I mentioned that the addition of Studio Series 86 guys made me roll my eyes, as I knew Hasbro would want to force more G1 everywhere now that the Kingdom line is focused on Beast Wars. While I did have the mindset of wanting to stray away from G1 more and more, I did make peace with the idea so long as the figures made would be good. While everyone else in the line worked well, the addition of Jazz was somewhat random. Like he was in the movie, but I don't remember him saying stuff or even being much of a contribution (both because Scatman Crothers passed away and Hasbro wanting to focus on the new toys). Still, with Jazz not being in the Kingdom line, and with the Power of the Primes version being pretty weak sauce, I would happily accept this guy. Now let's see how he turned out!
Here is Jazz in his vehicle mode. We're back to a vehicle mode faithful in design to what Jazz turns into, even if it's not quite the Porsche 935 Turbo that the old toy turned into. Either way, it looks good and has everything I'd want the vehicle to have. The spoiler looks correct, the paint apps are where they should be, the proportions are correct, the clear plastic is a nice shade of blue tint, and the silver rims look good.
While classic for sure, part of me feels it looks more Hot Wheels-esque than I remember. Additionally, I kind of wish the blue would be darker, maybe some added paint apps to go on the bottom border of the doors, and maybe not having the number 14? Actually, I think it'd look better if it didn't look too much like generic font. Reminds me of what Universe Smokescreen had...
Here he is next to the POTP version and the Reveal the Shield version (from another fan). I think the Reveal the Shield one looks the coolest, what with the modern car design and the front being close to Jazz. I would like POTP Jazz in terms of vehicle mode, but it does feel more like it was made for a different character in terms of its design, even with the Jazz character attributes. Also, that one had to have its rims painted while I didn't with Studio Series Jazz!
Transformation on this guy is surprisingly a little more involved than I expected. The things that I didn't expect from this guy include the swiveling stomack for the torso, the way the backpack folds away, and the tires hinging within the upper torso. The resulting robot mode is spot-on to his character model, what with the backpack having no wings, the torso looking proportionate to his body, and the legs having the similar wheel arches. He's so spot-on to the character model that it's amusing how he's the first truly cartoon-accurate G1 Jazz before we even get a Masterpiece! Isn't that amazing?
Head sculpt is spot-on to how he would look, and the silver paint as well as the blue visor help make his face more distinctly Jazz...if only the camera didn't make the pic dark. As for the articulation, it's the same as with every WFC figure, though he doesn't have swiveling wrists. His gun looks good on his hand, and there are even two 5mm ports to go with two other accessories that he doesn't have...which makes me think he was supposed to come with some speakers or shoulder cannon, but they were removed.
As far as reuses are concerned, this is the straight-repaint of the line-up so far: Toxitron Collection G2 Jazz, which means he is based on the unreleased neon orange and red color combo rather than the actually released music note version. Of note, the missile launcher he has was originally seen on the currently-TBA Studio Series 86 Hound, now with the tooling having life first as Detritus in the Legacy Evolution line.
For a slight retool, this is Jackpot, who is in the Golden Disk Collection subline with a new head (that may or may not be messed up and asymmetrical. The yellow doesn't fit in too well with this guy, and Sights is another reuse of Pteraxadon.
For a heavy retool, this is Legacy Knock Out, who has a bit of a balance between the creativity of TFP Bulkhead in the same line and Arcee having the creativity sucked out of her. He doesn't look too bad, and I like how his weapons are new for him. At the very least, he doesn't feel cheap like R.E.D. Knock Out.
Here he is next to the prior versions of Jazz. This guy is quite astounding in terms of accuracy to the character model, especially with his proportions and his design choices. POTP Jazz was pretty alright but he did feel pretty boring (moreso than this new Jazz), and I hate the half-baked feel of the design as well as the quality of the toy. And as for Reveal the Shield Jazz, even if he's not close to the classic design and is the tallest of the three, I feel he's the coolest of them all, and I even want to get one at some point.
That being said, Studio Series 86 Jazz makes for a nicer figure than the POTP version, and I'm happy to now own a far superior version of the guy that feels more like a Jazz than the POTP one.
And here is Jazz with the rest of the Ark crew! For anyone wondering where the SS-86 line would fit in with a collection, just put them with the rest of the WFC guys, damnit! Either way, Jazz fits in nicely with everyone else, and I'm happy to have the main Autobot cars complete (we need 4 more Minibots, Hasbro). But that being said, I think Jazz feels the most plain of the SS-86 line if you ask me. This figure would fit in with the other Autobot Cars, but the thing is that he's clearly an example of the Hasbro initially putting the 86 guys in Kingdom before deciding to finally adding Beast Wars guys and struggling to find a home for some of the guys until deciding to rub the Geewun blokes in the movie line. And it's proof of that when it comes to his feet having 5mm holes; part of me felt that some of the guys didn't have the 5mm holes because they were altered before the prototypes came out as they started to keep the designs free from those things. Either way, it's weird. But at least Jazz is a solid figure in the line.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
No comments:
Post a Comment