General Information:
Release Date: December 2024
Price Point: $39.99 (depending on retailer)
Retailer: Japanese Exclusive (Available at U.S. retailers including BigBadToyStore and Entertainment Earth)
Accessories: Blaster, Bazooka
Note: This review contains sponsor/affiliate links to BigBadToyStore and Entertainment Earth.
Official images and text below in italics are from Takara Tomy's site and translated via Google Translate:
The ideal Cliff toy has been released, while following the original Cliff toy in terms of size, deformation pattern, and basic structure using some die-cast alloys, while updating the joint movement for posing and the gimmicks depicted in the anime. Compact box-shaped packages and foamed plastic. Even the roll tray is a thorough homage to the era, bringing back the excitement of opening a Transformers product in the 1980s even more than the reprint version. Like Bumble, Cliff belongs to the small Transformers "Minibot Army" and has shown impressive success through numerous episodes. Although the product has almost the same transformation system as Bumble, it has been modified to reproduce the detailed differences from Bumble.
Approximately 80% of the body is specially designed. Each joint, which had limited posing in products at the time, has been changed to movable, allowing you to pose freely. A newly modeled photon rifle with plating specifications is included as a reproduction from the anime scene. Inside in car mode it can be stored. Also included is a new model of the plated bazooka used in the first episode of the first anime when they launched a surprise attack on the Decepticon army that was building their base. The familiar "secret emblem" is also attached to the robot body, and when you warm it with your finger, the army mark will appear. A foil sticker with the Cybertron mark is included that the user can attach as desired. A joint hole for a stand (sold separately) can be added to the back of the cliff to display it in action poses. The package illustration is a new one inspired by the time, and a collection card featuring the same illustration is also included. (Total height in robot mode: 76mm)
Background:
In February 2024, Takara Tomy released Missing Link Convoy, a figure that looked like the original 1984 Optimus Prime toy but in fact was a newly engineered figure featuring modern day action figure articulation. Convoy was welcomed with open arms by many fans and many wondered if Convoy would be a one off release or the beginning of a new sub-line. In May 2024 Takara Tomy answered that question with the reveals of Missing Link Bumble (aka Bumblebee) and Cliff (aka Cliffjumper)! In late 2024 these figures began to reach fan mailboxes. You can check out the promo video for these two figures below.
Tech Specs: (Translated Google Translate)
Function: Warrior
Alternate Mode: Sports Car
Abilities: Can perform speed attacks and shoot gas that weakens metal.
Personality: Has a strong fighting spirit and can be reckless. Strength: 4 Intelligence: 4 Speed: 7 Endurance: 4 Rank: 5 Courage: 10 Firepower: 7 Skill: 5
Packaging:
My copy of Missing Link Cliffjumper was ordered from a retailer based in the United States, so there is a black and white "sleeve box" with "C-04 Transformers" in giant letters and the Missing Link logo in smaller white letters. Under that is a box with the Autobot symbol, "C-04" and Cliffjumper's name. The age recommendation on the box is 15+, which I will partly ascribe to the very tiny blaster that comes with this figure. That piece could easily be considered a choking hazard to younger fans by today's standards.
Open up the "outer sleeve" box and inside is the actual box for Cliffjumper. This is the same box you would get if you picked this up in Japan. The design of the box is based on the design of the Japanese Mini-Bot packaging from G1. In the United States (and other countries) the Mini-Bots were generally carded. In Japan however they were boxed. The box is rectangular with a flap on top. The artwork on the box uses the Japanese G1 logo with a photo of the vehicle mode in front. All new artwork has been commissioned that uses the toy as its reference. The box also features the Transformers 40th Anniversary logo. The sides of the box feature Cliffjumper holding his blaster on one side and the bazooka on the other. The back of the box features the G1 battle scene artwork with his tech specs (translated above) and the specs with his Strength, Intelligence etc.
Open up the box and you'll see something very rare nowadays in Transformers packaging: Styrofoam! I know this is not eco-friendly but I think most folks picking these figures up will be hardcore collectors who will keep the packaging intact and not toss the Styrofoam into a landfill (or at least I hope so). Cliffjumper is packaged in robot mode with his bazooka across his legs and the blaster beneath one of his feet. I had to (carefully) use my box cutter knife to gently pry the blaster out but the bazooka and Cliffjumper himself were easy to remove.
Cliffjumper also comes with instructions, a collector card and a sticker sheet with alternative stickers for both Bumblebee and Cliffjumper. They feature the strip of electronics seen on Bumblebee's box art (but not actually released with the figure) and the wide Autobot symbol seen on Cliffjumper's G1 box art with a flat top. Including these items really helps to drive home that this is meant to be a collector's item aimed at those who want modern articulation but also the nostalgia of G1 toys and packaging. For fans outside Japan, this packaging feels more premium than a bubble carded figure.
Accessories:
With the exception of Outback, the G1 Mini-Bots did not come with accessories, so even having accessories makes this release special. Cliffjumper comes with two accessories:
- Blaster: Over the course of G1 Cliffjumper was seen using many different blasters, sometimes shrunken down versions of blasters from other Autobots, other times the weapon looked like a generic barrel with a handle. For this release the designers went with a weapon that had been featured in one of the earlier G1 episodes: "Transport to Oblivion". This blaster is based on the one included with Jazz (which was updated with his Studio Series release). It features an angled design with a small tube leading to a wider barrel. The middle has a distinctive circle and in front of that are a series of vertical lines. This weapon is completely vacuum metallized silver, even the handle.
- Bazooka: In "More than Meets the Eye" Part 1, Cliffjumper reveals an almost comically huge bazooka in an attempt to take out Megatron from a distance (spoiler: he fails). This weapon became the basis for the bazooka included with Earthrise Cliffjumper (and many other variants of that base sculpt). This bazooka accessory is based on that weapon down to having to angled "legs" to support the front of the weapon and triangular fins on the front and back. This piece has a handle for Cliffjumper to hold and the entire thing (even the handle) is vacuum metallized silver.
I really love these accessories. They fit the character and the choice to vacuum metallize them is a great nod to G1 where many weapons were given the same treatment.
Robot Mode:
Missing Link Ciffjumper is not a retool of the original G1 Cliffjumper figure with new joints. Instead, the designers took the aesthetics of the original figure and designed a brand new figure around it, focusing on giving the figure articulation. That means Cliffjumper has many of the features of the original G1 Cliffjumper figure. That includes the head being attached to a square plate, wheels attached to the arms and wide feet that make up the front of the vehicle mode. If you put this figure right next to the G1 version (and posed it like the original) I would not blame you for having trouble figuring out which one is which, at least at first. However, when you look carefully you will see many differences. These include:
- The spoiler piece that winds up on the top of the robot mode chest sticks out slightly less on Missing Link Cliffjumper versus the original figure from 1984.
- The "horns" on the head sculpt are slightly smaller on Missing Link Cliffjumper than those on the 1984 version.
- The legs are shaped differently. This is necessary since Missing Link Cliffjumper has articulation where the original figure did not. The original figure has some notches on the edges of the legs and lines that Missing Link Cliffjumper does not.
- The arms are assembled differently between the two figures in part to give this figure articulation that the original did not have. This winds up making the figure look different from the back where you will see pins on the arm sections that are not found on the original.
- On the bottom of the left foot is text saying "© Tomy" and "Made in China". On my copy of G1 Cliffjumper, the bottom of the right foot has some Japanese characters and under them "©Takara Co. LTD. 1980 1984 JAPAN" on it instead.
Overall I have no issues with the changes made to the aesthetics. With the possible exception of the legs they are relatively minor and most are in service of adding articulation to the base Cliffjumper design from G1.
Cliffjumper is made up of red and black plastic with black rubber tires on the arms. The face is painted silver and there is an Autobot symbol tampographed on the torso. I was surprised to see that the figure has a heat sensitive symbol on the bottom of the right foot! In G1 stickers were introduced to help differentiate official products from knock offs featuring a symbol that would appear when you rubbed it (or exposed it to heat). Given that this figure is a love letter to G1 toys, the inclusion of this sticker is a wonderful nod to another era of Transformers toys.
There are a stunning twenty points of articulation on this figure. That is compared to five on the original figure, and I'm being very generous with that count. This articulation includes the head, which of course can swing forward for the transformation but also has the ability to turn side to side. The head is attached to a square panel, so the entire panel and head turn. It feels pretty delicate so I'd be careful with it. The arms have four points of articulation each including bending elbows. At the shoulder joints they can move up and down. Unlike the original Cliffjumper the arms are not just connected to horizontal bars but instead they have a couple of hinges that then lead to the arms. The legs have five points of articulation each including the ability to swing out and in and bend at the hip and under the knees. The legs can even rotate outward, which is really a fantastic choice. This modern style articulation elevates a classic design and I love it.
Cliffjumper can hold his weapons in his fists (just rotate the forearms so the ports are pointed up). If you wish to store the blaster it can fit on the inside of the left foot. The back has a raised circle detail on it that is a carry over detail from G1. However, unlike the G1 figure there is no screw in the middle. Instead there is a port for display stand pegs if you want to pose him in "mid-air".
Transformation to Vehicle Mode:
- Detach the bazooka if attached and set it aside.
- The small blaster can be attached to the left foot.
- Straighten out the arms and legs.
- Push the feet together.*
- Point the feet down, then push them up against the car's cab section.
- Push the robot arms in. The ports in the fists should attach to the small pegs inside the wheel wells on the feet.
- Swing the head up.
*For some reason the feet on my copy of this figure wing up having a very slight gap in the middle (whether or not the blaster is stored there). I have not see other fans complain about this so I'm guessing it's just my copy.
Vehicle Mode:
Cliffjumper's G1 design was a Penny Racer styled Porsche 924. The result is a sports car that looks kind of "squished" and "cute". It's still cool with one of the cooler features being the raised spoiler in the back.
This mode concentrates the red plastic together with black plastic used for the windows and sides. The silver panel on the back has a sticker on it featuring mechanical details. This sticker is a recreation of the one used on the G1 Cliffjumper figure.
As I mention above this figure is not just a retool of the G1 figure. It is a new figure using those aesthetics as its foundation. In this mode there's not much difference between this version and the G1 figure except for the tires. The G1 figures had Dunlop branded tires. For licensing reasons these tires do not have any branding on them. This is not a huge deal, really. None of the modern day reissues of the Mini-Bots have had "Dunlop" on their tires and it really doesn't affect how they look.
Final Thoughts:
When Missing Link was first announced I loved the idea and thought Convoy made sense for the concept partly due to its size. However, I never thought they'd pull this off with smaller figures like the Mini-Bots but they have done exactly that. Except for the small "gap" issue in vehicle mode, I love this figure. That said, the roughly $40 USD price point is definitely going to turn some people off. Recommended!
Pros:
- Excellent reproduction of the original G1 Cliffjumper aesthetics with more articulation.
- Including the extra stickers was a brilliant move.
- The packaging is both nostalgic and beautiful.
- I love the inclusion of both the blaster and bazooka.
- Love the inclusion of the Tech Specs card, a fun callback to Japanese G1 toys.
Cons:
- The gap in vehicle mode is rather odd. I've tried to reset my figure's legs in vehicle mode multiple times but it just seems to be a flaw I'll have to live with.
