Name: Jetstorm
Series: Generation 2
Allegiance: Decepticon
Function: Co-ordinator
Alternate Mode: Racing Buggy
BUGGY MODE
Height: 4cm Length: 11.5cm Width: 6cm
A black racing buggy with mid blue highlights here and there, Jetstorm features gold foil stickers here and there, smoky windows and a yellow protrusion on his airdam. There's a crimson bellows on the spoiler at the back, some gold and red "danger" stripes on the sides (as stickers). The black plastic tyres feature chrome paint on the hubcaps. There's a gold sticker on the roof with a purple G2 Decepticon logo. Amongst the stickered detailing are the racing number 2 and some 4x4 and "4WD" stickers. It's an attractive colour scheme overall, despite the random colouring on some of the stickers. As with the other colour changers from this era, part of the toy (the area around his cockpit) is a slightly lighter black - this paint is meant to turn white when splashed with hot water.
While he's vaguely realistic by "Euro" G1 standards (where this mould originated), there's a lot here that detracts from the basic realism. The foil stickers and a lack of details such as headlights, along with the fact that the black engine block behind the cabin is clearly his arms keep the realism limited. The crimson bellows nestled within the spoiler stands out more than it should. On the plus side, the airdam is pretty well done and the tyres are about the right size.
Jetstorm is one of four G2 water squirting toys, who share a central gimmick based on a water-squirting mechanism. There's a small nozzle at the front of the airdam, which shoots water stored in the bellow at the back when the bellow is compressed. It's not a terribly impressive gimmick although it works reasonably well. There's a secondary gimmick based on the painted cabin area. If Jetstorm is himself shot with warm water this paint will turn white. The changing paint is unimpressive, but at least the blacks line up to one another. Jetstorm can roll on his tyres but the ground clearance is non-existant thanks to the tube underneath - he will rub against the table if you roll him along.
Despite the limitations of the era this is a decent car mode. The basic shape and concept work and it's more realistic than many vehicle modes of the era. The gimmick is limited but adds interesting play value. The colour scheme is good, aside from some random colour choices on the stickers (why is the spoiler sticker green??).
TRANSFORMATION TO ROBOT MODE
Detach the gun (airdam & spoiler) from underneath and set aside. Fold the legs out from underneath, flip up his feet. Lift up the engine block, fold the rear down 90°, pull the arms out to the sides and fold the back down, revealing his head. Swing the arms forward, clip the gun into either fist and you're done.
ROBOT MODE
Height: 10.5cm Width: 9.5cm
A black robot with blue legs and elbows, Jetstorm has a silver mouthplate, a smoky transparent eyestrip with a fairly weak lightpipe. The chest is the cabin area of the car, so it's that painted black area, with smoky windows. The Decepticon logo is now central on his chest and there are still quite a few car mode stickers here, also on his chest. The gun is yellow with a transparent red tube hanging out the back, leading to the blue and red spoiler. While the gun really breaks up the basic colour scheme, the black and mid blue looks really good here, as they contrast nicely. Unusually for G2, the brighter colour here is used very well.
Jetstorm has very wide shoulders, with the rear wheels sitting on top as shoulderpads. His arms hang below these wide shoulders, giving him a powerful loo, although his offset somewhat by his relatively small, generic head (which is slightly sunken). The legs are a single piece although there's a distinct gap between them - they're joined at the ankles. His front wheels sit on the hips and while I'm not a fan of this look so much, the cabin as a torso and the rear wheels on his shoulderpads are well integrated car elements.
The play value is centred on the water gimmick, of course. Pressing the bellows will cause him to fire a stream of water. If you've plugged the spoiler into his back the hose will be rather kinked and so the water won't flow as well as in vehicle mode. The other option is to let the spoiler simply hang out the back. Either way, Jetstorm will hold his gun at an angle, since the hose has to wrap around the elbow joint. To be honest I think he looks better without the gun here, since the colour scheme is far more coherent without it. The torso is dominated by the heat sensitive paint, so splashing him with hot water (fired by Gobots, I guess) will cause his chest to turn white. Poseability is limited to his arms swinging at the bottom of his shoulders.
While it's dated, Jetstorm has a nice robot mode. The colours are good - he uses the bright blue better than most G2 toys manage. The bodyshape works, thanks to the wide shoulders and clever placement of car parts. The weapon is a hindrance, sadly, so I recommend considering leaving it aside for display. The gimmick adds some play value but the shape of the gun needed for this gimmick makes it annoying in this mode. Despite his limitations, this is a decent robot mode.
VARIATIONS
None that I'm aware of. He's a repaint of the Autobot Aquafend who was released earlier in the same year. Jetstorm was released in North America while Aquafend was released in Europe & Australia.
OVERALL
A pretty good toy by the standards set at the time. The colour scheme works in both modes and while the gimmick isn't really impressive, it provides some play value. His colour scheme is surprisingly well considered as G2 goes, and works nicely from an aesthetic point of view, so it still works today. While the mould is certainly dated, in the context of the era, Jetstorm is a good toy - 7.5/10
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