Jetfie: robot/jet-fighter
note: I am reviewing the Jetfire from a foreign released boxed set. As I do not have any other Jetfire, I will assume it is more or less the same. But, I do notice that the Grimlock it is packaged with has some ink-washing the Japanese toy lacks, so I cannot rule out similar, if subtle, differences being the case with iterations of Jetfire.
The plane mode is not terrible. And, to be fair, I tend to be forgiving of one of its big problems, thick under-carriage. However, something that is tolerable on a deluxe is more vexing on a larger toy.
Jetfire's plane mode has problems with pieces getting in the way of other pieces. There is a sort of backpack/booster piece, (evocative of the same piece on the original), that clips on to the back of the plane (and robot). Unfortunately, it blocks two of the tail-wings from being raised. (This is also like the original toy. But duplicating old design flaws ishardly a virtue.)
A common design flaw, (with roots in the original line), in modern "Transformers" toys is one form or the other having left-over parts. I first noticed this with "Animated". (I skipped "Classics" when it was first released.) Considering the fact this was largely eliminated during the Beast-era, it is annoying to see it come back now.
Jetfire's robot mode does not quite have this problem, but it comes close. The robot has an optional battle helmet. The helmet itself is rather clunky looking. But, there is no place to store it other than Jetfire's noggin. And, simply throwing it in a box is made a less attractive option because the helmet is important to the jet mode.
This toy iis not all bad. But, it has some serious flaws. I am pretty sure much of the praise collectors have for this toy is related to the fact it is Jetfire, anfd its similarities to the original.
grade: C This is not a terrible toy. But, it is not worth owning more than one variant of. If you have TFU Treadbolt, skip this one.
Dom
-almost caught up on reviews.