After a wait that seemed to stretch eons, Hasbro has finally brought a new version of the classic Autobot sky soldier Jetfire to our doors. Done as part of the the year-long Thrilling 30 Anniversary campaign, anticipation for this guy has run pretty high leading up to his release. How does he fare against expectation? Let’s take a look….
Video (canonball):
Text and Pics (DisThunder):
At first sight of the box, it’s clear how ambitious the intentions were behind this Jetfire update. The first obvious upgrade is the promotion to Leader Class our airborne scientist received, and it’s well deserved. The big box has some great big box art, and while packaging never does much for me, I do like the wraparound style of the artwork.
Out the box, Jetfire shows off some very “Masterpiece-like” influences for a mainline Transformer. The use of vac-metal red on his gun pods might be kinda hit-or-miss with the crowd, but it’s clear the intention was to bring him more in-line with the premium figures in doing so. Once you get past those, the paintwork is clean, if a little spartan. I’m beginning to think it might be time to start panel-lining like fellow Fwoosher Scream Man does…
While there can be no doubt that Jetfire is a bigger figure than the average, I can’t help but feel like today’s Leader Class seems to be more like yesterday’s Ultra Class. He’s roughly the same height as MP Grimlock, but he’s substantially less bulky than Grimlock or MP 10 Prime. That means when he’s lined up against his former ally and regular rival Starscream, he’s not towering over him, but he still has a bit of an advantage. Honestly, I’m still a little undecided on the size, but I’m tempted to say it’s good enough for the girls that we go with.
Whether the height is perfect or not, Jetfire has a solid ‘bot mode. The incorporation of features like his pods, fast pack, and removable visor are well incorporated and nice touches. The modular style of his gear gives me hope maybe we can bulk him up with some third party offerings, but if this is as big and bad as Jetfire gets, it ain’t bad. In comparison to the still very serviceable voyager Classics figure, the leader class version is more svelte and streamlined, and it definitely harkens to his Robotech roots without getting all copyright-y. The added bonus of a battle mask is even better than his predecessor, and I honestly can’t choose between masked and unmasked. If there’s a soft spot in the bot mode, it’s the back of the wings that show through here. There’s no hiding connection ports and such needed for the transform, but the unfinished look of the undersides breaks some of that “almost MP” visage — sure, they could be cowflaps and wing struts, but to me they just don’t look as streamlined as the wing tops. My only other gripes in this mode are that the left hip on mine feels a little loose, makes me nervous, and having no swivel in his wrists limits his weapons posing a bit.
The jet mode is accomplished in a nice, not too simple, not too ridiculous set of steps that hits just about right. And once in mode, especially from the top or sides, this thing is bangin’. The jet has excellent fighter plane lines, at once very Veritech and its own in one shot. But it’s not all high-speed low-drag here because a lot of that hard work and clean lines disappear when you see the chunks of robot underneath. Sure, Jetfire is hardly the only offender here, he’s merely the latest in a long line of Transformer jets with a robot riding on their bellies, but at this size and price point, it feels a little unfinished.
All in all, this is a pretty slick figure and getting something this quality at retail (and with retail pricing) is a nice break from imports and third-party figures. But that does come at a cost; if your tastes run more exotic, you might feel a little let down, returning to an under $50 Transformer. But don’t worry, you get over it.
