What can be said about Cliffjumper that hasn't been said? G1 depicts him as somewhat important but is otherwise not as important in other media as Bumblebee usually is. As a result, Cliffjumper is usually seen as filler for a line, especially when he's depicted as a red Bumblebee despite having design cues of his own. He was given a unique design that didn't scream CJ in Energon, was made as a less prominent repaint in the MV1 line before having his own head design in the Bumblebee movie, was given a new head in Animated, and stuck like that in the Cybertron games before he has his own design in TFP. CJ didn't get himself any real worthwhile attention in the G1 toylines aside from the occasional repaint from Bumblebee. Now, that will change. Cliffjumper is back in the Earthrise line as a brand new mold, and he's going to break the tradition of getting either a red Bumblebee repaint or an occasional head swap!
Here we have Cliffjumper in his vehicle mode. It's based on the Porsche 924 he took the form of without either being exactly based on it or the deformed look that the old toy had. Honestly, it looks great on him! The details you'd expect from a Movie toy's licensed vehicle is brought over here, with the grill, rims, panel-lining, and proportions mimicking what a vehicle like this would probably look like. Maybe it's not exactly in the right looks that a car would have, but it's the best balance between look
The car's also got a nice use of blue clear plastic that decently goes well with the black painted rear windshield, and the red plastic matches up well with the parts painted red. Nicely done all around.
His roof doesn't have it, but there is an Autobot insignia made for his car hood. It's of the Movie variant, but it doesn't look too bad because the lines are thick enough to hide the differences fo the eyes. Plus, it's not like he's got a Decepticon symbol or anything.
You can place the cannon on top of the roof if you want...
...or you can deploy it from the rear portion of the vehicle mode.
But the best way to use the weapons in vehicle mode is by using the stand pieces for skis, taking the two silver cannons, and using the back portion for the bottom of the car.
Here he is with Titans Return Bumblebee, who is a Legends figure and not a Deluxe. Yes, this is how small Cliffjumper is in his vehicle mode. While I understand that it was what Hasbro is going for to better capture the character's height, it does make me wish this figure was in a smaller size class. But of course, it won't be the case given how the figure is designed to be small. At least it's easier to stomach the size due to the plastic of the toy and the engineering compared to TR Bee. I guess the accessories help make him a little more worth the money.
Here he is with Hoist and Wheeljack, his wave mates. As you can see, he's on a decent scale with the two cars, and this is why I'm quite happy with the way the vehicle mode turned out. No odd cartoon proportions this time!
The transformation isn't exactly what you'd expect from this figure's design. Firstly, the back portion detaches from the tabs and the hands of the figure, which does seem a little odd that you have to do something like that, though the rest of the transformation is pretty solid. However, steps like the hinges used for the arms and the waist swivel are relatively new for a figure like this. Also, the front of the windshield faces upwards than downwards. Also, the front tires are hidden away and the head is covered by a part of the hood. As for the robot mode, this figure looks quite nice for a modern figure based on G1 Cliffjumper. Maybe the feet look a little too big, and the arms are relatively short, but it does the job quite well, and hey, the back is nowhere near as ugly as on MP Bumblebee 2, though I won't lie that I'd prefer if the backpack would be upside down so it won't jut out too much. Otherwise, this figure feels a lot more refined as a Deluxe than he would be if he was a Legends. Almost like an affordable Masterpiece.
Head sculpt looks relatively good, and it's so nice to have a head sculpt that isn't that of a red Bumblebee. There's even some paint for the blue eyes, and the details are sculpted nicely on the helmet. Articulation is also done nicely for this guy, with a ball-jointed neck, shoulders that move front and back as well as in and out, bicep swivels, elbow bends, and wrist swivels. The waist swivels, hips move front and back as well as in and out, the thighs swivel, the knees bend, and the ankles pivot. Quite robust for a Legends-sized Deluxe figure.
His accessories can be used in different ways. You can have two dual cannons, a melee weapon from using the back of the cannon, have the rear portion of the vehicle mode come off and be used as a shield (and the robot mode looks fine without it in robot mode but will look bad in vehicle mode), and even make a smaller rocket launcher if you so desire.
There's even a full-on sniper mode that's kind of hard for him to pull off with how his design works. I posed him like this because I dug the opening cutscene from Gemini Man, though this is obviously based on his cartoon appearance where he nearly killed Megatron from far away.
In terms of reuses, here have a yellow Cliffjumper in the form of Bumbleb-no, wait. That's Hubcap. Yes, we got a Hubcap before we got a Bumblebee. Go figure. This guy does at least look different from CJ and Bee by having a head design that's further unique from them thanks to the forehead crest and orange face rather than the horns. You can't recreate the sled mode due to how one of the cannons is replaced with the one that came with Brunt. Don't ask why. I don't have any real plans to get this guy yet.
And now we have Bug Bite! This guy trades the tribal decals from the Classics Bug Bite figure from BotCon 2007 in favor of a Mercenary symbol. His vehicle mode doesn't look as cool as the Classic's mold, but he does at least have a Bumblebee head.
Here is the version of Bumblebee that I expected to show up in the line: the Worlds Collide version. Basically, a yellow version of Bug Bite but with a green cannon for Ironhide, an Autobot insignia, and some black for the cannon. Tell you the truth, I wish he had a toy-accurate battle mask and/or stripes to make him a little more like the Movie version. He was included with Nemesis Primal, Fangry, and Blackarachnia.
And for an unexpected repaint, here we have Bug Bite from the Shattered Glass line! He may contrast his old Cybertron Hot Shot repaint by being a stumpier design, but I like his deco and the new head sculpt he has. Sure, he's not a Volkswagon Beetle, but this vehicle mode fits him better than, say, the Cliffjumper tooling used on Bug Bite.
And now, we have Studio Series 86 Buzzworthy Bumblebee Cliffjumper, or as I'd to call him, Cloutworthy Cliffjumper. This guy doesn't have an entirely painted vehicle mode, has gray legs and forearms, and has black shoulders. His windows are opaque, and his cannon is now in a metallic blue steel. This guy is more accurate than the original version, though his windows are Allspark Blue AF. I initially didn't want him, but with the way I completed every Studio Series release for the most part in the Bayverse, I decided to go back and get him, Coronation Starscream, Sweep, and even Kup.
Speaking of Bumblebee, here is a size comparison between him and Cliffjumper! While CJ's at least a little taller, you can definitely tell that he looks a little more refined than Bumblebee does in terms of how he looks more like a toy. Titans Return Bumblebee was good for its time, and I'm still happy to keep him with me, but I feel that the Earthrise designers did a good job in making Cliffjumper feel more worth the budget he's given in terms of his engineering, even if I don't agree with how parts of it turned out.
Also, he comes with some accessories to make up for his short height! Bumblebee came with no such gun as all Legends figures did in the Prime Wars trilogy save for a small amount, so he had to borrow the little peashooter from the shitty FOC Jazz mold. You can also tell how much better CJ's articulation is thanks to the ankle pivots and waist swivel.
Here he is in-between Bluestreak (who was also voiced by Casey Kasem), Wheeljack, Mirage, and Moist! And yep, you can tell how much smaller CJ is compared to the other Autobots. I get that it's for the cartoon accuracy, but I'd honestly prefer if he was a little bit taller, like an inch or a half more of his height. He's even shorter than the already short Studio Series Jazz and both of the designs Bumblebee took the form of in his solo movie! At least the engineering does make up for it along with his weapons as stated, but c'mon son!
And let's wrap it up with Cliffjumper going up to his secret traitor crush, Mirage, and hugging him while Ratchet looks on. Overall, Cliffjumper is a good figure that attempts to break the expectations of how a Deluxe figure is made in the Generations line. He's smaller than the rest but has good engineering as well as some outstanding articulation for his height and some nice accessories to boot. If there is one thing that needs to be said about him, I do wish he was a little bit bigger, especially when he'd still look good if he was a head and a half shorter than he currently is. Still, it's easy to accept if you're a huge Cliffjumper fan, are a completionist, or are in love with the fact that he's a new mold and not a Bumblebee repaint.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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