Name: Cliffjumper
Series: Generations
Allegiance: Autobot
Alternate Mode: Cybertronian Car
Thanks to Eazy D for loaning me Cliffjumper for this review
CAR MODE
Height: 5cm Length: 10.5cm Width: 7.5cm
A metallic deep red car with smoky transparent windows, black plastic tyres & yellow red pinstripes, Cliffjumper is a repaint of Bumblebee (as always). Cliffjumper's colours aren't a straight swap of Bumblebee's, but it's close. There's some extra black & yellow paint above the rear renders compared to Bumblebee and there's no yellow on his hubcaps (Bumblebee has red on his wheels). His taillights and front grille are yellow and there's a silver Autobot logo stamped on his hood. The hubcaps are transparent while his headlights are transparent amber. The red painted on his roof is a poor match with the red plastic here, which is a shame since otherwise this is a nice colour scheme with a vibrant metallic red.
There's a Tron like feel to the curved car mode. The shape is actually broadly that of VW Beetle (and not at all like that of a Porsche 944, but the styling reminds me more of the modern Nissan Micra. The sculpt is quite good, with a diamond latticed grille and textures on the taillights and rear licence plate area. There's an awkward gap on the roof, well three of them linked together. At a glance it might seem like things are simply loose, but the gaps can't be closed, the pieces don't line up.
There's little play value here, which is to be expected really. His wheels roll, and they do so quite well - although he wont necessarily roll straight, since he doesn't have axles. There are no weapons here.
While this is generally a good mode, the gaps on the roof are difficult to overlook and the mismatched reds hurt. The overall idea works well and it's an interesting concept. A good mould but one that's held back by a significant mould flaw and poorly matched paint.
TRANSFORMATION TO ROBOT MODE
A complex transformation with a _lot_ of panel movement & twists, so I'll summarise. The legs are hidden under the rear of the roof, the head is under the hood, which becomes his chest. The arms are concealed within the front fenders. Much of the roof ends up tucked away on his back. The rears tyres end up as his ankles and there's a gun tucked away behind the rear bumper.
ROBOT MODE
Height: 14.5cm Width: 13.5cm
A red robot with black feet, thighs, hands and elbows. Cliffjumper's colours again map closely to those of Bumblebee. His face is silver with black eyes and that silver Autobot logo is on his chest. The mismatched red paint is concealed within his backpack now, so his colour scheme reaches its full potential here - and the metallic red looks really good. While Classics Cliffjumper gained notoriety (and a well known unofficial add-on pack) due to the lazy use of Bumblebee's head, this toy has a resculpted head that actually looks like Cliffjumper rather than just Bumblebee.
Even with the kibble of the roof shell on his back, Cliffjumper has a good body shape here. The front fenders - complete with tyres - sit on his forearms as features. One aspect which I really like here is how the torso protrudes - in a very G1 kind of way (think Jazz). His limbs are actually kind of lanky, but there's enough bulk in his red boots and the fenders on his arms that he doesn't look scrawny. The head sculpt is very much Cliffjumper - and had Hasbro taken the lazy option of using Bumblebee's head it would have really hurt this toy.
There aren't any gimmicks here as such, but Cliffjumper can hold his black and yellow gun in either hand. There are transparent amber blades which can fold out from underneath his forearms, giving him rather cool melee weapons. He has great poseability, with ball joints in his neck, shoulders and wrists (although the latter are quite restricted). His elbows are hinged with rotators while his waist turns. The hips swing and lift out to the side, The knees bend and have rotators. His ankles are fixed, but he stands fairly well thanks to his large flat feet.
A good robot mode without any real flaws. Perhaps most importantly, this robot is all Cliffjumper & not just a red Bumblebee. I really like the metallic red here (and wish his vehicle mode did the red right), so visually Cliffjumper works very well. The only negative here is the chunk of kibble on his back, but that's far from a deal breaker. The poseability is very good and his weapons, while simple, work very well.
VARIATIONS
None that I'm aware of. As mentioned, he is a retool of Bumblebee.
OVERALL
A nice repaint that thankfully learns from the much-criticised Classics Cliffjumper - this one has Cliffjumper's head. While the red paint and gap on his vehicle mode hold Cliffjumper back, the robot mode is great. He's visually appealing in both modes, with a sleek car mode and a great metallic red. The robot mode's shape is good and features good weaponry. The transformation is intricate, and while he's something of a shellformer, it's not a trivial transformation. Not quite as compelling as Bumblebee (who has the advantage of being released first), but an excellent repaint that's still compelling - 7.5/10
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