The first step was to remove the bits that could be easily removed. I took apart the figure as much as I could (the torso wouldn't come apart, and I decided not to force it this time). The front airdam wasn't even glued in, so it came out easily, as did the wheels. Then it was Dremel time, to remove the bit behind the driver's seat, reshape the spoiler a bit, carve channels in the legs to add jets later, and drill a hole in the nose for the gun. I also cut off parts of the gun so it would look better stuck in the nose.

    For additions, I used lots of styrene sheet and rod. I had a leftover wing from my preparations for the Hot Rod Mage Knight kitbash (I made one that was too small, but kept it for just such an eventuality) and glued it to the gun as a canard wing. I shaped 3/8" tubes into enhanced jet engines to glue to the legs, then added small tail wings alongside them to act as landing gear as well. The main wings, of course, were big pieces of styrene sheet, plus hand-carved segments of square rod for hardpoint attachments. The missiles were from a bag of loose GIJoe weapons and accessories I bought at a toy show a few years ago. Then I did a little putty work to smooth out some lines and fill in the driver's compartment, then build a cockpit on the forward section so that it would be on the robot's chest. After that, it was just a matter of painting. I'll probably replace the hand-painted Con symbols with some of Delta's Reprolabels (reprolabels.com) once I get my sheet of mini-sized faction symbols. Oh, some of the red lines were done with pen, but the lines on the wings were painted. I decided not to repaint the missiles, because they're made of a slipperier plastic that doesn't hold paint well.

When a new Megatron appeared out of nowhere to attack Earth in 2001, Starscream was dispatched from Cybertron to investigate. Given a new form with greater speed and improved stealth shields, Starscream found this new Megatron to be vastly different from the commander he sought to replace. For now, he's content to watch and send back carefully phrased reports to Cybertron, but he may decide his fortunes would be greater with this strange six-changer. His new jet mode can reach atmospheric speeds of Mach 4.2 without loss of maneuverability, or attain orbit in a straight-line boost at full power. His Wing Cannon is a highly precise weapon capable of emitting deadly laser blasts or null rays, and it can detach to fly free and attack enemies from behind. In addition, Starscream carries two powerful Warp Missiles that use uncontrolled Space Bridge technology to send their target zone into hyperspace. Victims who keep their heads may be able to find their way back to normal space, but most vanish forever.

STR 7  INT 9  SPD 10  END 7   RNK 9  COUR 7  FRP 9  SKL 9   Avg 8.375