Today I proudly present my Ramjet collection. I could swear I have more Ramjets, but this appears to be it. I did sell one Ramjet, but that figure was built so poorly it does not deserve to be in my collection. Yes I only keep the best.
I have a thing for Ramjet. The simplicity and stupidity of his attacks – very appealing. I would consider myself fortunate if I could solve all my problems like Ramjet. I’m not sure who would be my favorite Seeker. It’s either Starscream, Skywarp, or Ramjet.
From left to right: ToyWorld Combuster, Classics Ramjet, War For Cybertron Earthrise Ramjet
Some quick bits about each of these figs, in the order released.
Classics Ramjet
Classics Ramjet was released pretty early in the era of modernizing classic G1 characters, I think in either 2006 or 2007. Classics Starscream was released as part of the first wave of Classics, so we knew the Coneheads wouldn’t be far behind. Ramjet was the only one released in mass retail as part of Classics in the United States. For Dirge and Thrust, you had to either get them imported as part of Henkei, or wait for the later Generations line.
Classics Ramjet is still a fun figure today to pick up and play, but it is a dated figure for sure. Even for a CHUG fig, the robot mode has its limitations by today’s standards. There’s no waist swivel or ankle tilt. The arms seem a bit short as they don’t extend at all from jet to robot mode. The wings on the legs cannot fold back, so they are stuck extending straight outward.
As dated as this figure is, I still recommend getting one today if you can find one at reasonable price. The jet mode still holds up well. The figure is well constructed. Mine is still in very good shape despite an adequate amount of play. This Ramjet figure is a good first attempt at a modern day Conehead Seeker. And in the halls of TF history, the figure is a good representation of where we were and where we’ve been. This figure paved the way for better Conehead Seekers today.
ToyWorld Combuster
I kind of already summarized my thoughts about the ToyWorld Seekers back in this post. ToyWorld Assault (Thrust) was given more treatment here, and ToyWorld Requiem (Dirge) here. Today is Combuster’s turn. In short, I like Combuster way more than the official MP Ramjet.
Looking at Combuster now in 2021, it’s becoming a bit dated. The jet mode is still great, but the robot mode is beginning the show its age when compared with recent offerings of what a MP style jet robot could potentially be. I don’t have MP-52 Starscream, but I’ve seen enough pics, watched enough reviews, and have friends verbally confirm that the robot mode is out-of-this-world awesome. Looking at pics of MP-52, then looking at pics of Combuster, it’s clear who is a toy and who is the superior physical manifestation of a show character.
But don’t get me wrong. Combuster was a great 3P MP Ramjet for its time, and is still a solid transforming figure today. The jet mode is awesome and scales well with official MPs. The robot mode is a tad tall, which is perhaps the only real weakness in this mode. Combuster sports super solid construction backed by quality materials. The paint job is superb. Transformation is fun and intuitive. Complex enough to be MP, but definitely not frustrating. I don’t know if I would get one today, considering that HasTak would probably take the MP-52 mold and reformat that into Conehead Seekers. But as of this very moment, Combuster is still in my opinion the best MP Ramjet on the market.
WFC Earthrise Ramjet
My newest Ramjet figure is the one from War From Cybertron Earthrise. This was released in 2020 as an Amazon exclusive 2-pack with Dirge. And if you missed out on this 2-pack, it sucks to be you. As of this writing, this 2-pack goes for $219.99! Yikes. MSRP was $59.99. It’s only been about 18 months since release. I guess they seriously didn’t make enough, or damn scalpers are at it yet again. And in case you’re wondering, Thurst was a Target exclusive. And now that I think about it, Thundercracker and Skywarp was also a Target exclusive 2-pack. I’m conflicted about all these exclusivity deals that Hasbro is making. On one hand I’m glad they’re released, but on the other it’s like you have to be on top of releases or you’ll miss out. First world problems at its best.
But back to this Ramjet figure. This is by far the best and most G1 accurate Ramjet that HasTak has came up with. The overall mold is a re-work off of WFC Siege Starscream. When that fig came out, we all knew HasTak would repaint this at least 5 more times, one for each G1 Seeker. And they really made it happen. This figure is highly similar to the Classics Seeker mold, in that overall transformation feels identical. But many improvements are made to modernize the figure. For starters, it’s Voyager size, the size that Seekers should have always been. Ankle tilt has been added, for better stability in A-stance. The arms now have an extension mechanism, from jet to robot mode. Wings on the legs can how fold back. Yes all my gripes about the Classics Ramjet has been addressed. I think HasTak planned for all these repaints when they designed Starscream, because the mechanical differences in Ramjet feels fluid and not tacked on. My only gripe now is the weapons. WFC Ramjet still comes with the same null-ray blasters mold that Starscream has. He should have something that more resemble cruise missiles. I was expecting a 3rd party accessory company to do this (like Dr. Wu Customs perhaps). Maybe someone did, I’m not sure.
I totally recommend this figure. But I wouldn’t pay the scalping prices. My hunch is Hasbro would re-release this for a general release at some point. Wait for that.
“If it flies, crash it!” Wiser words have never been said. Maybe except this… Transform and Roll Out!