stratosphere pictorial review

hi folks, this is my first photo review, so please be kind! anyway, I really like this figure, but different pictures have shown him in a less than positive light, so I wanted to share with everyone how awesome he is. I guess I'll start with the alt. mode first.

he's a cargo jet with a good amount of detail molded in. some nice paint apps on the canopy and tail, and "C.G.R.D 6-77" printed underneath the front windows. I'm not sure what that means. the vertical fins on the tail can tilt inward and outward, and the back fin supports pivot downward to make the cargo hatch spring open. the little optimus stores in there, and as the door opens, he comes rolling out! very neat. the wheels on the side of the plane also have a cover that closes, making the jet more streamlined when in the air. a very kibble-free design.









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I decided to use g1 jetfire as my comparison figure. they're surprisingly close in size:



here's the little micromaster-sized prime that he comes with. I hadn't noticed it until taking the pictures, but half of his grille is off-color. I'll have to paint that later.









another thing that I like about this figure is its easy, but not say, universe silverbolt easy, transformation. the instructions make it painful, but he can actually be transformed in about a minute. you start off by unclipping the bottom from the top, and then the feet pivot down and then out. that was the most difficult part for me to figure out because of the way the instructions are, and the tightness of the joints. after that, you pretty much just stand him up, swing his arms out, which splits the nosecone, snap him in place, and you're done!






ok, now for the good stuff, robot mode. I like him standing with his legs full extended, and his wings in a vertical position. it makes him very tall and lean. I also included the "official" leg transformation so that you can decide what you like better.














finally, a pic to show how he towers over his optimus buddy, and one to show his extreme ballet skills! I hope you've all liked my review, I'd appreciate any comments.






*edit* here are the requested pics. stratosphere WILL stand on his toes, it's just that the ankle joint isn't meant to hold in that position, so it's not very stable. I also don't think it looks very good.






here he is with his buds bumblebee and ironhide:



and much to my surprise, not only is the cargo bay too small for wst prime, it's just too small for the non-transforming prime cab that came with the soap bubbles. all that is in the way with that one is the tips of the smokestacks. here's pics that also show the size difference of the little guys:

That is a lot of backpack! I actually like kibble so....this is great. He looks good. I'll keep an eye out for him.

Hmmm...He looks okay, but can his feet be configured to that they look more like feet and less like boatshoes?

Not a bad figure, I like it, miss the space shuttle gun. It would have been cool to have weapons, his bio describes him as having weaponry. The engineering is very impressive. Fun to pose as if the mini-Prime is Stratosphere's action figure to play with.

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nope, the feet are one big piece of un-jointed plastic.

Well, what I mean is can you take the boatshoes, fold them up so the bottom of the "feet" becomes the front of his legs, and simply stand the figure up that way? The boat shoes are what kills the toy for me, as I can't see a giant TF with feet like THAT (I also hate Energon Cliffjumper's mold BECAUSE of a similar reason)

Appreciated for every effort to take these pictures.

Indeed.. I wouldn't buy this ... speaking of cargo plane transformers; I think this is one of the worst ever made. I like my Cybertron Jetfire much better... although it has its own faults...

Stratosphere's long skinny legs really turn me off.. and the skiing boots...

Yeah, I saw him at Toys R Us and would have nabbed him except for the feet make me remember that I don't need to buy everything.

Great pictorial review though, it's just not an appealing figure from the waist down.

Oddly, the lack of little space shuttle gun is what made me not want to get this. That big glaring whale hole on the top there will just always remind me what was supposed to be there too.

Cool pics though man, thanks.

Originally Posted by Bryan. Man erech is CRAZY!!!

Damn, gonna wind up getting him and doing what i will with Leader Jetfire- leave him in alt mode.
Great pics and the use of G1 Jetfire helped with scale.
nice job.

Jonathan Swift