Yes
No
Only if cheap
Only if something else
Not even interested
*clears throat*
These are most but not all of my Jetfires. I couldn't be bothered including my ROTF Legends and Leader Class Jetfires.
Because a good toy is still a good toy regardless of what you think about the character. Look at Hubcap. He's arguably one of the better Autobot Mini-Vehicles in the 1986 line and yet the character's a butthole. And Wheelie is the weakest of those Mini-Bots regardless of what you think about the character; if we look outside of the G1 cartoon we can find a lot of fairly decent representations of the Wheelie character (as a Bear Grylls-like survivalist and not the annoying and campy "Jar Jar Binks"-like thing from the 'toon)... but none of that matters because G1 Wheelie is just a rubbish toy. Similarly I think that Titans Return Wheelie is a really nice toy; you may agree or disagree with me, but my opinion of the toy has zero connection with the character. I just think it's a well designed figure.
And same with Jetfire. G1 Jetfire has an impressive range of articulation for a G1 toy, it looks great and has an imposing size. It has all self-contained parts (no detachable fists, wings, landing gears etc.) and the gun and armour can be attached in both robot and jet modes. The quad-lasers on the head* means that Jetfire can never be disarmed, even if you were to lose the rifle and armour. It's just a jolly well designed toy (shame that the shoulders are notoriously fragile). And I would say the same for Classics Jetfire too, that's also a superbly designed figure. Classics Jetfire's armour/weapons arguably offer superior play value that Siege Jetfire's as you've got missile launchers and deployable cannons that can swing up and down (which allows the toy to pay homage to both the Super Valkyrie and Strike Valkyrie from Macross!). Classics Jetfire is a really nice blend between both the G1 Jetfire toy and Skyfire aesthetics, whereas Siege Jetfire is really just Skyfire with not much homaging the original Jetfire. And this isn't a criticism, I get that that's the entire point of Siege Jetfire's design; he is meant to be a cartoon-accurate Skyfire. But little things like the absence of quad-lasers on the helmet diminishes its fidelity to the original Jetfire design; his helmet looks more like Broadside than Jetfire to me. Generations Jetfire is by far the weakest of the CHUG Jetties, but I still love this toy due to the political history behind it. But I must admit that this is a terribly subjective and biased reason... objectively speaking Generations T30 Jetfire is kinda forgettable.
Classics and Siege Jetfire are my all time favourite Jetties as I reckon that they pack loads of value for money; both are well worth their respective RRPs.
(yes, I know that SS Jetfire isn't 2009; this is more of a timeline of the designs in TFs rather than the toys. Translation: because I CBB to take out ROTF Jetfire #lazy)
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*From a Transformers POV the fact that G1 Jetfire's head just sticks out like a sore thumb does make it look a bit goofy. Even the Seekers tuck their heads underneath the cockpits. I understand that from a Macross POV it makes sense because it's a weapon for the Fighter and Gerwalk modes, but it arguably doesn't translate as well for a Transformer. Ditto the lack of any real attempt to conceal the legs in fighter mode. It's similar to say the heads on G1 Ironhide and Ratchet which make perfect sense in the context of Diaclone but they haven't translated as well for Transformers. I personally don't mind any of this; I love the heads on all of these toys, but I get why some TF fans aren't fond of them.
Those images really do sell Sky/Jetfire.
Part of me does regret not jumping on the figure when he was $150 to your door.
I'm trying to find things to type that haven't already been typed or said.
First, I'm surprised that it's taken this long to make a screen-accurate Skyfire. The 2015 Generations leader figure looked alright, but the vehicle mode was still based on the Valkyrie. It's easy to be cynical of yet another Classics/Generations line made of G1-styled figures, but this is something we've never seen Hasbro make before.
It's very easy to be effusive and gush praise on the figure, because it was so well-done and looks great. I'm trying to think of negatives, and honestly some of it feels like nitpicking: the jet mode has quite a few gaps in it, it's tough to unlock the ankle tilt joints for inversion of the feet, and the nose gear is difficult to open, at least on mine.
Who here remembers Day of the Machines?
I remember thinking that the new larger Commander size class would make Jetfire roughly the same size as old leaders, before Hasbro/TakaraTOMY started downsizing, and I'm glad to have been wrong. Here he is next to the Jetfire/Optimus combination from 2009:
No kidding. Given that Shogo Hasui had a hand in this figure (John Warden drops his name at 7:16 of this video), it's not really surprising.
Here he is next to some MPs. While he seems a bit small to be 'accurately' scaled, he's not so small that he'll look ridiculously undersized:
As doublespy said of Springer, if TakaraTOMY decide to give Skyfire the Masterpiece treatment, a lot of the work has already been done here.
JETFIRE(/Skyfire)
Series - Generations
Sub-line - Siege
Hypo-line - War for Cybertron
Size/class -Teen Titan/Commander
New/remould/redeco - New
Wave - 1
Released here - Online only perhaps?
Approximate Retail Price - $140
Approximate Size - 11inch (28cm)
Allegiance - Autobot/Decepticon
Alt-mode - VF-1 Valkyrie/Jet/Spaceship/Space Taxi
Main Features/Gimmicks - light piping, Titan/Prime Master compatibility (cockpits), faction changing symbol, c.o.m.b.a.t compatibility
Main Colours - White, Red, Blue
Main Accessories - detachable armour (breastplate, helmet), blast effects, combining rifle, 'missiles', dual cannon gauntlets, smaller combining guns/missiles
(OP's Note: My reviews are all done in a work environment so I am limited with what I can post/display and get 'clean' pictures, sorry!)
Jetfire AKA Skyfire was a bit of an anomaly in the G1 cartoon; he came and went quite quickly but he did make his presence felt while he was around. He had an intriguing backstory due to his camaraderie with Starscream, and after his defection he proved his worth both by helping troops into battle and with his intellect before he disappeared prior to The Animated Movie and wasn't to be seen all through Season 3. But he did get more character development in Marvel, Dreamwave and IDW incarnations, and has cemented himself as a bit of a fan favourite. I was going to pass on Jetfire due to my tight budget, but long story short, I managed to snap him up with some pretty high expectations based off images and in-hand reports. As he was only known as Skyfire in the cartoon, I'll keep on the Jetfire track, and for simplicity i'm calling his alt mode a jet.
Oh me oh my. I only got this figure this morning after a weeks worth of anticipation and let me tell you, he's not disappointing me.
The boxart is on point with much of the Siege line, with a little 'sneak peek' at Omega Supreme in the background. Jetfire is displayed charging into battle on the front; on the back it shows off his robot mode, 'jet' mode, armoured mode and his accessories.
But we're not here for the box art are we! Lets dive in!
Jetfire is packaged in Robot Mode and is nicely tied in. Mine was actually quite tight in his inner cardboard lining and it took a bit of force to prise him out (I was concerned i'd have to destroy the box to get him out but fortunately not!) NOTE: His backpack is mistransformed in his packaged configuration. I didn't find this out until I was armouring him up and realised the back 'gun/missile' pods weren't matching the height the stock photo's and instructions were showing. Fortunately it was an easy fix once I perused YouTube and didn't hinder any of his movements.
Jetfire is a HEFTY boy! His weight is fortunately backed by a lot of solid joints. He feels REALLY good in robot mode and can hold his own. In his stock 'scientist' mode (as I call it), he really evokes his G1 cartoon self. The ability to switch factions is a really neat touch that they didn't have to include but I'm glad Hasbro did. His head features light piping, can look up and down nicely and can rotate 360 degrees. He has ratcheted shoulders, rotation at the arm, really tight double-ratcheted elbows and wrist swivels. One neat feature of the hands is that when open they have a really natural pose but when you close them up, a peghole appears for weapns! Very cool. Unfortunately one slight let down I have with this comes from the transformation of the hands; the assembly is on a hinge which is held in by a little plug and both of mine keep coming loose. Also my right hand swivel is a little looser than the left. Still useable though and only little nitpicks that can be easily overcome. He also has waist rotation; again very stiff on mine but much better than being 'loosey goosey'
Moving down, Jetfire has both ratcheted and swivel hips, ratcheted knees, and ankle tilts. The ankle tilts have INCREDIBLY stiff locking mechanisms to begin with; one of mine was already unlocked but the other one I had to apply a lot of pressure to get it to unlock. It freaked me out a bit but nothing broke. He also has moveable toes and heels. I have no doubt you'd be able to make a huge amount of poses with him with minimal effort.
Now it's time to armour him up for combat!
His accessories are really neat; he gets a breastplate with 'hidden' helmet storage. The breastplate clips on to the front via two little tabs. Again, very tight, but fortunately I had some plastic tools I could use to prise them out and attach the armour. The helmet was a little trickier to line up but once on it stays in place nicely. And the light piping still works; you get to see two little glowing blue eyes. Very cool. (Sorry I couldn't capture the effect, as I was using my phone for photos). Jetfire also comes with two double-barreled cannon 'gauntlets', a pair of rifles which can be combined into a single one, two 'trident' gun/missile thingamies which can be split in two also, and two missiles for his wings. Attaching the parts is easy although the nubs on his wingtips are again very stiff; I prised mine out with aforementioned plastic tool but if you 'flap' the wings a bit they come out a little easier.
All armoured up, Jetfire looks like a whole new toy, and it really elevates his overall feel. He evokes his IDW 'Stormbringer' look along with homaging his roots as the Macross VF-1 Valkyrie in robot form. The blast effects are fantastic and can be split into three and added to his weapons or his body to show him taking fire. He is truly a patriotic Autobot in this mode as his breastplate proudly shows his Autobot allegiance.
Size comparison wise, I compared him to my largest toy (at the time), God Ginrai. And he IS taller by some margin. He's now my biggest, and from a comparison perspective when compared to God Ginrai, he's a LOT more poseable! His backpack does little to hinder him because of his feet, balance and stability.
And now its time for......
"Daa daa?"
(Sorry, I couldn't help myself. This part of the transformation is funny)
Jet mode!
Transforming into jet mode for the most part is easy and fun; there are just a few tabbing alignment issues I had but I soon managed to stick it all together. Where the head ends up is pretty genius too.
Jet mode is truly a sight to behold and has a really nice presence. It feels solid once everything is tabbed together and really captures the G1 cartoon feel Jetfire had. Even in this mode there's a lot of playability. He has retractable landing gear with rolling wheels, wing flaps, and you can remove his little 'techno-kibble' inside his cockpit and fit a Titan or Prime Master in there (the kibble also has a small hole you can peg it elsewhere if you need to). There's also supposed to be a 'backseat driver' cockpit for two additional Titan/Prime Masters but I can't for the life of me get mine to open (EDIT: After I'd finished with this review I'd managed to work it out, you have to fully open up the backpack to reveal them. I was done photographing by this stage, sorry!). His faction symbol can also still be changed here.
The underside of Jetfire is a biiiiit of a mess of leftover robot parts, which is a shame if you want to pose him in jet mode (he has a deeply recessed peghole perfect for a stand) but he does have some nifty pegs for figures to hold and dangle off him. This is a pretty cool addition as your Siege figures can ride with him into battle!
His armor and weapons all compact into a nifty little package that you can plug directly on top of the 'flight pod', or you can detach them and use them elsewhere if you wish. You could also use this combination as a bit of a mega-cannon for Jetfire to wield though it is pretty heavy in this form. The blast effects can all combine and attach to his engines to make him look like he's just engaged his afterburners.
Jet mode is just as much fun as Robot Mode and has many different play patterns available to him, or you can just sit him somewhere and bask in his glory. His alt mode is by far the biggest alt mode I have in my collection. I took a shot of him next to Triggerhappy for reference.
So, I guess the last thing to check is.....
... can he Gerwalk?!
Wellll........
He can to SOME degree. If you're holding him and/or have a stand you can peg him into, he does a passable enough job. It's a shame he can't hold his own (at least not the way I've got him configured) because he's too front-heavy, but he gave it his best shot! I found folding up the backpack helps a bit for balance, but ultimately you can't get out of holding him unless you have an aforementioned stand.
Overall, I love this figure. Solid, poseable, packed with features, little nods to his various incarnations, Jetfire is definitely value for money and I heartily recommend him to G1, Siege and any Transformer fan looking for a big lad who can charge onto your battlefield for either side.
Last edited by TaZZerath; 13th September 2019 at 03:27 PM. Reason: Typo
Hey dude, just letting you know that there's already a pre-existing review thread for Siege Jetfire here
Suggestion to mods: merge threads?