Review – Transformers Jetfire Bust

Line: Transformers * Manufacturer: Diamond Select Toys * Year: 2008

You knew this day was coming. After the Elita-One (review here) and Frenzy & Ravage (review here) reviews coming so close together I just had to knock out this last Transformers bust in my collection. And the Transformers Jetfire Bust* might be the best piece in the series I’ve bought so far. Even if I think they should have named this statue Skyfire.

Jetfire? Skyfire

I’d get into a long, involved discussion of the Jetfire/Skyfire history of the eighties, but it’s actually easier for all of us if I just point you at the Wikipedia entry. If you take a look at the images on the page, and compare those to the photos of this statue, you’ll see that this is clearly the Transformers cartoon* Skyfire character. I’m assuming that there were legal reasons behind the name selection for the statue, but in the end I suppose we really don’t have to care what it’s called, because this easily the best physical representation of the classic Skyfire design that I’ve ever held.

Sculpt and Style

Just over six-inches tall (tips of his wings), the Jetfire bust is roughly around the same height as the Sound Blaster bust I’ve already reviewed (review here), with Sound Blaster technically taller because of his upraised weapon. And that size was embraced by the artist, because every sculpted detail on this statue stands out beautifully on the shelf and is truly impressive when you closely study the work. Click the photos above or below and look at the small details — the jetpack design, the forearm blasters, the fists — and I think you’ll agree that this looks great. Skyfire was always a cool character in the cartoon and it sucked that we didn’t have him as a toy back in the eighties, so it’s kinda fun from a geek’s point of view to see how closely this bust follows that animated character design.

The sculpt isn’t perfect, though. If you look at the Autobot symbol on the statue’s chest you can see that it isn’t perfectly centered and that it’s a bit distorted. And the air intakes/vents on the torso aren’t perfectly straight, there are issues with the face, and numerous slight blemishes in the lines mar what’s otherwise perfection in statue form. I’m sure that if this had been created with a CAD program all of these lines would be crisp, but for a hand-sculpted work I think my nits are a bit too picky. The sculpt is excellent, but I think anyone out there obsessed with details will have no choice but to see these minor problems.

Paint

Generally the paint is great, but as with Elita-One review here) the black detail lines are imprecise in places and actually fade away at times. It’s mostly the underside, hidden areas that have paint problems, and as a display piece there are no issues at all with the statue’s paint. For the $18 I paid for this at Amazon* the paint is more than acceptable, but if I had paid the original $70 price I think I would have been a little unhappy with the quality of the paint. The red and blue coloring is sharp and clean; it’s only those black detail lines that have problems.

Closing Thoughts

Even though there are slight problems with the statue’s sculpt and paint, in the end what we have here is an excellent Transformers Generation One collectible that looks great displayed. It’s small enough to fit almost anywhere, but large enough that it won’t be lost on a shelf or desk. I don’t think I would rank this as the top of the four busts I’ve bought so far — that’s gotta be Frenzy and Ravage (review here) — but it’s a great work and highly recommended if you can find it for $20 or so.

It’s feel a bit wrong of me to be reviewing these busts that I bought at a greatly reduced price. After all, not everyone will get to buy these cheap and do these reviews have much value in the future when the busts can only be snagged on auction sites for the original MSRP or higher prices? Any thoughts?

Philip Reed should get back to some non-Transformers reviews. The drop in comments on reviews makes him think that no one is reading these . . . which implies that everyone is sick of seeing Transformers toys and statues.