Transformers Generations Springer & Cliffjumper Toys-R-Us/Asia exclusive action figure review

The Generations line of Transformers has been going strong for a while now and in Asia there's been a release of repaints with new headsculpts. Three classes have been released in Voyager, Deluxe, and Scouts. Here I take a look at the deluxes Springer who shares the Tomahawk mold and Cliffjumper who shares the First Edition Transformers Prime Cliffjumper mold that wasn't released in the USA. The packaging is bilingual as are the instructions.

Sculpting on Springer is the same as Tomahawk who is a cool looking assault chopper. Unfortunately Springer doesn't have a secondary vehicle alt mode but a savvy customizer can fix that with some wheels. His headsculpt is dead-on Springer and the mold has a very classic feel to the character. You may notice his feet are mistransformed in some pictures. If you weren't a fan of Tomahawk's bird-toes and you can flip them around different ways.

Cliffjumper's sculpt is excellent. The body is a First Edition Cliffjumper down to the black plastic placement. I don't own the original so I can't comment on the shade of red but it has to be close. Both hands fold up to reveal great looking tri-guns. His mold is detailed and like Springer's works for a 'classic' feel. Cliff's head has the trademark horns and domed-sides. There are some odd mold lines and off-set plastic on his lower legs where they meet the knee but it's not too jarring.

Articulation for Springer is excellent with a ball-jointed head that can look almost straight up. His elbows are somewhat limited in their range but his shoulders and legs make up for it. Springer's hands and waist are static. Cliffjumper on the other hand has double-jointed elbows, also a great ball-jointed neck, but his knees don't bend to 90 deg unless you shave some of the red plastic paneling from behind them. He has limited side-ankle movement as well.

Paint for both Cliffjumper and Springer is crisp and neatly applied. The silver doesn't go all the way against the sides of their faces however and may need to be touched up. Cliffjumper's rims, bumper, and headlights look great as do Springer's wing stripes, rotors, and yellow sections. Light piping for the eyes on both figures is excellent due to the back of their heads being molded almost entirely in clear plastic.

Transformation is your basic deluxe style tho Cliff's is a bit more complex being a First Edition mold. Their alt modes are a red muscle car and attack chopper. Both are previous molds and look great. Springer is the only one with accessories and include two C-clamp and 5mm peg missle pods but also his sword. The sword is nicely detailed and has two 5mm pegs, tho you will need to swap a missile pod to the back of the chopper if you want to store it in helicopter mode. While I would have liked to see Cliffjumper with a giant gun just the fact we're getting this mold in the USA is good enough for me.

So what's the verdict on these figures? You probably won't get another chance to get a First Edition Cliffjumper mold in the USA and with some effort you could swap the US release Prime Cliff's head on if you had a spare ball joint. This is also my favorite version of Springer so far and the inclusion of his sword was an excellent choice. You're going to have to hunt these down at Toys R Us or wait till Cliffjumper and Springer are back in stock at Toys R Us' website as they aren't immediately searchable anymore. For Transformers fans this will be a hunt. Wheelie and Swerve are the other deluxes in the assortment followed by the scouts which are showing up.