Review: #517
Name: Jetfire
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Autobot
Line: Movie the Best
Year of Release: 2018
Size Class: Leader
Mold Status: repaint of ROTF Jetfire
PACKAGING AND CONTENTS:
As part of the Movie the Best line (exclusively in Japan), Jetfire comes in a huge windowed box.
The back shows off the stock photos as well as the scenes from the movie that he appears in.
JET MODE:
Based upon the version that appeared in the Revenge of the Fallen movie, Jetfire transforms into a SR-71 Blackbird jet.
This version is a repaint of the original mold, giving it a more accurate paint scheme to match the onscreen model.
One thing that might surprise you is that Jetfire is absolutely massive, even by the older larger Leader standards from back in 2009. Above is a comparison against TLK Optimus and Jetfire is not only much bigger, but also much much heavier to boot.
Unfortunately, like with a lot of jet Transformers, the jet is basically a nice shell on top with thick robot undercarriage kibble. This is made worse since Jetfire has a soundbox and battery compartment.
The weapon in robot mode can store underneath the cockpit.
While the huge amount of undercarriage kibble is a turn off, it is still an impressive jet mode purely for its sheer size.
TRANSFORMATION:
Jetfire's transformation is simple in concept but annoying in real life. Most of the jet pieces stay in huge chunks on the robot's back but the front and cockpit split to form the arms. You then manipulate the undercarriage kibble a bit to unfold the legs. The negative of the transformation is the number of panels that seem flimsily attached and that you need to move around to hang off the robot.
ROBOT MODE:
Jetfire's robot mode is always an odd one since it plays up on the "old" factor. He carries a walking cane, stands with a hunch has a "beard".
The amount of kibble on this guy is no joke. Most of the jet is on his back although the thrusters look nice on the sides.
The headsculpt is a bit inaccurate since it was still based on concept art. Due to the gimmick, he doesn't really have much of a neck articulation, only able to loosely turn from side to side.
Speaking of the gimmick, he has a lever on his torso to activate his "mech alive" feature, a series of moving gears as well as sounds and lights.
In terms of size, he is much bulkier than contemporary Leaders but lost a lot of height compared to jet mode.
He's a bit shorter than the Leaders from days past and above is a comparison against Buster Optimus Prime from the ROTF line.
The articulation on this guy is not the best. The arms are fine with multiple joints but the legs are really limited as they're in the backwards-facing shape that the movie designs are so fond of.
That isn't to mention that Jetfire is so top heavy that you can't really have his legs in much of a dynamic pose lest fall over.
His main weapon is a gatling gun which doubles as a spring-loaded missile launcher.
He can hold the gun in his hands and the gun looks a bit wimpy due to its small size. One of the annoying things about this figure is how loosely he holds the cane, posing him will cause it fall out.
This is an okay robot mode, there are too many flaws for it to be fun.
COMBINED MODE:
The last feature of Jetfire is that he is able to combine with ROTF Leader Optimus to form the jet powered Optimus from the climax of the film. Basically, Jetfire unfolds and expands from robot mode and then attaches onto the back of Optimus as a gigantic backpack.
One of the good things is some of Jetfire back kibble detaches to form a gun for this mode.
Combining Optimus and Jetfire isn't too difficult but the end result isn't worth it and feels very much like an afterthought. As Optimus' legs is attached to Jetfire's, the combined mode has effectively no articulation.
Then to make matters worse, you can't pull his arms forward too much otherwise his shoulders interferes with the backpack kibble. Nevertheless, this is still a cool bonus and the sheer size of two Leaders combined is always impressive.
OVERALL:
Jetfire isn't a stellar toy but this was the most accurate representation of the character at its release. The figure sacrifices too much for the combined mode and you can feel that the designer did a rushed job.
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