General Information:
Release Year: January 2007
Retailer: General (Toys R Us, Target, Wal-Mart etc.)
Price: $9.99 (Average depending on retailer)
Accessories: Missile launchers x 2, Missiles x 2
Tech Specs:*
Motto: "There ain't nothin' around harder than my head."
The DECEPTICONS are known for fielding their craziest warriors in the skies, but RAMJET really outclasses them all. He's a born flier who loves nothing more than crashing. Sure, he's got a whole rack of concussion missiles and argon lasers strong enough to vaporize a DINOBOT, but he'd rather skip all that nonsense and just smash head first into his targets - and anything else that gets in his way. He's just as likely to smash his allies out of the way as he is to destroy any AUTOBOTS in his path, but watching him plow through a battlefield is so fun that MEGATRON keeps him around anyway.
| Strength: 8 | Intelligence: 5 | Speed: 9 | Endurance: 9 | Rank: 5 | Courage: 8 | Firepower: 7 | Skill: 6 |
Taking a cue from Generation One, the second Seeker to emerge from the Classics toy line is a retool and redeco of the first. In this case, Ramjet is a retool and redeco of Starscream from the first wave of Classics. It is helpful to read Starscream's review, but the retool is rather extensive and alters the transformation scheme slightly.
Vehicle Mode:
In vehicle mode the central section of the jet remains the same as Starscream. The front section of the nosecone has been replaced with a nosecone that is shorter than Starscream's. The basic shape on the cockpit window is the same with half an oval shape in the front. The wings and the rear fins have been replaced with new wings, to better resemble the Generation One Ramjet. Instead of being two separate and distinct pieces, the wing pieces were sculpted to come together to form wings that look like single, solid pieces. The wings start towards the front of the vehicle made move all the way to the back. They sweep back at an angle and the ends angle downward, just like his G1 incarnation. Each wing has a ton of sculpted detail on it including rectangles and an angled series of blocks.
On the back of each wing is a large thruster with a vertical fin coming up the center. Again these details are based on the G1 version of the figure. These additional thrusters look amazing with small sculpted details on them sectioning off the pieces to look like they can adjust direction. They even have details down to small circles representing bolts.
Ramjet is primarily cast in white and grey plastic. White for the central body, grey for the wings. His paint details are done in red and gold. Metallic red is painted on the wings, leaving only the edges still grey. The red designs lead to sharply angled lines on the main body. The metallic gold is on the rear right over the thrusters. Some white paint is used on the nosecone towards the front. A Decepticon rub symbol is found on the left side on top towards the front instead of on the wing (where the sticker was located on Starscream).
Overall the jet looks amazing. While a close look shows that this primarily uses the Starscream sculpt, the changes made to the sculpt work wonders to make him look like a true modern version of Ramjet.
Transformation to Robot Mode:
- Detach Ramjet's weapons from the underside of the wings.
- Pull the rear section of the vehicle back.
- Swing the robot feet down.
- Swing the back of the robot torso back.
- Swing out the robot arms, and swing out the robot fists.
- Swing the nosecone forward a bit, then rotate it around.
- Swing the nosecone section down into the main body.
- Turn the top of the nosecone around to reveal the robot head.
- Swing the back section forward against the chest plate.
- Rotate each of the small wing sections on his back around so the red parts face forward.
- Attach the missile launchers to his arms or place them in the fists.
Robot Mode:
In robot mode we get to see more of the modifications made to this sculpt. One of the defining details of the second group of Seekers in Generation One was the shape of their heads. Using the nosecone over the robot head, Ramjet, Thrust and Dirge were often referred to by Transformers fans as "Coneheads". This new nosecone piece brings that look to Classics Ramjet. His head sculpt is not a modification of the Starscream head, it is a whole new piece. Ramjet's face is a narrow one that has a rather sinister look on it. Right above the head is a separate piece with a crest like design on it.
The weapons have been modified as well. The base missile launchers are the same as Starscream's, but the missiles have been changed to larger tubes that look a lot like G1 Ramjet's weapons (which were just one solid piece). These launch as missiles of course, and you can mount the weapons on his arms or have him hold them in his hands. The sheer bulk of the weapons (compared to Starscream's) gives him quite a dangerous look and the homage is very cool to see.
Ramjet's wing sections wind up in the perfect place here. On the television show (and in the comic books) G1 Ramjet's wings were shown mounted on his legs rather than on his back as the first three Seekers had. The extra pieces facing forward on his back ad some nice color and sculpted detail to the robot mode's appearance.
Several newly revealed parts are revealed that are cast in grey plastic. The nosecone/head, lower arms, weapons, feet and the underside of the wings all feature grey coloring. Grey paint is used on the upper body along with metallic gold. Silver is used on the lower portion of the torso and waist sections. The gold color is also used for smaller details on the knees and upper arms. I often say that when it comes to redecos of Transformers figures, I always like to see a different pattern than the original figure, and Ramjet delivers on this.
Final Thoughts:
Ramjet is an excellent redeco and retool of the Starscream Seeker sculpt. I love the way a modern day retool/redeco follows the pattern of the G1 predecessors of these two characters. Highly recommended.
