Learning to Love Transformers Again.

Maketoys MTRM-03 Hellfire Review

Inferno's a dude.

As a kid, the 1986 Transformers UK annual's 'Missing In Action' story saw this image burn itself into my retinas.

This walking fire truck had my attention piqued in one image. Strong. Brave. Flame retardant. Everything I ever aspired to be back in the day.

The UK Marvel comics run found him being besties with Smokescreen, going as far as to sacrifice himself by parking his ship nose first in the middle of a warzone, buying his pal a valuable fighting chance. That's significant commitment to a friendship. Due to the elasticity of comic book continuity he gets another chance at a similar thing in G2 when, his temper ignited by Smokescreen's death, Inferno charges headlong into a suicidal revenge run taking down countless foes and bringing down a building on himself in the process.

And the G1 cartoon saw him as a deeply loyal friend to another Autobot, this time Red Alert, and really enjoying being a giant robot fireman. When some accidentally time travelling cowboys end up in the present day (oh G1!), you know what he does? He hoses them down, saying 'Let me put out their fire for good'. Now, nobody had started a fire. There was no imminent danger of a fire. But he's a giant robot fireman and dammit he'll make that line work.

This was obviously cool as all hell to me and saw me nag and nag and nag my parents to get me one buy the toy for myself.

So yes, he's a bit of a dude.

Thanks to the powers of sorcery I have another production sample from Maketoys to look at. Hellfire is the first punch thrown in the Masterpiece Inferno skirmish, as Ocular Max and X-Transbots prepare to lower their guard and start fighting back. Are we looking at a contender here? Let's find out.

(As is the case with production samples, there may well be tolerances to be tweaked etc, but I would suggest this is as close to final as we're going to get.)

Out of the box Hellfire's a chunky fella make no mistake. A chunky, hefty and gloriously red robot, he looks tough, handy in a fight and there's no mistaking this for anyone else. This we like. Obviously the red dominates but it's broken up well with gunmetal, silver, white and yellow. Aesthetically he's a hybrid of the original toy and the animation model.

The ladder is integral to his classic look so it being there is a non issue from the start. That said, this is another very clean robot mode from the Re:Master line.

Hand flips in, cannon attaches

For such a beefy 'bot, Hellfire has got the joints in his chassis to stand up and be counted. Articulation is surprisingly good and almost everything you might expect is where it needs to be, with a ball jointed as well as hinged foot and double jointed elbows being the areas that really help and are most welcome. He can't quite pull off a convincing kneeling pose but I'll take what you can achieve.

Almost..

The arms can rotate up from within the cab, but there is an additional ratcheted joint within the upper shoulder. A word of warning. This is tight as hell and I recommend bracing the arm when using it. It's used mainly for transformation, makes more sense there as you need to fold back the white pauldrons for access and it only adds a couple of extra clicks in the robot form.

Packing.. heat

The finish on the figure is almost uniformly excellent. The colours are eye catchingly beautiful, the paint is applied very well and once again, Maketoys' use of diecast in the Re:Master line is well considered and beneficial. It's found in the feet, the lower legs and the crotch and adds weight to the figure as well as balance to poses. Great stuff.

Less great stuff; those 'wings' at the back of the upper torso look smart but are an utter annoyance, popping off at the merest thought of touching them. They go straight back on but I can't Professor X them back the way I get them off.

An important thing to point out is that his hip skirts are one piece. When you lift the right side, the left side lifts as well. So if you hold the left side down while swinging up the right, you're gonna break it. Maketoys issued an instructional warning on Facebook, but not everyone will see it, so please be aware. I can't for the life of me understand why they didn't just make these pieces operate independently of the other as this taints the enjoyment an otherwise wonderful robot.

Because I'm an idiot, I have no Red Alert or Smokescreen to pair the big guy with, but I do have somebody to hand who complements his (don't do it.. not another..) fiery personality just as well.

.

 Hellfire's robot mode fits in both visually and in scale with the official Masterpiece line. A job well done.

These two start fires, they don't put them out

A bit of noise has been made about the head. It's toy and animation accurate which fits with the overall aim of this figure, but because the original animation model used two types of head design (his shell twin Grapple being the other), it's not necessarily the one that people remember. But if you want to remain beholden to a 30 year old cartoon renowned for its animation inaccuracies, I guess you might have an argument.

He got them for Christmas

As for how the head looks? I think it's fine, with a really nice sculpt although the helmet might be a touch too big. This one has a bit of a sour look to his face which I quite like, although the final release will come with various options for you to try. They seem to range from decent to er.. terrifyingly bad. I wanna see pics, for better or worse, when you get yours.


Hellfire's transformation might initially seem borderline complex but that's largely because the instructions miss out a step or two surrounding the legs. Again, another set of 3P instructions that aren't really up to snuff. Do take care with that hip skirt and apply the same thinking in robot mode to this piece during transformation. Outside of that, this is actually a great conversion and at its heart is the original toy's design. It's an intuitive affair too, with everything having a logical place to tab or slot into. Even his hand cannon and rifle have a home within the vehicle mode.

And what a vehicle mode it is.

The kid in you has to love this big red fire engine. It's got all the details you'd expect in the ('effing huge) ladder, water hoses and metal grating at the back. Within the cab are some seats, but you're not fitting anyone in there without making a mess. Decorative purposes only.

Yes, you can define the lines where robot and vehicle blur from the sides and it's probably the biggest flaw I can find in this form, coming as it does from so closely homaging the original Inferno toy.

Rubber tires make for a smooth rolling vehicle and along with the diecast add a premium feel to the overall finish of the piece.

It was always going to be about robot mode scale over vehicle, so in fire engine form he might feel a little undersized compared to the Autobot cars. I'm no scale nut so it's not an issue regardless, but I can't see many people having that much of a problem here either.

As she said, that is 'effing huge

Maketoys have thrown down the gauntlet with Hellfire. You've got some options with your Inferno's but this one has come out first and this one has come out fighting.

He does justice to the original toy while stirring elements of the character's cartoon appearances into the mix. Fun to play with, great to pose and visually striking, he also has a very enjoyable transformation and a wonderful looking vehicle mode. That's ticking boxes left, right and centre for me. My main issue is with the hip skirt design and the very tight shoulder ratchets. Both require care when handling and the hip skirt is baffling. Aside from that, what this figure does well is done very well indeed, making Hellfire a winning addition to the Re:Master line and highly recommended.

.

Maketoys MTRM-04 Iron Will Pre Release Sample Review

Bit of a mouthful that title, eh?

Thanks to some very kind souls, I have been granted an opportunity to take a sneak peak at the latest Maketoys releases. And with Cupola riding high in a lot of people's end of 2015 lists, there is a definite air of expectation surrounding their next Headmaster analogue; Iron Will.

Based heavily on the 1987 Japanese Headmasters character as well as the original G1 toy, Maketoys newest effort takes Hardhead's no nonsense, karaoke loving (yes, really), Sunbow swerving animation model (Rebirth lovers, you have been jilted) and applies some platinum 2016 design flair and finish to proceedings. Straight out of the box, this is a beautifully retro looking yet modern feeling hulk of a toy.

Iron Will has a strong silhouette made from simple blocky shapes, partnered with a well considered level of surface detail allowing the clean lines of the figure plenty of room to breathe.

The way that backpack forms is an absolute treat

Although you'll still find vents, pistons and tech details dotted about all over the place, these are here to spice up, not overpower the visual proceedings. Similarly the paint applications are sparse but effective and serve to enhance the clean look of the toy rather than distract from it.

Like Cupola before him, Iron Will takes that unashamedly retro futuristic aesthetic the post '86 Movie universe developed, runs it through a Masterpiece inspired filter and never looks back.

Now before we move on, there is an elephant in the room. You've possibly heard of it, might be waiting for me to get to it and it needs addressing so that it may take its leave. There are two visual flaws in robot mode that come about from the figure's transformation scheme. The first is in the elbows.

After you get past a certain degree of bend, a gap becomes apparent. I'll level with you; it doesn't keep me up at night as it's the sort of thing I've seen a fair few times over in Transformers. Yes, it could've been handled better. No, it doesn't end the enjoyment of the figure at all to me.

The second is at the knees and it's here where the dynamic posing available at your fingertips kind of undoes some of Iron Will's imposing cyberbeef.

Y'see?

This is to accommodate the rolling tank treads and an inventive leg transformation but has become a sticking point for a fair few people and I can see why. The knee joint ends up looking tiny and the gap between knee and shin looks painful from certain angles. In hand, it's better than in pics. But it's there. This is not something I want to gloss over. Nor dwell on for that matter. You're going to get on with it or you're not. Relationship therapists charge £100 an hour for that kind of advice, here you get it for free.

According to Hardhead's tech specs, these shoot diamond hard shards of.. diamonds?

Onto more of the good stuff. The poseability is fantastic. Pictures speak louder than words and I hope these shout, as he can rock all manner of hard ass moves and the diecast metal in his legs and heels help ground things very well indeed.

The guns slot into the hands in that same secure manner that Cupola nailed first time

On that metal content, there is plenty. In addition to the heels and lower legs, you'll find cold slag in his thigh pieces and the robot torso as well. Now as much as some love it, in reality the weight of diecast can often hinder rather than help a figure, but here its judicious placement means we're definitely talking about the latter. It also lends a significant heft to Iron Will that certainly adds to his premium feel. Very well done.

He was totally hoping for boobs

The chest contains a panel that flips open to reveal the (non functional) SPD STR INT readouts as expected. The whole chest area doesn't seem to want to tab in tightly on this sample copy, but I imagine this is a tolerance issue that will be remedied in the final retail release.

As the pics show, you get two choices of face with Iron Will. One homages the original toy and its artwork, the other his appearance in Headmasters.

'Give'

'Me'

'Your'

'Face'

'Because I have this lovely treat for you!'

I'd like to thank Optimus Prime for demonstrating how easy a switch out it is between the two and this does feel a thoughtful inclusion *hears the grinding of teeth from Rebirth fans*. In all seriousness this is actually something that might put people off but it was clear with MTRM-01 that Maketoys were aiming to marry the G1 toy with the Toei anime and have done so again here with considerable aplomb.

Transformation is certainly less involved than with Cupola and definitely more intuitive. It's not a simple state of affairs though and I really dig the manner in which the legs transform by opening his thighs (wut?) and using sliders to condense them down into the tank treads. As this is a pre release sample I did not receive an instruction manual and got by fine without one, a first for me and big ticket 3rd Party items. A refreshingly accessible conversion and undoubtedly a repeatable one.

Iron Will makes for one intimidating piece of treaded artillery. This is a big bastard of a tank, layered with armour plating and decked out with three turrets because he's a professional taker of names and consummate kicker of ass. There are six functional rubber treads which roll very well on most surfaces. I like this a lot. It adds play value and a touch of class to the vehicle mode. The two handheld guns attach well but their pinned hinges are very loose on this sample copy so they flop down when aiming them upwards. Hopefully that gets tidied up for the final release.

And with this being a Headmaster, of course you get a transforming head component too. Officially named Duros or Ros, unofficially this is.. oh, they don't actually name them in the Re:Master line.

John Doe is a neat little guy in his own right. Sharply detailed for his size, he features light piped eyes and some fairly decent articulation. He's also less cumbersome to pose than Cupola's bonceman, feeling like a revised and refined 2.0 version of the basic design.

The Headmaster can be placed inside the cockpit to pilot this ground hugging, no prisoners taking, shatter blasting beast of a machine. The cockpit can rotate but its range of motion is fairly limited so it helps that the primary cannon has almost free reign of movement.

I love this tank mode. Like the robot form it does a great job of rolling back the years while bringing the Headmasters hurtling forward into the Masterpiece dominated present.

Iron Will is a very, very good toy. There remain the issues brought up earlier surrounding the elbows and knees but personally speaking there's too much going the right way with this one for these to be a deal breaker. This figure is visually sublime, well articulated and has a transformation that quickly becomes second nature.

Now, the $1,000,000 question: Is he as good as Cupola? As great as that guy is and as much as I rate him, I will also be the first to admit that the transformation could put people off enjoying the toy. That's just not a problem here.

When you have them side by side, Iron Will feels very much a companion piece to his predecessor, one that does some things better while fumbling others and it's hard to deny how good they look together.

Is he as good? Probably not. That's hardly a criticism though. Catching lightning in a bottle once is hard enough and just because it didn't quite happen again does not stop Iron Will from being a damn fine addition to the Re:Master line and your current best (and it's gonna be hard to beat) option for a Hardhead by a country mile.

The Top 5 Transformers of 2015. Apparently.

This year has been nuts, man. To do Transformers 2015 justice, try and imagine a party where everything you wanted was there, you're shirtless, drunk and slam dancing on the speakers loud and proud as your favourite tune blasts out, the hosts gleefully offering up a pie eyed night to remember for everyone. Yeah, that sums up this year in robots. Whatever your poison, that glass you've been drinking from has been kept richly filled.

Officially, Combiner Wars took whatever us 'orrible lot call 'Classics' these days and gave it a good kick up the arse, dropping the Special Teams of old into the mix as well as enjoyable takes on IDW favourites, not forgetting to tear the original mean green killing machine from the clutches of Third Parties to, ahem.. devastating effect.

Masterpiece saw its star in further ascent as A Listers such as Ultra Magnus, Thundercracker and Bumblebee rubbed shoulders with the likes of (hardly a B Lister) Tracks, Clampdown and Road Rage while the shadow of Japanese G1 loomed over all in the form of the victorious Star Saber.

And Third Party? Man, where do you start? Third Party went off like a Disneyland fireworks display, showering Classics, Legends and Masterpiece collectors alike with hugely expensive shimmering shiny bangs, often of the same character (Hello Snarl!) with plenty of de rigueur Mickey Mousing along the way.

Spare a moment for the almost (MMC Spartan), the maybe (Maketoys Rear End) and the nearly there (Masterpiece Star Saber) as cherry picking just five figures from a year brimming with such goodness was no easy task. So let's have it.

And please, debate away.



#5 Maketoys Cupola

I was initially utterly cold to Maketoys' Re:Master line. Didn't want to see them jump on the ever growing bandwagon of 3P Masterpiece imitators at the expense of why I loved them in the first place. Cos y'know, typical fan waaaaargh. That was until I got hold of Cupola and his streets ahead of the pack flava.

Heft, quality, sharp as a knife looks? Yeah this boy's packing all the good stuff.

Don't get me wrong, Cupola isn't a perfect figure for everybody. There's an inventive but divisive (Yay! Maketoys staple!) transformation at the figure's core and some frustratingly hindered articulation around the waist, but overall this is a hella classy take on Chromedome's retro futuristic look, and definitely the kind of unlicensed figure that can sit in the collection not as a placeholder but as the standard. A brilliant, strutting example of a company changing step and not missing a beat.



#4 DX9 Carry

Well for a start this all in one (no separate trailer here), Studio Ox inspired, Scratchgate pioneering, former turbo revving young punk actually came packaged in (a rarity these days) vehicle mode, giving the wonderful mass shifting transformation some actual justice first time round. Carry explodes from a modestly sized (think Voyager) Space Winnebago into a beautiful Masterpiece scaled, albeit not entirely styled robot via some nifty legwork and all the panels ever, delighting, confusing and annoying all in his wake. 'But where do I put him?', they scream. Top work, DX9.

Treading that thin line between brilliant and maddening, Carry then takes all this good stuff and drops an absolutely rubbish (it's too big to properly hold!) Targetmaster companion literally onto his windscreen which, along with some rough housing on the assembly line, created some unsightly vehicle mode blemishes for a good few folk. H'WHY, DX9?!

Make no mistake though, this is a barnstormer of a Transformer, marrying inventive engineering with stunning good looks and moves, creating a fresh and daring take on Rodimus Prime.


#3 MP-22 Ultra Magnus

'I've never seen anything this beautiful in the entire galaxy. Alright, give me the bomb.'
Ultra Magnus, Fight or Flee

That is what we're in this game for

It's all very '86 and '87 this list, isn't it? And Ultra Magnus almost jumped on it for one sole reason. It's a good reason though: That first impression upon unboxing him.

'I could kill a man with this', thought the not so young Mr Manfish when removing him from the plastic clamshell. Cold, cold metal weapon made into knockout robot man. Seriously, that initial oooomph was joyous. And it continues with the bruising look and size of the dude. Magnus is huge, an intimidating addition to any shelf and a blinding display piece.

Presence

There's a lot to buzzkill that rush though. I can't pretend that this is the most dynamic Masterpiece out there. I can't pretend that the top of the truck doesn't just hang off his ass. And I am damn sick of wanting to move his shoulders up one click higher.

But nor can I say that any of that actually matters a jot to me.  Some toys are all about presence, and this toy defines it. Then you have that wonderful, wonderful transformation which simply invites repeat visits, an intricately detailed Matrix chamber, two truly horrific representations of Daniel and Spike and the fact that staring me down as I type this is the most gloriously realised interpretation of Transformers: The Movie Ultra Magnus I could ever possibly hope for.

Even though he was a bit rubbish in it and Marvel UK Magnus was like, miles better.


#2 Combiner Wars Devastator

I couldn't not have this on the list, the sheer amount of fun this set has given me has been one of the best experiences I have had as a collector all year. Look at these guys!

Not to mention how this this beast of a release does such an effortless job of straddling some not inconsiderable Transformers real estate.

Happy New Year! Screw you Mixmaster!

At its heart this is nothing more than a great big set of dumb fun kids toys.
On its chest it wears size and on point retro cartoon stylings with pride (those headsculpts are incredible), inviting serious collectors to take a second look at it as viable Masterpiece material.
And on double fists are HasTak's middle fingers raised at the glut of unlicensed Devastators out there.

Indeed

There's some very nifty engineering masquerading beneath a veil of simplicity in Combiner Wars Devastator too. Like everything on this breakdown, there are also legitimate flaws to gripe about - lack of elbow articulation on the individuals, Mixmaster full stop.. - but what captured me is that in hand, Devastator is about that aforementioned heart first and foremost. Some real love went into bringing this to general release. Love for the character(s), love for the toys. And it's a fantastic set of toys. I defy anyone not to be giddy as all hell when combining the big bugger for the first time. It's an event that'll stay with you.


#1 Iron Factory Ex-04 City Commander

Yes I'm having two Ultra Magnii(?) in this list. Fight me. Deal with it.

And we're going from one of the biggest to one of the smallest, with this Legends scaled figure, based heavily (and brilliantly) on Robby Musso's IDW Spotlight design from all the way back in 2007(!). And mark my words son, this one is a giant killer.

Put simply, this is plastic crack. Rarely has Iron Factory's crowning achievement been far from these addicted fingers. He's the essence of the fiddle former distilled to its purest form, a toy that dares you to put it down knowing you'll be back minutes later to get another fix find another pose to put it in.

The transformation is pleasingly simple but effective, though with some tight tolerances at first, and I do bemoan the lack of functioning rear wheels, especially at the price point. But somehow these qualms fade into nothing when set against the intricate comic accurate sculpt, the surprisingly comprehensive articulation and the raft of modular weaponry the figure has to hand. I can comfortably say that this is the best Ultra Magnus figure I have ever owned.

And he's packed with gear. This little figure feels like its own Special Edition, the play value of the included guns being immense, something well worth mentioning as it is a staple play pattern of the majority of IF toys.

Iron Factory have made a bold statement of intent this year, almost single handedly cornering the Legends Class market, a scale I had no interest in before 2015, with a steady stream of high quality releases. City Commander however, trumps not just their own material but proves you don't need size to stand head and shoulders above everything else. 2016 might just belong to them.

Fully deserved

The Manfish has a new blog which can be read here. As always, buy your toys at Masterforce. Please?