Fans Toys FT-30E Jester (Masterpiece Slingshot)
Fanstoys items usually come with an outer plastic baggie to protect the box.
Admittedly, due to the size of the box, the baggie comes up a bit short.
This box is huge! Spanning 21 x 13 x 6.25 inches in dimension.
Lol!! I love how they ripped off the intro to Voltron for the bio here. Someone’s got a sense of humor.
Ye ole Fans Toys protective film sheet
The manual is super thick! It goes to show how complex this whole thing is.
54 pages of colored illustrations. Nice.
Usually, Fans Toys figures tend to come out of the box mis-transformed to conserve packing space. But here, we just simply need to remove the paper wrappings on the figure’s wings and he’s good to go.
The set comes with the corrected clear blue hip skirt parts for Viper (Fireflight).
Since this is a Third Party, non-official item, it doesn’t come with a faction symbol. It’s best to get some stickers from Reprolabels/Toyhax.com to make this guy more “toon-accurate”. Alternately, you can also use “water slide decals” to make them look even more flawless (you won’t see the edges, unlike with stickers) but I’ve never really had the proper skills, or time (usually needs to be individually cut first) to work with those.
For water slide decals, most folks recommend the one from Ocean Studio. Here:
http://www.unclebillyshop.com/decals-poster/ocean-logo-decals.html
To apply stickers, I find the best way to stick the stickers on is to use the tip of a blade, or a flat, small-tipped object, this way you have more control over the application, as compared to using one’s stubby fingers. You can also use the blade to help gently peel off a corner of the sticker in case you didn’t center it right and need to re-apply.
Easily the cockiest and most loud-mouthed ‘bot on the team, Slingshot tends to rub the other Autobots the wrong way. While a huge braggart and generally not liked, Optimus Prime sees past all of that and appreciates Slingshot for the hard-working and loyal Autobot that he is.
Jester stands roughly 10 inches tall (counting the tip of his nosecone backpack) and weighs 558 Grams.
Diecast parts include:
-Sections of the torso
-Some of the joints
-Feet
-“Spine” of the jet mode
-Front and rear landing gear
Jester has the most amount of kibble backpack on the team IMHO.
Like the rest of the Air Defense Team, Jester doesn’t come with a waist swivel joint.
An interesting design take here, thanks to the added neck base, Jester can look down at certain angles.
Sadly, I was hoping Fans Toys would include an optional Rolls Royce chest panel for Slingshot, just like in the episode “Aerial Assault”, but alas.
We meet again, QC 32.
Jester comes with his Neutron Rifle.
Of course, like the rest of his fellow Air Defense Force teammates, Jester comes with two of his guns.
Lastly, we get an optional “happy” face for Jester. He’s actually the only figure that comes with a faceplate showing an expression. All the other teammates just came with open “speaking” faceplates.
Sea Harrier jumpjet mode
As the only Aerialbot with Vertical Take Off Landing capabilities, Slingshot is easily the most maneuverable member of the team when in alt mode.
Deployable diecast landing gear.
Opening c0ckpit canopy.
Jester’s Neutron Rifles can be mounted under his wing’s hardpoints.
Overall, pretty good! Transforming him wasn’t too difficult compared to the other Air Defense Force members. I really wish Fans Toys simplified their transformations more often. Sometimes I feel like they intentionally over-complicate things just for the sake of it.
I also love the use of clear parts, especially with regards to the c0ckpit. I think this one is probably my favorite release in the team, due to the less complicated transformation and better clear parts.
Gold
