Toy Review - PotP Jazz

[prjkt]

To be fair, Fall of Cybertron Jazz is based on a pre-existing game model whereas Reveal the Shield and Power of the Prime Jazz were made as toys in their own right.

That game model was pretty sweet, but that’s not what we got...

[GoktimusPrime]

That game model was pretty sweet, but that’s not what we got...

Another example of why toys based on existing models are generally not as good as Transformers toys made as toys first. Game designers, like animators, aren't toy designers and often their designs are counter-intuitive to the kind of engineering that goes into producing a Transformer toy. Often toy designers are left with the unenviable task of reverse-engineering or "translating" screen designs as Transformer toys.

This is why I prefer Transformers toys to just be made as toys first without worrying about how animators are going to make the toys look like on screen. Let the animators work that out. Toy designers should just focus on the quality of the toy. But then you get people who whinge about such toys lacking "screen accuracy" (which is a silly term when applied to toys that existed before the show or game). Toys like FoC Jazz were made "backwards" compared to the more traditional way of making Transformers for the sake of trying to achieve greater screen-accuracy... but of course, it still doesn't quite work out anyway.

I'd much rather have a good toy that doesn't look like its screen counterpart than an ordinary toy that tries too hard to look screen-like. Unless you're willing to pay hefty MP-level prices, then it's usually either one or the other or some compromise in-between (which is typically what CHUG gives us).

[ComradeRenko]

Another example of why toys based on existing models are generally not as good as Transformers toys made as toys first. Game designers, like animators, aren't toy designers and often their designs are counter-intuitive to the kind of engineering that goes into producing a Transformer toy. Often toy designers are left with the unenviable task of reverse-engineering or "translating" screen designs as Transformer toys.

This is why I prefer Transformers toys to just be made as toys first without worrying about how animators are going to make the toys look like on screen. Let the animators work that out. Toy designers should just focus on the quality of the toy. But then you get people who whinge about such toys lacking "screen accuracy" (which is a silly term when applied to toys that existed before the show or game). Toys like FoC Jazz were made "backwards" compared to the more traditional way of making Transformers for the sake of trying to achieve greater screen-accuracy... but of course, it still doesn't quite work out anyway.

I'd much rather have a good toy that doesn't look like its screen counterpart than an ordinary toy that tries too hard to look screen-like. Unless you're willing to pay hefty MP-level prices, then it's usually either one or the other or some compromise in-between (which is typically what CHUG gives us).

The real kicker for me with the Fall of Cybertron figures was how they compared to the War for Cybertron figures. WfC Optimus was fantastic representation of the in game model, and had an involved an interesting transformation. Same for Bumblebee. Megatron and Soundwave dialed back the complexity but still looked better than the FoC assortment.

[SMHFConvoy]

The figure is ok but they really should have pinned the shoulder hinges or gave a soft ratchet detent so it could hold a 'T' pose

[Deonasis]

My Jazz has a hip ball joint that gravity can pull off, no shaking of the figure is required. If one leg is not attached to the other it will drop off.

I like the silhouette of Jazz, he makes for a beefy robot but the panels behind the hands are a let down.

[snaketales]

I cut the panels off and glued them to the legs. It does add another panel line to the alt mode, and because of my glueing they're 1-2 degrees out, but the result for bot mode is worth it. Plus I could paint the hands.