I've got the urge to pick up a G1 Jetfire. I know nothing about him execpt that he's from the Macross line. What should I be looking for in a good G1 Jetfire?
I think he is prone to yellowing so watch for that, also finding one complete w all parts might be expensive.
Yes, yellowing is the biggest problem. Once it starts, it's pretty much downhill from there. And you want to be sure that none of the tabs on the armor, or the head antennae are broken or overly stressed. As far as parts - The most expensive part, the gun clip, is ironicly pretty much useless. If completeness for completeness sake isn't important, you may be able to save about $15-20 by getting one that's missing that part.
There might be a remedy for yellowing! Some of us are experimenting with H2O2. (do a search in this forum for more info) iDD
If you can buy it in person, that's the ideal thing to do. Make the person you're buying it from transform the thing in front of you, or do it yourself if they're an idiot. The sliding chest piece is prone to breaking, the hip tabs are prone to wearing out, his tailfins are prone to becoming brittle. If those things are alright and the yellowing is not there, You're probably good to go. Price range for an open figure should range as follows: Loose, no parts: $40-60 depending on condition Loose, with parts, no gun clip $90-140 depending on condition Loose with all parts and in good condition @ $150 For comparison, Wheeljack's Lab sells a complete set of parts for $90. Oh, and to complicate it further, the leg armor may not necessarily fit on to your Jetfire properly due to some variations in the moldings over time. But that's certainly the least of your concerns when hunting down a good Jetfire.
All good tips above, also, depending how picky you are, the red nose cone paint may be an issue as well as the red paint on the wings tends to rub off. The metal wheels also are prone to wear (rust, oxidation) I definitety recommend this figure with his armor.
For some reason Jetfire prices are down on ebay.I've been hunting a good box for a bit and have been watching complete white mint in box ones going for $100.00 to $150.00 and loose complete ones going for about $50.00 to $80.00 so now would probably be the time to get one before the new movie comes out and the band wagon collectors drive the prices up again. I would not worry about a couple of yellowed spots since junk bots go cheap you could always buy a junk bot and switch to the whiter parts.I got lucky with my Jetfire got it complete with 7 other complete G1 bots for $50.00 As for the gun clip it is only worthless to Transformer collectors.Every Robotech/Macross fan knows it clips to the back of his fore arm to hold his gun.I just wish it came with the shoulder strap. If you are looking for the one with the Robotech symbol on the wing expect to pay alot more.Great figure and defanatly one to have!
Finding a dead mint and bone white Jetfire is nearly impossible since a lot of people have different opinions of what white is !. I think I've owned at least 10 Jetfires and 6 of them sellers said they were bone white. After recieving them I could easily tell they weren't bone white. They were white but with slight traces of fading others were faded all over so you couldn't tell if it was faded or not I you hadn't a bone white Jetfire to compare it with. I got 4 MIB Jetfires now. 2 are very white, 1 is bone white, 1 is okay white. I got a loose Jetfire for sale in my sales thread if that would be something for you.
Could always do a custom masterpiece Jetfire. This is what I want to do eventually. Jetfire Masterpiece Custom Transformers Made from Yamato VF-1S 1/48 by deafinoneear : Action Figure Customs
As both a Macross & Transformers fan I still consider it worthless. It does not fit with the Super Valk arm armor, and 99.9+% of the time I display Jetfire in the armored form.
i never knew how to mount that clip, so i never bothered with it. back in the late 90s, i bought a C8 Jetfire (MIB they said) for 180 bucks. the box at best may be C6. look it over carefully and set your standards for a 20+ year old toy.
Dollar has been going strong those days while Euro's going the other way. On top of that we have this recession going on and on so I'm not really surprised for the price drop.
I actually managed to get a jar of 35% H2O2 from a company I deliver to regularly. It pays to be friendly at work. I'm gonna test it out on my vintage Needlenose. He's so yellow, the gray plastic is green.
Mannnn, that custom Yamato Jetfire looks SWEET!!! I would love to make one of those!! The parts itself would be pricey however.