The Energon Pub

Well, I finally found him (unfortunately the only one too. ) and all in all, I'm impressed, though I've a few crits.

Pros:

Nice transformation, feels like he stepped right out of the film with it.

Great overall look, in both vehicle and robot modes.

Considering how stocky he is, articulation is better than you'd expect.

Cons:

No weapon storage (this really, really irks me.)

Forearms aren't sturdy (...they're just folded panels, literally.)

I'm gonna jump right to the weapon issue....
It sucks. Sucks like an Oreck, Hoover, and Dyson put together. He has no weapon storage (like Bumblebee's missile launcher/tailpipes, or Ratchet's roof rack/capture claw) and it looks really stupid mounting the gun to his spoiler in vehicle mode. Plus when you look at the gun, he has a set of notches on the top of the gun that make it look like it snaps in somewhere...(and it does, just not where you'd expect.) so you're all excited, and then you see it doesn't attach to the vehicle.

In robot mode, where the shield pops off from the roof, is where you snap the gun in for storage in robot mode. (Problem is, why would you attach your weapon to your shield? Wouldn't you be using it? Who designed this? Seriously?!)

The instructions also do not show you this at all...

Now, about Jazz himself...I wouldn't call him perfect, but excellent comes to mind. I can forgive the arms (even though the fact they're just panels folded over one another...) but other than that, surprisingly he's one sturdy mofo.

Lots of excellent detail on this guy as well...I'm truly impressed that they could show this kind of detail on a Deluxe Class figure.

His poseability certainly isn't going to win awards anytime soon, but considering his construction...it's quite impressive.

The pictures just don't do him justice...at all. You have to actually experience him to fully understand his coolness factor.

His Automorph gimmick involves his head and chest. When you fold down the windshield, his head (which is attached to a spring loaded plate) automatically moves upward, and during this, another mechanism forces the nose of the car forward, and folds the turn signals in a bit. (it's so neat watching it do that, it really is like you're holding a piece of animation in your hands...)

His eyes are lightpiped, and they actually work. A little too well because it's so clear, it actually makes his head seem a bit hollow...I think a darker colored plastic would've worked better in this department.

I can't wait for the other Deluxes, and I'm sure they'll be just as good, if not better in some instances, and they're yet another great part of this increasingly cool line.

I definitely and highly recommend Jazz, and say he'll be a favorite in collections. (Not all will feel that way of course, but he's one of the better ones out there.)

B+ 3.5 out of 5 stars. (Those arms, and that damned gun were enough knock down the rating.)