18-R
Hasbro- Transformers Armada: Jetfire and Comettor
Approx release date: 2003
Current price and availability: $146.00
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Transformers...IAAOSwRq1c0gT~
Armada Jetfire was particularly important in my collection given that Armada Jetfire was only the second version of the character, who is also my namesake, since the Generation One figure who incidentally was my first Transformers figure all those years ago (talk about a high bar to set). So when saw that Armada was going to feature a Jetfire, it was fair to say that I was going to probably like it regardless, thankfully it turned out to be one of the better figures of the line. I kid you not, I remember the anticipation that I had for the toy and probably visited my local Toy R Us and Wal-Mart every day until its release. Now for those who don’t know, Armada followed the relatively divisive “Robots In Disguise” series and was Hasbro’s start to what Transformers has become. It certainly was an exciting time with a full court media press including a Cartoon, Comic book, PlayStation 2 video game (That was not half bad) and of course a full line up of action figures. Unfortunately Armada started off a bit weak as the cartoon was a bit of a trainwreck and the toys had a much different aesthetic then Beast Machines and RID had with a focus on a gimmick involving the newly introduced mini-cons that unlocked some action feature in each of the modes. This probably helped the playvalue for the target market, but in most cases ruined the articulation that we had become very used to. Thankfully, as the series continued the cartoon became much more interesting and some of the toys continue to be some of the most impressive transformers figures to date. Overall Armada was probably one of the least popular Transformers toys lines among collectors, but I actually like it for the risks that it took for being a bit different while moving the brand forward to what it is today.
Pros: Jetfire had a decent amount of articulation, including his legs- something that was severely lacking in many of the other figures, looks really great in both robot and shuttle modes, has a very interesting transformation and comes with a cannon and shield accessory. He also has the ability to convert into “pants” for the leader class Optimus Prime figure making a power up mode, so is a triple changer of sorts.
Cons: His minicon buddy, Cometter is neat, but seems like a bit of an afterthought as the front wheels of the shuttle. Perhaps her could have been used as a space arm or another smaller weapon. And on that note, his canon is also laughable big, however had a light effect built in so probably had to be that big to hold the battery compartment.
