Beast Machines Jetstorm
Now this is friggin cool. I have yet to see a Beast Machines toy with the combined coolness,
complicated transformation and amazing stability as Jetstorm has. Quite excellent.
As you probably know (or can figure out) Jetstorm's vehicle mode is that of a jet. A very
sleek and cool looking jet mind you, and the animators actually stuck to the toy design, so
the jet mostly manages to look like what it does in the show (unlike Jetstorm's buddy, Tankor).
Jetstorm boasts two translucent red missiles which (unlike most other Beast series toys with
firing missiles) fly. I've almost lost them on several occasions when I accidently fired them
by moving one of his chest plates or arms.
Another spiffy feature (also used in the show, whoo!) is the jets extendo cockpit feature
which allows the cockpit (not kind of impaled on a yellow stick) to look back and fourth and
even look down slightly. This gives the jet an animal sort of look to it, like a vulture looking
for things to eat (well, was that a reference?) or something.
His transformation is something else. Trying to do this one without instructions is
nearly impossible as there's so much shifting and moving and all kinds of other stuff it's
just so hard to keep track of it all. Yes we certainly have progressed a long way from the
'fold him in half and pull out the arms' days of other jets like Starscream.
The best way to describe the transforming is pulling out his wings, flipping out his legs,
folding him in half and then shifting his head and body a whole lot. It's wacky. Also
his chest plates snap into place which is what holds the entire thing together and make
it so stable. Be careful with that part, it can take off a finger.
In robot mode Jetstorm is impressive looking and very poseable. All his joints are very
tight (probably due to the rubber like material he's made of) so you never have to prop him
up against the wall or another, more stable, transformer. His missiles can still be fired
in robot mode, and he can even hold them in his hands, if you'd like Jetstorm to club
Maximals over the head with them for some reason. His only real problem is his robot head
which has the look of a bunny, though I'm sure Jetstorm would blow up anyone who said that
to him.
Okay, almost done. Jetstorm also sports a nifty (and show-accurate) hover mode, which is
done simply by snapping his legs together with two pegs and holes made just for this
purpose. Pretty cool, though he can't stand this way on his own. However, if sit his butt
on top of a box or CD or something he'll stay put and sorta hover on his own. Buns of steel,
on many levels.
In conclusion, if you buy no other Beast Machines toy, buy Jetstorm. At around $8 (probably
less now) he's very much worth the price tag and really kickass to boot. You won't be
sorry you picked up this one.
