Preamble
When Fans Toys announced their take on Jazz, a pre-order for FT-48 Jive was placed swiftly and without hesitation. All I had to do was sit back and wait… But even then I knew that eventually I’d be doing the ‘Double-Dip’ as my left big toe was telling me that a toy version would be along in due course… it was and here it is.
Jazz is my favourite of the Autobot cars and has been since those long distant days of 1985. It’s a no brainer really as his alt mode is such an iconic car of that era. Growing up in the 70’s and 80’s, most young boys were infatuated by sports cars, I was no exception. So now that we have a more toy accurate likeness of this much loved Autobot, lets see what he’s like shall we.
Box & Accessories
Box quality is Fans Toys standard, it’s sturdy, glossy and printed well. As ever, the figure is presented inside a tomb of polystyrene, which I adore as it gives off an air of prestige. Along with the figure are the accessories which include; a blaster, shoulder mounted rocket, grappling hook assembly, two speakers and two swap out faces. Also included is the almost obsolete instruction booklet and a collectors card (with a number stamp on in gold, mine is 2796). Noting the accessories, the flat grey parts are now chromed… well all save one. Disappointingly the gun has not been chromed. This is a let down given the care and attention to the other lesser areas of the piece.
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The word “SEX” springs to mind when looking at Jive in his alt mode. This is an amazing representation of the 1976 Martini Racing Porsche 935 Turbo. Of course, it’s the exact same mold as his more sparsely decorated predecessor, but it just looks so much better with the brand detailing applied. Paint application is also better this time around too. Gone is the flat white gloss, to be replaced with a slight off-white metallic pearlescent. Rubber tyres, it’s a must have and they’ve ditched those bland animation inspired rims. Now we have lush gold spokes in their latticed delightfulness. Translucent plastic for the windows remains the same, still showing off the internal gubbins which is not unsightly but may put some off. My example in hand has a solid vehicle mode with no panel gaps or mis-alignments. To my eye, almost every inch of this figure is painted and has zero blemishes or bad spots. Jive rolls well on his wheels and the doors open for effect, but this is more to do with transformational sequence than actual play or design feature.
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Transformation is not bad, but can be a little fiddly in places, a little too tight also. But this is something that Fans Toys does from time to time with their releases. At no point did I feel an apprehension or concern that anything would break or stress. I have a gentle but deliberate touch anyway so breakages aren’t something I experience very often, if at all. Those who have him will note the very much G1 toy inspired transformation sequence, a call back to those who appreciate that kind of thing, myself included. As I would assume most people do by now, I’d stay clear of the transformation steps as shown in the instruction booklet and go with an online video walk-through sequence. There are many out there so choose the one that best fits for you.
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In robot mode Jive is sublime, he is to my adult eye what my G1 toy was back in my childhood imagination. Pretty much all the toy detailing is there to satisfy those who want that G1 toy aesthetic whilst retaining that animation inspired style. However, I will point out that there does seem to be a difference from the pre-release images to the production release. I’m sure that on those teaser images there was detailing to the mid chest section. This is now gone and is slightly disappointing as my critical eye feels it looks unfinished. Just to repeat a point from earlier, this figure is painted excellently. Not one blemish or bad spot, just about every inch is covered. Fans Toys have done a bang on job of getting all the key elements from the G1 toy look to translate well on this figure.
In my previous review I made mention of an issue with the shoulders, the tight shoulder joints compromising the structural integrity of the upper torso, meaning when you rotate them the chest disassembles itself. This issue has been fixed and no longer does this. But my second quibble goes unresolved, the head articulation remains unsatisfactory, rotation and up just does not cut it these days. I’m sure a ball joint could’ve been made to work. The articulation is good, most action poses are achievable and without need of external support. No double joints here but it does not compromise the figure as a whole, the addition of an ab-crunch helps. The doors fold out and with the rocket launcher attached completes the old toy look. Jive scales well with his contemporary's, whether they are other 3rd Party figures or official Takara releases.
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I’d be lying if I said there was not a slight tinge of buyers remorse, not for this release of Jive, but for its predecessor. I knew full well when ordering the latter that it was a dead cert that a more toy accurate version would come along in time. And thankfully we had to wait over a year for it to come along, as had it of come sooner them maybe I’d be pissed. But as it stands I’m not and despite the slight sour after taste, I don’t see me parting with either figure any time soon.
So in closing, a solid figure with quality materials, great paint job and good articulation which raises up an already amazing figure to a new loftier height. The minor points I mentioned in the review aside, I’m very pleased to own this figure, more so now that is adorned with that iconic Martini livery. So, what to do if you already have the standard release of Jive? Well you could be happy in your choice and enjoy his presence upon your shelf or you could seethe knowing you have an inferior version of the classic character. I jest, no really I’m joking… or am I? As of writing this review there has been a second run announced but I believe at an inflated price over the initial one. So, if you really want this upgrade then you could sell your original off to fund the other. But I figure that most MP collectors are in this for the cartoon aesthetic and will be satisfied with their collecting choices. And rightly so, you do you and be happy in the knowledge that whichever version you have, they are the best version of Jazz out there at the moment.
But before I go, who's offering odds on a G2 release or even a Stepper redeco?
And that’s about it. The rest you can gather from the photo’s or by heading over to Omegalock and buying one for yourself.
Right, I’m out of here. I’ve been Edd, he's been the toy version of Jive and you’ve been awesome for spending a little time reading my ramblings.
