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Ocular Max Hellion (Transformers Masterpiece Cliffjumper)

Ocular Max Hellion (Transformers Masterpiece Cliffjumper)

Posted on 13 Sep 2018

Ah, the joys of one's own blog and being able to indulge yourself with a review of a recent purchase! So why not a third party figure review of a relatively obscure Transformers character from the 80's to add some variety eh? Tally ho...

Third party transformers seem to go through "flavour of the moment" cycles, with characters being singled out and then attempted by multiple companies almost simultaneously. These tend to be heavy hitters such as Megatron, Shockwave or even Galvatron, but over the last couple of years, more obscure characters have been released. We've had 3 Inferno's, multiple Springer and Arcee attempts, and now Cliffjumper seems to be the itch everyone wants to scratch.

Cliffjumper was a standout in the very first trio of Transformers cartoons, voiced by the legend that is Casey Kasem. He was a hot-headed, scrappy little fella that even had a pop at Megatron with a bazooka (Cliffjumper, not Mr Kasem!) One of the few original cast members to survive the events of Transformers: The Movie, he has endured as a character despite only a handful of other appearances. I'll always remember his role in the UK comic's Dinobot Hunt storyline, where someone thought it was a good idea to send three minibots (Cliffjumper was joined by Windcharger and Gears) against Sludge, arguably the strongest dinobot when in water. It did not go well.

Car Mode

So, for toys - like Bumblebee, he was originally a penny-racer inspired, stylised Porsche 924, and to be fair, Ocular Max have captured that delightfully with this fella. His dinky little box shows off "Hellion" in car mode, which is very shiny with a lovely, rich cherry-red paint job. It's less squished than the original toy, but it still looks off in the right kind of way. The little steering wheel and dash detail also add a lot to the charm. Overall I like the car mode a lot, despite the gaps here and there.

Transformation

But what we really want is a robot mode we can show off on the shelf. Unfortunately the transformation itself was not fun. At all. Firstly, this is a toy with a lot of tiny, moving parts that have to be aligned with great care as you move from one mode to another. This is often where third party Transformers lose out to Hasbro/Takara's generally superior engineering, and you can certainly see that here. It took me several attempts to get everything aligned "just so" in order to create the final figure, and I really don't fancy trying to get Hellion back into car mode. Honestly, had it come packaged as a robot I doubt I would have ever transformed it.

All that said, it cleans up rather well in the end.

Robot Mode

I had the chance to pick up ACE Toys "Tumbler" effort at TF Nation this year for a paltry £20, but knowing this was on the way I decided to wait. I'm quite glad I did, though I have to say I do like the Tumbler figure from pictures. The X-Transbots "Toro" figure looks nice from the front, with clean, unfussy surfaces, but has a huge backpack and a sort of "head on a plate" look which I find distinctly off-putting.

Hellion? Honestly nothing about it makes me feel shortchanged. A lot has been made about the very slender waist, but in-hand it doesn't bother me in the slightest. The torso is pure win, with a compact, sturdy feel and a minimal backpack. The cherry-red really pops in this mode, allowing the grey plastic of his limbs to break up the colours very nicely indeed. From pictures, I felt the shins looked cheap, but the final product seems fine here. Likewise I find the headsculpt to be perfectly in keeping with the character, and nicer than the other two figures, so it gets a big tick here too.

Nitpicks? Well okay, I would have liked a chromed face option to better compliment my MP Bumblebee, but given the matt paint jobs as the line tries to match the cartoon aesthetic, I can see the long term benefits of not doing this here. We're bound to get a "plus" version of Bumblebee with matt, cartoon colours sooner or later.

His arms are a little weedy, and given the nature of the transformation, are full of panel lines. However, they are solid all the way around which is more than can be said for Bumblebee.

I'd also say that the torso isn't quite the right shape either. His "penny racer" spoiler should stick out further than it does here, so in that sense he's actually too svelte.

In terms of fitting in to your collection, I'd say he seems very slightly undersized. I've been impressed with figures like DX9's Richtofen for scale, standing a little under MP carbot height, but taller than Bumblebee, who should always be the smallest member of the team. Hellion throws that off a bit, so it's not ideal from that standpoint. When it comes to overall proportions, I have to concede that Toro is the better figure on the shelf. A lot of people have gone for a Toro figure and simply removed the backpack, which seems a bit odd, but understandable when MP figures together. I'll just keep Hellion away from Bee to avoid the obvious issue. Recommendations for "themed" displays? He looks fantastic with either Maketoys Downbeat (Jazz) for movie-related fun, or the Ocular max Sphinx (Mirage) for traitor-accusing cartoon re-enactment!

Accessories

Here's where we gain some major ground. Like the other offerings, Hellion comes with a pistol and a bazooka, only his are much nicer than the either of the others. He also has add-ons that turn him into a hydrofoil, and I love this little extra feature. Yes, it'll stay in the box forevermore, but it's a lovely nod to the cartoon and fun to mess with. There are three heads - a stoic, diaclone style face, one with a smirk (almost indistinguishable) and a growling face. I like the stoic version best, but what really surprised me was that the variety wasn't as great as Tumbler, who came with 3 completely different helmet styles. Honestly I'd only ever use one so I'm happy enough with just a variety of expressions.

Buy or Pass?

Overall, I'd say that Hellion is the best standalone Cliffjumper I've seen to date, just by virtue of having less issues than the other two. Each variant has something it does best - Tumbler has the best car mode, Toro looks the best at certain angles, but Hellion is better than average in all modes, so he's just a better figure because he doesn't do any one thing badly enough to be an issue. What a strange way to find something the best! If you want a really fun, poseable and tight little figure, Hellion is a blast. He's not a perfect fit and he isn't perfect by any stretch, but for my money he's the best so far and can I say again how much I love the adorable little box he comes in? Kawaii!!!

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