Jazz is - by all accounts - cool. He's into everything that has to do with television or music, absorbing as much of human culture as he possibly can. His upbeat personality and friendly demeanor make him a very well-liked member of the Autobots, and it is quite hard to find one Autobot in the ranks who dislikes him. He even has the time to put his own flare on anything he does; either at HQ or in the heat of battle. And as the head of Special Operations, this helps him a lot as - unlike Prowl - Jazz can bend with the wind and take things as they come.
This figure is a 95% exact copy of the 1984 mold; Hasbro and Takara have made a few slight changes to the figure (I'd say probably so it wouldn't get marketed as a fake '84 figure or something). The materials used to mold are different, with the plastic being of a higher quality (the original Jazz is really delicate, as I found out. I'm sorry I broke your windshield Fox T_T). Finally, this figure was created in 2002, marking almost 18 years since an "exact" remold (not counting Generation Two.....god...) was made, and for the price of a deluxe class figure too.
VEHICLE:
Jazz's vehicle mode - a Porsche 935 Turbo race car - has got to rank in the top 10 of my favourite G1 alt modes (I'd say at least 5, right behind Grimlock). The first thing you notice is that this is a pretty good representation of a Porsche of any kind, all-be-it with an oversized rear spoiler. Underneath there is very little kibble, aside from up front where the arms are "stored" in vehicle mode. The tires are rubber, and Jazz rolls remarkably well for a Transformer (in that he rolls better than 25th Optimus, over carpet or laminate flooring). One final nice touch is the fact that the doors do open and close, adding extra roleplay value to this mode.
Vehicle: 23/25
ROBOT:
I'll be honest: this was the main reason why I decided to purchase my version of this figure in the first place. This robot mode is stylish, and is one of the better cartoon-to-figure adaptions in the 84 line (G1 Ironhide >_<). He also comes with the array of addons such as his missile launcher (which has a backpack that plugs into his bacvk, and the the launcher connects to that), three missiles (the Encore edition's missile are different for some reason) and his blaster. His head sculpt is also quite nice, with the smirk of the Generation 2 version quite visible. One minor note I wish they could have done was given him a blue visor, but that's only a minor detail. The feet also look slightly weird, but again, this is only a small item to worry about.
ARTICULATION:
Head: 45 degree pivot
Shoulders: ~360 degree rotation, 180 degree pivot
Elbows: 180 degree pivot
Hands: 360 degree rotation
Waist: n/a
Thighs: n/a
Knees: n/a
Feet: n/a
Other: Jazz's doors - like in vehicle mode - do swing.
Articulation: 17/25
GIMMICK:
Jazz's only real gimmick is his missile launcher, and this is where the differences start. On the original figure, the missile was something like you would have found on G1 Ironhide; a short, chrome missile. This Encore reissue's missile is more of a Classics/Universe seeker-style missile. This is very unnatural for a toy of Jazz's size as it is basically like attaching an RPG to your shoulder. The missile also does have a tendency to misfire on occasion; this could be due to the amount of force needed to put the missile into the launcher, or the design of the tracks that help center it once inside. In any case, be prepared to search for missiles if you are not careful. (my suggestion, leave the missile off him or buy a G1 Jazz launcher and missile(s) off eBay).
Gimmick: 13/25
FUN FACTOR:
Jazz's real fun factor is really limited because of the missile launcher, which was a disappointment for me when I actually tried it out. While the missile does fly far, it's usually not due to pushing the button, and I don't know about you, but looking for parts of toys is a lot less fun than playing with them. On the plus side, Jazz's arm articulation is quite good for the mold (and the genre actually), and the fact that the doors do open in vehicle mode is also a nice touch. Personally, I feel this figure is more of a show-piece than an actual toy, but again why would Hasbro have made it with stronger plastic other than to be played with hard?
Fun Factor: 18.5/25
OVERVIEW:
This is truly a figure that I wish could have scored higher in terms of Gimmick, Articulation and Fun factor, but this is 1980s technology and design we're dealing with here. It is hard to expect a lot from a figure from the 1984 line, but at least it does have great articulation in the arms. The missile launcher could have stayed the way it was, but I don't really have a right to complain as I'm not the head of design at Hasbro, now am I?
My score for Encore G1 Jazz: 71.5/100
This is a must for any collector of G1-style figures as it is basically a cheaper version of the Jazz mold, which can easily fetch upwards of 60 USD online. It is also more durable and can stand up to more transformations than the original '84 figure could ever have. I am really glad that hasbro brought Jazz back in this modern age as - aside from Animated - he has had no real revisits. This is not necessarily a bad thing as revisits seem to slowly make the character lose its lusture, but you have to remember that this is Jazz we're talking about here. He's got enough cool stored away to keep his popularity going for a long time to come.
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