The Energon Pub

I just received leader class ROTF jetfire as a gift. guess i need get ROTF prime when i can afford it. now examining this figure, i see why honestly? it's not that great all things considered. they sacrificed too much in the combination gimmick, so he turns into basically a robot with SR-71 parts stuck on him, or an SR-71 with a robot hanging off it, hell he has parts that have no use whatsoever until combined with prime. in robot mode he falls over too easy, but when i consider how jetfire would fall over the same way in the movie i'm kewl with that. when i first took him out of the package, i honestly wasn't that impressed. then i started to transform him and started to actually like him a little. i liked the simplicity of his transformation. if you know anything about TF's, you can turn him from robot to SR-71 mode without ever looking at the directions. i started to notice one more thing too. HE'S HUGE. correct me if i'm wrong, he seems to be the largest jetformer ever produced. i finished transforming him, i set him down on the counter and looked at him.




I can't help it. Ever since i was a child i've had a thing for SR-71 Blackbirds. I can't help myself, i just keep staring at him. he's huge, he's black and sleek (ignoring the underside.) The skunkworks insignias and scratched off decepticon symbols... GAH! Don't get me wrong, he's not perfect. I'd love to see a version that skips the combination gimmick to make him look more like his movie self with less kibble, but for now, he's all i have and... what can i say, i love him!

It would have been better (and more movie accurate) if combination had involved taking him apart and fitting him around Prime. They make so many figures with bits that fall off (like Jetfire's balljointed flaps behind his head, damned things) rather than break off so it wouldn't be far removed if they'd done that.

I'm glad you like him so much. I wasn't very impressed (although I like him) so I spent HOURS stiffening the knees and increasing their range of motion so now he stands a couple of inches taller and looks more fearsome. I also gave him a ball joint neck so he can look further to the side and down,and his head stay there! Also, it doesn't do that stupid wobble when he speaks. What a dumb gimmick.

Yes, his jet mode is HUGE and very impressive. Unless you're looking from the side you can't really see the robot parts that much so it doesn't bother me anywhere near as much as I expected.

I'm a fan of Leader Jetfire. It's not a perfect representation of the CG model by any means but I think it's a good effort considering that the CG model is extremely complex with many sectional components that compartmentalize in alt and bot modes. They basically shift around and "hide" thanks to what is possible in CG design.

A modular Jetfire would be cool but my main concern is the decrease of structural stability when it's in bot and alt modes. It's already iffy at times in alt mode with all the panels that need to be in place.

Mykltron wrote:I wasn't very impressed (although I like him) so I spent HOURS stiffening the knees and increasing their range of motion so now he stands a couple of inches taller and looks more fearsome. I also gave him a ball joint neck so he can look further to the side and down,and his head stay there!

Can we see pics please?

Jes, pics please.

I heart this guy too, he's large an in charge! I took off the combiner parts, like the gray brackets and the straps. Cleans up both modes.

Haha, nice descriptions, you make me want to get him now.

I really, really like him, flaws and all. The combination is a large part of his fun factor. Sure, the combo is a giant brick, but it is one awesome heavy butt-kicking giant brick (G1 Ultra Magnus knows what I'm talkin' about!).

Giant Purple Griffin wrote:I really, really like him, flaws and all. The combination is a large part of his fun factor. Sure, the combo is a giant brick, but it is one awesome heavy butt-kicking giant brick (G1 Ultra Magnus knows what I'm talkin' about!).

Have you tried the alternative configs? He's really quite poseable.

Yes, guys, I hear your cries - I'll post pics or my mods later.

Yea Really awesome figure, why do Takara keep doing awesome repaints? The new Jetfire repaints really kicks ass, I wished I had that color version.. but still combined with Prime it looks really awesome so does his ALT mode without the bottom of course. I don't really like the robot mode because he is not really recongnizable, my cousin who watched the movie 4 times couldn't recongnize Jetfire in his robot form but when I transformed to his alt mode she instantly recongnize him.. so maybe they should made him more accurate but still no complaints!! Really awesome figure!

Here we are, the pics of my mods. You'll need to right click and select view image to see both figures. I forgot to mention that I also separated his fingers.



Prime: "Look me in the eye and say that"
Jetfire: "I can't see higher than your nipples..."

Mykltron wrote:Here we are, the pics of my mods. You'll need to right click and select view image to see both figures. I forgot to mention that I also separated his fingers.

How did you stiffen the knees?

he's huge, he's black and sleek

You pretty much described me in one sentence. You also made want to go out and purchase this figure as soon as i can afford it.

mick1122 wrote:

Mykltron wrote:Here we are, the pics of my mods. You'll need to right click and select view image to see both figures. I forgot to mention that I also separated his fingers.

How did you stiffen the knees?

Sorry, I forgot to answer. I inserted little bits of paper in the knee joint and tightened the screw as much as possible. Unfortunately it doesn't make a huge difference. It's a very poorly devised joint. I suppose you could add a stronger spring to the ratchet or put something in to squash the spring so it's more powerful.