APC Toys Red Gladiator/Transformers Prime First Edition Cliffjumper review

When it comes to the Transformers Prime series, many people tend to complain about how brief certain characters last due to a rule that the showrunners brought up: when they kill a character, they actually do so. Granted, the rule tends to be broken quite a bit, with Dark Energon resurrection or other methods that Optimus, Bumblebee, and Megatron stick with thanks to their marketability. Cliffjumper wasn't so lucky, what with how expensive The Rock was to keep paying for the role, on top of showcasing how tight the stakes tend to be. Granted, it varies depending on the circumstances of the problems our protagonists face, but I wish CJ got to last longer since now TF fans think he's going to die in subsequent fiction, like with the Bumblebee movie. That being said, we had a pretty good First Edition figure that would later be knocked-off a decade later thanks to how expensive First Edition toys tend to be in the aftermarket. With all that said, let's take a look at APC Toys Red Gladiator, or as he'll be known for most of the review, Cliffjumper.

Here we have APC Toys Cliffjumper in hand. This vehicle mode is a mashup of a Dodge Challenger from the front and a Plymouth Barracuda from the back. The altmode generally looks nearly identical to the First Edition figure, albeit with a few coloring differences here and there. The clear plastic is either colorless like with the headlights or tinted black for the windows. The front end could be a little darker with its silver paint, especially since it'd normally have a bit of black to break up the detailing on top of it looking a little more complete. The horns, however, stand out thanks to the added red and silver paint apps to make it look professional compared to the official version's unpainted and rubbery horns. At the very least, we still have the silver rims, and none of the sculpted details from the original toy, few as they may be, are lost during the reverse engineering.

One aspect that I found unexpected from this guy is the addition of chrome exhaust pipes on the sides, which are random but add a bit of a nice touch that was otherwise absent from the original toy. On the other hand, the Autobot insignias are unpainted due to the copyright laws third party toys face, and the paint on the windows could match a bit better. So you win some, you lose some.

For a size comparison, here is Cliffjumper next to Cyberverse Legion Arcee. Yes, I manage to get her no problem. This is the size I'd go for with the Team Prime if we're going by altmodes. Though it is a shame we barely saw these two together in the present day. I bet Arcee's help would have saved CJ, a common bit of guilt she's struck with throughout the series.

Transformation is pretty involved for a carformer like Cliffjumper, and I like how it's not like the typical G1 or Movie Bumblebee transformation. Rather than the front being the chest, we have the roof as the chest this time around, which is complimented with forearms that are made up from parts of the vehicle this time around (the back rather than trying too be like the G1 version), and the legs don't have the front of the altmode as the toes when they're instead replaced with proper robot feat. I like how the actual robot mode ends up for Cliffjumper, as it gives him a more powerhouse look with the added agility and speed that Bumblebee and Arcee are known for. In terms of paint app differences, there is red in the waist and feet as well as added detailing for the chest, which are absent for both Hasbro and Takara's versions of Cliffjumper. The painted taillights present on the shoulders, however, were in the Takara version.

His head sculpt is the best it's ever been for a version of the character, with the more prominent horns and a head sculpt that strays away from the G1 tropes of having a bucket head with tiny nubbins that try to pass off as horns. It's even better when Bumblebee went with being a cartoon version of his Movie counterpart while he went with a more unique identity that doesn't make him a red Bumblebee. His eyes are still light-piped but at least the eyebrows are painted. His articulation consists of ball joints for the head, shoulders, hips, and ankles; then there are swivels for the biceps, wrists, and thighs. Finally, there are double-jointed elbows and hinges for the knees. You could say there is a waist swivel, but the headlights locking into the chest means it's meant solely for transformation. On the bright side, his flip out cannons are kept intact, which is one of the best things I like about older Deluxes and their integrated weapons! My copy's joints do feel loose here and there, the opposite for the right arm's cannon joint.

The three human allies of the Autobots, from left to right in case you forgot, are Miko Nakadai, Jack Darby, and Raf Esquivel. These three originally came in a Deluxe versus pack of Optimus Prime and Megatron in the First Edition line, which featured a bonus DVD representing Masters and Students even though the Darkness Rising multipart episode would have made more sense like with the Animated Prime vs Megs 2-pack featuring Transform and Roll Out. These figures are painted in the same way their official counterparts are, though comparing my copies to the official ones from TFWiki, the fingers may not be that well-defined while Miko's left eye is definitely misaligned. They all have articulated necks, though once again, Miko has issues with her neck being stiff, almost like it's glued in place and instead flexes. She was already seen as being a bit problematic for the other guys and the Autobots, why is her figure like this? Oh well, at least they all have removable stands. Plus, I didn't care about these three figures beyond them staying with my TFP collection, though I wonder why they were included with Cliffjumper, am Autobot who never interacted with them whatsoever.

APC Toys also had Cliffjumper come with two shards of Dark Energon, with one of them being held in the hand of their version of Megatron so he can show the official Starscream and Vehicon what he's about to do to the Autobot who barely lived in the show. Maybe I should get Terrorcon Cliffjumper?

Speaking of which, it's time we talk about prior reuses! This is the mass-retail version of Cliffjumper we were supposed to get back in 2011 for Wave 2, but he, along with the Wave 1.5 version of Cliffjumper, were both absent in US stores. The pristine version was only in Canada, while this guy was initially absent from store shelves before popping up in 2012 along with a majority of First Edition toys at Toys R Us before popping up later at Ross and Marshalls a year later. This Cliffjumper has a retooled head representing his zombified look, with a broken horn and a Two-face-esque facial scar. The rims are unpainted, but the chest and the front section of the car have unique paint apps for battle damage courtesy of Dark Energon. Even the windows are purple this time around.

Up next, we have the Arms Micron version of the character, which casts him in Jolly Rancher grape plastic, though stock images had him in opaque metallic purple. This figure came with an Arms Micron that looks similar to ROTF Ravage, though the figure we have here is not show-accurate and was basically Takara's way of making their figures more interesting as if the stickers replacing the Arms Micron or the added ports on the hood and the back of the car weren't enough. The AC-03B knockoff that also did a regular Cliffjumper knocked this toy off, though APC Toys has not.

And this is the SDCC Rust in Peace version of Terrorcon Cliffjumper. Damn, so many undead Cliffjumpers, huh? Anyways, this figure came in a package that represents his undead look, while he comes with exclusive Dark Anergon accessories trading in the added silver on his forearm cannons. He also has additional paint apps to represent his battle damage, though neither this nor the regular retail version matched the APC Toys version of CJ.

Finally, for a version of Cliffjumper that APC Toys hasn't done yet, this is the Generations GDO version of Cliffjumper. He's not an undead version of the character, thankfully, though the retooled head sculpt is basically the G1 version of the character. The body looks nearly identical, yet the shade of red all throughout is a little darker and metallic while the blue is a lighter shade by comparison. I'm wondering if APC Toys would make this version of CJ before they make a Tailgate.

For a size comparison, here we have Cliffjumper next to PRID Arcee. The scale between the two is somewhat decent, though Cliff being a shorter Deluxe is an issue that fans will run into since Arcee isn't this tall. Still a better scale than the First Edition.

And for anyone wondering, you can have the children hang out with their respective guardian bots. Jack goes to Arcee, Miko goes to Bulkhead, and Raf goes to Bumblebee. Perfect!

And finally, here we have a tale of two Aligned Cliffjumpers. While the Cybertron games made by High Moon have the usual G1 aesthetics, it was interesting seeing the FOC sequel give his head a more TFP influence, which I actually love since it further distinguished him from being a red Bumblebee. Amusing how the grittier games had Cliff survive while his life on Earth ended so soon. That being said, APC Toys did a great job with their little red gladiator knockoff, especially since First Edition Cliffjumper was an annoyingly hard figure to track down online as much as he was in stores back then. I recommend you get your hands on this guy now that he is being reissued, though there are some joints that could be tightened.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐