Transformers Review: Cliffjumper (Prime RiD Deluxe)

Intro:

            Finally, The Cliff has come back to New Planet Cybertron!!!

            Sorry about that, I’m just so darn excited about this guy. After missing out on the First Edition The Ro… I mean, Cliffjumper, I was adamant that I was going to get this guy.

            It’s ashamed really that Cliffjumper only got 5 minutes of screen time (I ain’t gonna tell you what happened, you have to go find out for yourself), but despite all time, Cliffjumper figures have been one of the most sought after figures in the line, be it the First Edition or this Robots in Disguise sub-line. I just wished that Cliffjumper could’ve layeth the smacketh downeth on many more Decepticons candy @$$es. 

            Anyways, it took me a whole lot of searching to find this, but is he worth the effort to hunt him down? Read on…

Alternate Mode:

            Cliffjumper transforms into a Dodge Challenger muscle car – suitable for his character portrayal (and not to mention his voice actor). Another obvious nod to the voice actor himself (whether it’s intended or not) is the horns on the hood. Wrestling fans may still remember that one of Dwayne Johnson’s nickname was The Brahma Bull, hence his bull-head logo. Get the connection?

            Anyways, the horns are made from bendable soft rubber, so that it won’t poke your eyes. The underside of the car isn’t quite that clean unfortunately. You can clearly the robot parts underneath and even Cliffjumper’s head peeking. 

 

 

            Cliffjumper also comes with a Battle Hammer, which looks rather more like a Battle Axe, if you ask me. There are two Mech-tech ports – one on the roof and one on the ride side of the car where you could plug in the Battle Hammer and use it as some sort of a blaster instead. 

 

 

 

            Cliffjumper has got a very nice car mode and definitely one of the most realistic-looking cars in the line so far.

Robot Mode:

            Back in the G1 days, Cliffjumper was a depicted as a Minibot, who is Gung Ho in nature. Fast forward decades later, Cliffjumper is equally gung ho. Being a bit short and stout, I think the overall look really suits his character.

 

 

            Also, back in G1, in action figure form, he used to be Bumblebee’s twin, but this time around, they are worlds apart. While ol’ Cliff still maintains his “horny” look, Bumblebee has taken a significantly drastic look overall. 

Horny look?

            I can’t compare him to his First Edition cousin, but based on photo comparisons, the RiD version’s finishing seems to be cleaner. 

The Cliff enters the Ring while posing to the millions (and millions) of The Cliff's fans

            For a figure in his class, his overall articulations are above average. His head is on a ball joint, but due to a protruding gear piece at the back of the head, the head can’t look upward, which is quite ashamed really; the shoulders are on ball joints as well, but the wheels seems to limit his movements; the arms rotate slightly below the shoulders; the elbow bends, followed by ball-jointed wrists; there is also waist articulation; the ball-jointed hips are a bit loose for my liking, and they rotate too; the knees bend as if they are double-jointed; and finally ball-jointed ankles.

The Cliff gestures as he's about to deliver the People's Elbow

            The major critical articulations are there, but unfortunately, a lot of them are rather limited, as mentioned before. Also, although as stated previously that the robot’s finishing seems to be cleaner compared to his First Edition cousin, he isn’t exactly perfect. 

He lands the Cliffbottom...

            As with his immediate predecessor, when viewed from the side, his chest is awkwardly hollow. The arms, as they are formed by the car mode’s doors and chassis also seems a bit too deformedly hollow. The chest piece, which seems to be formed by the hood, is actually a separate faked hood. It’s not to say that it’s bad thing, but I’m just saying that it’s there. 

... covers for the pin...

            As mentioned previously, Cliffjumper does come with his Battle Hammer. However, you may also have the option of wielding it as a gun, by using the same plug that you would use in his car mode, and plug it onto his hands. 

... and The Cliff celebrates the win

            Overall, he’s an okay figure, but with a lot of room for improvement.

Overall:

            Despite his limited screen time, he actually became one of Transformers: Prime’s fan favorite, partly due to his bad@$$ attitude, and also because of the voice actor who played him.

            He’s not exactly perfect, and he’s rather far from it, but this version of Cliffjumper seems to be an improvement from his original First Edition counterpart. Character-wise, he is definitely admired for his testicular fortitude.

            Now, if you smell what The Cliff… is… cooking…

            Final verdict: 7.5/10.

Transformers Review: Soundwave (Prime RiD Deluxe)

Intro:

            With many original G1 characters received new breath of life in the Transformers Prime series, it was inevitable that Soundwave would receive the same treatment as well.

            In this incarnation, Soundwave is yet again characterized as a spy who is relatively loyal to Megatron. 

            The release of this figure had been quite low profile at best, personally I think it caught a lot of the fans by surprise.

            I was lucky enough to get my hands on him and am eager to find out how good this guy really is.

Alternate Mode:

            Soundwave, this time around, transforms into an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Based on information from Wikipedia, Soundwave’s alternate mode is actually a General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper UAV, or also known as Predator B or Guardian. 

            The aircraft looks very slim indeed and I’m even surprised that this guy could transform. It is rather bluish-grey in color with a little bit of pink and black. 

            Soundwave do not have any wheels for landing – only having a knob underneath the cockpit as a landing gear. 

Soundwave minus Laserbeak

            Soundwave also comes with his most trusted minion – Laserbeak, whose robot mode is kinda lame really. 

Laserbeak

            Altogether, a slightly above average alternate mode.

Robot Mode:

            Soundwave is skinny. There’re no other words for it, he’s just so darn thin! The arms themselves are so darn thin, and too lanky for my liking. 

 

 

            The designs of the legs are kinda awkward, which translate to slight issues to put him in different poses, or even just to stand him up.

            However, despite me starting off with a lot of complaints, he’s not all that bad. The head designs are really good. Despite of not having even the slightest element from his original face sculpt, the featureless face does definitely suit Soundwave’s character. No emotions at all, just what an emotionless spy should be. 

            Soundwave also evoke elements from a sub-line from decades ago – the Breastforce. Yes, you heard right. The previously mentioned Laserbeak actually forms the front part of Soundwave’s chest. The idea itself is really good, although as mentioned before, Laserbeak itself has a lot to be desired of. 

Prime RiD Soundwave with Generations Soundwave

            Articulation-wise: head is fixed; shoulders have all range of motions, although the Laserbeak the chest piece does kinda blocks some movements; two-points of elbows articulation and they also bend; there is also a hint of abs-crunch;  ball-jointed hips; legs rotate near the hips as well; and finally, the knees bend.

Soundwave with Laserbeak

            It’s pretty much up to you whether or not you like the robot mode. 

Overall:

            Soundwave isn’t perfect; well, actually he’s pretty far from it. He’s actually pretty good looking, although the execution could’ve been better. It’s too thin, and too flimsy for my liking.

            Soundwave will probably never be everyone’s cup of tea, but he is definitely a must-get if you are a Soundwave-centric collector.

            Final verdict: 6.5/10.

Transformers Review: Wheeljack (Prime RiD Deluxe)

Intro:

            Recently, Wheeljack has been given a lot of screen time as of late, namely in the Transformers: Animated series, as well as the Dark of the Moon movie, in which he goes by the name Que. As far as toy lines go, he was even released in the Generations line, whose mould was a redeco of the Reveal the Shield Tracks. 

            As you may have read my earlier review of Generations Wheeljack, I absolutely love that figure, and since then, I’ve doubted that HasTak will be able to better it in the future.

            Then comes the Transformers: Prime (Robot in Disguise) line.

            Initial photos of him online looked pretty awesome – slick though angular. I was darn excited when I finally bumped into him in my recent hunts at TeenCom. So does he manage to exceed or at least maintain the level set by his predecessor – Generations Wheeljack?

            Read on…

Alternate Mode:

            As with all of his previous incarnations, this Wheeljack too transforms into a sports car. No longer is he the Lancia Stratos Turbo that we used to love, he now transform into a super slick sports car, reminiscence of the so called Fenomenon Stratos, which was featured at the 2005 Geneva Auto Show, and was also supposed to be a retro-modern concept of the well known Stratos. 

            The color scheme is quite nice, and utilizes the same color scheme combination normally associated with Wheeljack.

            While the car looks very cool, it has to be noted that although Wheeljack is categorized as a Deluxe, he is, in actuality smaller than all previously released Deluxe-class figures, as clearly shown in the photo below. No reasons as to why it was “shrunken” – apparent cost cutting maybe?

From Left: Cybertron Downshift (Wheeljack), Prime RiD Wheeljack & Generations Wheeljack

            Another thing that may or may not bug you is the huge gap underneath the front grill as well as the back of the car. I don’t know if it’s the actual the design of the car itself, which I highly doubt it, but to me, it kinda ruins the overall look of the car, while exposing some parts of the robot itself. 

 

            Wheeljack, just like Drift comes with 2 samurai swords of his own, which can be slotted on to the peg underneath the car for safe keeping, or if you want, you may even mount the swords onto the front grill cavity (as shown in the photo below) as some sort of an weaponized car.

Swords as Vehicle Mode Weapons or Slotted Underneath the Car

 

            Overall, Wheeljack’s an interesting little sports car.  

Robot Mode:

            One word sums up Wheeljack’s robot mode – slick. While his robot mode is largely inspired by his G1-self, this robot mode also lacks his trademarked shoulder cannons. Instead, he is armed with a pair of samurai swords. 

            The swords are kinda puny, if you ask me, and I wish it could’ve been just a bit longer. His trademarked wings are still there, albeit a little stylized.

 

 

            Articulation-wise: ball-jointed head; inner shoulders have all range of motions, while the outer shoulders swivel; elbows bend; wrists have all range of motion, but severely hindered by the design of the doors; the ball-jointed hips rotate as well; knees bend; and finally the ankles are all ball joints.

            The articulations are fantastic, and you can really put Wheeljack in various kinds of poses that you may want him too. 

 

            My one complaint of the figure would be the flimsy windshield pieces just below the arms. I just wished that HasTak could’ve made the windshield foldable inward as it kinda gets in the way sometimes during pose-off. 

 

            Unlike his alternate mode, Prime RiD Wheeljack, when compared to his Generations and Cybertron self, he seems to be on the same size, albeit way streamlined and less in bulk. 

From left: Generations Wheeljack; Prime RiD Wheeljack & Cybertron Downshift (Wheeljack)

            Altogether, Wheeljack’s robot mode is very good.

Overall:

            Overall, I think Hasbro pulled it off quite well with this release. It is as if the all time favorite Generations line has receive a facelift, and combined with the Transformers: Prime line. While that may not be the actual case, it kinda feels like it.

            Generally, all that you loved about the Generations line is present here. Also, it has to be said, one thing about Transformers: Prime figures that most fans have noticed so far is that they are somewhat significantly smaller than any previous Deluxe releases. Again, apparent cost cutting maybe.

            Anyways, overall, Wheeljack would be an excellent addition to any collections.

            Highly recommended.

            Final verdict: 9.5/10.