And the less said about my error with the other Vehicon General, the better.
But, since we're here, let's take a look, shall we?
Vehicle Mode:
Well, it's still a very well-realised version of the Jet Vehicon, given the scale. The back end is still pretty much a disaster, though the robot's head is (arguably) less prominent here, despite being painted with a darker gunmetal colour and being set against off-white plastic. What helps is the presence of a couple of touches of a fluorescent orange paint which present quite a distraction. The same paint is applied to the odd tech details around the weapon ports on the sides of the vehicle, and really bring it to life. Other than that, the only paintwork is black for the windscreen and a Decepticon insgnia stamped on one side, near the cockpit.
This version of the diminutive Vehicon is packaged with the same 'Hooksaw Cannon', weapon, albeit molded in an almost fluorescent orange plastic which eats far less of the sculpted detail in person than it appears to in my photos - the camera I used for these doesn't seem to like super-punchy colours (or I've not yet got the hang of the settings). Surprisingly, the fit issues I had with the standard version are not apparent here. Sure, the gun is still far too large (being more than half the length of vehicle mode!), but it mounts securely on either wing top using any of its pegs. The ports on the sides of the vehicle seem a little looser, though.
Despite being so much brighter than the original, and featuring the vivid splashes of orange, this version's colourscheme is somehow the less obnoxious of the two, when placed next to each other... Though I think that says more about the shade of purple used on the other than it says about this version.
Robot Mode:
There is something weirdly angelic about this version of the Jet Vehicon in robot mode, with the large, white wings folded up on its back and additional wing-like protrusions from its shoulders. The contrast between the dark gunmetal paint and the off-white plastic is very striking, and the two flashes of fluorescent orange at the collar look fantastic. It's quite a transformation considering this is technically a more dangerous and malevolent character than the standard Jet Vehicon.
A couple of problems present themselves with this paint job, however. First and foremost, there's a patch missing compared to the standard version - the belly area is unpainted, which strikes me as a very strange omission, though it is consistent with the Ground Vehicon General. Secondly, where the standard version featured silver paint on the chest window and head, this one uses nothing but the gunmetal paint, so the Decepticon insignia on the chest is very hard to see. The strangest problem with the paint job is that it's been unnecessarily extended on the arms, so that the inside of the vehicle shell part at the back is painted gunmetal as well as the actual sculpted arm detail. On the upside, it makes the arms appear bulkier than those of the standard version, but it also looks untidy because it bleeds down behind half of the forearm.
The choice of colour for the weapon is still pretty weird in robot mode but, regardless, it's a well designed, if oversized weapon. I particularly like the way it can be wielded in three different ways thanks to the selection of pegs.
Naturally, since all Vehicons have the same head, there are no physical differences between this one and the regular Jet Vehicon's head other than the darker metallic paint, which works very well here, but it does appear as though the red paint used for the visor has been applied a little more heavily... Or perhaps just not as precisely.
Buying this figure was a pretty strange move for me, in retrospect - I normally avoid this size class, and I'm reasonably certain that I picked this up after having received the Deluxe class Arms Micron Jet Vehicon for Christmas back in 2014. Why I chose to buy this in place of the Deluxe class version, I cannot recall... but, then, I can't even recall where I bought this.
Still, it's every bit as much fun as the regular version, and is certainly the more striking of the pair. They both look a bit odd on my shelves, since the next closest thing I have to toys in this size class is a couple of TransFormers Adventure figures - Gravity Armour Optimus Prime and Torrent Armour Strongarm, both of which are substantially larger. Clearly this was more easily available in the UK than the Deluxe class figure, but it nevertheless feels like a rather pointless acquisition now, and just leaves me wanting the larger one even more.
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