From uno.canit.se!seunet!mn7.swip.net!mn6.swip.net!sunic!sunic.sunet.se!news.sprintlink.net!howland.reston.ans.net!math.ohio-state.edu!magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu!dvandom Mon Aug 14 18:43:25 1995 Path: uno.canit.se!seunet!mn7.swip.net!mn6.swip.net!sunic!sunic.sunet.se!news.sprintlink.net!howland.reston.ans.net!math.ohio-state.edu!magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu!dvandom From: dvandom@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Dave Van Domelen) Newsgroups: alt.toys.transformers Subject: Dave's Transformers Rant: Recolored Cyberjets Date: 13 Aug 1995 00:23:40 GMT Organization: Coherent Comics UnIncorporated Lines: 94 Message-ID: <40jgmc$ruh@charm.magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: beauty.magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu Dave's Transformers Rant: Recolored Cyberjets As I was pawing through the Go-Bots at Target looking for the "classics," I caught the word "Jetfire" out of the corner of my eye. "Hmm, Jetfire," I thought. "That's nice...WHOA!" At which point I made a spectacle of myself by diving into the display and digging out all three new Cyberjets. About the only physical (as opposed to color) difference in the new guys is that the joints are a little stiffer and the missile launchers a bit weaker with correspondingly shorter range. The plastic doesn't feel quite as cheesy as on the first set, but this may be due to the paint jobs. The loyalties of the new set are dubious. Air Raid has "United States" on the sides of his cockpit...and the other two have Decepticon symbols! Not even the *Decepticon* Cyberjets had Decepticon symbols, eh? And they all have USAF stars-and-bars on their wings. These guys *are* supposed to be the same guys whose names they take from G1, as is made apparent in the tech specs (see below). Missiles are white for these guys, and the parts on the first batch which were red are blue on this batch. For the most part, blue looks better than red would have on this group (and since they're ball and socket, you could swap out a big chunk of the blue bits for red if you wanted to. Instruction booklets are essentially the same except for names and the highlight color...the "My arms fell off" goof on Hooligan's booklet is continued onto Jetfire's. Statwise, this trio could whomp the Decepticon Cyberjets. Air Raid is about equal to Skyjack, Strafe is slightly better than Space Case and Jetfire is head and shoulders ahead of everyone. AUTOBOT: Jetfire Function: Air Guardian "Among the mysteries of science lies the key to victory!" Daring risk taker with unparalleled speed. Maintains a passion for scientific research, believing that only through advancements in Autobot technology will victory be achieved. Swing-wing design, supersonic combustion modules and liquid hydrogen fuel tanks allow for a top speed of Mach 4.2. Armor-piercing missiles spell doom for Decepticons! STR 6 INT 10 SPD 10 END 4 RNK 9 COUR 9 FRP 7 SKL 9 Tot 64 Avg 8 While I like the retention of his scientific side, he's gone from a peaceful seeker of knowledge to a bit of a warmonger, which I don't care for. Granted, this is closer to his original techspecs, but I prefer the cartoon's portrayal. Science is now a means to an end for him, rather than an end in itself, and his former reluctance is now replaced by "daring risk taker" syndrome. The greytone camo job along with blue underbody and white missiles give him the definite look of an arctic fighter, and are a major departure from G2 garishness. His look is almost subdued and tasteful. Same body as Hooligan. AUTOBOT: Air Raid Function: Warrior "If you look first, you may not leap." Fearless tactician with a "gung-ho" attitude. Always strives to have fun - even while clashing in aerial combat against the Decepticons! Flies at Mach 2.5 with 1500 mile range. Carries air-to-air heat-seeking missiles. Behavior often considered reckless by fellow Autobots - takes too many chances that can leave him vulnerable. STR 5 INT 7 SPD 9 END 7 RNK 5 COUR 10 FRP 8 SKL 7 Tot 58 Avg 7.25 Starting to look like all the Autobot Cyberjets are jaded thrillseekers, yes? Based on the quote and several similarities between his note and the original Aerialbot's, it's safe to say that this *is* Air Raid in a new configuration, sans other Aerialbots. In fact, his stats are identical to the original's! His color job is more black than Skyjack's, with an airbrushed trailing edge of blue that I almost missed at first glance. He looks far more stealthy than Skyjack...although he's not given any stealth abilities in his tech specs. AUTOBOT: Strafe Function: Aerial Gunner "Shoot everywhere - since that's where the enemies are!" Never aims at targets - just arrives for battle and sprays artillery in all directions. Very high-strung. Lightning-fast reflexes make up for sluggish air speed [maximum air speed: 500 mph]. Proud to be fighting alongside Air Raid and Jetfire, who appropriately keep their scanning sensors locked onto his weapons system to avoid being hit by misguided missile fire. STR 5 INT 6 SPD 6 END 7 RNK 5 COUR 8 FRP 7 SKL 4 Tot 48 Avg 6 My initial impression on reading this techspec was that total idiocy must be inherent in the airframe...between Strafe and Space Case, you don't have enough common sense to tie your shoes! But on checking the original Technobot Strafe's techspec, I found he's always been this way. Again, stats are identical to original's (as are Jetfire's, I find). Color job is an olive drab and tan camo pattern which looks vaguely like Blot threw up on him or something. Plastic used in construction does seem less cheesy than in original, a little stiffer and sturdier. In robot mode the colors don't look as bad as in jet mode, but they could still be better. Dave Van Domelen, wonders if Strafe has Con symbols because he's more dangerous to his own side than to the Decepticons?