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Transformers Review: Ramjet (Classics Deluxe)


Intro:
            I have to admit, I don’t have that many Seekers in my collection. In fact, prior to Ramjet I don’t think I ever had any reincarnations of the Seekers save for the Knockoff Armada Skywarp that I got way back 2004.
            Another factor that didn’t help cause was my initial reluctance to buy any retooled figures, which I normally thought was a cheap attempt to squeeze out more cash from diehard fans; and that would eventually rule me out on getting most of the Seekers, since they are virtually remolds of each other.
            After missing out on Classics Starscream, I knew that I just had to get at least 1 Seeker, and Ramjet happened to be it.
            Ramjet, along with Dirge and Thrust were the second generation Seekers, more popularly known as The Coneheads, due to their head designs, which made them visually distinct from the original Seekers, i.e. Starscream, Skywarp and Thundercracker.  
            So after having him since 2007, it was about time that I review him.

Alternate Mode:
            Well, naturally for a Seeker, Ramjet transforms into a fighter jet, which I have absolutely no idea on the model and make of it.
            Unlike the original Seekers, the Coneheads are not mere re-colors of the same mould, but they are actually retooled. As you will see from the photo below, as well as future reviews of the other Coneheads, the wings designs for each Coneheads are distinct from one another, so at least you won’t feel like you are getting the same figure over and over again. 
            While the jet itself looks okay, the colors do look a bit dull and boring, probably due to its age and the white-color paintjob, and things can only get worse. As you can see from the photos, Ramjet looks more yellowish rather than white, as time goes by.
            Ramjet is armed with a couple of blasters mounted below the wings.
            The jet mode doesn’t really have proper landing gears, except for the bumps on the leg pieces and the chest piece. The fixed landing gears on the chest is actually formed by the chest “thrusters” that you will see later on in robot mode. 
            Due to its designs, Ramjet tends to sport a huge awkward gap underneath the jet, which would later be filled up by cockpits in robot mode. I wished that they would’ve done something to cover up or hide the gap, but I don’t really see how they could do just that.
From left: Generations Thrust, Generations Thundercreacker, Generations Dirge and Classics Ramjet
            Other than that, there’s not much to talk about this mode.

Robot Mode:
            In robot mode, standing at 5 ¾-inches tall, he’s the size of your normal standard Deluxe-class figure. How I miss the days when Deluxe-class figures were this big.  
            Anyways, he really looks like his on screen counterpart, and that’s a huge plus point for this figure. Again, the colors look a bit dull due the design colors, as well as the wearing of the white on this figure. 
            The two blasters can now be wielded either as guns or as shoulder cannons as depicted in the show. 
            Surprisingly for a five-year-old figure, the joints on my Ramjet are surprisingly tight, which is more than I can say about some figures nowadays.
            Anyways, articulation-wise: the head twists limitedly due to its design; shoulders are on universal joints, which provides all around motions (the shoulders may look really awkward when you try to move the shoulders outward, revealing a huge gap on the side of the chest); the elbows bend and the fists move in and out, mostly due to transformation joints; the hips are on ball-joints; the knees bend and rotate, and that’s about it. 
From left: Generations Thrust, Generations Thundercreacker, Generations Dirge and Classics Ramjet
            Overall, a really neat robot mode.
           
Overall:
While the figure looks great in both modes, the paintjob is a bit boring. The white portions on my Ramjet are already showing signs of yellowing and I feel things can only get worse from.
Still, if I am being objective with you, I think Ramjet was a good attempt.

Final verdict: I give Ramjet 8/10.

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