Here is Cliffjumper's backdrop, which depicts an inconsistent-to-the-previous-films-yet-still-looks-nice battle scene in Cybertron. As stupidly fanwanky as the opening to Cybertron was (and probably the only thing the Geewunners remember from the Bumblebee movie), this makes for a nice backdrop, and it makes me wish we got something like this for Sentinel's Ark. CJ fits in it despite having an issue we'll discuss in his robot mode.
And here we have Cliffjumper in his vehicle mode. As far as designs go, it looks pretty good if a little too reminiscent of theWFC design but with less Beetle silhouette. It looks nice and sleek, it rolls nicely, and the shades of red fit in pretty well than I'd expect. The only bad thing about this toy is the fact that the front wheels have clear pegs whereas the rear wheels have solid red pegs. Beyond that, I can appreciate that it has a normal vehicle mode with alien aesthetics to it. Still...would Cliffjumper (and by extension, Bumblebee) take this form on Cybertron had the Bumblebee movie not exist? Setting aside my dislike for the blatant nostalgia of the designs in that film, this was a decent vehicle mode to see in action, although Bumblebee was the one that transformed in the opening shot.
The side view also carries over similar aesthetics to the WFC vehicle mode, and you can better understand what I mean by the snap-on wheels having different peg colors, which is a little distracting. Otherwise, this makes for a nice vehicle mode, even if it was normally seen in yellow.
If you think that the figure is entirely new by judging the shell, I wouldn't put it past you because it certainly looked brand new until I saw the bottom of the vehicle mode. The way the arms and part of the chest are tucked away look similar to the parts of Offroad Bumblebee. Even the placement of the gun storage is similar, but it's not exactly like how it was done for Bee.
Here he is next to Offroad Bumblebee. Now the vehicle modes themselves are obviously different from one another, as one is a simple Earth vehicle and the other is a simple Cybertronian vehicle. I think they would scale with no problem if they were put next to each other, though it's a little hard to determine Cybertronian vehicle sizes next to Earth ones when they aren't really seen next to each other (closest we have that are with Optimus and Megatron in MV1 and ROTF as well as Megatron next to Nitro Zeus in TLK). Funny enough, Bumblebee did have a peg that didn't blend in with the rest of the vehicle mode.
The bottom of the two toys is where the comparisons start to become a little more prominent. The way the shoulders face the surface, as well as the placement of the hands and the similar gun storage make these two a little more similar than expected. To the credit of each figure, Bumblebee's weapon storage is much better than Cliffjumper's, while Cliffjumper's thighs aren't prominent thanks to his feet making up the front of the vehicle mode.
The transformation is similar to Bumblebee's, though it's a situation like with Drift's TLK figure having the front be the legs and having the robot head places around the back. This is kind of a nice part of the character as he at least doesn't have to worry being too similar to Bumblebeee thanks to his new shell. That being said, it starts to fall apart in terms of how he ends up with an awful backpack and some bad kibble for the legs. I'll compare him to Bumblebee in a moment or two, but I'm not a big fan of how he fails to be a good toy compared to the yellow bug himself.
The robot mode may not seem too bad, though I remember it looking a little more squat from the CG renders. Perhaps having the proportions carried over from Offroad Bumblebee, who didn't look as squat as Cliffjumper does. Maybe it's how the neck works as it stands too high up compared to the other ones. Either way, it makes him look a little wimpy. And the side view as well as the back view doesn't help in making him look cool, either. Offroad Bumblebee at least had no rooftop for his Jeep mode, but with no attempt to integrate the parts for the robot mode, we end up with a similar problem that plagued WWII Bumblebee and Hot Rod.
Headsculpt is the first time a Movie version of Cliffjumper has a head that's not just a red Bumblebee one. I was on board with it though the sculpted details do look a little soft, and his face makes him look like he smelled a fart. Maybe giving him some TFP influences would help. The articulation itself is pretty much identical to Offroad Bumblebee.
He has the same gun that Bumblebee has, expect it's got a silver barrel that's painted nicely compared to Bumblebee's. But unlike Bumblebee, he's got some tolerance issues that need to be talked about. The panels that tab on both leg sides are not good at tabbing in, and I do not know why. They're also very loose, so anytime you handle the figure, they start to get undone rather easily. Bumblebee did not have that issue, even with the different shell he has.
In terms of reuses, Cliffjumper was given a palette swap and a new head for the 2021 release of the mold's tooling, that being B-127. This guy has a new head based on the battle mask he used from time to time in the movie. You could swap it out with the Offroad version of Bumblebee if you'd like. I'm interested in getting this guy, but I do fear he'd have the same levels of issues that plagued CJ. Also interesting how this version of Bee's called B-127 while the Offroad version was called "Bumblebee". Not like it matters, it sounds like a name you didn't need since it added very little to the character like the rest of the solo film.
And here is an unexpected repaint of the mold, it's the Buzzworthy version of the B-127 release, now in a darker shade of yellow as well as having the unmasked head that he was actually shown with in the Cybertron scene. If this figure was like this the whole time, I'd probably like it a little more.
For a comparison in terms of their robot shells, here is Cliffjumper next to his moldmate, Offroad Bumblebee. It's obvious that they both have different vehicle mode shells compared to one another, but it's also worth mentioning that they still have some reused parts to them. The arms, thighs, and pelvis are the same, just in different colors; Bumblebee has a brownish gray to his parts while Cliffjumper has a more standard black to him. I think it works for each one, with Bumblebee fitting in with the offroad theme of his design (though the color palette in the Bumblebee movie felt a little odd compared to the other films). Also, I think Bumblebee's posture looks better than Cliffjumper's, and I say that because Bumblebee at least feels robust in this image whereas Cliffjumper feels a little wimpy by comparison, even if it should be the opposite for these characters!
This shot may be a little weird to make, but I wanted to mention that Bumblebee had a clip that would help him with filling in a gap for the Jeep bed as well as give him a flight stand. Such a piece is not included with Cliffjumper, and not a single thing about it has been done with remolding it so people won't notice.
The guns are the same for each figure, though as mentioned previously, Cliffjumper's gun has the base plastic color in black instead of the dark gray of Bumblebee's. I wish Bumblebee's gun had two different colors.
They also have the same neck hinges used for the transformation. CJ's comes up higher for some reason, but there's a problem with that...
...it doesn't really work with Cliffjumper when viewed from the side. For Bumblebee, it made sense because it was shaped to go along with his helmet, and while his head sticks out a little more than usual, it at least looks normal in some regard. Cliffjumper, on the other hand, doesn't have that piece fit in with the shape of his helmet, which isn't as round as Bumblebee's.
I think we can use this image as a way to conclude Cliffjumper's review, right? Nah, we're being distracted by Beewunimus Prime talking to Beewun Twenty Seven.
This is a better one! Overall, Cliffjumper isn't that good compared to Offroad Bumblebee. What keeps him from being a great entry for the Studio Series line is a combination of awful tolerances, poor kibble integration, and some questionable aspects of the toy, like the clip around the pelvis and the neck piece. If you want to get this guy, I only recommend getting him if you're a completionist or are a fan of the character. Sure, he's neat to have because of his status as a heavy retool, but that doesn't mean he's a good toy. Oh and he doesn't split in half so 0 out of 10! Wait, Dropkick doesn't have the blade for him...
Final ranking: ⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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