Toy Review - TFPrime FE Deluxe Cliffjumper

[griffin]

(Please post photos, comments or even a fully comprehensive review - these are just brief details)

Toy Review - Cliffjumper (first Dlx version)
Series - TFPrime
Sub-line - none
Size/class - Deluxe
Wave - 0.5 (First Edition)
New/remould/redeco - New
Released here - Maybe not here at all (Released globally Nov/Dec 2011)
Approximate Retail Price - ($24-30?) US$12
Approximate Size - (14cm)
Allegiance - Autobot
Alt-mode - Muscle car
Main Features/Gimmicks - none
Main Colours - Red, black
Main Accessories - none?

[Paulbot]

This is a great figure. I caved and got it at a bit of a premium off ebay but I think it was worth it.

To start with, it's a nice looking car, although it does have a few extra panel lines the way Cliffjumper transforms makes those acceptable.

The side panels and doors of the car fold together to make the legs and manage to take the rear windows with them (and hide them) in order to give the shoulders more room for posing. I like how the legs swing only one way in the transformation, giving this the feel of a directed, well-structured transformation. There's more twisting of the waist (a common thing I've noticed in all the toys so far).

The arms fold out really nicely, with the shoulders snaping quite nicely into place. The hands can flip around to reveal guns (something not documented on the packaging or instructions - don't be tricked into thinking that he's weaponless).

The car's bonnet doesn't just swing to the back, it locks in behind the neck and with a few swings the front lights manage to make it back into position to be Cliffjumper's ribs. It's there to make the toy more accurate to the cartoon and a nice little finishing touch. Really happy with the final looking 'bot.

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Sweet little bot, kinda like Generations Warpath in that his small size for a Deluxe sorta works what with the original Cliffjumper being a minibot. If he's typical the size difference for the Prime toys as opposed to CHUGURETC is quite noticeable.
Decent transformation, though there are some small steps that are easy to overlook without the instructions.
Bot mode is where he really shines, vehicle mode is a pretty nice muscle car but as Paulbot notes he's packed full o' panels and getting his rear panels can be a bit fiddly a la RtS Windcharger.

Final verdict, get him if cheap and/or if you're a fan of muscle car alt-modes.

[loophole]

any chance that one of you guys could take a pick of him with some CHUG figures?

[Paulbot]

any chance that one of you guys could take a pick of him with some CHUG figures?

An odd assortment but these were the only CHUG ones immediately at hand.



And with Prime Bumblebee who's taller than Cliffjumper

[loophole]

An odd assortment but these were the only CHUG ones immediately at hand.

an odd assortment works well and so does cliffjumper in this case, thanks Paulbot

[griffin]

This was the only First Edition figure I was actually impressed with. It was a little fiddly, but not as bad as other figures. I was just amazed at how the arms and leg bits fold together, into proper limbs, from an accurate car mode... without it cheating like many movie toys by being a shell-former.
And not only is it kibble-less in robot mode - it actually incorporates the front of the car mode into the back of the robot, by way of hinges to fold up against the robot (most figures just have a back panel just hanging off or away from the actual body of the robot). That was very impressed by that. Whoever designed the engineering of this figure - I am in awe of their abilities.
A "must buy" figure... even if you don't like TFPrime or intend to buy any of the toys.
(I don't see how the next Dlx Cliffjumper mould could possibly outdo this one)

[SharkyMcShark]

Great figure.

Car mode is realistic, which deals with one of my biggest complaints about Animated. Paint is a lovely deep red (I have the Takara version, I dont really know of the differences between the two). It can appear sparsely painted, but remember that the roof of the car is all clear blue plastic that has been painted over - the paint matches well too. No complaints about this mode at all.

Transformation is delightfully involved - there are numerous little complexities that they didn't have to engineer in but did anyway. Things like the outer bits of the bumper folding in to the middle of the bonnet so that the 'headlight belt' is more streamlined, and the bits of car window folding into the legs instead of sticking out are great touches that give the feel of a high quality product.

Robot mode is also really good. Wasn't initially keen on the amount of red showing but it works in person. Well articulated - my only gripe in this area is that I wish the shoulders could move down a bit further. It looks at times like he's permanently bunching them up. Other minor complaint - the wrist cannons don't really sit in place when the hands are out. They're held in position by the gauntlets to some extent but they flop around a little bit, occasionally making small gaps in the robot mode forearms. It's a tiny gripe really. Otherwise flawless.

Buy it. 9/10.

[GoktimusPrime]

My main gripe about this toy is the lack of wrist articulation, so the hands are permanently positioned where the palms are aligned with the inside elbows - great if he wants to do bicep curls, but otherwise not so good for other poses (like holding a gun properly). Yeah I know he is in built guns, but still... it bugs me.

I have the TakaraTOMY version and it suffers from a minor QC issue - a small smudge of silver paint on one of the panels (I should be able to remove it with some rubbing alcohol). Getting some of the vehicle mode panels to align properly can be fiddly, but otherwise it's a pretty neat toy and I am satisfied with it overall. 7/10

[SharkyMcShark]

My main gripe about this toy is the lack of wrist articulation, so the hands are permanently positioned where the palms are aligned with the inside elbows - great if he wants to do bicep curls, but otherwise not so good for other poses (like holding a gun properly). Yeah I know he is in built guns, but still... it bugs me.

Let's all remember where we were when Gok got something wrong.

The wrists do swivel.