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interests / alt.toys.transformers / Re: Retro Review: Classics Cliffjumper

SubjectAuthor
* Retro Review: Classics CliffjumperGustavo Wombat
`* Re: Retro Review: Classics CliffjumperZobovor
 `* Re: Retro Review: Classics CliffjumperGustavo Wombat
  `- Re: Retro Review: Classics CliffjumperAvaran

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Retro Review: Classics Cliffjumper

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From: gustavow...@yahoo.com (Gustavo Wombat)
Newsgroups: alt.toys.transformers
Subject: Retro Review: Classics Cliffjumper
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2022 05:22:28 -0000 (UTC)
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 by: Gustavo Wombat - Sun, 27 Feb 2022 05:22 UTC

I saw him peeking out from a clear plastic bin the other day, and felt the
need to pull him out and see how he holds up in the present day.

Was back in 2006/2007, after TF:Cybertron had run its course and before the
Bayverse movies would change the world, there was a small gap in product
lines that needed filling, and so Hasbro and Takara decided to fill that
gap with a small toyline, perhaps aimed at older fans, and with no cartoon
of any kind to support it, based on offering original G1 characters in new
toy form.

It was an experiment that then proceeded to dominate the toyline for the
next 16 years and counting, where even unconnected lines like TF:Prime and
Cyberverse would be basically retreading G1 over and over, adding little
bits of Movieverse lore.

Curiously, Takara took a couple of years to get around to releasing the
toys in Japan.

Cliffjumper was part of the third wave, and a redeco of Bumblebee. We would
be getting a lit of red Bumblebees over the years.

Because the fine folks at Volkswagen were not consulted, or were unwilling,
Bumblebee was not a VW Beetle, but rather a made up small car that looked
like a Suburu WRX and a Mini Cooper had babies. So, we don’t have a Ladybug
Cliffjumper.

To further distinguish the characters, the designers lavishly painted him
with some of the worst looking splotches of silver possible in vehicle
mode. And it really is quite lavish — every red piece of shell other than
the spoiler gets at least one unsightly paint operation.

Other than the silver, I think this vehicle mode fits Cliffjumper
perfectly. He’s small and tough, and this vehicle is closer to the
Pennyracer inspired cartoon model than the actual Porsche he is supposed to
be. It’s also basically modern.

There’s clear plastic for windows, exposing some robot kibble and some
molded and painted seats. I’m not sure if the windows were meant to be
gray, or whether that just happened over the years, but it’s good looking.
Side windows are apparently rolled down, since they don’t exist.

He rolls well, despite having almost no ground clearance. Wheels are held
on with rivets, the hubcaps are painted. Blue painted headlights, unpainted
clear tail lights. Really very nicely done. This was before the Great
Cheapening.

This is the type of update I like — true to the character, but a little bit
new at the same time. If the silver mess was stripes or something, it would
be great.

Being a very small Deluxe, he came with a trailer and jet ski, which could
become a jet pack, but I didn’t find it in that bin. Never really loved it.

In comparison to a WFC Kingdom Prowl… he is just as long and way taller.
The Mini Clubman looks like a Mini Cooper that someone puffed up by blowing
into the tailpipe until it became an SUV, and in comparison to Prowl,
Cliffjumper has that look. Or he is just wildly out of scale.

Transformation is quick, but fun, and most parts of the vehicle end up in
robot mode in roughly the same spot as the G1 toy. There are doors hanging
off his arms, which is unfortunate.

(Comparing his arm doors to Kingdom Prowl’s door wings, Cliffjumper’s doors
are THICK. About twice the thickness, which shows how much more comfortable
Hasbro and Takara have gotten with thinner plastics)

Articulation is good, but not up to modern standards. There are ball
joints for shoulders and elbows, but encased in square enough blocks that
they don’t look out of place. The head is on a ball joint. Hips are ball
joints, with a hinge at the knee and a rotation just below the knee. Very
slight forward ankle movement.

There is no waist, wrist or thigh rotation. And no ankle tilts. There are
modern toys missing one or two of those (Kingdom Starscream) but not all.
So he definitely feels like he comes from a different era.

(I’m not opposed to limited articulation, as I do love a lot of Armada
toys, just noting it)

He did not come with any guns, just the jet ski jet pack, but his fists
have 5mm holes to accommodate any modern weapon.

The head sculpt is Bumblebee.

The color scheme is a little messy. There are the awful silver paint
applications, of course, and a light, silvery gray plastic on the
shoulders, biceps, hands and crotch. The seats make his upper thighs red.

He loses a lot of Cliffjumper elements from this color scheme and the
Bumblebee head. But, he’s still a small, scrappy little Autobot.

Until you put him next to Prowl, in which case he’s a big bruiser of an
Autobot at full deluxe height but stocky. Perhaps more fat than stocky, as
he’s got a bit of a Sharkticon’s roundness to his chest and belly.

I’m really amused that the “so small we had to package him with a big
accessory” Classics Deluxe is the same height and bulkier than the current
Deluxes. It shows how much things changed after the Great Cheapening, even
after the Great Price Increase.

Cliffjumper also has 14 metal pins and 13 screws holding him together, and
a lot of things that we would now have pegged into place so they can pop
off don’t. I keep going back and updating those numbers as I find things.
18 pins if you count the axles for the wheels.

Overall, though, the mold holds up compared to the modern toys. A bit out
of scale, and bulkier, but comparable.

The main flaws are what they always were — deco and head sculpt. And they
are disappointing because this could have been what a modern Cliffjumper
looks like. With a bit more love and care by the design team, this could
have been a great update.

The mold works fine as Bumblebee, but always seemed a bit too tough
looking, like Bumblebee was more of a warrior than a scout. Also, they put
stripes on the Bumblebee versions of this mold, which seem a little off for
the character. Bumblebee isn’t cool enough for stripes. (Cliffjumper, sure…
Bumblebee, no)

Re: Retro Review: Classics Cliffjumper

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Subject: Re: Retro Review: Classics Cliffjumper
From: zmf...@aol.com (Zobovor)
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 by: Zobovor - Sun, 27 Feb 2022 12:33 UTC

On Saturday, February 26, 2022 at 10:22:32 PM UTC-7, Gustavo Wombat, of the Seattle Wombats wrote:

> The main flaws are what they always were — deco and head sculpt. And they
> are disappointing because this could have been what a modern Cliffjumper
> looks like. With a bit more love and care by the design team, this could
> have been a great update.

For a long time there, Hasbro was like, "Cliffjumper? That's just a red Bumblebee, right?" and it took them a while to get that out of their system.

These kinds of almost-but-not-quite character updates irked me terribly back in the day. And I felt compelled to do things like buy the Fall of Cybertron toy just so I could pop the head off and stick it on this toy instead. It wasn't a perfect fix, but at least it was something.

It's certainly not a terribly toy design, but it makes an awful Cliffjumper with that stupid red Bumblebee face. It's just Bumblebee getting Cliffjumper back many years later for the botched Pretender Classics face sculpt. But, two wrongs don't make a right. Three *lefts* make one right. Everybody knows that.

Zob (Black Zarak still sits in his box, taunting me)

Re: Retro Review: Classics Cliffjumper

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From: gustavow...@yahoo.com (Gustavo Wombat)
Newsgroups: alt.toys.transformers
Subject: Re: Retro Review: Classics Cliffjumper
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2022 09:02:28 -0000 (UTC)
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 by: Gustavo Wombat - Mon, 28 Feb 2022 09:02 UTC

Zobovor <zmfts@aol.com> wrote:
> On Saturday, February 26, 2022 at 10:22:32 PM UTC-7, Gustavo Wombat, of
> the Seattle Wombats wrote:
>
>> The main flaws are what they always were — deco and head sculpt. And they
>> are disappointing because this could have been what a modern Cliffjumper
>> looks like. With a bit more love and care by the design team, this could
>> have been a great update.
>
> For a long time there, Hasbro was like, "Cliffjumper? That's just a red
> Bumblebee, right?" and it took them a while to get that out of their system.
>
> These kinds of almost-but-not-quite character updates irked me terribly
> back in the day. And I felt compelled to do things like buy the Fall of
> Cybertron toy just so I could pop the head off and stick it on this toy
> instead. It wasn't a perfect fix, but at least it was something.

I wonder if I have the FOC Cliffjumper…

> It's certainly not a terribly toy design, but it makes an awful
> Cliffjumper with that stupid red Bumblebee face. It's just Bumblebee
> getting Cliffjumper back many years later for the botched Pretender
> Classics face sculpt. But, two wrongs don't make a right. Three *lefts*
> make one right. Everybody knows that.

As I pull random toys from bins and play with them, in the back of my mind
I’m always thinking about whether it will be a keeper once I decide to
downgrade my massive collection. Some version of this mold will be a
keeper.

> Zob (Black Zarak still sits in his box, taunting me)
>

Starscream’s chair fits nicely on the platform of his “city” mode. Makes
for a much grander throne.

Re: Retro Review: Classics Cliffjumper

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Subject: Re: Retro Review: Classics Cliffjumper
From: kjvi...@gmail.com (Avaran)
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 by: Avaran - Mon, 28 Feb 2022 13:42 UTC

On Monday, February 28, 2022 at 10:02:30 AM UTC+1, Gustavo Wombat, of the Seattle Wombats wrote:
> Zobovor <zm...@aol.com> wrote:
> > On Saturday, February 26, 2022 at 10:22:32 PM UTC-7, Gustavo Wombat, of
> > the Seattle Wombats wrote:
> >
> >> The main flaws are what they always were — deco and head sculpt. And they
> >> are disappointing because this could have been what a modern Cliffjumper
> >> looks like. With a bit more love and care by the design team, this could
> >> have been a great update.
> >
> > For a long time there, Hasbro was like, "Cliffjumper? That's just a red
> > Bumblebee, right?" and it took them a while to get that out of their system.
> >
> > These kinds of almost-but-not-quite character updates irked me terribly
> > back in the day. And I felt compelled to do things like buy the Fall of
> > Cybertron toy just so I could pop the head off and stick it on this toy
> > instead. It wasn't a perfect fix, but at least it was something.
> I wonder if I have the FOC Cliffjumper…
> > It's certainly not a terribly toy design, but it makes an awful
> > Cliffjumper with that stupid red Bumblebee face. It's just Bumblebee
> > getting Cliffjumper back many years later for the botched Pretender
> > Classics face sculpt. But, two wrongs don't make a right. Three *lefts*
> > make one right. Everybody knows that.

That Cliffjumper figure was actually the first time i got interested in a third-party kit, giving him a new head, spoiler, weapons (gun and mega-bazooka) and some other stuff that I never put on. Still have him on display since he scale-matches the Masterpiece line until a real Masterpiece version arrives. Thought that was the last time we'd ever get something in stores that looked like Cliffjumper, heh...

https://geekslifeluxembourg.wordpress.com/2015/09/24/fans-project-classics-cliffjumper-upgrade-set/

https://tfsource.com/products/view/product_id/723/

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