I’m not going to get as involved about the packaging and presentation this time around. It’s the same style and deco as Phantom’s, so we should know what to expect. The window box still feels like a retail-grade package, the artwork is excellent, and with a little intentional mis-transformation, the figure (packaged in robot mode) can be returned to the tray for storage. I will point out again how much I love having the artwork of each character printed on the side of the box so I can store the set in a bookcase when I have them all. In addition to the figure, you get the combiner part, which is one of Uranos’ feet, a connection piece, a folded color instruction sheet, a folded color poster, and a color tech spec card. No complaints here. Let’s start with Eagle’s jet mode. Once again, keep in mind that I provided the Autobot insignia, there are no stickers in the box.

The F-15 Eagle is certainly an iconic alt mode for Transformers, and it’s always fun to see it tackled in different fashions. In terms of size, Eagle compares well to Phantom and the two jets display quite nicely together. As for the jet itself, well in a word, it’s gorgeous. Eagle is spot on to the real world aircraft, and features a slick and sexy glossy black paintjob with some red and grey accents on the wings, and a yellow tinted canopy, which opens. The hull of the aircraft is replete with sculpted panel lines. There is a little bit of mold flashing on mine toward the engines, but it’s so minor, I doubt I’ll even be bothered to file it off. The test shots of the toy had “Air Force” stamped on the rear wings, which I wasn’t at all happy about. Luckily, TFC changed that out for the final product and replaced it with call letters that vaguely spell out “Air Raid.” I wholeheartedly approve!

Eagle has a pair of squat missiles, which can attach under the wings in three different positions. The missiles have hinged pegs, although I can’t quite figure out why the pegs would be hinged. They also have very thin and delicate fins, which I can see snapping off with careless handling. I prefer to attach the missiles to the pegs in Eagle’s exposed fists to help conceal the hands. Yes, Eagle’s fists are not fully concealed under the wings. In fact, you do have a lot more obvious robot kibble on the undercarriage, making Eagle feel more akin to some Hasbro jet Transformers. If you flip the jet over and go hunting for robo-evidence, you won’t have any trouble finding it. Eagle has three retractable landing gear, and unlike Phantom, he has enough clearance allowing him to rest comfortably on his wheels, even with his missiles attached.

On the downside, Eagle’s alt mode isn’t quite as solid as Phantom’s. The nose section has a habit of flopping downward when I’m handling the toy. It doesn’t happen all the time, so it doesn’t ruin the jet mode for me, but it can be annoying, especially when Phantom locked together so perfectly.

One of the coolest things about Eagle is that he can use his combiner parts as a stand! Yes, plug the connecter piece into the bottom of Eagle’s jet mode and plug the other end into Uranos’ foot and you have a very cool articulated stand to display Eagle in his alt mode. It’s a clever use of the extra parts and works perfectly. It’s a shame that TFC couldn’t have made this work with Uranos’ hand for Phantom, because I would have loved to get flight stands like this for all the jets.

No doubt, Eagle is a sexy looking jet. The paint and plastic are both high quality and the sculpt and profile capture the real world aircraft quite well. He doesn’t lock together quite as solidly as his brother Phantom, but as we’ll see tomorrow in part two, Eagle’s transformation is a tad more complex, giving us a robot mode that makes it possible for me to be pretty forgiving. So far, I’m quite satisfied and things only go up from here.