Sunstreaker

Who's ready for something good! Unreleased movie concept of Sunstreaker in Transformers Bumblebee fighting the Decepticons on Cybertron. Is it just us, or does that feel suspiciously like it might have been written ("written," quote/​unquote) by AI? It says nothing, which isn't unusual for these Bumblebee figures, but it also feels like two sentence fragments jammed together in the clumsiest way possible. Sunstreaker has never appeared in any movie-releated continuity, not even a comic story, with the sole mention of him being on a letters page in a UK comic (the informational equivalent of putting a video on Vimeo instead of YouTube: like, yeah, it'll work, but no one's going to actually see it). Having exhausted every on-screen design from the one TF movie everyone enjoyed (ie, the opening scene of Bumblebee), Hasbro is now going onto the next best thing: unused concept art. It makes sense that Sunstreaker would be one of the characters considered for the sequence: since they'd only be on-screen for a few seconds, they'd need to be the most recognizable characters possibly. A robot who's bright yellow and has Wolverine-mask-wings for his ears would be unmistakable from frame one. (Though we'd be willing to bet that color is what kept him from being chosen, alas, so B-127 stand out more.) Obviously, as a toy based on concept art, Sunstreaker's design may have continued to change before it theoretically appeared in the movie, but even at this stage, he shares a lot of the visual language the other "retro-ized" Cybertronians displayed. Like, the way his chest windows bend around him is reminiscent of Ratchet and Ironhide, the feet are similar to Brawn, etc. Why, it's almost like "having a unified design aesthetic" is a thing! The kibble does bulk up his shoulders, forearms, and shins to an extent, which doesn't really jibe with the way the character is usually portrayed - they make him look more "tough" than "agile" - but perhaps more revisions of the design would have smoothed that out. Since Sunstreaker didn't actually appear in the movie, he doesn't have to carry the same kind of gun all the others had; instead, he gets two double-barreled cannons, which can either be held in his hands or put on his back for storage. Since one of the design quirks of the original Sunstreaker toy was having the big engine sticking up behind his head, leaving them on his back will at least hint in that direction, even if it doesn't outright duplicate it. His articulation is usual (ankles, knees, thighs, hips, waist, elbows/biceps, shoulders, head), though the overwhelming size of his shoulder pads can limit the range on the arms somewhat, bumping as they do into the head or chestplate so readily. The conversion is utterly intuitive and easy to get the hang of. Raise the shoulder pads, unfold the forearm kibble, tip the head back, raise the windhield and pull the chest out of the body cavity, unfold the windows from beneath it, point the feet up, rotate the legs to the inside, swing the shin kibble around and lock the lower legs together, push the arms into the sides, fold the windshield and roof over, put tyhe head away, flip the panel from the robot's back all the way over to become the car's roof, and close the former shoulder pads together. And naturally, plug the guns into the roof if you want, to once again simulate the exposed engine. They really should have made those guns light gray or silver, rather than being this dark. Sunstreaker's altmode is some sort of imaginary sportscar, as you'd expect. As with all the other Cybertronian Bumblebee figures, the altmode was completely developed by Hasbro - if ILM didn't have time to create any for the characters who did make it into the movie, they certainly weren't going to do it for characters who got cut. The car does bear some resemblance to a Lamborghini Countach, just with more rounded lines than straight angles. The yellow paint on the translucent windows doesn't match the rest of the car, of course; would anyone really have been that upset if we didn't get translucent windows? It's not like there's any interior to look at, anyway, so a slightly metallic paint on solid windows would have worked just as well. His wheels are translucent blue as well, though because they're backed by solid black plastic, you'll never even notice it. A slight misassembly at the factory means the hinges that hold the shin kibble on prevent the windshield from locking in place securely: but you can pop those off, turn them around, and reattach them with no problems, and now everything will work. In a cute move, Hasbro shipped Sunstreaker at the same time as War for Cybertron Sideswipe, making for a pair of interdimensional twin brothers on the pegs at once. Sunstreaker is easily the best Transformer toy I've played with all year, and is one of the best in recent memory. Transformers fans owe it to themselves to give Bumblebee Sunstreaker a try. -- 08/06/24

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