Autobot NOVASTAR
Series - Generations
Sub-line - Power of the Primes
Size/class - Deluxe
New/remould/redeco - redeco/retool of POTP Moonracer
Wave - IV
Released here - ???
Approximate Retail Price - AU$31 (US$21)
Approximate Size - 14cm
Allegiance - Autobot
Alt-mode - Cybertronian limousine
Main Features/Gimmicks - gestalt limb for Elita-Infin-One-te
Main Colours - Red, orange
Main Accessories - gun, marsupialian gestalt fist for Elita-Infin-One-te.

Note: Refer to the Moonracer review thread to see the discussion on the original mould. This thread will focus on differences made.

Thoughts
A really nice repaint of Moonracer. I think that Hasbro has done a top notch job in trying to make the Moonracer mode look as Firestar-esque as possible. The colours work in muting some of the Moonracer elements while attempting to accentuate more Firestar-like elements. Of course, the result is of limited success due to the fact that this is still ultimately a Moonracer mould, but short of creating a whole new toy or a super heavy retool, I think that they've done a very nice job. Although Moonracer's backpack kibble which works against Moonracer tends to work more in Novastar's favour as it incidentally resembles the G1 model's back kibble.

The new head looks great and truly helps to sell this toy as Firestar. The colours in robot mode all work really well. The vehicle mode is similarly repainted in a way that tries to distinguish it from Moonracer, but again with understandably limited results. The front and mid windows are clear, although the front windscreen has a grey panel underneath it. This windscreen extends all the way down, including where Moonracer had a bonnet. Novastar's bonnet is greatly reduced in favour of a larger windscreen, which is more G1-accurate. I'm quite appreciative of this attention to detail. The grey panel beneath the clear window gives it a more armoured appearance, which is quite different to the more sporty look of Moonracer's 3 transparent blue windows. Only Novastar's mid window is completely clear. The rear window is completely gone on Novastar as it's painted in solid. Again, this not only helps to sell the more armoured look of this vehicle mode, but also further distinguishes her from Moonracer.

Any real criticism towards this toy is really due to issue inherited from Moonracer; namely the openly visible hands in vehicle mode and the back-heavy robot mode. I quite like Novastar's new gun. It looks like it can do more damage than Moonracer's but it also looks like it can double up as a fire extinguisher. I really like how they've designed the accessories like this that help to add personality to the toys. Moonracer's pistol is reminiscent of her gun from G1 (albeit with a longer barrel), and you can just imagine her shooting it over her shoulder and hitting a target square-on without looking ("In the universe, Powerglide!"). Novastar's gun makes her look like she could join Inferno in some firefighting mission. It's great!



img]https://image.ibb.co/fdc1nf/POTP-novastar02.jpg[/img]







Overall
To be really honest, if you already own Moonracer then you already own Novastar. Both toys offer identical play value and it's only really worth getting both figures if you just want to complete your set of CHUG female Autobots... in which case reading a review like this is probably needless since you've already made up your mind. But for those of you who are unsure, I'd say get either Moonracer or Novastar, or maybe even way for Siege Chromia -- but you might not want to buy all 3 of them. Cos really, if you own one of these you own them all. But if you want to add Novastar to your cast of female Autobots, then I think that she's a worthy addition.