Jetfire
Transformer
1985 (made)
1985 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Transformers are alien robots hailing from the planet Cybertron. They are divided into two factions: heroic Autobots and evil Decepticons. Autobots and Decepticons have been locked in an apocalyptic civil war for millennia. The line was launched in the United States in 1984 with an accompanying animated television series, it followed in Europe later that same year. Many of the Hasbro-distributed toys were actually rebranded versions of the existing Japanese ‘Microman’ and ‘Diaclone’ toylines made by Takara. The combination of vehicle and robot, and the often complicated series of movements required to change between the two modes, meant Transformers were extremely popular children’s toys during the mid-1980s.
Jetfire is an Autobot who transforms into a VF-1S Super Valkyrie, a fictional military jet aircraft from the Japanese anime series Macross (the English language version of this show was known as Robotech). A near-identical version of this toy was produced for this series, originally made by Japanese toy manufacturer Takatoku Toys. This company was purchased by Bandai in 1984, who then licenced some of their transforming toy moulds to Hasbro, who were at the time looking for additional characters for the original Tranformers toyline. In the animated television series, the character was encountered encased in a block of arctic ice, having crash-landed on earth millions of years previously whilst on a scientific mission of discovery. For legal reasons, the character in the television series did not bear a strong resemblance to the toy, and was instead named ‘Skyfire’.
Jetfire is an Autobot who transforms into a VF-1S Super Valkyrie, a fictional military jet aircraft from the Japanese anime series Macross (the English language version of this show was known as Robotech). A near-identical version of this toy was produced for this series, originally made by Japanese toy manufacturer Takatoku Toys. This company was purchased by Bandai in 1984, who then licenced some of their transforming toy moulds to Hasbro, who were at the time looking for additional characters for the original Tranformers toyline. In the animated television series, the character was encountered encased in a block of arctic ice, having crash-landed on earth millions of years previously whilst on a scientific mission of discovery. For legal reasons, the character in the television series did not bear a strong resemblance to the toy, and was instead named ‘Skyfire’.
Object details
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| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 13 parts.
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| Titles |
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| Materials and techniques | Injection-moulded plastic, painted; die-cast metal |
| Brief description | Transformer (Autobot), 'Jetfire/Skyfire; large red and white jet aircraft; Takatoku Toys/Bandai/Hasbro; Japan; 1985 |
| Physical description | Robot action figure, transforming into the form of a VF-1S military jet aircraft. 1. figure; white; cream; red and black plastic moulded and pieced together to form a large robot which can be made into a jet plane shape. Joints and wheels of die cast metal. 2. wing casing; red plastic with black line. It fits over the small folded wings mounted on the back of the figure 3,4. leg casing which fits over the outer side of each leg and around the wing shape; red plastic with two black squares 5,6. back leg casing; red plastic which slot into the outer side casings 7,8. holding hook; red plastic; which slot into the back leg casing and hook around the inner front of the leg. 9,10. arm casing; red plastic with black 'jets' 11,12. rocket engines; red plastic with black jets; can be added to figure to create a third version 13. weapon; dark grey plastic; fits into hands |
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| Production type | Mass produced |
| Marks and inscriptions | BANDAI TOKYO JAPAN |
| Credit line | Given by Jermaine Dacas |
| Object history | References: Toy Trader; November 1985; April 1986; August 1986 Bought by the donor between 1985 and 1987. Mr Dacas was born 17/10/73 and saved his pocket money to buy the toys. |
| Historical context | Transformers are alien robots hailing from the planet Cybertron, all of them are capable of assuming an alternate form, usually a vehicle, through a series of folding movements. They are typically divided into two factions: Autobots and Decepticons. The Autobots are heroic, peace-loving and curious about humanity, they are led by Optimus Prime, who typically transforms into an articulated truck. The Decepticons are evil, authoritarian and contemptuous of other life-forms, they are led by the maniacal Megatron, who originally transformed into a realistic-looking handgun. Initially, the franchise was essentially an American rebrand of two toylines already produced by Japanese toy manufacturer Takara Tomy: ‘Diaclone’ and ‘Microman’. Hasbro had purchased the distribution rights to these lines in the early-1980s. Transformers was launched in the United States and Europe in 1984-85. The enormously popular toys inspired many spin-offs, including several animated television series’, a feature-length animated film (1986), multiple comic books series (including by Marvel, who had co-operated with Hasbro to produce GI Joe comics) and, inevitably, subsequent lines of toys. A series of big budget, live-action films have been produced by Warner Brothers since 2007. |
| Production | Made by: Bandai Tokyo Japan |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Transformers are alien robots hailing from the planet Cybertron. They are divided into two factions: heroic Autobots and evil Decepticons. Autobots and Decepticons have been locked in an apocalyptic civil war for millennia. The line was launched in the United States in 1984 with an accompanying animated television series, it followed in Europe later that same year. Many of the Hasbro-distributed toys were actually rebranded versions of the existing Japanese ‘Microman’ and ‘Diaclone’ toylines made by Takara. The combination of vehicle and robot, and the often complicated series of movements required to change between the two modes, meant Transformers were extremely popular children’s toys during the mid-1980s. Jetfire is an Autobot who transforms into a VF-1S Super Valkyrie, a fictional military jet aircraft from the Japanese anime series Macross (the English language version of this show was known as Robotech). A near-identical version of this toy was produced for this series, originally made by Japanese toy manufacturer Takatoku Toys. This company was purchased by Bandai in 1984, who then licenced some of their transforming toy moulds to Hasbro, who were at the time looking for additional characters for the original Tranformers toyline. In the animated television series, the character was encountered encased in a block of arctic ice, having crash-landed on earth millions of years previously whilst on a scientific mission of discovery. For legal reasons, the character in the television series did not bear a strong resemblance to the toy, and was instead named ‘Skyfire’. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | B.90:1-1994 |
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| Record created | April 17, 2000 |
| Record URL |
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