarp has one more of these markings, a small "Easter egg" that is hardly noticeable. It should be noted that recent "Wave 2" releases of Starscream also have this extra trapezoid. Why this is being done is unknown.

Skywarp has many of the same problems with is sculpt as Starscream had. His legs are still somewhat loose, though tighter than on Starscream. The wings are still not attached to the rest of his body, only because the tabs for his projectile launchers are set so high on his shoulders.

Skywarp comes with a pair of spring-activated launchers and two missiles, both sculpted exactly like the set that comes with Starscream. The only difference is color; the body of the launcher is colored purple, the trigger and barrel black with silver in front of the trigger; the silver application is the same shape as the blue on Starscream's launchers. The missiles have been molded in black plastic. They can be attached to holes in the wings of his jet form, held in his fists, or set in holes in his shoulders for a show-accurate appearance. As with Starscream, the length and position of the launchers affect the articulation of the arms and bump into the wings.

My version of Skywarp came with a launcher with only half of the section in front of the trigger painted silver. There's no evidence that any paint was scratched off in handling the figure, so it can only be presumed that it's a unique production error, especially since the second launcher appears normal. It's something that is probably not likely to appear in other cases, but it's something to watch for.

Skywarp has always suffered under in shadow of Starscream and is likely to continue to do so in the near future. The fact that the latest figure with his name is an exclusive of a particular is not likely to give him much in the way exposure. He's still worth picking up, especially since the versus pack is priced the same as a regular Voyager figure. In other words, you get a free deluxe figure for the price of a Voyager. I believe he's a superior figure to Starscream and if you find him at Target along with Starscream, skip Starscream and get him.

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