Transformers Cyber Battalion Jetfire review

Jetfire came from a time period where he and plenty of other Transformers G1 toys were reused from pre-existing Takara toys, and some of them were actually from other toy companies like Takatoku Toys/Bandai. While he was sold in the US and potentially any countries where Bandai was not a massive company at the time, Takara knew they couldn't have the toy on their Transformers line, so as a result, Jetfire was renamed to Skyfire and was also redesigned to ease on the toys Takaras did not use. That said, Jetfire was the more commonly-used name for the character, even with the Macross-esque details added on. This Cyber Battalion toy is no exception, but the more important question is if it's worth getting despite it being a cheaper figure? Let's find out, but before we do, I should mention that I'll go easier on this toy given how it's supposedly made for a younger demographic.

Here is the jet mode, which looks fairly good overall from the top; the bottom does have a bit of vehicle kibble that's made from the arms and legs. Thankfully, there is a bit of landing gear that helps keep it stable, even if the wheels don't roll. The pegs of the guns could probably work if they weren't too long. Either way, the jet mode's not too bad, though I wish the red Turbo Thrusters were more prominent.

You can display the wings in a more traditional look, though it leaves forearms exposed from the top.

Here is Jetfire with Classics Starscream for size comparison in jet mode. They look fairly decent next to each other, though this Starscream figure is a Deluxe and this Jetfire is more Voyager-sized.

The transformation is fairly simple, what with the only steps being folding the cockpit into the chest, straightening the arms, flipping the feet down, and separating the legs. At least the backpack has you fold the wings up so it won't look too bad.

Robot mode is very reminiscent of the 2014 Leader Class figure. It looks good overall, and while it could go for some panel-lining or a wash, at least the paint that is there looks decent. He doesn't also have that shampoo bottle look to him, thankfully. The tailfins being exposed from the sides look off, but the rest of the robot mode looks decent from the front and the side, though the back doesn't look too appealing.

Head sculpt also looks like the Leader, at least one that's masked, though the lack of black for the antennae and the lack of blue for the forehead does make it look unfinished. At least the visor has some nice blue paint and the silver mouthplate looks good.

Articulation is so-so. Head looks side to side, shoulders move front and back as well as in and out. Elbows bend, hips move front and back and in and out. No bicep swivels or knees, which is a shame for fans that do want to get this guy as a stand-in for their CHUG collection, but I feel there's more fun to be had with this toy than there would be with most one-step figures. You can display his guns either handheld or mounted on his shoulders.

This guy was once retooled from Starscream, who was also in the Cyber Battalion line. While the arms, legs, cockpit, and weapons are the same, the wings, outer portions of the chest, and the head are new for Jetfire. While Jetfire at least looked complete, Starscrean looks kind of stupid with the black for the shins and guns when those should be gray.

Here he is with Classics Starscream, and the scale does remind me of when there used to be a Classics figure of Jetfire that was a lot bulkier due to his armor. Now for the rating. Obviously, collectors may not care for this toy because the Generations line gave us two better options for fans (Thrilling 30 and Siege), but aside from the completionists, this set is perfect for younger fans that don't want to deal with some one-steps or Ultra sized figures with half-baked gimmicks. At least the transformation is a bit more involved but without feeling like an afterthought. If you have a kid that loves Transformers and want to give them a G1 Jetfire of sorts, this will perfectly do.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Transformers Prime Beast Hunters 2014 Predaking review

Predaking once began his life as a combiner in G1 before he would return years later in Transformers Prime as a dragon. Honestly, despite my issues with Beast Hunters' lack of Predacons, I like Predaking as an individual beast since he doesn't feel like yet another combiner. That said, he'a an odd one to go over since he changed sizes in the show and was later killed off in RID15, but in terms of merchandise, his figures haven't been too accurate to his robot mode, and the colors can be inconsistent at times. His 2013 figures were seen in mixed-positives lights, but how does the less-common 2014 figure stack up?

Here is the dragon mode in its translucent glory. What I mean by that is the fact that the wings are clear (something that Predaking toys haven't done before), but you can also see a bit of that from the body, where the dark gray plastic (which almost has a charcoal-purple look to it) is slightly translucent overall. The tail's fiery blade could go for a bit more of that translucent plastic, but at least the opaque orange looks good on the neck. Also worth noting is that the sharper parts of this toy are actually hard plastic, which is certainly a surprise for anyone that has held the regular Voyager in-hand. Only odd thing is that some parts of the toy aren't fully painted, like the forearms of the hind feet. Otherwise, this is an impressive dragon mode.

The poseability of the dragon mode is alright, with a hinge for the dragon head, shpulders that move front and back, in and out, and topped off with bicep swivels and elbow bends. The arm articulation is entirely unchanged for the robot mode. The hind legs only move front and back, but the wings can expand and hinge up and down.

The wingspan looks really cool for this toy. It's pretty massive in-hand while the wings themselves have some nicely etched veins to resemble ones that real dragons would have. Also looks great in clear plastic.

For a size comparison, here he is next to the Voyager version of the character. My old Voyager was a toy I amateurishly painted in 2013, so the added paint apps suck. Yeah, it's night and day. If you want to know how it looks next to Ultimate Predaking, their beast modes aren't the same in design but their sizes are close.

For a random comparison, here he is next to Studio Series Grimlock. It's crazy seeing how a one-time 2014 Voyager would somehow be as big as a 2018 Leader. 

Here is another look at the sizes of the beasts, where they can actually look eye to eye this time.

If there was a crossover story in Transformers fiction in the style of Ready Player One, I'd love to see these two battle in their beast modes, especially considering the strength they have almost rivaling one another.

Predaking's transformation is fairly basic compared to the last Voyager, yet at least has a bit more going on than the Ultimate version did. It's best summed up with straightening the arms, hinging the dragon neck onto the back, folding the wings up, and straightening the legs. The leg transformation isn't as cool as what the old Voyager had to offer, but it's a bit more involved than Ultimate Predaking's method. Still, the transformation's simplicity would normally seem like a bad thing, but here's the kicker: it's made for younger fans. See, this figure was made from a short-lived wave of Beast Hunters toys where Hasbro thought of making them oversized versions of the older figures, yet without looking too much like knockoffs. The result is debatable with Bumblebee, Smokescreen, Twinstrike, and Windrazor, the Deluxe figures that were chosen to be for Series 3, but the results turned out better than expected for Predaking and Optimus to some extent.

The robot mode looks really good this time around for Predaking! Not to say that the previous figures were awful, but they didn't quite have a more focused approach in making their designs look good. With Predaking, his colors aren't 100% accurate but the smokey look to him further makes him look a lot more sinister, while the spikey parts that would normally be rubberized on the old Voyager look sharp (while still not a safety hazard). The wings being made of clear plastic also helps make the toy pop along with the orange kneecaps and chest details, all without looking like safety caps. The deco does look a bit incomplete, though. I wish the forearms were entirely black while the biceps, claws, thighs, and feet were painted in silver. I also wish the shins had some gold paint added to give them a bit more solidity.

Here are the side and rear pics of the character design. The side doesn't bulk up the figure from the back too much, and the back almost gives it the look of a cape (despite the dragon head being exposed). The legs do look hollowed out from the back, but it at least it's somewhat forgiving on a figure made for younger fans at the time.

The face sculpt isn't quite prominent because of the lack of paint on it. It would really look cool if the face had some silver paint on it to look less hidden from the rest of the robot mode. I also wish the head spikes would be consistent.

Articulation is pretty good. The neck swivels left and right, and while the arm articulation is the same as with the beast mode, the legs have more movement this time around with hips that move front and back as well as in and out. The lower legs swivel above the knee while the knees bend, but the most surprising aspect is the fact that the shoulders, elbows, hips, and knees are on ratchet joints. You wouldn't get that at all if it was an actual upscale.

The weapon he comes with is the tail he had in dragon mode. Like I said, I wish he had the blade in clear plastic, but the weapon does look nice overall with the fiery motif.

For a size comparison, here is the 2014 Voyager next to its 2013 counterpart. I have to say just how nice it is to have a Predaking that isn't as compromised by size as badly as the 2013 Voyager. Also, the colors, despite being translucent and not quite in the right shade, definitely feel less friendly than the 2013 Voyager. Even handling it isn't as annoying as with the 2013 Voyager, as the figure doesn't have any weird inconsistency with the joint tightness along with the lack of stupid rubber parts.

Is there even a need for a contest in terms of who beats who?

Here is a comparison with the much more expensive Ultimate Predaking. Ultimate Predaking does look pretty cool, don't get me wrong, but if you were to have both figures next to each other and consider the price, 2014 Predaking already is big enough and was more affordable, too. It's also great when he was discounted even more, costing 12 bucks in some shops.

Here is a comparison with Grimlock in robot mode, and I feel the sizes between the two work well (at least if they had an even height since Grimlock is bigger than he is in the movies while Predaking shrank in robot mode). 

Like I said, I want these two to fight each other someday. Maybe if someone was willing to make a comic crossover that wasn't exclusive at a convention and wasn't just a G1 circle jerk. As for Predaking himself, he's a surprisingly good toy! While there could be at least a few more paint apps, at least this figure manages to be a good example of a simplified Transformer done right. Despite transforming like the Cyberverse Commander figure, this guy is still a new mold nonetheless. Get this guy when you see him, though note that he should come with a pressure-fired missile launcher, which is basic and is otherwise not really needed since the figure's great as he is.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Transformers Power of the Primes Jazz review

Jazz is one of the most iconic characters in Transformers history, but for a while, he didn't get to show up in any newer fiction until the 2007 movie. Since then, he appeared in Animated, the Cybertron games, and Robots in Disguise (2015). Even then, Jazz didn't get much attention in the collector lines outside of the Legends figure from Universe and the great Reveal the Shield Special Ops figure. Years later, he had a Generations figure from FOC that sucked, but in 2017/2018, a figure made for Power of the Primes was released. Considering how it's made just for a combiner as much as it is made to be a standalone figure, does Jazz manage to be a good toy while juggling both aspects? Let's find out!

Here is Jazz in his vehicle mode. The design is sort of like the Porshe 962 with a few licensing liberties here and there to avoid copyright troubles. It's got the decals Jazz is known to have in G1, which are pretty much the Martini details that the Diaclone toy used to use. If anything, it's almost like what a Classics Mirage would have turned into (a hypothetical one, at least). The clear windows look kind of bland on the white of the car's body, especially when the headlights have a nice clear blue to them. Beyond that, the front of the vehicle mode looks decent while the back starts to lose details.

The spoiler could use a bit more paint, and the trunk could go for a few more paint apps. Worst of all is the lack of silver paint for the rims. And no, my Jazz does not have the tiny "MAGA" Cyberglyph text under the Autobot insignia on the black square. Apparently, that was a thing since a person wanting to translate them ended up finding out that it was spelled as such, but the small text somehow translated to the acronym. Honestly, doesn't matter unless you went out of your way to actually discover that bit.

You can store the hand on the center 5mm port to simulate it being a Powermaster chamber or a rocket booster. At least it adds a bit more color to the car as external devices. Makes me wish his rims had the same silver from his gun.

Here we have Jazz next to Prowl and Sideswipe. I chose these three because they were known to be in the early G1 commercials (Marvel Comics, Optimus Prime & Megatron, Seekers, and Soundwave).

The weird thing about Jazz is just how massive he looks next to the other two guys. I know he's from the POTP line, where the limbs have to be a bit bigger to fit with their torso leaders, but this feels like it's made from a time when Hasbro started to downsize their figures.

Jazz's transformation is sort of like how he normally works in the G1 days. He does have a bit more of that Combiner Wars transformation where the legs take form like they almost always do, though the chest is at least not a faux one like on his Autobot Car allies that formed Optimus Maximus.

Robot form is kind of an interesting take on Jazz. It's decent overall, though it gives Jazz a blockier look while making his torso look broader than before. I think it looks fine, but the torso's pretty hollow from underneath the hood. At least a part of the hood fills in the gap. The legs look fine, and the arms are mostly fine from the front, but they could really use both black hands and a hinge to make the hands look more visible, because they are obscured in the back.

Head sculpt is a bit of a mixed bag. I like that the helmet is black with a blue visor and a silver face, but it's not only small but also lacks a proper mouth.

Articulation is the same as with most POTP figures. Head is on a ball joint, shoulders move front and back as well as in and out on hinges. Elbows are on ball joints, and the wrists are on some barely moveable swivels. Waist swivels decently, hips move arouns on ball joints while the thighs swivel and knees bend.

His weapons are a small pistol in nice, silver paint, a Prime Armor filler piece that serves as a clear price gun, and Prime Armor that I can't get to fit on his chest, so onto the arm it goes.

The arm and leg modes look fine, and they offer the same range of movement you'd expect elsewhere. Leg mode needs a Voyager figure's foot accessory while the arm mode gives him the Prime Armor as his hand.

This mold was surprisingly repainted once, likely to do with how unique Jazz's design is. Thankfully, it's Ricochet/Stepper, who is pretty solid in terms of looks, but his car mode does have some white parts that look ugly on the otherwise slick color scheme. Prime Armor has looks stupid in white.

Here are the three Autobot Cars I showed off earlier in robot mode. Like in vehicle mode, Jazz is taller than his allies, so if you do want to use this guy for a modern Generations display, know he's not too in scale with them and would better suit a line that's made years ago.

If you want to see how Jazz scales with figures like Optimus Prime (from successor line Siege) and Bumblebee (from predecessor line Titans Return), here you go. He doesn't look as bad, though it's mainly due to the fact that Jazz is with two characters from different size classes. Overall, I feel Jazz tries to be both a standalone figure and a combiner component, but much like the Dinobots and Starscream, the figure's scale with other characters makes him look funny, while the lack of details do hurt his altmode (which would probably be added if he was a slightly smaller toy). At least he has a pretty cool car mode and decent limb modes, while Starscream only has a good torso mode but sucks elsewhere and the Dinobots have decent dino and robot modes but suck as a gestalt. You can get this guy, but don't expect Siege levels of WOW from him.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐