General Information:
Release Year: January 2007
Retailer: General (Toys R Us, Target, Wal-Mart etc.)
Price: $9.99 (Average depending on retailer)
Accessories: "Wave Crusher" jetski/backpack
Tech Specs:*
Motto: "Let's bend some tailpipes!"
Don't be fooled by his small size: CLIFFJUMPER is as tough as they come. Always spoiling for a fight, just hearing the word DECEPTICON is enough to get him riled up. He carries a unique gas-pistol that fires a cloud of nano-robots capable of making DECEPTICON armor as brittle as glass, but he'd almost always rather just toss his weapons aside and start swinging. More than on DECEPTICON warrior has ended up with a busted grill from underestimating CLIFFJUMPER. He may not be very strong, but no one is more determined.
| Strength: 4 | Intelligence: 5 | Speed: 7 | Endurance: 4 | Rank: 5 | Courage: 10 | Firepower: 7 | Skill: 5 |
With the third wave of Classics deluxe figures comes a redeco that was somewhat inevitable. Using the Bumblebee sculpt Hasbro has released Cliffjumper as part of the Autobot forces in this line. For a detailed review of the sculpt and the transformation, please check out Bumblebee's review. This review will focus on the changes made to the figure for this release.
Vehicle Mode:
The original Cliffjumper and Bumblebee were alike in many ways, but different in other ways. The two shared the exact same transformation scheme but had a very different look. Bumblebee was more curved since he was based on a VW beetle. Cliffjumper was a sports car and more sleek and squared off. However, the design of the Classics Bumblebee vehicle mode is a very sporty looking vehicle, and personality-wise it fits both characters quite well.
The base color for Cliffjumper is red, which jives with his G1 incarnation. His deco pattern however gives him the appearance of a street tuner car than Bumblebee's "sporty" look. the silver is arranged in flame-like patterns everywhere including the hood, the doors and the top of the cabin. Silver is also used for more straight-lined details such as the rear of the car and the raised vent on the hood of the vehicle.
Look inside of the vehicle and you'll find red paint around the seats (sculpted in black plastic). The tire covers are painted silver while the headlights are painted metallic blue.
Those who bought Bumblebee early on and compare it to this one will notice a slight sculpt difference in the vent piece where the rub symbol is placed. This piece was widened in later releases of Bumblebee to accomodate the sticker, and this change has carried over to Cliffjumper.
Like Bumblebee, Cliffjumper includes a Wave Crusher jetski on a hitch. I say "a Wave Crusher" since it seems this is a different unit than the one Bumblebee uses. That seems to imply that "Wave Crushers" may be some sort of standard issue equipment among Autobots, which is kind of cool. The hitch section is sculpted in red plastic with black tires. The jet ski portion is painted silver with metallic blue details for the char and along the front. The sides of the wheels are painted silver. The windshield of the Wave Crusher unit is cast in smokey translucent plastic, the same color used for Cliffjumper's windshield and rear lights.
I really like the look of the vehicle mode. Even though it is the same shape as Bumblebee, the colors really give it an entirely different personality.
Robot Mode:
In robot mode, Cliffjumper shows off an additional plastic color: silver. the basic plastic colors are red, translucent black, solid black and silver. These colors are distributed fairly evenly over the entire body. Like his G1 counterpart his legs are mostly black, but the folded down red seats and the panels from his hood partially obscure those parts. The silver is mostly found on the arms, where they form his upper arms and fists. This helps break the potential monotony of just having more red or more black on those parts instead.
There are a few paint applications revealed in this form that you cannot see in vehicle mode. The face is painted silver and his eyes are metallic blue. On his legs the back of the seats form armor on his upper legs, both are painted red.
There were no sculpt changes made specifically for this figure, which is sort of a shame. A new head sculpt would have been very cool to see. However, considering the original Cliffjumper also had a "helmet with horns and face" type design, I can see why this was passed over for a retool (and Ramjet chosen instead).
Final Thoughts:
I really like Cliffjumper's deco. Even though the figure is the same sculpt as Bumblebee, it really gives him it a different visual personality. While the lack of retooled/remolded parts is a bit of a downer, it is not enough to make this a "bad figure". Recommended.
