The Energon Pub

[-Kanrabat-]

I think there's enough Jazz around to warrant a solid Top Five list.

That could be interesting. I wonder if Takara's RID would have a shot at it. What are your top 5?

All universes and toys combined?

#5) G1 Jazz. Pretty ahead of it's time, the transformation is fairly complex and he just look amazing in all modes.

#4) RTS Jazz. It have been the "Definitive Jazz" in deluxe scale for a long time. It's flawed, yes, but it's still full of play features and have a solid bot mode.

#3) Animated Jazz. This is a fantastic update on the classic design. Cool, bold, and just amazing. Plus his altmode is a cartoony "Porsche" so it's near perfection.

#2) MPM Jazz. For a long time, the very good HFTD HA Jazz was a "MP" Jazz by default. But then, the MPM came out and made that previous great mold completely irrelevant. Screen accurate to a ridiculous degree, this is a marvel of engineering that is a great achievement.

#1) SS '86 Jazz. At deluxe scale, for a deluxe price, we got a literal "Mini Masterpiece." The paintwork is perfect, the bot is pretty toon accurate, the backpack is practically nonexistent, the car is close enough to the Porsche original, plus the transformation is intuitive and easy. I honestly think that if Takara bother to finally make a MP G1 Jazz, it will still have a hard time to top this perfect toy.

Honorable mention: SS '07 Jazz. This one have also marvelous engineering, but it's ridiculously small and he have a still heavy backpack. But if the MPM didn't exist, he would have been ranked at #2 in it's place.

[sol magnus]

He could have something to say, but no one would be listening.

Having owned both figures, I don'r see how it's even debatable but I guess we can debate it.

What about SS86 Jazz is better in your opinion?

Well for starters, he stands without effort.

But in terms of articulation he's superior, in terms of accuracy to the show (which I hold separately) he's superior. His head sculpt is better, the gun is better (more accurate to the G1 toy AND the show, the car mode looks passibly like a Porsche, and he's less likely to get loose based on posing due to superior engineering.

The emotional part (screen accuracy) that's 'superior' is SS86 Jazz captures the essence of what I think of when I think of Jazz.

You had trouble getting RTS Jazz to stand? I've never heard of/experienced that before. Interesting.

I understand the accuracy value 100%. For me, door wings wings have always been something I think of when I think of G1 Jazz, which is part of why I like the overall look of the RTS mold more. I also prefer RTS's headsculpt, as I think the sculpting looks a bit "crisper", but that's just me.

I don't really get your points about articulation and superior engineering; they have similar levels of articulation and they both almost universally use the same type of joints.

RTS Jazz has that weird spring/foot set up. It's been a while since I've had him.

I don't mean to rag on RTS Jazz, as he's a great MODERN take on Jazz. I can go either way on the door wings, but when I had the choice (Downbeat), I went with no door wings. But the image that has the most lasting impression for me is that old Martini Porsche version.

[chuckdawg1999]

the two best deluxe Jazz ever (from their respective universes) side by side.

I think RTS Jazz might have something to say about that.

The torso doesn't lock into place, other than that I'd agree 100% although I'd still go with the new SS86 figure.

[D-Maximal_Primal]

Couple comments:

Finished painting Skipjack! Had a lot of fun doing it.

Very well done! That is a great looking paint job!

the two best deluxe Jazz ever (from their respective universes) side by side.

I think RTS Jazz might have something to say about that.

As someone who owns both molds, I think the SS86 figure is far superior to the RTS Jazz mold. everything on SS tabs in tightly, it holds, the torso won't flop apart by playing with it, he has ankle tilts and a better head, and I find the car mode more sleek and enjoyable. the only thing I can see the RTS mold having for it is it's larger.

I think there's enough Jazz around to warrant a solid Top Five list.

That could be interesting. I wonder if Takara's RID would have a shot at it. What are your top 5?

My personal contribution:

5) FOC Jazz (I still love the little guy OK?)
4) SS86 Jazz
3) MPM Jazz
2) Animated Jazz
1) SS Movie Jazz

[EvasionModeBumblebee]

Couple comments:
Very well done! That is a great looking paint job!


5) FOC Jazz (I still love the little guy OK?)
4) SS86 Jazz
3) MPM Jazz
2) Animated Jazz
1) SS Movie Jazz

Thank you!

SS Jazz is a figure I haven't taken a look at in a while, he's hiding somewhere in the depths of all my Studio Series boxes. I'll probably go looking for him later today.

[D-Maximal_Primal]

Couple comments:
Very well done! That is a great looking paint job!


5) FOC Jazz (I still love the little guy OK?)
4) SS86 Jazz
3) MPM Jazz
2) Animated Jazz
1) SS Movie Jazz

Thank you!

SS Jazz is a figure I haven't taken a look at in a while, he's hiding somewhere in the depths of all my Studio Series boxes. I'll probably go looking for him later today.

The bayverse Jazz is one of my absolute favorite designs, and his SS toy is so much fun. It is one of only 2 toys have has ever flown with me, and the only one to ever have pictures taken in more than 2 states, looking out a plane window, and at Daytona

[Sabrblade]

And to top off Movie Jazz's coolness, they got Darius McCrary to voice him for a criminally short time. That man deserves another chance at voicing Jazz, movie or otherwise. And maybe not so heavily modulated since his natural voice is already so cool.

Funnily enough, McCrary was once considered to succeed Scatman Crothers in voicing Scat Cat in a direct-to-DVD sequel to Disney's The AristoCats that never came to be. I wouldn't mind him taking a stab succeeding Scatman in voicing a G1-based Jazz, either.

[D-Maximal_Primal]

And to top off Movie Jazz's coolness, they got Darius McCrary to voice him for a criminally short time. That man deserves another chance at voicing Jazz, movie or otherwise. And maybe not so heavily modulated since his natural voice is already so cool.

Funnily enough, McCrary was once considered to succeed Scatman Crothers in voicing Scat Cat in a direct-to-DVD sequel to Disney's The AristoCats that never came to be. I wouldn't mind him taking a stab succeeding Scatman in voicing a G1-based Jazz, either.

As someone who, growing up, loved Aristocats and still considers it one of the best animated films he's ever seen, I had no idea G1 Jazz and Scat Cat shared a voice actor. Damn. That makes G1 Jazz cooler in my book!

And I agree on Darius McCrary. I want more movie Jazz with that voice. Maybe a sequel to Bumblebee will still include Jazz and allow McCrary to return

[Sabrblade]

And to top off Movie Jazz's coolness, they got Darius McCrary to voice him for a criminally short time. That man deserves another chance at voicing Jazz, movie or otherwise. And maybe not so heavily modulated since his natural voice is already so cool.

Funnily enough, McCrary was once considered to succeed Scatman Crothers in voicing Scat Cat in a direct-to-DVD sequel to Disney's The AristoCats that never came to be. I wouldn't mind him taking a stab succeeding Scatman in voicing a G1-based Jazz, either.

As someone who, growing up, loved Aristocats and still considers it one of the best animated films he's ever seen, I had no idea G1 Jazz and Scat Cat shared a voice actor. Damn. That makes G1 Jazz cooler in my book!

Yep. Scat Cat was named after Scatman. He was originally named "Satchmo Cat" and was to have been played by Louis Armstrong. But when Armstrong became ill and couldn't do it, the character was given to Scatman and renamed in his honor.

[william-james88]

I'll say one thing about movie Jazz, of all the Movie bots, he feels the most like an actual movie verse version of a G1 character rather than a G1 name given to someone. Both in terms of character and design.

[-Kanrabat-]

I'll say one thing about movie Jazz, of all the Movie bots, he feels the most like an actual movie verse version of a G1 character rather than a G1 name given to someone. Both in terms of character and design.

True that.

Appart Optimus Prime, put a picture of '07 Bay Jazz and he's instantly recognizable as Jazz.

[william-james88]

And to top off Movie Jazz's coolness, they got Darius McCrary to voice him for a criminally short time. That man deserves another chance at voicing Jazz, movie or otherwise. And maybe not so heavily modulated since his natural voice is already so cool.

Funnily enough, McCrary was once considered to succeed Scatman Crothers in voicing Scat Cat in a direct-to-DVD sequel to Disney's The AristoCats that never came to be.

That's funny but not as funny as his best friend, Waldo!

[Sabrblade]

And to top off Movie Jazz's coolness, they got Darius McCrary to voice him for a criminally short time. That man deserves another chance at voicing Jazz, movie or otherwise. And maybe not so heavily modulated since his natural voice is already so cool.

Funnily enough, McCrary was once considered to succeed Scatman Crothers in voicing Scat Cat in a direct-to-DVD sequel to Disney's The AristoCats that never came to be.

That's funny but not as funny as his best friend, Waldo!

'Sup!

[chuckdawg1999]

Is the blast effect on SS86 Scourge naturally curved or is it warped out of the package? Also, is the left hand molded slightly turned inward?

[sol magnus]

Is the blast effect on SS86 Scourge naturally curved or is it warped out of the package? Also, is the left hand molded slightly turned inward?

My three are straight. His hands twist at the wrist (IIRC).

[Jelze Bunnycat]

Is the blast effect on SS86 Scourge naturally curved or is it warped out of the package? Also, is the left hand molded slightly turned inward?

My three are straight. His hands twist at the wrist (IIRC).

They do, but the joint is very tight. If there's trouble you can loosen the screw just below the cuff.

[EvasionModeBumblebee]

I found him! Very bottom of the farthest corner of the box.

I threw Bee in there too since he was also on my desk!

Jazz is pretty good, very poseable and I like that he’s balanced enough to stand even without the heel spurs. The rotating grill piece doesn’t tab in for robot mode though on mine, unfortunately.

Very glad to have a Jazz figure now, though. I couldn’t find the 07 deluxe in stores!

[-Kanrabat-]

I found him! Very bottom of the farthest corner of the box.

4D669BA5-8D69-4AC4-8578-E940747B7A2C.jpeg

I threw Bee in there too since he was also on my desk!

Jazz is pretty good, very poseable and I like that he’s balanced enough to stand even without the heel spurs. The rotating grill piece doesn’t tab in for robot mode though on mine, unfortunately.

Very glad to have a Jazz figure now, though. I couldn’t find the 07 deluxe in stores!

The rotating grill for jazz is not made to tab anywhere. It's spring loaded so it hold on it's own.

[EvasionModeBumblebee]

I found him! Very bottom of the farthest corner of the box.

The attachment 4D669BA5-8D69-4AC4-8578-E940747B7A2C.jpeg is no longer available

I threw Bee in there too since he was also on my desk!

Jazz is pretty good, very poseable and I like that he’s balanced enough to stand even without the heel spurs. The rotating grill piece doesn’t tab in for robot mode though on mine, unfortunately.

Very glad to have a Jazz figure now, though. I couldn’t find the 07 deluxe in stores!

The rotating grill for jazz is not made to tab anywhere. It's spring loaded so it hold on it's own.

Ah, I was wondering about that. I tried looking for a tab but didn’t see one, I was wondering if it had snapped off or something.

Mine doesn’t have the spring then, you can see if I hold the figure like this the piece just hangs loosely. It’s not a big issue, but it’s a little annoying.

[ThunderThruster]

Got Shatter(Jet) over the weekend, and I have to say she has a lovely altmode, and an interesting transformation (had to reference the instructions for the back pack).

[D-Maximal_Primal]

Is the blast effect on SS86 Scourge naturally curved or is it warped out of the package? Also, is the left hand molded slightly turned inward?

My three are straight. His hands twist at the wrist (IIRC).

They do, but the joint is very tight. If there's trouble you can loosen the screw just below the cuff.

I shaved the joint down on mine and it works a lot better, looks like some QC issues with the molding of that mushroom peg

I found him! Very bottom of the farthest corner of the box.

4D669BA5-8D69-4AC4-8578-E940747B7A2C.jpeg

I threw Bee in there too since he was also on my desk!

Jazz is pretty good, very poseable and I like that he’s balanced enough to stand even without the heel spurs. The rotating grill piece doesn’t tab in for robot mode though on mine, unfortunately.

Very glad to have a Jazz figure now, though. I couldn’t find the 07 deluxe in stores!

Awesome! I still need to attach my SS upgrade kits, 2 weeks after getting them

[chuckdawg1999]

Is the blast effect on SS86 Scourge naturally curved or is it warped out of the package? Also, is the left hand molded slightly turned inward?

My three are straight. His hands twist at the wrist (IIRC).

They do, but the joint is very tight. If there's trouble you can loosen the screw just below the cuff.

I shaved the joint down on mine and it works a lot better, looks like some QC issues with the molding of that mushroom peg

I found him! Very bottom of the farthest corner of the box.

4D669BA5-8D69-4AC4-8578-E940747B7A2C.jpeg

I threw Bee in there too since he was also on my desk!

Jazz is pretty good, very poseable and I like that he’s balanced enough to stand even without the heel spurs. The rotating grill piece doesn’t tab in for robot mode though on mine, unfortunately.

Very glad to have a Jazz figure now, though. I couldn’t find the 07 deluxe in stores!

Awesome! I still need to attach my SS upgrade kits, 2 weeks after getting them

I got the hands to turn but they're very tight. The left hand is very hard to do because it's molded open and the finger tips poke your hands. I had to use the gun to rotate it.

[D-Maximal_Primal]

I got the hands to turn but they're very tight. The left hand is very hard to do because it's molded open and the finger tips poke your hands. I had to use the gun to rotate it.

DONT!!!!

You take that arm apart and shave that mushroom peg right now, don't even try to rotate it again.

What you just described, I have WATCHED people doing videos with Scourge break their Scourge's left fingers doing.

[Jeddostotle7]

I got the hands to turn but they're very tight. The left hand is very hard to do because it's molded open and the finger tips poke your hands. I had to use the gun to rotate it.

DONT!!!!

You take that arm apart and shave that mushroom peg right now, don't even try to rotate it again.

What you just described, I have WATCHED people doing videos with Scourge break their Scourge's left fingers doing.

Yep, I almost broke his thumb doing that. Fortunately managed to realize what was happening before it became too loose or broke, and shaved down the peg.

[chuckdawg1999]

I got the hands to turn but they're very tight. The left hand is very hard to do because it's molded open and the finger tips poke your hands. I had to use the gun to rotate it.

DONT!!!!

You take that arm apart and shave that mushroom peg right now, don't even try to rotate it again.

What you just described, I have WATCHED people doing videos with Scourge break their Scourge's left fingers doing.

I don't take my figures apart, that's the job of the people who make them. I have the hand the way I need it for transformation and I'm never touching it again.