Toy Review - SCOURGE (Studio Series)

[GoktimusPrime]

SWEEP 8886
Series - Studio Series
Sub-line - 86
Size/class - Voyager
New/remould/redeco - New
Wave - 1
Released here - December 2020
Approximate Retail Price - $45
Approximate Size - 17cm
Allegiance - Decepticon
Alt-mode - Hovercraft
Main Features/Gimmicks - N/A
Main Colours - blue
Main Accessories - x1 disintegrator ray gun, blast effect piece













Thoughts:

• Scourge is invariably a shellformer, especially with increasing cartoon-likeness. However they have done an impressive job in minimising the shellforming.

• The inclusion of a tertiary alt mode with the head protruding is cute. It's more than just exposing the face; the head is elevated to emulate its elongation in the cartoon

[Jaxius._]

Scourge is well the budget went towards hot rod
Scourge is good. He’s accurate and great looking, tight joints and amazing paint but he’s just lacking something personally. Maybe it’s because Scourge himself has little personality (bear in mind its been a long time since I’ve seen season 3) but he does the job of being this bearded huntsman, the herald of Unicron and the swarm of Sweeps.
Interestingly instead of mushroom pegs the thigh articulation is this whole piece with the mushroom peg in the middle, they went to a lot of effort here.

I enjoy the ‘lie down move backpack and its a flying thing’ transformation here because it’s actually rather well done compared to the likes of every voyager class jet we’ve had lately (ER seekers aside)

[Sutton]

Scourge is well the budget went towards hot rod

Gotta say, I disagree with that. Hot Rod's size is where the budget went towards Hot Rod.

Scourge feels like a premium figure. Seeing how many of the parts have been painted (and painted well) is really rare to see these days. The sculpting is fantastic and detailed, particularly the head - my only concern is that the Cyclonus from Kingdoms looks a little bland and undetailed by comparison. Yes, I know they're different toylines.....but they're really not.

[GoktimusPrime]

I personally find Scourge to be a more solid toy in both robot and vehicle modes compared to Hot Rod, but having said that, Hot Rod is a more ambitious figure in that it is cramming in Voyager-esque engineering into a Deluxe-sized figure. Scourge is also basically a shellformer, which is not a criticism of this toy per se, because the more G1-accurate you're gonna make a Scourge toy, then the more shellformery it's going to be (as the original G1 Scourge is just a big shellformer). The least shellformery CHUG Scourge would be the Generations toy.

[Sutton]

I personally find Scourge to be a more solid toy in both robot and vehicle modes compared to Hot Rod, but having said that, Hot Rod is a more ambitious figure in that it is cramming in Voyager-esque engineering into a Deluxe-sized figure. Scourge is also basically a shellformer, which is not a criticism of this toy per se, because the more G1-accurate you're gonna make a Scourge toy, then the more shellformery it's going to be (as the original G1 Scourge is just a big shellformer). The least shellformery CHUG Scourge would be the Generations toy.

Interesting thing about Scourge is that, unlike other bots, he's had a number of really solid updates. The TR version was pretty good, and so was the Generations bomber. This one is the most slavishly accurate, but all 3 had/have something going for them.

[Bidoofdude]

Given the two modes and the pretty high level of movie/cartoon accuracy they were able to achieve, I think Scourge's transformation is quite clever and fun. It is a far cry from the very simple Titans Return deluxe, which I am happy to get rid of now that I have this one. The collapsing torso transformation step is unexpected, and he avoids the more traditional kind of shellforming we've seen. Both modes on their own are fun to play around with and swoosh. A lot of the joints are quite stiff, which makes him a bit hard to pose without putting a bunch of effort in. Hopefully it wears down a little, as the figure seems decently articulated otherwise.

Colours and paint are nice and crisp. The slightly vibrant tinge to the blue and greys enhances the movie aesthetic just that little more. The face is fully painted and detailed, he has the pink nail polish, and the paint apps don't look thin. My only complaint is that the Decepticon symbol on my copy seems a little bit squished/wonky, though it's not immediately noticeable.

Scourge is only a little bit on the smaller voyager side but not noticeably so. The comparison pictures we've seen make Kingdom Cyclonus look absolutely enormous next to him, which isn't necessarily bad. I am super excited for that figure too, as well as Leader Galvatron which we have not seen yet. A pleasant side benefit of having these new larger TFTM/Season 3 Decepticons is that my POTP Predacons (currently in robot mode) will now look not as comically large with the rest of my figures. In this way, Scourge is a great size and I am overall very pleased with the figure.

[doublespy]

VEHICLE MODE:

I think it's safe to say this is the most toon accurate space soap mode we've ever gotten. Just like Hot Rod, the back of the spacecraft is compromised, but overall it's very coherent with all the panels fitting together nicely.












TRANSFORMATION:
Surprisingly interesting for a shell-former, and the peek a boo/3rd mode with dedicated engineering is a nice touch.




'BOT MODE:
Just like Hot Rod, I think the designer nailed the proportions and silhouette here, which probably should be surprising for a Studio Series figure at this point. I thought the wings are a nice balance between that iconic cape look and the practical functionality. The bearded face sculpt has been well executed which gives me great hope for an awesome Wreck-Gar down the line.

Articulation is pretty standard for a modern Voyager figure.

The included effect part does look nice in purple, but I wish they'd included two pieces for a more symmetrical look in space soap mode.


















OVERALL:
Scourge is a great stand alone figure but will no doubt be worth getting multiples of with Kingdom Cyclonus and the rumored Galvatron.

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Hi, all quick question re. some fixes for this guy, or rather the Sweep redeco.

My Sweep has a slightly lopsided head, presumably this should be fixable by unscrewing it and looking for mold flash?

More noticeably, the effect part is very bent out of shape from the package. Does anyone know if there are any issues with using the hot water trick on translucent soft plastic? I do kind of want the effect part for Cyclonus for that wrist-mounted tractor-beam he has in the Killing Jar episode.

Cheers in advance!

[GoktimusPrime]

I don't know about the lopsided head, but I've used the hot water trick on a bent blast effect, and yeah, it works a treat.