Vehicle Mode: Largest (US)Transformers jet, only rivaled by MW Starscream, G2 Dreadwing and Jetfire (maybe bigger if you count the armor, not just the base jet). Unfortunately his legs are more similar to G2DW than JF, simply stuck on the bottom as undercarriage junk and not seamlessly blended in to the jet form. The legs are not securely positioned either, just a small tab going into a slot which is not very tight. Drones can be attached under the wings and landing gear can be flipped down (not clear to me is 'up' position should be forward or backward, both work). The landing gear lack free-rolling wheels that even G2DW had. Of all the things Hasbro could have cut to save money, non-rolling wheels annoy me greatly. In addition a small gray flap at the base of the jet-neck opens to reveal an orange Vehicon spark, 2 tailfins can flip up/down and the jet-neck has 2 up/down joints(the wings can also swing back, but that's for transformation). No other poseability in jetmode until we get to the....
Gimmicks:
Pressing down on a red lever at the back of the jet releases the
spring loaded turret. This is the only way to activate the lights in
jetmode. 3 lights can be seen in the turret, illuminating it's
translucent red plastic and the missles (molded as missles, not energy
bolts), and another lights up the red cockpit eyes. There's 2 red
ovals on the sides near the jet neck which I thought would light-up,
but are evidently just decorative. Turning the turret or the jet neck
left to right turns the other in the same direction, although the
gears are prone to slipping resulting in a slightly different angles
of the 2 and a need to snap it back. The missles on the turret are
fired individually by gray levers at the back of the turret.
In retracted mode, a small finger can be used to fire them, but they just hit the jet since they are in a molded-indentation. Raised above, the missles can be fired with the levers or when turned to the left the right lever hits a tab on the surface of the wing and fires the right missle automatically and vice-versa. The gimmicks work fairly effectively however it results in too many thin flaps(ala Tigerhawk) and I'm always unimpressed with electronics and feel the space in the toy they require, and the cost would be better used in a more trimmed design. Eliminating the elaborate gimmick, reducing the overall size, and streamlining the leg/undercarriage could have made for a better Mega-sized figure.
Transformation tip:
The robot feet stick out the back of the jet too far.
The heel spurs can be flipped inside the legs and the feet can fold to
point up. This partially blocks the retracted-mode missle triggers,
but since they can't fire anyway I think it makes the jet better.
Transformation to Hover Mode:
Yep, the instructions show Hovermode first, then robot mode.
From retracted-mode: Disconnect legs, swing down hip bracket, turn
180 degrees, then swing up to cockpit area. Pull wings out from body,
and swing back slightly, then fold flap they're mounted on at the back
of the jet, down so the wings point down. Now fold the entire rear
turret/wing section down 90 degrees into plane so missles point
up. Open blue panels on top of turret, then with the struts left up
and swing to top of plane/robot chest, reconnect, and swing small gray
panels on them up. Fold panel that attaches arm section to turret
section up, missle levels go through slots, then fold arm mounts
forward at the innermost of the 2 flap joints and place tabs into
slots on turret panel struts. Lift head up and swing forward and lock
down again. Open top and bottom triangular panels at end of arms and
fold back to reveal hands. Rotate the 3 fingers to form a
claw. Position arms and wings. Now legs are still facing backward,
turn 90 degrees with blue part outward, straighten feet and connect
legs around cockpit with the nose inside legs. Open blue panels to
reveal thrusters.
Hover Mode:
Quite similar to the deluxe version, but MUCH larger and a bit more
intricate. The arm mounts do not lock solidly on, so positioning them
should be down while holding the mount. His arms are too short,
barely reaching past his chest and are incumbered with the bulk of the
wings, the panels that hide his claws and the awkward side landing
gear. The legs are not solidly locked together either, adding to feel
on instability.
The gimmicks work slightly differently in hover/robot mode. Moving the head positions it over a light to make the robot eyes glow, and also exposes a button that was underneath the head. Pressing this button activates the lights in robot eyes, missles, and still the cockpit eyes. The spring-up action of the turret does not work, but it can be extended in before folding in the arm panels for an alternate mode. The missles now fire only by the gray levers on his back (my right-side missle suffers a bit from the deluxe's problem of unstable locking). This mode suffers from instability and odd chest/shoulder area proportions.
Transformation to Robot Mode:
From Hover mode, close blue panels over thrusters, separate legs, turn
90 degrees forward, flip feet forward, and heel spurs back. Then fold
nose back behind robot, make sure front leading gear is folded back.
In addition the drones can be mounted on the side of his legs similar
to G1 Blades's hip weapons.
Robot Mode:
Not much different than Hovermode, the cockpit doesn't stick straight
down as in the deluxe. The disproportionality and instability in
upper body is still present, but since the legs aren't supposed to
lock together that instability is gone. Unfortunately it's replaced
with discrepancies in joint tightness. The leg's ball hip-joint is
much tighter than the other joints, making posing a bit awkward,
especially since the knee joint is just too loose on it's own. These
problems have annoyed me thus far, but I might be starting to come
around because this is one impressive robot.
When comparing heights of TFs, I compare based on where the head is mounted since the official head and shoulders could have extra height that shouldn't count. So on that comparison, Ultra Jetstorm is the tallest TF made since the Beast Era began, taller than OpOp and SFC! (As of this writing, I don't have Supreme and he isn't "widely" released so I'm not counting him yet). He does indeed look very "bad@$$" and I prefer robot mode over hover mode because the bulkiness of the robot legs looks big, yet also streamlined enough for an aerial warrior. The legs aren't overly bulky as in OpOp's lower legs. Yet the legs are basically hollow, making for a somewhat cheap feel.
What to do with the drones in robot/hover mode?: In robot mode they can be on the hips, I think that looks dumb. In hover mode they can be mounted in that same place, but they're behind his back which is okay for storage but nothing else. The only other thing to do is mount them under his arms for added firepower, but it really just increases the problem of bulkiness on his arms.
Overall:
He suffers from various problems (under carriage junk, complex
gimmick, bulky arms, hollow legs, instability, etc.). No one problem
is all consuming, but added up the take a toll on this otherwise
impressive figure. Personally I think he would have made for an
incredible Mega-figure as stated in the "Gimmicks" section, but
overall I'm disappointed thus far.
Overall Rating: **1/2 -- after first transforming him and being
annoyed by little quirks...however as I continue to play with him I
think my rating may go up as high as ****.
Okay, I kinda like him, but objectively the flaws keep him at
a final rating of **1/2