A while back I did a review of the Robot Masters knockoff Leo Convoy and Star Saber two-pack that was showing up at discount stores in America. Well, turns out that the same six Robot Masters bootlegs which those two were part of were still shipping to some stores as late as 2011. It is from this batch that I now have this X-Gunner bootleg.

            The basic mold for X-Gunner is that of G2 Cyberjet Strafe, which I’ve reviewed before. In that sense, I’ll focus on what makes the bootleg different from the original rather. And to be honest, there are more than a few differences.

            First and foremost is the overall coloration of the figure. If you’ll recall, the legit X-Gunner has a bluish-grey alt mode and a blue head, something that makes him quite clearly stand out. This bootleg, however, also stands out… in the fact that his alt mode and head are a bright, glossy white. Making the change even more egregious is the fact that the robot mode bits and the engine sections are the proper colors. Perhaps the bootleggers were trying to hide his origins as a villain?

            Secondly, we have some differences in the molding. The most noticeable difference comes with the cockpit. On the legit Cyberjet molds, the cockpit is a molded piece of translucent plastic that fits snugly inside the established grooves. But on this guy, the cockpit is a single piece of blue plastic that is smaller than the established grooves and doesn’t quite fit properly. But this is the only molding change, right? Wrong. The landing gear have also been remolded: they’re now solid pieces permanently locked into the “up” position rather than separate pieces that could go up or down at leisure.

            Thirdly, we have his deco. The original version had multiple paint applications, including neon green flaps, Decepticon logos on his wings, and stripes on his alt mode fuselage. The bootleg keeps the green on the flaps, but only on the top sides. As for everything else, it’s been replaced with similar-looking stickers. The stripes look passable if you ignore the yellow background, but it’s pretty hard to miss the fact that the Decepticon logos have been replaced by big Xs. The layout is the same, and the colors are similar, but “paint” to “stickers” is still a pretty big change.

            Fourthly, there’s the molding and plastic itself… which is hit-and-miss. On one hand, his ball joints are almost ridiculously tight, perhaps tighter than the Hasbro or Takara product ever was. On the other hand, I got this guy used… and as such the bar that connects his transform bits to his wings is so permanently bent that he’s now in two pieces because the pegs won’t fit in right anymore; only having his waist pegs in the holes is keeping him together.

            All in all? If you don’t want to pay for a legit X-Gunner, you can take your chances with this guy; he’s going for as little as $2 + tax. But be warned that he’s obviously not the real thing. Rating: 5 / 10.