TRANSFORMERS TOYS AND MERCHANDISE SECTION

Robot Mode:
Alternate Mode:
Box Art:
Technical Specifications:
STR
INT
SPD
END
RNK
CRG
FPR
SKL

Sir Auros' review of: Scourge

Scourge
Allegiance: Decepticon
Function: Decepticon Commander
First Cartoon Appearance: The Decepticons

Scourge is a no-nonsense field commander. Formed during the creation of the Decepticons when Megatron scanned both a tanker truck and Optimus Prime. Because of this mix-up, Scourge resents the Autobots and especially their leader. He's cunning, dangerous and cruel -- if there is any Autobot goodness within his circuits, he covers it up as acts of destruction. His battle station is a fully loaded weapon and high-tech equipment arsenal. Furiously wields his signature sword in battle.

Scourge is the ultimate Transformer toy. There, I said it. There's just so much that adds up to Scourge being one of the best (if not the best) Transformer ever made, and there are very few things that I can criticize about the toy as well. He's fun to play with because he has excellent articulation in robot mode and his trailer turns into a base easily on par with any Optimus mold. Yes, in case you didn't know (as in you've been living under a rock or stumbled upon this review and site on accident), Scourge is a repaint and slightly retooled mold of a Generation 2 Optimus Prime figure. He's been given a black, silver, and metallic teal paintjob, which is slightly different from the typical Decepticon colors, but he still has the classic Decepticon symbol. The other main difference between Scourge and Laser Rod Optimus Prime is the lack of electronics and lights. This was done to cut costs of course, and I really don't think it hurts the overall value of the toy at all when all's said and done.

Alternate mode
Since Scourge is an Optimus mold, his alternate mode is, of course, a truck and trailer. Only this time, he's not a flat-faced truck and instead of a transport trailer, he has an oil tanker. The windows on the cab are translucent and red, and the interior of the cab has molded seats and a steering wheel that are very well molded. The only way you can really tell that Scourge turns into a robot is the seam over the hood of the truck and the bottoms of his feet where he connects to his tanker. His trailer looks ok, but here's one of the few complaints I have against this toy. There's not enough color on the tanker, it's all chrome and black, with chrome dominating. I think that this makes the trailer look cheap and they really could've used more flat gray in areas or some actual color instead of coloring about 85% of the trailer in chrome. I really think it was a mistake to not have some sort of sticker or something on the actual tank part itself, because that alone would have negated the tackiness of the total-chrome approach. There is one sticker, but it's on the back and functions as the license plate and taillights. The vehicle mode is also surprisingly fun to play with as a truck, and I think that's something of an achievement for a Transformer, especially when it's one with an equally fun robot mode.

Robot mode
Transforming Scourge is extremely easy, and depending on what kind of transfan you are, this is either good or bad. I personally prefer a Transformer that's fairly easy to transform over something that you need a degree in mechanical engineering to transform *cough*Sideburn & RiD Ultra Magnus*cough* To transform Scourge into robot mode, detach him from the trailer, pull on the back part that connects the cab to the trailer to pull out his legs. Once you have his legs out, flip down his feet and separate his legs a little. Pull the little platforms on the sides of the doors out and then pull the hood of the cab apart at the seam to form his arms and shoulders. After you get his shoulders positioned, pull down the grill on his stomach to reveal his head. Pull his head out, rotate it 180 degrees, push it down a little and flip the grill back up and you're done with his body. You can use his sword in one hand or the gun from base mode or both. Scourge is really impressive in robot mode and he really looks the part of an evil commander. The translucent plastic used in his eyes and the back of his head really seems to make his eyes look like they're glowing red in most light, so that makes up for the lack of lights, in my opinion anyway. He's also a darn decent size so he won't be dwarfed by the Autobot brothers or average sized G1 figures. His stickers are fine, but I would've liked to see translucent plastic on his chest windows, but the current stickers look good as it is.
To make the base mode using his tanker trailer, grab the front of the trailer and flip it down, then it's really just a matter of pushing the little bottom under the part you just flipped down to make the base transform practically by itself. Just realign the disc-launcher and attack the multiple missile launcher on the other side and you have the whole thing done. There's also a big missile with a soft tip that's supposedly propelled by a little air pump that you push down on, but I've never gotten mine to shoot off the missile, so that's one of my other minor complaints about the toy. The base mode's pretty darn cool though as well as heavily armed. It is kind of a pain to transform back into vehicle mode because it's hard to keep the discs in their proper place without spilling all over the place.

Poseability
Superb! Scourge's arms can rotate like a human's, his legs move to the side and the front, his knees bend, his head turns, and he'll do a little dance when you're not looking. He's just the most remarkably poseable figure I've ever seen from a G2 mold...well, there are the jets with ball joints that were released a little later, so I'll just say he's the biggest, most poseable figure I've seen from that era. The way his arms move allows for some really cool looking poses with his sword and his legs can be positioned so that he can have plenty of action poses.

Transformation: 10-Simple but not just a matter of pulling out arms and flipping the toy backwards. Also very well designed for hiding the robot mode so well.
Durability: 9-He's not made of metal, but he's not made out of cheap knock-off plastic either. He feels solid enough though and would've received a 10, but his shoulders can get loose and start sagging a little after a while.
Fun: 10-Plenty to be had you can be sure. Heavy-duty firepower in base form with plenty of projectiles, a highly poseable, cool robot, and a vehicle mode that's actually fun to boot make Scourge a fun toy.
Price: 9-Scourge is only selling for $30 in Toys R Us (and Toys R Us only because it's an exclusive), which is very reasonable in the face of the prices the Armada line is going for with smaller toys. The thing that prevents him from getting a 10 here is if you don't live in the USA or Canada, because then you have to either import from the Americas or Japan.
Overall: 10-Despite the two 9's, the good really outweighs the bad on this figure and it's something that any collector should want and/or any kid would love. Out of all the Transformers I've ever owned, this figure is my overall favorite.