Jazz [AMK Mini Series Wave 2]

It’s been way too long since we’ve taken a look at a Yolopark kit here on the site, and AMK Mini Series Wave 2 feels like the perfect time. As some of you may recall, I was a big fan of AMK Mini Series Wave 1 a few years back and was anxiously waiting for this newest batch to drop. I’ve finally got a case in hand and I’m ready to start looking them over here with you all. We’re starting with Jazz, because… how do you not start with Jazz?

One of the most awesome members of the original crew, it’s impossible not to hear Scatman Crothers’ legendary voice in your head when you think of him. This AMK Mini is a great representation of Jazz. Since it’s been a bit since we’ve talked about these sets, they assemble a little differently than most model kits. Yolopark has pre-painted and pre-assembled many of the parts, and your job is to put everything together from there to form the completed figure.

Depending on the size class, this can take a while, as some of the larger kits are pretty intricate. These Minis aren’t too complex, though, so snapping one together doesn’t take very long. Wave 1 was already great, but they’ve really upped the quality with Wave 2. Jazz has more articulation, better paint apps, and an overall higher-quality feel. It’s genuinely impressive — once assembled, this feels like a premium action figure.

Of course, these don’t transform like a standard Transformers toy would… but that’s not why you’re buying them. These kits are all about representing the robots themselves, without the alt-mode kibble that comes with real transforming toys. Jazz looks just like his cartoon counterpart, and that’s something you can really appreciate when there’s no kibble to work around.

All of the Minis come with two sets of hands: closed fists for holding weapons (Jazz has his Photon Rifle) and open palms for more expressive poses. With the amount of articulation here, Jazz can emote just about anything. His color scheme is fairly simple — white, black,  a bit of blue and gray — but it’s a combination that really pops and looks fantastic on this kit. It’s hard enough not to like Jazz as it is, and Yolopark has somehow made an AMK Mini version that’s completely impossible to hate.