The Energon Pub

[no-one]

You mentioned the T30 Jetfire as having Chromed guns as a good thing, its funny to me, so many people actually preferred the Takara because it didn't have the chrome that flaked off so easily

I'm still seriously considering de-chroming mine then painting them red and black to match Tak's. In the meantime he stole all the weapons from CW leader Thundercracker.

[Flashwave]

There is a whole lot of fückery going on here.

My top five.

5


4


3


2


1



In all seriousness, I prefer T30 over Siege (I'm a toy accuracy guy, sue me). They both have different pros and cons. They both seem too simple for their size and neither does a good job of hiding all the robit parts. I feel the T30 is about as sleek as you can get at that price point and Siege has that big blocky G1 space jet thing going on.

Ultimately I feel like we're comparing apples and oranges. T30 looks more like Jetfire to me (which is to say he looks like a toy from the Macross line) and fits on my Neo G1 shelf. Siege has that toon thing going on and is hanging with the MPs. I think the part of the problem for me is that we still don't have a definitive Jetfire yet.

Honestly, I think its deeper than that: we have no definition of Jetfire yet. On one hand, you have a big, niave scientist, and on the other hand you have an Autobot Air Warrior. Two different bios and two different character designs. So for me, Classics Jetfire is palling around with CW+LG Computro. A la Stormbringer while Siege Skyfire is the bot who froze on Earth and was found by the Autobots.

So I take it no one liked the Animated Jetfire then? As I see no mention of it in two pages, so far.

One of my twins broke within a year of having them... Soo

[-Kanrabat-]

G1 being #1 is PERFECT.

The G1 original was pretty damn advanced for the time. Plus I'm pretty sure that if he'd be produced today as a regular release, he would be a 200$+ toy at the bare minimum, with all those parts and diecast. He was also fairly articulated.

The modern Maccross line reflect that philosophy pretty well.

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

Oh, I don't think he'd be a $200 toy. He probably also wouldn't have die-cast, since that's not a cost-saver anymore.

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

Great list! I'm happy to see a top 5 of Jetfire! The only changes I'd make are switching 3 and 5, because IMO T30 was much better toy. I'd also give an honourable mention to Titanium Jetfire, as he was a cool, unique take on the character

It's one of the better Titanium toys, I'll grant it that.

As for me? I'd replace Studio Series Jetfire with Classics 2006 Jetfire. I really love that toy and think it still holds up well.

[Tuned Agent]

So I take it no one liked the Animated Jetfire then? As I see no mention of it in two pages, so far.

He's pretty ok, but the clear plastic used in his and his twin's construction brings it down a bit.

I'm happy Energon Skyblast and RiD 2001 Skyfire got mentioned in the thread, I'm even embarrassed to have forgotten about RiD 2001 Storm Jet.

Animated Jetfire is a fun figure, but I don't know that he would replace any of the figures on this list. He's worth an honorable mention, though. Thankfully, I've never had any problems with the clear plastic, though I have wondered who thought that was a good idea.

[Flashwave]

A lot of Siege toys seem too large for my collection and preferences. Jetfire is as large as a combiner! I know he was that large in the G1 cartoon, but I've never really liked how the cartoon sizes things. I like how 30th Jetfire (and YotS Omega Supreme for that matter) are sized relative to others TFs.

And now, to be a total hypocrite....


This guy will forever by my Decepticon Jetfire. Not because he scales well. I just think the colours are fantastic. I also like the mould even if it's really showing it's age these days.

Now that, Perhaps as a Redeco for the SIEGE figure, could be Skyfire.

Is Jetfire's overall lack of prominence exclusively due to the whole Macross likeness thing?

I forgot about that schmexy beast

[steve2275]

LOVE 1 2 5
3 and 4 YUCK

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

What's your beef with #3?

I do have to once again question #4's presence on this list, though. I love ROTF Jetfire, but I don't think either of his mainline toys is quite Top 5 list material.

[thesiege_2005]

Nice list. As a longtime fan of Jetfire, I agree with most of it, especially with G1 being #1.

But I agree with others that the Classics toy is better than Thrilling 30. I was excited about Thrilling 30 when I first saw the pics, as I was thinking at the time it was as close to a G1 cartoon accurate Skyfire we would ever get from Hasbro. (Man did Siege prove me wrong.) Also when I got Thrilling 30 in hand it just felt... well... cheap. Despite being much bigger it actually weighs about as much as Classics and the hollowness is very apparent. Classics is more fun to transform too and the front nose of the jet retracting up on the chest is inspired design.

I'm actually thinking of selling my Thrilling 30 one. Between G1, Siege and Classics I think I've got all the bases covered and Thrilling 30 is just taking up valuable shelf space.

One Jetfire figure I would give an honorable mention to is this one:

I know the character name isn't Jetfire, but come on, that's totally Jetfire. And the G2 Cyberjets were pretty rad back in the day. I bought a TON of them in the 90's on super clearance and they're great for their size and age IMO. (I even swapped parts with a Hooligan and made my own custom G2 Jetfire with red instead of teal blue parts.)

[Evil Eye]

Nice list. As a longtime fan of Jetfire, I agree with most of it, especially with G1 being #1.

But I agree with others that the Classics toy is better than Thrilling 30. I was excited about Thrilling 30 when I first saw the pics, as I was thinking at the time it was as close to a G1 cartoon accurate Skyfire we would ever get from Hasbro. (Man did Siege prove me wrong.) Also when I got Thrilling 30 in hand it just felt... well... cheap. Despite being much bigger it actually weighs about as much as Classics and the hollowness is very apparent. Classics is more fun to transform too and the front nose of the jet retracting up on the chest is inspired design.

I'm actually thinking of selling my Thrilling 30 one. Between G1, Siege and Classics I think I've got all the bases covered and Thrilling 30 is just taking up valuable shelf space.

One Jetfire figure I would give an honorable mention to is this one:

RM-toy_RBlade.jpg

I know the character name isn't Jetfire, but come on, that's totally Jetfire. And the G2 Cyberjets were pretty rad back in the day. I bought a TON of them in the 90's on super clearance and they're great for their size and age IMO. (I even swapped parts with a Hooligan and made my own custom G2 Jetfire with red instead of teal blue parts.)

You can't go wrong with a Cyberjet. Man, I need to get one of those at some point...

[Rainmaker]

What's your beef with #3?

I do have to once again question #4's presence on this list, though. I love ROTF Jetfire, but I don't think either of his mainline toys is quite Top 5 list material.

He probably doesn't like 3 (let alone 4) because they're not G1

[-Kanrabat-]

(About a modern release of G1 Jetfire) Oh, I don't think he'd be a $200 toy. He probably also wouldn't have die-cast, since that's not a cost-saver anymore.

Oh, he would definitely be. First, he'd retain all the diecast because I was talking about that exact toy, unmodified with the armor and everything in the big box.
Walmart's G1 Devastator was nearly 100$. Currently, Astrotrain is 70$. A modern Macross figure of the same size class as G1 Jetfire is now worth 300$ or even 500$.

So, yeah, I have to admit that I was wrong. If G1 Jetfire would be rereleased today, he would be 300$ at the bare minimum, not 200$.

I'm talking about Canadian dollars. For US conversion, just remove 20% from the amounts above.

[william-james88]

Nice list! Jetfire has so many good toys, and these are really the cream of the crop. Knowing how much you love G1 Jetfire, WJ88 (having read your praises in other threads), I'm not at all surprised to see him at #1. I'm glad to see T30 Jetfire ultimately made the list as well.

I'd like to give an honorable mention to my boy Animated Jetfire. Probably not top 5 worthy, but he's a fun figure and his ability to combine with Jetstorm was cool (when it held together).

Thanks for the kind words. And yeah, people who read these lists had a pretty good idea of what number 1 would be. But reading the comments here and elsewhere online it seems I'm not the only one to feel this way.

So I take it no one liked the Animated Jetfire then? As I see no mention of it in two pages, so far.

See what I quoted above.

I own T30 and Siege and I like T30 better, but I also like Siege just fine. To me they are both good toys in different ways.

Yes, that's why I put both on this list, and both in favor of the classics toy. It's a good toy but it's dated and it feels a tad obsolete, as most classics toys feel. I did keep the threadbolt redeco though, I like having that mold in my collection, it's just not top 5 in my book.

Honestly, I am disappointed the original Classics Jetfire is not on that list. I would have ranked it over any of the UT figures. Its not a perfect representation, but it is a fantastically fun toy.

You mentioned the T30 Jetfire as having Chromed guns as a good thing, its funny to me, so many people actually preferred the Takara because it didn't have the chrome that flaked off so easily

What's funny to me is that all along, Takara was releasing their figures with chromed weapons and parts and US fans were paying a premium to import them. But when Hasbro was the one to do chromed weapons and not Takara, chrome became uncool all of a sudden and the really cool thing was paying extra to import a version that didn't have chrome. This was all hilarious to me.

Honestly, I think its deeper than that: we have no definition of Jetfire yet.

Yes, hence why I find it equally hilarious for people to talk as if some are not really Jetfire. There is no true Jetfire, the whole point of that character in TF history is the lack of consistency in rendition. The G1 toy and G1 show character looked very different and inspired different ideas of the character, ideas that these young fans then kept in their heads till now. So there can be no such thing as a perfect Jetfire representation and I love that about him. Hence why I wanted to make this list as diverse as possible and show the good toys he's had representing his different incarnations.

G Plus I'm pretty sure that if he'd be produced today as a regular release, he would be a 200$+ toy at the bare minimum, with all those parts and diecast. He was also fairly articulated.

I see this being a debate, it doesnt need to be, we have the actual facts. The latest reissue of the exact toy (in its original Robotech deco) was sold for $180 USD.

What's your beef with #3?

It's not "G1"

[-Kanrabat-]

So my first estimate was pretty damn close!

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

I own T30 and Siege and I like T30 better, but I also like Siege just fine. To me they are both good toys in different ways.

Yes, that's why I put both on this list, and both in favor of the classics toy. It's a good toy but it's dated and it feels a tad obsolete, as most classics toys feel. I did keep the threadbolt redeco though, I like having that mold in my collection, it's just not top 5 in my book.

I dunno, I think Jetfire is one of the least obsolete Classics molds. His hybrid design looks cool and transforms well, and he has great play features. And his helmet beats the pants off the face masks of the T30 and SIEGE toys - his has movable antenna lasers that work as cannons in vehicle mode, just like how the original toy's head worked as a turret. ...Come to think of it, he probably does the Gerwalk mode better than the other two as well.

Honestly, I am disappointed the original Classics Jetfire is not on that list. I would have ranked it over any of the UT figures. Its not a perfect representation, but it is a fantastically fun toy.

You mentioned the T30 Jetfire as having Chromed guns as a good thing, its funny to me, so many people actually preferred the Takara because it didn't have the chrome that flaked off so easily

What's funny to me is that all along, Takara was releasing their figures with chromed weapons and parts and US fans were paying a premium to import them. But when Hasbro was the one to do chromed weapons and not Takara, chrome became uncool all of a sudden and the really cool thing was paying extra to import a version that didn't have chrome. This was all hilarious to me.

In fairness, A. Several of the Henkei versions had more appeal factor than just the chrome (More cartoon-accurate decoes, being more available than the US version, accessories that the US version lacked) and B. The chrome on the Henkei versions is generally less of an eyesore than T30 Jetfire's chrome. That much unbroken chrome red is not exactly easy on the eyes, and in Jetfire's case it ends up clashing horribly with the stark white.

Honestly, I think its deeper than that: we have no definition of Jetfire yet.

Yes, hence why I find it equally hilarious for people to talk as if some are not really Jetfire. There is no true Jetfire, the whole point of that character in TF history is the lack of consistency in rendition. The G1 toy and G1 show character looked very different and inspired different ideas of the character, ideas that these young fans then kept in their heads till now. So there can be no such thing as a perfect Jetfire representation and I love that about him. Hence why I wanted to make this list as diverse as possible and show the good toys he's had representing his different incarnations.

Honestly, if every new TF franchise's version of every character was a basically-identical transplant from G1 it would undercut the idea of the new franchises being their own reinventions. There are certain characters with essential core qualities (Chiefly, Optimus and Megatron), and certain archetypes, but...

G Plus I'm pretty sure that if he'd be produced today as a regular release, he would be a 200$+ toy at the bare minimum, with all those parts and diecast. He was also fairly articulated.

I see this being a debate, it doesnt need to be, we have the actual facts. The latest reissue of the exact toy (in its original Robotech deco) was sold for $180 USD.

I had thought Kanrabat was talking about if the Takatoku Valkyrie toy were to be invented in the present day. My fault for misunderstanding.

Pretty sure the G1 Jetfire toy's deco is a Macross/Robotech deco too. And in fact, I strongly suspect that at least the initial Jetfire batches were repackaged Macross leftovers.

[Jelze Bunnycat]

Pretty sure the G1 Jetfire toy's deco is a Macross/Robotech deco too. And in fact, I strongly suspect that at least the initial Jetfire batches were repackaged Macross leftovers.

After a quick Google search, Cockpit aside, the Jetfire deco resembles the Hikaru Ichijyo variant (each pilot had his own color variant).

[Emerje]

Honestly, I think its deeper than that: we have no definition of Jetfire yet. On one hand, you have a big, niave scientist, and on the other hand you have an Autobot Air Warrior. Two different bios and two different character designs. So for me, Classics Jetfire is palling around with CW+LG Computro. A la Stormbringer while Siege Skyfire is the bot who froze on Earth and was found by the Autobots.

Must be really embarrassing if they both show up to a party wearing the same thing. Especially if someone invites this guy:



Anyway, my list is pretty close to Will's, but I'd replace Cybertron Jetfire with Armada Jetfire (I like his bulky astronaut bot mode with the puffy hands and rocket gun that does a countdown when you stuff him in a box full of toys and forget about it until you move the box and it starts yelling at you. Moving is fun!) and replace SS Jetfire with Classics Jetfire (because it's a good figure with a clever cockpit transformation and Stormbringer was way better than Revenge of the Fallen).

Emerje

[Flashwave]

Honestly, I think its deeper than that: we have no definition of Jetfire yet. On one hand, you have a big, niave scientist, and on the other hand you have an Autobot Air Warrior. Two different bios and two different character designs. So for me, Classics Jetfire is palling around with CW+LG Computro. A la Stormbringer while Siege Skyfire is the bot who froze on Earth and was found by the Autobots.

Must be really embarrassing if they both show up to a party wearing the same thing. Especially if someone invites this guy:



Anyway, my list is pretty close to Will's, but I'd replace Cybertron Jetfire with Armada Jetfire (I like his bulky astronaut bot mode with the puffy hands and rocket gun that does a countdown when you stuff him in a box full of toys and forget about it until you move the box and it starts yelling at you. Moving is fun!) and replace SS Jetfire with Classics Jetfire (because it's a good figure with a clever cockpit transformation and Stormbringer was way better than Revenge of the Fallen).

Emerje

Actually, thats part of the fun; Two bots cut from the same cloth, one sent down the path of a warrior and security officer, turned captain of a stellar cartography crew. The other assigned as a Transport and eventually coming to be entrusted as a deep space researcher.

Ah you bring back memories. As a Kid I went on a trip with Mom abd in the back seat of the truck I had several such Transformers including Armada Megatron. Every bump and pothole it was "Decepticons, ATTACK! Blam Pow pew pew whoosh boom". Battle, in a bag.

[-Kanrabat-]

I had thought Kanrabat was talking about if the Takatoku Valkyrie toy were to be invented in the present day. My fault for misunderstanding.

Of course the toy have been reinvented over and over, over the years.
"Budget" versions are all on this list. But the true reimagining go to the current Macross line that is, for this size class, all super expensive Masterpieces.
The original was 1/55 scale. So the closest I could find was 1/60 for the exact same character. For around 200$, you get the "MP" Valkyrie, but "naked". If you want to give it it's armor, it's a separate kit and it's ANOTHER 200-ish dollars.
BTW, the original VF-1 Valkyrie that G1 Jetfire was based on was also sold with the bot and the armor separately at first. There was at the very least two sets; the naked bot and the more expensive "deluxe" edition with armor. Not sure if the armor was sold alone.

You could argue that it's like comparing the original G1 Optimus Prime to MP-44. However, both can't be compared because of the extreme size difference.

Still, you can see that the Macross makers are consistent and never stopped making "MP" Macross toys. So that mean that way back in the early 1980's kids were playing with what was basically a "MP" Macross toy that was mostly meant for adult collectors. Anyone who ever handled one can see that G1 Jetfire have a much more involved engineering than the other G1 toys of any times and it have also much more delicate and fragile parts. Like the clips on the armor pieces.

[william-james88]

I own T30 and Siege and I like T30 better, but I also like Siege just fine. To me they are both good toys in different ways.

Yes, that's why I put both on this list, and both in favor of the classics toy. It's a good toy but it's dated and it feels a tad obsolete, as most classics toys feel. I did keep the threadbolt redeco though, I like having that mold in my collection, it's just not top 5 in my book.

I dunno, I think Jetfire is one of the least obsolete Classics molds. His hybrid design looks cool and transforms well, and he has great play features. And his helmet beats the pants off the face masks of the T30 and SIEGE toys - his has movable antenna lasers that work as cannons in vehicle mode, just like how the original toy's head worked as a turret. ...Come to think of it, he probably does the Gerwalk mode better than the other two as well.

I agree with all this except for the helmet being better. I think it's just a different take, not necessarily better or worse. I really love how T30 deals with the face mask, it's what makes him such a cool toy to me. I do like the moving antennas though and I think our opinions on the classic mold aren't all that different. It's more how much we like other toys in comparison.

[Ironhidensh]

Pretty sure the G1 Jetfire toy's deco is a Macross/Robotech deco too. And in fact, I strongly suspect that at least the initial Jetfire batches were repackaged Macross leftovers.

After a quick Google search, Cockpit aside, the Jetfire deco resembles the Hikaru Ichijyo variant (each pilot had his own color variant).

Resembles, but not the same. The Jetfire paint scheme is unique.

[Tigerhawk7109]

There is a whole lot of fückery going on here.

My top five.

5


4


3


2


1



In all seriousness, I prefer T30 over Siege (I'm a toy accuracy guy, sue me). They both have different pros and cons. They both seem too simple for their size and neither does a good job of hiding all the robit parts. I feel the T30 is about as sleek as you can get at that price point and Siege has that big blocky G1 space jet thing going on.

Ultimately I feel like we're comparing apples and oranges. T30 looks more like Jetfire to me (which is to say he looks like a toy from the Macross line) and fits on my Neo G1 shelf. Siege has that toon thing going on and is hanging with the MPs. I think the part of the problem for me is that we still don't have a definitive Jetfire yet.

Unless this whole thing was a joke, I'm glad to see that I'm not the only person who likes Cyber Battalion Jetfire! This guy is so underrated. He wears the Starscream mold better than 'Screamer himself, and he deserves a place in any Jetfire fan's collection.

[william-james88]

Unless this whole thing was a joke

It was

[Nemesis Destron]

I think this is an honorable mention. It would have been perfect had the light piping been red and not blue. He is Siege Skyfire's drone in my collection!