The complete egotist, Sunstreaker thinks he is the most beautiful thing on Earth. Loves his sleek styling, contemptuous of other Autobot race cars (particularly his twin Sideswipe). Fires laser-guided ground-to-air rockets and high energy electron pulses at 300 bursts/sec. Tough polymer-steel skin resists artillery. Not a team player. Can be baited into dangerous situations, but is a very calm, competent, and ruthless war machine.
First/Last Comic Appearance (US) - Issue 1, September 1984 / Issue 77, April 1991
First/Last Comic Appearance (UK) - Issue 257, February 17th 1990 / Issue 289, September 29th 1990
First/Last Cartoon Appearance - Episode 1 (Season 1 #1), September 17th 1984 / The Transformers: The Movie, August 8th 1986
Figure Details
Manufacturer - Hasbro
Toyline - Universe
Additions/Mods:
- Added an Autobot symbol to the rear spoiler
- Added various Reprolabels
Review
I'm going to level with you, dear reader, because I think that Sunstreaker is a douchebag. There, I said it. I mean even his name is stupid. It implies someone who runs around sans clothing every time it is a nice day. Part of the reason he is so arrogant must be due to the fact he is not only a Lamborghini Countach, he is also a canary-yellow supercharged Lamborghini Countach. I guess he has it good. I was a big fan of the G1 toy, until bits of him fell off, and then apparently the G1 mould was lost forever more. So I was glad when this guy got the 'classics' treatment by the boys at Hasbro. Let's see if this guy remains a total douche nearly 3 decades on.
Appearance (Robot Mode) 9/10
In a rare inspired moment by the bods at Hasbro, they have succesfully used 1 mould with minor alterations to make 2 very distinct robots. They repeated this feat with
Tracks/
Wheeljack but for my money this is the more impressive of the 2. Sunstreaker uses the roof as his chest, as opposed to the others who use the bonnet. This gives Sunstreaker a whole new look and his headsculpt is also great, very reminiscent of G1 although there is no light-piping, because Sunstreaker's characteristic 'ears' spring forth form his perfectly-formed noggin. Try saying
that drunk. Flat paint is my only real gripe with this figure, although it is less of an issue in robot mode.
Appearance (Alternate Mode) 8/10
Good, but not as good as
Sideswipe, and the only reason for this is the flat paintjob.
Red Alert kind of gets away with it because because at least he has quite a few tampographed symbols to break up the monotony. The dull yellow used just doesn't really say 'supercar' to me. This is where I employed the help of Canadian sticker supremos 'Reprolabels' who similarly recognised that Sunstreaker was a bit too nude in vehicle mode. I used the majority of their stickers to create more of a 'G1' look, and also to bring the vehicle closer to Siseswipe's standards. I have also donated Sideswipe's redundant supercharger, as it is far nicer than Sunstreaker's supplied one.
Transformation 8/10
The legs are formed by splitting and unfolding the rear of the car, and the arms are stowed underneath the bonnet and middle of the car. The bonnet is then pulled out and folded over the reveal the chest. I particularly like the automorph feature whereby the cabin is spun around to reveal the head.It was really clever of Hasbro to support 2 different transformations from what is essentially the same mould.
Poseability 8/10
This mould sports decent articulation, with a ball-jointed head and waist swivel. It also has ball-jointed shoulders and hips, bicep and thigh swivel. There are double joints in the elbows and wrist swivel. In addition to this there are jointed knees with an added side joint used in the transformation sequence, and the feet also have 2 joints. The lack of a heel means that there can be some balance issues, and also the legs can look strangely splayed. Also, because the back becomes the chest for Sunstreaker, it is easy to obscure the face with the 2 protusions either side of the chest.
Quality 8/10
This mould feels well thought out and put together. It locks together exquisitely in car mode, although some stress is needed to initially move the panels apart to change into robot. My only concern is the automorph feature, as I worry that it may fail one day.
Overall - 41/50
But for the lame paint, Sunstreaker would be my favourite example of the mould, because his headsculpt is so nice. That said, he is still a great addition to any collection, and I recommend that you consider covering his vast swathes of dull yellow paintwork in Reprolabels ASAP.
