Review: #530
Name: Jetfire
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Autobot
Line: Generations - War for Cybertron: Siege
Year of Release: 2019
Size Class: Commander
Mold Status: new
PACKAGING:
As the only Commander sized figure in the Siege line, Jetfire is somewhat of a special edition figure. Thus he comes in a windowless box with a fantastic bit of artwork on the front.
The pack is a bit more standard with stock photos.
JET MODE:
Jetfire transforms into a white and red jet. The fast pack is unfortunately permanently attached.
The thrusters are only on the fast pack whereas below them are the robot feet.
In something that we haven't seen in a while, Jetfire has three flip down landing gear, complete with separate rotating wheels to allow the jet mode to roll on flat surfaces.
One of the main gimmicks here is that there are 5mm posts on the underside that allows figures to grab a hold of to simulate what happened in the original G1 cartoon.
All the extra bits that transform Jetfire into his toy-inspired form peg together into one giant lump. He also comes with two fire effect pieces (that is comprised of three separate pieces each, for a total of six).
The big piece peg on top of the fast pack, while the two effect parts peg onto the thrusters.
The effects pieces looks great and really give a sense of speed for this chunky figure.
While you cannot open the cockpit, you can fit two Titan Masters or Prime Masters on the fast pack but some fiddling might to required to open the panel to place them in.
Jetfire is a massive figure. Officially classified in the "Commander" size class, this is a step above a Leader figure and he is really heavy to boot.
On the whole, this is a solid jet mode. However, it is a bit chunky, the permanent fast pack makes it too blocky for a jet.
TRANSFORMATION:
For such a big figure, Jetfire isn't too hard to transform between the modes. The trickiest part is how the arms unfold from the fuselage of the jet out to peg with the chest panel. The legs just extend and the elbows takes a few twists to get it out the way it should be. The wings are fairly interesting in how there are a few small panels that fold upon each other to be more compact. To be fair, for such a big and hefty figure, a complicated transformation is the last thing it needs and so it works well here, if a bit uninspiring.
ROBOT MODE ("SKYFIRE"):
The core robot mode, based on the cartoon appearance ("Skyfire"), looks good but a lot of the red has not disappeared leading to a fairly bland robot.
The backpack is huge, and this is with it being compacted during transformation. The designer could have done more to be honest since the whole piece is hollow anyway.
The headsculpt is good and the figure contains lightpiping! Although the gap for the light to go through is tiny it's still an awesome gimmick when it works.
Again, in terms of size, Jetfire is huge, towering over other Leader and Voyager classed figures.
There are a few gimmicks, all of which are non-obtrusive. One of the main ones involving the insignia on his chest. Normally, he has an Autobot insignia.
However, it can flip to reveal the Decepticon insignia. This gimmick is also accessible in jet mode.
Poseability is great, he has all the joints that you would want.
The hands open, the wrists rotate and he has ankle tilts too.
The figure is heavy though and most of the mass is on the upper body. Just something to take note of when posing.
This is a neat design and not something we have really seen before. The 5mm peg is within his hand which is used to hold weapons.
However, open up the hand and the 5mm slot will fold away in the palm of his hand, this is pretty neat.
Jetfire's weapon is a double-barreled gun.
He can hold the gun in either hand. A side effect of the 5mm slot gimmick is that it "wiggles"and doesn't feel as secure as a normal fist.
Most of the joints are ratchets which are required to keep the figure stable.
You can peg various effects parts onto the end of the weapon which is pretty cool.
A strong robot mode but that is not all.
ROBOT MODE ("JETFIRE"):
To get Jetfire into his toy-inspired from, you can break extras into multiple pieces: mask, chest piece and eight guns.
Pegging the pieces are easy, the only piece that's somewhat unclear from the instructions are the long guns that peg onto his backpack. They don't use the 5mm pegs, rather they use the grooves of the weapon.
There aren't any structural changes to the robot mode, it's all cosmetic.
The mask fits right over the face. It's a little bit disappointing that this head doesn't have antennae.
If you're not using the effects parts, they can remain pegged onto the thrusters.
One of the neat things is how you can split the effects parts up into its smaller components and give it to other figures in the line to use.
All of the additions are in the upper body: guns on his backpack and the tip of his wings, a new chest plate, a new head, and gauntlets.
All of the pieces are able to use the effects parts, whether that be using the 3mm or 5mm slots.
The gun is now split into two, thinner, guns, but still looks equally good.
Due to transformation, the hands are on a panel on a hinge joints. The panel isn't doesn't click in too hard and thus can detach easily while posing.
The addition of more black and red on the chestplate helps break up the bland white, but there is still too much white.
Nevertheless, this is a solid robot mode and the mode that the designer focused on.
OVERALL:
Jetfire is a solid figure. It doesn't do anything new and can be somewhat bland in certain aspects. However, the heft is impressive and he will look large and imposing on your shelf. For the price, which is not too much more than a Leader, Jetfire is worthwhile.
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