Today I’m going to feature a character that Hasbro/Takara didn’t take seriously until the last few years: Cliffjumper. For decades, CJ was simply that red repaint of Bumblebee. In the G1 cartoons, CJ and Bee were distinct characters with distinct personalities. But as for the G1 toys, the two were awfully similar. Technically they were not repaints of each other (with different head molds and slightly different body molds), but it was obvious that the two figures were cut from the same cloth. It didn’t help matters that, early in G1 before the TF brand was properly established, Hasbro released red Bumblebees and yellow Cliffjumpers, further blending the identity of the two. As the years went on, the Bumblebee mold was often selected to be repainted as Cliffjumper whenever Hasbro felt like making a quick buck off the same mold.

At around 2009, things began to change. Cliffjumper figures began to see more variation from Bumblebee. If memory serves, the first Cliffjumper with a different head in this modern era is the Alternity figure. Technically Takara sold the figure as Bumblebee, but we all know he’s really Cliffjumper. In Transformers Prime, CJ is a completely different mold from Bumblebee. After all these years, Cliffjumper is finally getting the recognition that he deserves.

Below I proudly present my Cliffjumper collection.

Clockwise from top left: Classics deluxe, TF Prime RID deluxe, Movie deluxe, Alternity, Generations WFC deluxe.

G1 Keychain

Interestingly enough, I still have the packaging to all my Cliffjumper toys. Mostly because I didn’t open them. The only ones I opened are the Alternity and WFC figures (as shown in the pic above). But I keep the box to all my Alternities, and I have two of the WFC figure, one unopened. I plan to open TF Prime RID Cliffjumper and I don’t plan to buy multiples, so this trend of having all CJ’s packaging probably won’t continue.

From Casey Kasem to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson… Transform and Roll Out!

Due to personal reasons, I have not posted in a long time. But now I’m back with a vengeance! And on this extra day in the leap year! This day will not come again for 4 years, and what better way to celebrate than to list the TF items I bought this February. As I look back on the month, I realize I bought a lot of TFs. So here we go.

Clockwise from top left:
• Star Wars Crossover Darth Vader, TRU, $19.99
• Star Wars Crossover Darth Maul, TRU, $9.99
• DOTM Basic Human Alliance Thunderhead, Walmart, $5
• TF Prime RID Cliffjumper, TRU, $14.99
• TF Prime RID Bumblebee, TRU, $14.99 *Later returned to TRU
• DOTM Basic Human Alliance Backfire, Walmart, $5

Clockwise from top left:
• Heavy Labor, BBTS, $97.99
• Dr. Crank, BBTS, $99.99
• Neckbreaker, BBTS, $99.99
• Battle Tanker, BBTS, $102.99
• Structor, BBTS, $99.99
• Madblender, BBTS, $99.99

• TF Prime Series 02 legion Vehicon, Target, $4.99

• DOTM Basic Human Alliance Icepick, dd’s Discounts, $6.99

• TF Prime FE Voyager Optimus Prime, eBay, $57.98 shipped
• TF Prime RID Voyager Optimus Prime, Walmart, $19.96

• TF Animated Skywarp, Amazon, $13.95

• TF Prime RID Voyager Megatron, Walmart, $19.968
• DOTM Deluxe Optimus Prime with MechTech Trailer, Walmart, $29.96

Not counting the Bumblebee that was returned, that’s 18 TFs for the month. This is a total contrast from Januray, where I only bought 1 TF (PCC Heavytread). Still, 18 is a lot, even for me. Moreover, most of these were bought at MSRP. The only ones bought at discount were the 3 DOTM Basic HA figs, Skywarp, and one of the Star Wars figs (it was buy one get one half off). But screw it! I’m Hsunami Prime and approving TF spending is my job. Or maybe I should say that’s my function. TF Buyer. I like to see that on my business card. Or Tech Spec. If I owned my own business, I’m gonna make my business card look like Tech Specs.

As far as opening these guys, I opened all of them except Thunderhead, Cliffjumper, FE Optimus Prime, RID Megatron, and DOTM deluxe Optimus Prime with Trailer. I intend to open the rest of them soon.

I’m Hsunami Prime, and I’m back and better than ever. Transform and Roll Out!

Happy Holidays! I hope everyone got what they wanted this Holiday season. There’s no better way to celebrate the Holidays than to get some new TFs! OK maybe there are, but new TFs are worth celebrating any time of the year. Below are some TFs that I received or found in the past week or so.

The pic above are the 3 Transformers Prime figures that are now out in mass retail. I went into TF Prime figures in this earlier post.

TRU Exclusive Rodimus appears in the lower left in the pic above. I have yet to open this, and I’m hoping this version is equivalent to the Japanese MP Rodimus Prime 2nd Release since the 1st Release is not without its faults. It will be interesting to see if this US version can attach the Japanese trailer in alt mode. In the lower right of the pic is PCC Double Clutch. Haven’t opened this either, but he seems promising for a PCC. In the upper left is the Walmart Exclusive Deluxe DOTM Optimus Prime. I opened this figure and he’s not half bad. The alt mode comes together well, transformation is not overly difficult, and I like the MechTech weapon. And last but not least, in the upper right is Skywarp. Did any of you out there think this is the Japanese Exclusive Takara DOTM Skywarp? Look carefully. It is inside the Japanese packaging, but it is actually a custom made by my buddy Gemini. He took a DOTM Deluxe Starscream and painted it into Skywarp. Very cool. Look for a review of this custom in a future post.

And finally, yesterday I found some Generations Junkheap. Wreck-Gar was such a pain in the ass to find when he was released. In fact, I didn’t find any in retail until this past November at discount stores. So I kept my eyes open for Junkheap. Last year a new Target opened near my home in SoCal that is within walking distance. I had some free time yesterday so I walked over. The trip paid off with these 2 Junkheaps.

This is probably the last post I will make for 2011. Looking back on 2011, I think I bought a record number of TFs for the year. It’s hard to say what Hasbro has in stored for us next year, but I’m curious to find out. See y’all in 2012! Transform and Roll Out!

As a fan of Transformers since 1984, I’m always excited to see new developments and new initiatives in the franchise. Even back in G1, Transformers did not feel the same from season to season. With every new season, Hasbro introduced us to more characters, more stories, more transforming gimmicks, and of course, more toys. In retrospect, some of the things that Hasbro developed were pretty forgettable. But as true fans we still eagerly anticipated what Hasbro would come up with next.

I stopped buying TFs in 1988, and never imagined I would come back to it in 2004. During this 16 year “hiatus”, I’m only vaguely aware of developments that occurred in the world of TF. But since I came back in 2004, I witnessed growth and maturation in the franchise that I never dreamed possible. What brought me back in 2004 were G1 re-issues. It didn’t take me long to move to Binaltechs, Alternators, and MPs, being that they were direct extensions of G1. I was so impressed with the engineering put into these figures, I could not believe what I had in my hands. From there I collected whatever was in mass retail at the time, including Classics (in all forms of CHUG), Titanium, Movie (all 3), Animated, and even Crossovers. I have watched TFs actively evolve in the 7 years since my return, and I’m always thrilled to see what will be the next step in the evolution of TF.

And that brings me to Transformers Prime. In case you don’t already know, Transformers Prime is the latest animated series in this long running franchise. The show is a reboot of our favorite robots in disguise, and it draws inspiration from many of its predecessors, including G1, Movie, and Animated. To this day, I’ve only watched 14 eps (I know I’m behind), but I can already say that this is a series worthy of the Transformers name.

It goes without saying that, with the creation of every new show, the figures won’t be far behind. Although the influence from previous shows is obvious, TF Prime makes some radical changes in character design. Off the top of my head, Arcee, Starscream, and Soundwave are some prominent examples of characters that look vastly different from their previous incarnations. How this was going to translate to the actual figures remained to be seen. Toy engineers at Hasbro certainly had a challenge on their hands.

TF Prime figures appeared in online stores sometime in October (possibly even earlier). I started to see them in local retail this week. The first 3 figures in Wave 1 is now readily available. Taking a cue from the Japanese TF lines, figures in TF Prime are all numbered. 001 is Bumblebee, 002 is Arcee, and 003 is Starscream. In October, NYCC had an exclusive TF Prime 2-pack of Bumblebee and Arcee, repaints of 001 Bumblebee with New York taxi colors and patterns and 002 Arcee in her G1 pink. I wasted no time buying this set from Hasbrotoyshop.com when I learned of it. Then sometime this week I found 003 Starscream at my TRU. So I now possess the first 3 molds of TF Prime.

I’ve opened all 3 figures, so let me just say this now: Transformers Prime figures are awesome! I didn’t think it would be easy to translate the “TF Prime look” into real physical manifestations and still have working figures with both robot and alt modes resemble their show appearance, but Hasbro designers have outdone themselves. The engineering put into these figures is brilliant. Arcee and Starscream is particularly impressive, considering their skinny robot frames and sleek alt modes. Transformation of these two figures are both refreshing and ingenious. Bumblebee ain’t too shabby either, it’s just that we’ve seen similar figures of this quality from the Movie deluxe figures of the same name. But don’t let that stop you from buying one. If these 3 figs are a sign of things to come from the TF Prime line, then I’m looking forward to some great things.

But enough yapping from me. Check out the pics below for yourselves.

I may do reviews of these outstanding figures in the future. But if you don’t already have them, get them before they’re swiped off the shelves. Make no mistake. TF Prime figures are the real deal. Transform and Roll Out!