Animated Safeguard

Robot Mode: As individual robots Jetfire and Jetstorm are pretty much identical. They differ only in colour - Jetfire being mostly orange and Jetstorm mostly blue - and have different head molds. Otherwise they are, quite literally, mirror images of one another. Posability on both robots is quite good and offers no grounds for complaints. Detailing looks quite good as well. The only slight complaint I have is that the hands on both robots are barely more than hinted at. The outline of a hand is sculpted into what becomes the nose of the jet mode. I like my robots with better hands than this.

Jetfire's head looks like he has flames as hair and a set of aviator goggles sitting on his forehead. Jetstorm wears a helmet and has a visor, making him somewhat reminiscent of Jazz. Both heads look pretty nice and carry cocky grins, which fits the personalities of the two as was shown in the accompanying comic book. Sadly neither robot carries anything resembling a weapon. The closest they come to having one are the 'wings' they can deploy from their shins and the blade-like fins on their forearms. Jetfire's are sculpted to look like flame, Jetstorm's resemble ice shards. In the comic both didn't need any weapons since they could generate flames and wind respectively, but still. A gun or other weapon would have been nice.

All in all the two robots are pretty good, though I'd have liked better hands and a real weapon for both.

Alternate Mode: Both Jetfire and Jetstorm transform into Science Fiction style jets. Here the two are completely identical except for their colours and the outline of their unfolding wings (again, flames for Jetfire, ice shards for Jetstorm). The front section of the jet reminds me a bit of the Vipers from the original Battlestar Galactica series, so the boys get some bonus points for nostalgia value. The front section also looks pretty good detail-wise and offers no clue as to the robot hidden inside.

Sadly the same can not be said for the rear section of the jet, which can barely disguise the fact that it's made from the robot legs. Also, the fist sculpt for the Safeguard combined robot is quite visible as well from most angles. A somewhat better camouflage would have been welcome here. Still, the two jets look nice and considering that they are Science Fiction style vehicles, not meant to resemble any existing Earth jet, gives them a bit more freedom in terms of design. So overall, nice, but with room for improvement.

Combined Mode: Jetfire and Jetstorm can actually combine in two different ways. Let's start with the simpler one first. When in jet mode the two jets can combine by attaching their undersides and the finished product looks like... well, like two jets attached by their undersides. Really can't think of anything else to say here. It's not one jet, it's two jets naughtily attached to each other. I've seen much better jet-jet-combinations back in the G1 days (anyone remember Dreadwing?). So let's just move on and quickly forget about this combination here.

The much better combination for Jetfire and Jetstorm is Safeguard. Each of the two forms one side of the body. Jetfire is the left side, Jetstorm the right. The four robot legs become Safeguard's arms and legs, while the four robot arms form a sort of big X on his back. Safeguard is split right down the middle colour-wise, making it clearly evident that he is composed of two separate halves. Safeguard retains all of the individual robots' posability, though, and can move without any trouble.

Weapon-wise Safeguard isn't much better off than the individual robots, though he can now unfold the 'wing-blades' from both his arms and legs. The toes of the smaller robot modes also form a kind of spike on each of his fist, giving him a pretty devastating punch. All in all Safeguard looks pretty cool, can move with the best of them, and has no flaws worth mentioning. So the bottom line is: A pretty good gestalt robot. No complaints except for the lack of weapons.

Remarks: When it comes to flying Autobots, the first name that usually comes to mind is Jetfire. He was the first flyer among the good guys and his name was reused for pretty much every incarnation of the robots in disguise. Jetstorm isn't quite the household name Jetfire is, but he's been popping up regularly since Beast Wars, though he's usually a bad guy. In Animated Jetfire and Jetstorm are twins, a curious result of a split protoform. When an accident left them clinging to life, they were selected as test subjects for the project that was to create a flying Autobot. Jetfire and Jetstorm succeeded beyond anyone's expectations and became the youngest Elite Guard members ever.

As toys Jetfire and Jetstorm are doing pretty well for themselves, too. Okay, their combined jet mode is best forgotten, but both as individual robots and in their combined Safeguard form they do impress me quite a bit and while their individual vehicle forms aren't the best ever, they work and get a small nostalgia bonus, too. So all in all the Jetfire / Jetstorm combo is certainly worth acquiring.

Rating: B

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