The death-defying daredevil of the skies. Willing to take any risk to record the best picture. With partner Grand Slam, he's covered thousands of battles. Entertains everyone with stories about each one of them. Witty and well-liked. Can video-record up to 20 years of pictures. Carries two self-defense air-to-air proton missiles. Combines with Grand Slam to form robot Slamdance.
First/Last Comic Appearance (US) - Issue 47, December 1988 / Issue 48, January 1989
Figure Details
AKA 'Jetdancer' by Keith's Fantasy Club
Additions/Mods:
- Added an Autobot symbol to the cassette
- Added Autobot symbols to the tailplanes
Review
So looking at these guys' bios it seems like they have been involved in 'thousands' of battles together which makes their paltry number of appearances all the more galling.
Grand Slam has been written up as a ponderous bore, whereas Raindance is apparently a voyeur, or a forerunner to the US-controlled drones which apparently endlessly spy on 'places of interest'. I love the fact that he can also 'video-record 20 years of pictures'. How amazing that must have sounded in 1988. Anyhoo, he is the second-most important component who combines to form
Slamdance. But at least he comes across as less pompous than the bugger who makes up the torso...
Appearance (Robot Mode) 7/10
Again this is another case where a
mini-cassette lacks a true robot mode, but unlike others his primary mode is not even a beast, but a vehicle. Confusing. I guess you could argue that his primary mode is the legs of Slamdance, but then these will be covered off elsewhere. Anyway, we are presented with a rather bland blue jet, with the sole paint app being a flat black cockpit, hardly inspiring. By sticking on some reprolabels I have effectively doubled the amount of 'apps' visible in this mode, this is obviously not good. Luckily, the chromed weapons and other plastics make things a little more interesting and this is quite a nice little plane.
Appearance (Alternate Mode) 7/10
I neglected to mention in the review of Grand Slam that both of these guys come with covers for the cassettes, but that that is because I don't care, although some of you might like this attention to detail. This cassette mode works a lot better than Grand Slam's, being horizontally symmetrical which I think is essential for a coherent mode. The lack of detail is again a problem although at least there is a nice chrome panel in the centre which draws the eye. I wonder how this is utilised in the combiner mode?
Transformation 6/10
This is a largely simple affair barring the tiny tab you need to release in order to tab the legs together to form the 'plane. It is maddeningly small/tight and I have found a scalpel the only effective way to free it. Other than this very annoying step, things are pretty simple, with what will be the legs comprising the body of the vehicle. These are split and the hip joints rotated to allow them to collapse for cassette mode. The chromed piece which forms the landing gear in 'plane mode is used to join the various parts together for the cassette, and it does this job well.
Poseability 5/10
Well I mean there is nothing. Although a poseable plane would be odd.
Quality 6/10
I'm really not overly impressed by the plastics used on this figure, nor the lack of detail as I perceive it regarding paint apps. My main comparison for a figure this small is
Perfect Effect or BTS, and unfortunately Keith's Fantasy Club have a way to go before they can compete with either of these 2 companies. Both offer better plastic, tighter joints and more frequent paint apps than this effort.
Overall - 31/50
Another deservedly low score for the guys at Keith's Fantasy Club, with my one caveat being that the combined aspect of the 2 figures will be covered elsewhere. Hopefully these guys will be more than the sum of their parts...
