Strike first, strike fast, strike hard.

From Cliffjumper's original Tech Specs:

"Let me at 'em," is Cliffjumper's motto. His eagerness and daring have no equal. He's driven by a desire to win the battle against the Decepticons. Finds Earth terrain a hindrance. One of the fastest Autobots. Often uses his speed to draw fire away from others. Shoots "glass gas" which makes metal as brittle as glass. His recklessness often leads to actual blow-outs and situations too dangerous for him to handle."

When I first discovered that there would be a new Cliffjumper in the Transformers Prime toyline I was ecstatic. The toy looked great in vehicle and robot mode and was not, I repeat WAS NOT a Bumblebee repaint. As a Cliffjumper fan from day one (he was my first Transformer, and you never forget your first!) that sort of BS pisses me off. Don't get me wrong, I love G1 Bumblebee too, but he and Cliffjumper are NOT twins!

Anyways, my joy quickly led to disappointment when the nice looking Cliffjumper turned into a limited release and the standard Transformers Prime Cliffjumper that hit the shelves en masse was clearly sub-par.

Then I discovered they were going to re-release the good Cliffjumper body with a G1 head! Even better!

Then I discovered it would be an Asia only exclusive. Dammit.

Then I discovered that the Asia exclusives are now Toys R Us exclusives in the US! Yippee, if I can find one!

Then something really strange happened - I found one!

Cliffjumper's robot mode is a perfect update to his G1 self. I love him!

He doesn't come with any weapons, buthis hands do rotate into gattling guns, which is pretty damn neat!

A solid toy in robot mode, Cliffjumper is well built and well designed. He stands and poses easily and holds his shape just fine.

The piping for the eyes as well as translucent headlights make for a nice effect.

The blue tinted windows look really nice in robot mode too.

"I'm Casey Kase...umm...I mean Cliffjumper"

Although not remotely a Porsche 924, Cliffjumper's car mode is pretty hot. The Plymouth-esque 70's hot rod design (he'll look great displayed next to Big Daddy), along with his name, invoke some Dukes of Hazzard influences...

...not to mention the Boss Hoggish horns up front, which also reflect Cliffjumper's horns on his G1 head.

YEEEHHHAAAAWWWW!!!!

Sadly, while it was simple enough to get from car to robot, this thing is a bear to transform back from robot to car. I'm sure it just takes a while to get the joinst mushy enough to go where they should, but after about 30 minutes of trying Cliffjumper still looks like he hit a tree and the tree hit back. Or he jumped one too many cliffs.

And he's only labeled as a difficulty level of 2! I can't imagine too many kids being able to Transform this guy, although kids do have small hands and good eyes.

As for now, I may have to leave him in robot mode indefinitely, which is sad but I'll get over it.

UPDATE: I figured out the place where I was not bending the proper joints, well, properly; all is well now and Cliffjumper is safely back in automobile mode!

Bumble Bee Thy Name

I picked up this Transformers Universe Classics series Bumblebee a couple months back. They are now starting to appear on toy aisles more prevalently, along with new representations of Brawn and Beachcomber in the same line-up. I only picked up Bumblebee on that trip, because he's one of my favorite Transformers of all time.



I love these little guys because they are small and cheap (about $4.99) and toys should be cheap. See, I'm a man of simple tastes. I like dynamite, and gunpowder... and toys. Do you know what all of these things have in common? They're cheap!

Sorry about that.

Also, in robot mode they come pretty close to their 80s cartoon likenesses.



For Bumblebee, that means he has a face. Although I have a preference for the original toy Bumblebee's look, it is fun to finally have a small transforming Bumblebee that looks like the cartoon we all grew up with; after only waiting 25 years!



Unfortunately Volkswagen refuses to license their image/likeness to "war toys" (I guess they are still sensitive about that whole WWII thing.)

So Hasbro had to wing it, and pretty much followed the look of their recent Transformers Classics Bumblebee vehicle mode.



From the rear it's a passable Beetle-esque vehicle...



From the front...not so much. Oh well, we can't have everything.



Here he is next to a Matchbox VW Beetle taxi which was released a couple years ago. As you can see Bumblebee is pretty close to 1:64 scale, which makes him a great versatile toy compatible with Transformers, die-cast cars, etc. etc.



On a side note, this is a pretty cool Matchbox Beetle. I got it a couple years ago so you won't find it in stores now, but I think a green/white version is currently available. Of course, the yellow one is more Bumblebee-ish, and therefore my favorite. I can see Bumblebee disguising himself as a taxi to spy on the Decepticons - he is their espionage expert after all!

And the Decepticons are just stupid enough to fall for it.



Here they are from the front. Beep Beep!



You look...familiar.

On the Prowl...

Transformers Universe Classics Prowl that is.


I finally found this guy today. He is part of the re-launch of Transformers Classics, which was out a couple years ago and re-introduced classic G1 characters in all new designs that remained true to their original flavor, and especially to their cartoon likenesses.

Prowl here rocks. He's my "must have" of the current release (which also includes Sunstreaker and Tankor. I look forward to picking up a Sunstreaker soon!) I never had Prowl as a kid, but always loved and respected his character on the cartoon.


This "Universe" series is great. There's plenty of articulation, making the toys true "action figures" in their robot modes, as opposed to the near statue quality of most G1 Transformers. The transformations are clean and have little excess "kibble." In fact, Prowl here is designed so well even his shoulder cannons just tuck right under his windshield. The originals are famous for lost parts because usually those "extra" bits were removable components. Even Universe Prowl's pistol folds in half and tucks into his undercarriage in vehicle mode making it hard to lose or misplace. Brilliant.


Here's a "not ready for G1 players" lineup shot. Universe Prowl, Action Master Bumblebee, and Energon Downshift (aka Wheeljack.) Good times.


In vehicle mode, Prowl is still an homage/update from his G1 Datsun form.


He looks like a Nissan Z, the current iteration of the Datsun 240z that G1 Prowl and Bluestreak and Smokescreen and a couple others were based on.


Sadly, it wasn't until this photo that I noticed the off-center faction symbol. Hey Hasbro, you don't have to pay homage to my poor decal attachment skills of the eighties. Sheesh.

You can also see on the passenger headlight/fender where the paint app is a bit off, making it appear that there is a large gap. I suggest you look these over in the stores thoroughly before getting them home. I'll live, but some toy collectors are more anal than me.


He looks good coming and going. Of course, this is how you want to see a Highway Patrol vehicle. Going in the opposite direction, that is.


These Universe Classics retail in the ten dollar range. More are planned, including Ironhide (yippee) and Hound (double yippee!)

"Autobots, Transform and roll out!"