Alternity Cliffjumper review

[Beefkr10z]

My new Alternity Figure arrived recently, and I thought it was about time to share my thoughts with you all.

I got both Bumblebee & Cliffjumper through from Japan today, one to keep boxed and one to open. As I have plenty of Bumblebees from recent lines, I thought that the arrival of a new Cliffjumper with a dedicated headsculpt deserved opening. The figures are boxed in collector friendly packaging - I only had to cut one piece of tape and the rest was easy to unpack, with no twisty ties.

 

 

Car Mode

 

 

One of the deciding factors for buying these figures was that I own a Suzuki Swift (come on, you'd buy your own car if it was made into a TF!). In this respect, I can safely say that this is a very accurate representation of the car. The toy is based on the Sports model of the Swift and as such it has a spoiler, body kit & different alloy wheels to the usual model.

 

 

The car features opening boot (trunk), bonnet (hood), and all four doors. The engine & interior are detailed well, showing various details on the dash & steering wheel, but you'll see in the pics that there is a lack of legroom in the front seats.

 

 

I have to make a special mention to Cliffjumper's paintjob. Wow. It is a beautiful metallic cherry red, and I just couldn't get the pictures to do it justice. It has the little metallic flakes that you get on a full-size car, and a beautiful glossy finish (incidentally, the Bumblebee toy is a flat yellow colour -still nice, but not in the same league as Cliffjumper's) . Overall, a great, accurate & fitting car mode for the character.

 

Robot mode

 

 

The robot mode has courted controvercy ever since the prototypes were shown. The design of the Swift does give Cliffjumper a barrel-chested look, but, I have to say, in person, it is not too bad. I'm not a fan of the way that the front of the car covers the waist, and the legs are a little too skinny for my liking (but very much like the G1 toy, now I think about it), however, they are well articulated and as the upper thighs & hips are ratchet jointed they hold the figure & most poses very well. There are two removeable pistols attached to the inside legs that Cliffjumper can hold very comfortably, and as the arms are well articulated they will give a good variety of poses -the large chest on the figure does hamper inward arm movement a little. The toy has a little back kibble, but most of the rear of the car folds in neatly, and is not enough to unbalance the figure.

 

 

The head sculpt, as mentioned earlier, is completely original, and true to the G1 toy, which pleases me no end - No simple red Bumblebee repaints here, thank you! The toy does have a light-piping slot on the back of the head, but honestly, it is so small, even putting the figure under direct sunlight didn't produce a glow.

 

 

Overall

 

I really like this mould. The toy has a nice, original transformation, two very good modes, and great articulation. Twin this with an original headsculpt and quite possibly the best paintjob I have seen on a Transformer EVER, this makes the toy a worthwhile purchase. There are small niggles with the toy, but these are more to do with the style of the alt mode, rather than any failings in the design. The biggest bugbear with Cliffjumper & Bumblebee have been the barrel chest, but seriously, 1. it's not as bad when you have the figure in-hand, and 2. Have you looked at the original G1 toys recently? Yeah, they have the same basic shape, so this makes a great homage. If you can afford the high price tag, then these are the best you'll get to a new range of Binaltech figures. Highly recommended

[Beefkr10z]

Sorry, mods! Just seen the Reviews section - Feel free to move the post as you see fit!

[deceptikhan]

Great review! Kudo's! I actually would love to purchase these figs to go with my Alts & Masterpieces. But i havent yet. I have to pay a member on here for some classics i need, so thats first. Anyways, nice pics, and nice looking toy!

 

Now do Bumblebee :D heh.

[Exic]

Think this looks sweet! The body of the figure looks odd.. but doesn't really bother much.. nice review!

[sgt__york]

Nice review.

 

I can see what you mean about the metalic in the paint - can see it well in the first 'car mode' photo. I have long wished - even with the BT series, that they used "REAL CAR PAINT" for the figures as part of the liscensing agreements. I do like the CAR mode a lot. The head is sweet. I'm kida meh on the robot mode. I do know what you mean about being similiar to the G1 mold - with the chest and skinny legs. To that end, it is similiar. But when you consider the transformation of the original mini G1 - I guess I expect more. I have every BT, but I don't own a single Alternity yet. This one and BB intrigue me. But im either all in, or all out. This one tempts me. But unfortunately, not nearly enough to get me in yet. I'll just keep watching. Very nice review tho. Much appreciated.

[deceptikhan]

So York, you cant just buy one? (pringles/series) lol :)

[MikePrime]

I have both toys and I do like my Cliffjumper more than Bumblebee. The paint job really is terrific.

 

 

Not to cause controversy, but the Alternity toys are what I wish movie Transformers would look like.

[Beefkr10z]

I have both toys and I do like my Cliffjumper more than Bumblebee. The paint job really is terrific.

 

 

Not to cause controversy, but the Alternity toys are what I wish movie Transformers would look like.

 

On a slight sidenote, I wish that Seeker from the ROTF game was movie Starscream...

 

 

Sorry, Derailed...

[sgt__york]

So York, you cant just buy one? (pringles/series) lol :)

 

 

NOPE! lol I don't do 'individuals.' I'll do an entire series (like BT) or i'll do a particular sequence/set - ie, from the movie - i got ONLY the ones that were actually in the movie, and no repaints. I would have collected all from the 2nd movie - until they screwed that all up -- then I took most of them back, gave others away as gifts, but did keep a couple that I thought were key - ie, I got the leaders (Prime, Megatron, Jetfire). Even in my G1 collection - i have 'all' from the original year 84, but then didn't care for the direction they went the following year (UFo's; plastic crap; flooding too many characters; etc). So I got just the ones I liked from the 85 season (mostly the Dinobots; Constructicons; and Jetfire). I don't like to have a lot of 'individual' pieces that do not have a place with others. The BT line did everything for me that Alternators is attempting to do. If they continue to use 'different' names - i'm a bit more interested. The fact they used Prime (when there was already a prime in BT) is a 'major' factor that makes me leave the line alone. I don't have the room to start a whole new series - ESPECIALLY one that doesn't give me anything from a line that I don't already have on display. But from the line - I do like BB and Cliffjumper quite a bit. I'm still in wait and see. I was 99% turned off at the start with Prime/Megatron - now i'm only about 75% turned off. We'll see how things go over time. I doubt any of these will be hard to find later on if I ever change my mind.

[Beefkr10z]

Nice review! For the price, I'm going to pass on the Alternity toys. That robot mode makes it look like a Roadbot...

 

I have a Roadbot, and trust me... This toy is not Roadbot "quality"