Review – Transformers Jazz Bust

Following the various Transformers bust reviews — Elita-One (review here), Frenzy & Ravage (review here), Jetfire (review here), and Sound Blaster (review here) — I suspect the last thing that many of you want to see is another review in the series. I suggest closing your eyes; it will all be over soon.

As with the others, I grabbed this Transformers Jazz Bust* at a greatly reduced price and, as always, this no doubt affects my opinions of the statue. If I had paid more than about $16 I would likely be far more critical, but at these discounted rates I just can’t keep from recommending these busts to Transformers fans. They’re great sculpts and look fantastic in a group.

A Great Sculpt

Yeah, this is clearly an excellent work of art. Modeled after the Generation One character design, I was never a major fan of Jazz (I liked Decepticons more, and Wheeljack when it came to Autobot cars) but I cannot deny that this piece captures the character perfectly. See Wikipedia if you’re not familiar with the character, but the most important thing to remember about Jazz is that Scatman Crothers provided the voice. And what a unique, fun voice it was.

Sharp Paint

While by no means perfect, the paint on Jazz is some of the best I’ve seen on this series of statues and for a display piece I’ll call it perfect. I could sit here with my eyes staring at every inch of the statue and find slight flaws, but this one’s tighter than Elita One and on the shelf there’s nothing at all wrong with it. I know we expect more out of statues than action figures, but I sometimes start to wish the action figures had this level of paint quality. That’s too much to ask for a mass market toy, but for this limited run statue I think I got what I look for in statues: quality paint that fits the character’s design and looks good.

Some Assembly Required

The shoulder cannon, doors, and arms come separated from the body, and it takes a few moments to put everything together. The arms are pinned, slotting neatly into the shoulders, while the doors and cannon attach to the body using magnets. I love magnetic connections for toys. Pop! All assembled.

Do Not Buy!

Trust me on this one. The price may be low on several Transformers busts right now, but the more of these you grab the more of them you want. At the moment I have eight different busts in this series and I’m already thinking I need to rearrange the displays to better show off these works. And as they join each other on the shelf they just look so awesome that I keep my eyes open for deals on others in the series; it’s just a matter of time before I break down and buy one of the busts at full retail. Save yourself pain and run if you see these for sale. One is cool, but more is cooler.

Closing Thoughts

With a visual piece like this there’s never much to say that you can’t find out yourself just by looking at the photos. The bust is durable and well-painted, feels like a quality work, and after that it just comes down to whether or not you like the character and design. The Transformers Jazz Bust* was a steal and as with any clearanced item it’s probably about as low as it’s ever going to get and will likely just climb in price once the discounted copies are gone.

A nice addition to any Transformers collection, but keep in mind my warning about how owning just one of these makes you want more. These are dangerous, beautiful works of art.

Philip Reed wonders if he will get some busts for X-Mas. Check with Gina if you need to ship him Transformers busts to help feed his insanity.