Pharra

Friday, August 10, 2007

Skyfire / Jetfire and Jazz Return!

Skyfire aka Jetfire and Jazz have arrived from Hasbro Toy Shop .com. Maria bought the "Movie Deluxe" edition of Autobot Jazz, and I bought the "Classics Voyager" class Skyfire / Jetfire.

Jazz Sucks:
Maria still likes him, but the 2007 movie edition of Jazz sucks: the arms are too hard to transform and are hinged with three individual pieces of double-hinged plastic, all of which are small parts, all of which are easy to break (which makes transforming him not fun), and to boot the final step to merging the hood back together (which is what splits apart into four pieces to rotate, move and become his arms) is nightmarish.


Jazz does look good in car mode. Robot mode is decent, but he has tiny claws for hands, and his arms get caught in his chest and don't feature the full range of motion Jetfire / Skyfire does (pictured).

Despite all of this, however, Maria likes Jazz, so bear that in mind as I gripe and grumble.

Dulce with Skyfire:
I call Skyfire "Starfire" as I did when I was a kid. The G1 Skyfire (called Jetfire only in the cartoon) was a Macross VF-1 Yamato.

We role-played their return last night.

Skyfire Rocks:
This figure is better than Classics Voyager class Optimus Prime in overall ease of transformation & coolness factor (plus he doesn't lack a trailer), but not as robust.

Prime has fewer parts to wedge together and is, overall, easier to manhandle in robot or semi-truck form without some part shifting out of its socket that latches it to another part.

Weapons: Skyfire has a crazy amount of weaponry: two cannons hidden in his boosters, a double-barreled gun that splits into two single-barreled guns to hold under his undercarriage (in his hands) in jet mode, two photon torpedoes (the clear blue things), and his tiny antenna (two on each side of his head).

Not Suck: Cool bonus, Skyfire has a "helmet" that makes him look like his G1 counterpart, rather than the cartoon version; however, if you dig the cartoon look, you can remove the helmet. I have refused to remove it because, well, "Starfire" in my fiction never had an ugly mug, just a robotic head.

Poseable: Skyfire is nearly as pose able as "Classics Voyager" class Optimus Prime; exception being he has wings and a booster pack (removable) that can get in his way.

Teh Suk: The only bad things are that the figure is just smaller than the G1 original and, when the hidden booster cannons are extended, the interior of the boosters can be seen and it's hallow.

Summary: That said, the figure is sturdy, cool, and fun. I'm glad we picked him up before he was no longer available in retail.