BEAST
MACHINES: TOY REVIEW
Name: JETSTORM
Allegiance: Vehicon
Function: Aerodrone General
Machine Mode: Jet Fighter
Average Price: 23 AUD
MACHINE MODE
This toy is actually packaged with the wings backwards. Oh,
and there's NO twist ties!! Woo-hoo! I hate twist-ties! Instead,
there's two soft elastic bands that hold the toy securely in transit, but
they can be easily removed -- they're no way near as annoying as removing
a twist-tie. Measuring at about 17.5 centimetres in length with a wingspan
of 13.5 cm, Jetstorm is primarily dark metallic blue with yellow and silver
accents throughout. It is a very sleek looking jet. The sculpting simply
bristles with a plethora of excellent mechanical features, far too numerous
to mention here. There's almost no robot kibble visible in this mode either.
Even from the underside, the robot legs blend in very well (whereas the
original Decepticon jets looked very unauthentic from underneath). The
overall look of the jet reminds me of the YF-21 from Shouji Kawamori's
Macross Plus. The missiles are transparent red and look more like
plasma energy bolts, rather than conventional ballistic missiles. The only
whacky thing about the missiles is that due to their length (75mm), the
back end sticks out rather awkwardly. Other than that, this mode's perfect.
The underside of the plane also has three landing gears which tuck away
rather nicely. A yellow trigger just behind the cockpit shoots the cockpit
out, revealing a special "neck," allowing Jetstorm to scout for Maximals
(so it says in the instructions). Also, there's a weird symbol on the nosecone
which kinda looks like a silhouette of a Jolly Roger. I wonder if this
is what the designers had in mind.
TRANSFORMATION TO ROBOT MODE
The instructions on the back of the card are one of the worst
drawn and written pieces I've ever seen. Pull the wings out to the sides,
forming robot arms. Swing robot legs down and 180 degrees out to the sides.
Swing the hips down and lock them into the hooks on either side of the
cockpit. Fold the jet body in half and swing the head/arms section forward.
Bring the robot head down to rest on the shoulders... close the chest panels
(this is a little bit tricky, but not too hard). Fold the front panels
of each arm out to the sides, to reveal robot hands. Unfold robot feet.
ROBOT MODE
Height: 13cm
Points of Articulation: 21
The robot mode looks every bit as cool and sleek as the
jet mode. The fins protruding from the top of the head give Jetstorm a
bit of a "bunny" look, but you get used to it pretty quickly. The colour
scheme is pretty much the same as the jet mode, although a lot more yellow
and silver is more visible now. The robot eyes are transparent red and
glow under light. The face kinda resembles a fighter pilot's breathing
apparatus... just as Silverbolt's
face resembled his beast mode (wink wink). Before opening the toy, I was
worried that the ball joints on the hips would be loose, causing the legs
to fall off easily (as with Starscream), fortunately they have proven to
be a lot more durable than that.
TRANSFORMATION TO HOVER MODE
Join both legs together by the calves. Bingo.
HOVER MODE
This is obviously nothing more than a modification of the
robot mode. However, it is a cool modification which reflects Jetstorm's
arrogance and dislike for firma terra... or should that be firma Cybertronia?
;p
SPARK CRYSTAL LOCATION
A silver compartment on the centre of the jet reveals the
spark crystal.
OVERALL
A very, very nice toy. Strongly recommended.
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