Cliffjumper's deluxe mainline release is indeed a new mold-- although looking at it in vehicle mode compared to the First Edition toy, you'd be forgiven for not seeing it at first. The colors are pretty much exactly the same-- a dull red with clear plastic windows, a gunmetal gray front bumper with light blue headlights, silver tailpipes, and the like. The mold detailing is also basically identical to the First Edition toy in this mode; even the "cracks" in his car mode for the transformation are similar. The only questionable paint app on this entire toy is that-- though his rear bumper IS painted silver-- his taillights are painted black, which... makes little sense. The proportions for Cliffjumper's muscle car mode are also pretty good, though comparing it directly with the First Edition toy, there are a few minor differences. For one, the First Edition version is bigger-- as are all the First Edition deluxes & voyagers when compared to their 2012 "Robots in Disguise" counterparts, due to economic realities. That aside, the roof isn't quite as far up above the rest of the car vertically as the First Edition version, and thus makes Cliffjumper look a tad flat there. The covers over the top of his wheels are also more obvious and extend further over the tires here, which I honestly have no real opinion on. As far as robot mode extras, thankfully you still can't see anything recognizable inside the clear windows, though Cliffjumper's feet are slightly visible underneath the car mode from a side view, and a bit more obviously visible from the back end. To accomodate the 2012 Prime weapons, there's also two ports for a 5 mm port-compatible weapon; a port on the top of the roof, and on the right rear side of the mode, both of which can fit Cliffjumper's weapon perfectly-- which functions as a gun in this mode, but functions even better as a heavy-duty hammer/smasher in robot mode.
    In robot mode is where this version of Prime Cliffjumper more obviously differs from his First Edition version. Like pretty much all of the 2012 "Robots in Disguise" toys when compared to their First Edition predecessors, the transformation on this Cliffjumper is a bit simpler, though only just. There's still a fair number of flips and turns with his various pieces, though the only one that might give you trouble at first is collapsing the sides of his car mode to become his lower arms-- that involves a bit of finangling with his fists. There's also a pretty cool geared gimmick that partially reveals his head during the final step of the transformation. The end result is a Cliffjumper that has a bit more show-accurate of a chest (because it's made of entirely fake mold-detailed parts; though it's also painted quite well, so I can hardly fault them there), but otherwise is a little less show-accurate. His legs have the rear sections of the car mode hanging off of them, though they don't poke out much and at least contribute to Cliffjumper's overall silouhette, even if wheels on his lower legs isn't show-accurate. His shoulders and upper arms are too small proportionally (with part of the front bumper hanging off the back of them), and his lower arms too long and a bit stiff-looking due to the transformation-- this latter point is what I would call this mold's greatest weakness, easily. There's also a fair amount of vehicle mode kibble on his back (the roof, hood, and the like)-- though to be fair, it only barely sticks out, and stays out of the way of most articulation, so I don't mind it much. His general mold sculpting is great in this mode, blending the somewhat minimalist Prime aesthetic with occasional bursts of lots of detailing, like on his ribs, chest, and waist. (Sadly, the fake wheels on his red upper legs aren't painted at all, and thus look a bit silly as-is.) His headsculpt is also dead-on show accurate, and has a bit of a "gritted teeth" look to it, which looks great for ol' Cliff. For articulation, Cliffjumper can move at the neck, shoulders (at two points), elbows (at two points), wrists, waist, hips (at two points), knees, and ankles (at two points). Some important joints like his hips, ankles, and wrists are on ball joints, so you can get more poses out of him then you'd think at first, though those stiff lower arms of his do limit this aspect of him a little. And hey, waist movement is one point of articulation he has that his First Edition toy doesn't, so there's that-- and due to his weight distribution, he's generally a little more stable all-around. (He can't rotate his fists over into guns on this version, though.)
    Prime Cliffjumper has a few weaknesses compared to his First Edition toy, such as stiff lower arms, a bit more kibble in both modes, and a generally less-accurate robot mode-- but he's still a fairly solid toy, and the "fake bits" on his robot chest and waist actually look better overall than the "real vehicle parts" around that area on the First Edition toy, and this mold's not prone to breaking there, either. If you're not fond of being careful with a Transformer during transformation, but still want a "normal"-sized Cliffjumper of moderate transformation difficulty, this is the one for you. Otherwise, go with one of the First Edition versions of the mold.

Review by Beastbot

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