by Autobot032 » Wed Aug 08, 2012 8:20 am
- Weapon: Switch Blade Tail
Copy paste from another board I posted this on...
Received the Jet Vehicon yesterday. My troop building (which I never, ever do) is complete. 1x First Edition, 1x PRID, 1x Jet Vehicon. I have one of each mold and I'm fine with just that. Now, onto the figure itself.
The vehicle mode... S'okay. It is what it is, a flying car. A cool looking, James Bond-ish, flying car.
The robot mode...eh. Take the wings out of the equation for a minute and you can see that he's still significantly bulkier and there is a size difference between the figures. Throw the wings back in the mix and he's just BIG. His posability is hampered by the trunk lid, it doesn't fold down like the Vehicon's does. It lays flat back across the wing assembly. His shoulders hit the wings all the time and that becomes annoying. If you fold the wings all the way back, to allow for clearance, he's top heavy and falls over. The leg fenders are obnoxious. There's no really good looking way to place them, they're kind of an eyesore, depending on orientation. The arms do have better ball joints, however. The elbows are nice and sturdy. (Which is necessary, because his Micron is just a weighty little bugger.) The pinkish purple paint doesn't bother me, color wise, but it is vibrant. I mean, he really stands out in the crowd. The F.E. Vehicon is a navy blue with dark purple and bits of black here and there, while the PRID Vehicon is black with slightly lighter blue paint apps, and then you have ol' Jet boy and he's just like day glo colored compared to the other two. Wow. The wing placement, depending on how you like it, he looks like a robotic butterfly. =\
Transformation...it's a bitch. The legs form the body shell, just like on the PRID Vehicon, leg fenders swing into place, arms swing in to form the doors and quarter panels, etc. However, due to the figure being covered in stickers, plus the new mold has the tabs and slots in slightly different places, well...ARGH! You open him back up to find that the Decepticon chest sticker has been chewed up by the panels. So, I flattened it out and brushed a thin layer of nail polish clear coat over it, to seal it to the plastic. But the tabs and slots snap together so hard, with a gut-wrenching crunch...No way to avoid it, either. The wings themselves are easy, just untab, then flip. But, they get in the way of everything else. Annoying.
Micron...impressive. This was a much easier build than Breakdown's rhinohammer. It also turns into a fun little animal. (The rhino's not bad but this iguana? Top notch.) Stickers hold well, makes him stand out.
Final verdict: This is such a drastic change from the PRID Vehicon, that it's technically a brand new, unique mold. Changes: the wings (obviously), the fenders, the back (it's completely redesigned to accommodate the wing assembly.) the arms transform the same as PRID, but they're a unique design from end to end. Even the trunk lid that covers his head is molded differently. The Micron ports on this guy are ridiculous. (14!) This is no mere shell or reshell, this is a figure made from completely brand new molds, the only thing that ties it to the original PRID Vehicon would be the head, chest/abdomen, hips and shins. (The back of the leg is all new tooling, as well.)
If you don't own a F.E., or PRID Vehicon, and want A Vehicon figure? Okay.
If you own either one and you're looking at this guy? Eh, maybe.
If you want to troop build? A must.
If you're a hardcore collector? A must.
If you just have money burning a hole in your pocket? No.
Unless you have to have him, I wouldn't go out of my way to go out of debt to buy this guy.
If you have the PRID Vehicon, you've pretty much gotten the best version you could.
I don't have buyer's remorse, and I don't regret the purchase, I don't even hate the figure, but I can't out right recommend him. He's by no means bad, but he's not a necessity.
NOTE: Realize that I am not a perfect Christian, nor do I profess to be. I apologize if anyone's ever offended by me, I'm not perfect. Don't hold my posts and opinions against other Christians.