FansToys FT-10 Phoenix Review
"Im too darned big to sneak around like this.” – Skyfire from the Transformers season 1 episode, “Fire on the Mountain”.
Let me start out by saying, G1 Skyfire/Jetfire is my favorite Autobot. He was one of the
few season one characters that retained his Cybertronian alt form. Plus, he was the
biggest of the Autobots during season one.
I think that is why Shockwave became my favorite Decepeticon for similar reasons. Also, he was a powerful character in the G1 comic and created Jetfire in the book.
I always liked the connection of the two and had those two facing off on my G1 shelves.
Up for review is the third party Fanstoys FT-10 Phoenix transforming robot action figure, which is their version of a Transformers Masterpiece Skyfire figure. Phoenix was released in May of 2017, and retails for about $220.00 USD.
The figure is based off the G1 animation model of Skyfire that was both used in the show and the Transformers Marvel Comics books. (The character was called Jetfire in the comic).
The actual 1985 G1 Jetfire toy, which is what the animation model was loosely based on, was actually a borrowed and licensed out design from Bandai originally used for their Macross series. Hasbro could only use the Macross design for the toy, so Skyfire had to have a completely different look in the fiction.
When I started collecting Transformers, I adored my Jetfire figure! The futuristic take on an interstellar jet just looked imposing on the shelf! Being one of the bigger figures
initially, the Jetfire toy had a lot of presence on my shelf. One thing that struck me was
how different the design was in the show and comic. Sure, some of the elements were
similar, but they didn't really look the same.
In the last few years, Hasbro made recent figures based more on the show design, while still incorporating the look of the original toy. Still, it didn’t match up to what I wanted to represent the character.
Not too long ago, third party Daca Toys tried their hand at a Masterpiece style Skyfire with their Kronos figure. While the robot mode looked the part, poor quality control issues, difficulty in transformation, and questionable design choices made this figure earn a bad reputation among collectors.
When Fanstoys announced their version in 2014, and started showing off designs, many collectors were anticipating a better representation than the previous version that Daca Toys offered.
PRESENTATION
The copy I am reviewing was loaned out to me, so I can’t comment on the box design or art. Once I do have my own copy, I will update the review.
FIGURE
In robot mode, Phoenix stands about 14 inches tall from head to foot. If you add the
height of his backpack, the figure reaches 15 inches tall.
Having Phoenix in hand, I love the size of the figure. Skyfire typically towered over the other Transformers in the show, and this is pretty much in line with the scale of official Masterpiece figures. I already got a little nostalgic regarding his size when I had Phoenix posed with some of my other figures. It just conveyed his shelf presence within the collection.
In jet mode, Phoenix measures about 17 inches in length from tip of the nosecone to the back of the vehicle. Wingspan is an incredible 16 inches from tip to tip, while the height of the jet measures about 6 ¾ inches from the lowest to highest point with landing gear extended.
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| Phoenix is pictured with World Smallest Starscream. |
Again, I’m just floored by the massive jet mode, especially when comparing it to one of the official Decepticon masterpiece jets! When I was taking photos of the jet mode, I
needed a lot of space to capture the full design.
DESIGN
Phoenix isn’t based on any realistic or existing jet vehicle, and draws some inspiration from the Macross Valkyrie design. There’s no mistaking of it being a jet airplane, but with some science fiction elements, especially with the rocket booster thrusters sitting on top of the vehicle.
His robot mode has more of humanlike qualities while sporting a bit of superhero
proportions as Skyfire did in the show.
Personally, his robot mode had reminded me of the old Apollo Mission Astronaut spacesuits that were worn by them on the moon. Skyfire’s backpack even reminds me of the backpack of an astronaut’s suit.
Given the nature of the character with science and exploration, I’m curious if that was the intent when Skyfire was being drawn up.
Fanstoys does an incredible job of capturing the look of the character. The face sculpt is
well done with a nice bit of definition with the facial contours. I know FansToys had
some issues with face sculpts in the past, but they seemed to have addressed that with more of their recent figures.
Diecast metal is used in a few places on Phoenix including some of the folding parts, including those used in transformation that make up the feet.
He has a decent amount of weight to him, but it’s nicely balanced whether in a neutral or dynamic pose.
PAINT
Phoenix is made up of mostly of white and red plastic, with some gun metal or silver
paints apps applied to some of the more sculpted details on the figure.
Some translucent plastic in both red and blue are also used on some parts of the figure. Typically I’m not the biggest fan of translucent plastic on these type of figures, but FansToys had chrome paint applied to the sculpted details beneath the translucent plastic, that gives off a nice premium look to the figure.
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| Pilots are from an old Zoids toy. |
Phoenix has his iconic red painted lines adorning his swing wing design with some yellow applied to the tips.
Phoenix’s eyes have a metallic blue color which look great when light is reflecting off them, almost giving the figure an “alive” look to him.
The eyes can be swapped out for blue translucent ones that utilize a light piping feature. The one on loan to me didn’t have them included, so I don’t have photos available to demonstrate it. I prefer the metallic blue anyway.
One paint app that was a bit curious to me was the metallic red paint on the outer side of each leg. It’s a bit richer in color than the rest of the reds on the figure, and looks a bit out of place. While all the paints apps are done cleanly, I felt this was a bit of an odd color choice.
ARTICULATION
Phoenix has an incredible 69 points of articulation, with 18 moving points in each hand!
I loved how FansToys designed the hands for Phoenix. Pins were placed at the base of
the fingers where they meet the top of the palm. This allows the fingers to be shown in a splayed position, without making the hand look too thin or spindly.
I kind of wish some of FansToys other large figures had similar designed hands. Those would have been great for their Dibots.
More of the typical articulation in this type of figure includes head, neck, soft ratchets in the shoulders, arm swivels, elbows, ratcheted hip joints, thigh swivels, knee swivel, ratcheted knee joints, a little bit of ankle tilts, and pivoting feet.
The reatest articulation range is with the arms, especially with the elbows and hands. The head can turn left and right with it also being able to look up and down. Looking down is a bit limited due to his large chest.
Legs have decent range, but the knees will only bend to 90 degrees.
Posing was fun on this figure, but getting Phoenix into extremely dynamic poses is a little bit difficult.
TRANSFORMATION
Phoenix is relatively straightforward to transform.
Going from robot to jet mode is mainly collapsing the legs up, feet fold up into the legs, unfolding the chest to reveal the nosecone, arms and head folding into the chest, untabbing the backpack, and extending the width of it for jet mode, folding down the wings, then extending the wing parts, and pulling out the thrusters from the backpack.
Another design choice that I like is the way the legs collapse. On the back of each leg,
there is a button that keeps the leg locked in robot mode. Once you press the each button, you can slide the leg up with ease. It reminds me of the way MP-10’s legs are designed to collapse for his truck mode.
Also, I like that FansToys went with an all in one transformation without any type of
partsforming methods. The Daca Toys version had to have its backpack removed for transformation, and it was still a royal pain to transform.
You may come across some of tabs not lining up or tabbing in properly with the first time transforming Phoenix, but after the second transformation, I didn’t have any problems lining parts up.
Once transformed, the jet looks both and feels solid. Nothing feels like it’s going to
dislodge or fall off. Aesthetically, it doesn’t have any big gaps or spaces that look off or
out of place.
ACCESSORIES
Even though I don’t have all the accessories on this copy that was loaned out to me, I’ll
mention them.
He comes with his double barrelled rifle, which fits nicely in his hand. The articulated fingers work very well with the accessory and holds tight.
You can also attach the gun to one of the legs in jet mode for storage, but I find it breaks up the symmetry of the vehicle, so I don’t utilize it.
As mentioned before, he comes with translucent blue eyes that can be swapped out, if you prefer them over the metallic blue version.
Phoenix also comes with an adapter for his jet mode. The adapter is designed to attach to a plastic display stand that either came with FansToys Sovereign or Soar.
I’m a bit disappointed that FansToys only included the adapter, as it’s assumed that
collectors already have the stand. Some collectors may have not bought their other figure, so the adapter becomes useless. The stand should have been included with Phoenix, or at least offer stands for purchase, if some Phoenix owners want one.
PLAYABILITY
Where you get a lot of bang for you buck is the overall size of the figure. This has a lot of shelf presence for just one character. Typically only combiners or city bots will come in this size or bigger. Phoenix will stand out in any collection.
Jet mode looks incredibly nice. Phoenix even has rolling landing gear which rolled
smoothly on my platform in my studio.
Phoenix is no slouch in the articulation department either. The hand articulation is one of my favorite aspects of the figure.
While not as dynamic as some of the other masterpiece figures, he can still get into a lot of decent poses.
QUALITY CONTROL
I’ve handled FansToys figures, and their quality is normally top notch. Phoenix is no
exception; Ratchets are very tight which worked very well while posing. Wrist joints
were a little looser than I liked, but that can be easily resolved.
Paint apps look incredibly clean and neat. I didn’t come across any bleeding or sloppiness with the paint.
OVERALL
While handling the figure, I never felt I had to force parts during transformation, or if
things were going to break. It’s a well engineered and solid figure.
Any negatives about the figure are minimal at best. I do wish Fanstoys had been able to
cover up the screw heads on the underside of the wings, but it’s only a minor gripe.
The figure just pulls off Skyfire’s look so well. I don’t know how another company could pull off a superior version. FansToys outclassed Daca Toys version by leaps and bounds. It even outclasses some of the official figures. This is one of my favorite figures from FansToys.
To me, Phoenix has all the spit and shine of a quality Masterpiece Skyfire. It gets a big recommendation from me! Well done,
FansToys!
A PRIME EXTRA!
I wanted to see if FansToys Phoenix could imitate his G1 toy counterpart with a
Gerwalk mode.
I believe Skyfire did it in one episode of Transformers.
Yes, he can!
If you liked the review, thank you! Feel free to comment, like and share!
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