This guy was a big one for me. Having seen glimpses of Super Dimension Fortress Macross in my early childhood, the release of the Jetfire toy and then with zero context magically re-appearing as Harmony Gold’s Frankenstein of a show, Robotech, in the very same year was a big WTF for some of us kids who were wise to the racket. Nonetheless, that iconic white and fire engine red color scheme and the array of matching red armor add-ons, packaged for show in that humongous giftset, was the pinnacle of Christmas giftdom in 1985. That was perhaps the second best year in my life, following the release of Transformers, along with many other great events, in 1984 (not counting the year of my birth). I won’t get deep into the history of the Takatoku-Bandai-Takara-Hasbro frenemy alliance that led to the fated release of Jetfire, but thank the heavens (Allspark?) that we were blessed with this gem. To this day, I still count him as one of my top favorite robots of all time.

This view is a classic anime perspective.

This was one of my favorite gimmicks ever, solid die cast goodness that actually sprung open with such force that it would actually semi-hurt unsuspecting little kid fingers. Hwa-pow!

I can honestly say that Jetfire is one of my favorite robots of all time. It may be one of the simplest headsculpts, but there is something just so classic, so je-ne-sais-quoi about the cyclops visor and antennae that makes it one of the most iconic faces in robot history. That and the flashy yet classy color scheme of red, black, and white – like every good piece of engineering, from Ferraris and Lambos to fighter jets. From here on out, I’ll just let the pics speak for themselves…

The whole point of this photo shoot (and the Plastic Missile blog, in general) was to archive favorite pieces from my collection so that I have some sort of record before these relics deteriorate any further or I have to sell them off. Considering most of my collection consists of G1 figures from the 80’s, keeping original figures in good condition is a high priority and I try not to handle them too often unless I get the urge. Once a figure has gone way past its prime, I’m fine with displaying and playing with them quite a lot, but if it’s a pristine gem like this one (or my Diaclone Police Sunstreaker that’s kept hermetically sealed out of reach of UV rays), it only comes out for photoshoots. There aren’t that many amateur non-commercial photos of G1 figs online as far as Google results are concerned. Hopefully the Internet will keep these jpegs around much longer than these figures are (or I’ll be) around so that future collectors and retro enthusiasts can learn and enjoy these amazing pieces of history.