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.

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 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.

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The Darker Side of Transformers #9

Continuing our look at the darker parts of the Transformers franchise and history...

9. Whirl
A part of the original Wreckers but seemingly only for their introductory story arc and two cameos, Whirl was portrayed as being calm and rational but IDW's reimagining of the character is anything but and is arguably the most tragic character in More Than Meets the Eye.

Our introduction to Whirl comes in MTMTE #1 where following the conclusion of Chaos, Whirl has stashed the corpses of some Sweeps, including possibly Scourge himself, and is in the process of dousing them in fuel about to burn them. The corpses have been acting as a captive audience for Whirl as he's spent weeks ranting and raving about his frustrations as Cybertronians have returned home. There are two subtle things about this page which are easy to miss - 1. That Whirl can hear the dead bodies talking back and 2. Whirl himself is stood in the pool of fuel so it's possible that he's about to burn himself alive with them, a theory backed up later on when Whirl is taken hostage by a psychotic Fortress Maximus and begs to be shot in the head and again in the latest issue which would be spoilerific to discuss in detail.

Whirl's lust for violence and lack of concern for himself leads to him escalating the war between the Ammonites and Terradores by assassinating the Terradore leader on a whim. We discover that Whirl murdered his arch nemesis Killmaster (see image below) and that the reason Whirl was kicked out of The Wreckers was for trying to mercy kill a comatose Springer. Even more shocking is discovering that it was Whirl who, in a roundabout way, started the Cybertronian Civil War after beating a captive Megatron when the future Decepticon leader was simply a philoshoper on social change.

However Whirl's story takes a tragic turn as his origin is revealed - bucking Cybertron's system where every robot has to perform the function of their alternate mode, Whirl became a watchmaker. His change of career didn't go unnoticed by the Functionist Council who had the watchmaker's business destroyed. Destitute, Whirl went on to become a drifter and skilled fighter, eventually being forced into service of the Senate as an enforcer. Under orders he was forced to commit horrific acts, acts he'd later be punished for by the Functionist Council as part of their elaborate revenge on him. Whirl's punishment was Empurata: a process where the criminal's head and hands are replaced to make an example of them. With massive claws for hands, Whirl's career as a watchmaker was now over.

When Cyclonus questions why 4 million years later Whirl hasn't had the process reversed, he simply replies that the anger at his situation drowns out his conscience and that if the source of his anger was removed then he'd have to face the acts he's committed.

Therein is the horror of Whirl - a peaceful being driven to commit endless atrocities in order to not break down at the thought of what he's become.

FansProject WB004 - Revolver Core

‘This one will be an easy pass’, he said.

‘There’s a Hasbro version of Roadbuster coming out’, he said.

‘I have no need for two Roadbusters’, he said.

And  y’know what? I think he was right.  Cos this thing is 'effing epic.

The fourth in FansProject’s Warbot series and the second in the ‘Core’ line of robots introduced with WB002 - Steel Core, Revolver is a big blocky thwack of Third Party fun. 

And in true to form fashion, the designers at FP have put their own stamp on G1. One glance at him in the box and you know where you’re at here. It’s definitely Roadbuster. It’s just not particularly accurate to any one take on the character. What it is, however, is definitively FansProject.

Unapologetically about to kick your ass

Angular, chunky, squared off and pointy with that distinctly anime flavour, Revolver Core is a military muscle machine, presenting a look that screams not only strength but agility with it.

One of these days, these poses and that canal are going to become acquainted

And he’s got some pretty great articulation to back up that aesthetic. Nagging things like the armour around his ball jointed head blocking full movement bring it down a bit, but double jointed knees and foot rockers lift things right back up again.

But not today

Some joints are not so much loose, but a bit more ‘fluid’ than I would like. The waist and one elbow on mine. I can live with that. I’ve been putting this thing through its paces too.

Like any good Wrecker, sorry.. Warbot, Revolver comes packing heat. Twin pistols, a laser rifle and a cannon. And these beauties, as you can see from the photos, are modular too.

An engine resides in Revolver’s back.

This piece is a transformable robot, with ball joints and swivels and an overall spot on attention to detail.

Tiny dude of goggled awesome

In the fiction FP has given us to accompany this line so far, these smaller robots combine with weaponised larger bodies. Very, um.. very Masterforce. No complaints here though – it's an extra element of play and integral to the Warbot story. But if you don’t like it you can hardly tell it’s there.

Transformation to vehicle mode is surprising. Somebody has been taking notes from Jizai and the Function X line and I’d like to buy that somebody a round of high fives. Arms twist and fold in myriad but understandable ways. The legs are clever too, folding backwards into themselves while the shins go and meet his back panels to form the rear of the car.

Plenty takes place during the conversion and while it isn’t in quite the same league of oil based origami that the F(x) line has treated us to, it's a well thought out and enjoyable slice of engineering.

That bumper.. that bumper is made of GUNS

We end up with a halftrack jeep slung low to the ground, slow looking but powerful.

To be honest this mode is never going to set the world on fire but getting here was eye opening and it’s a lot of fun having his smaller self interact with the vehicle. Because pilot.

It doesn’t roll freely which is a shame – no tiny wheels within the treads, alas

Admit it, the fact we have a tiny goggled dude of awesome driving a car with a bumper made of guns makes you smile

In closing, this is a damn fine release from FansProject.

Revolver is full of play features and badass good looks, meaning the Warbot line is back with a bit of a stormer. The modular weaponry is a lovely touch, the transformation is a lot of fun and I enjoy the 'Core' interaction with the smaller robot.

Above all else though, he's scratched my Roadbuster itch with consummate skill.

Let's go to work

(NB. Revolver can interact with the recently released Riftshot and Recoiler Core retools, each of whom comes with attachment pieces. This adds further modular options to the figure, not just in terms of weaponry but in armour options for both robot and vehicle modes. Sadly, these have been a FPC exclusive thus far. Let's get them on a general release, eh?)

Generations Whirl

Back in the olden days of the mid 80’s, when hair was big, shoulder pads were bigger and dancing in the street looking like this was not only acceptable but encouraged by musicians who really should have known better, there were (more importantly) Transformers.

While fusing Takara’s Diaclone and Microman series together to create the core of the line, Hasbro were also busy appropriating licences from other toy manufactures to bolster the ranks of the Autobot and Decepticons.

Enter Whirl.

Hailing from the Armored Trooper Dorvack series, the toy originally known as Ovelon Gazzette was given a new lease of life in his tech specs by Bob Budiansky as a reckless, faux crazy, wild flying Autobot. It’s a nice character template, ripe for development.. except it didn’t happen.

Whirl never appeared in the cartoon. His appearances were limited to the Marvel comic where he was introduced as one of the (soon to be) fan favourite Wreckers. But his was a low key, minor role.

Of course, being a background character full of brooding potential is guaranteed to get you noticed by more industrious folk. And the good people at IDW comics have let Whirl leave an indelible mark on their universe.

Past form meant he was destined to bag a cameo in the Roche/Roberts penned Last Stand Of The Wreckers, but the guy made more of an impact through his (violent) unnamed appearance in the trades accompanying prose story 'Bullets'.

Depending on who's telling the tale

He then cropped up in a massively pivotal (and violent) role in the pre war tale Chaos Theory.

And then became one of the main draws in More Than Meets The Eye. Egotistical yet broken, sociopathic, tragically flawed and incredibly funny.  

James Roberts, take a bow.

(And yes, he’s violent in it.)

Off the back of this notoriety comes the toy. 

One thing I will say right from the start is that Whirl feels like a ton of effort has gone into making him.
While cost cutting is happening across the board, this one seems like the designers blocked, countered and won the fight. He's solid, made of excellent materials, and comes with four lots of attachable weaponry and a sticker sheet to reference the original toy.

Whirl's helicopter mode is decent if flawed. The biggest offender is the robot thighs up front. It's not so much them being there as I can see what they're meant to be doing aesthetically, it's the gaps they leave either side of the cockpit.

Having said that, there's plenty to appreciate here.

Proper nice colours, the blue plastic is both baby and darker metallic. The blue metallic paint nails the plastic colour pretty much dead on. Details aplenty. Rivets everywhere.

And it's a love letter to the G1 design (the stickers increase this, I haven't applied many).

Copter blades use the same yellow as G1 Whirl did. He has the skis. Even the shoulders end up where they do on the original toy. These design homages will be this figure's blessing and curse.

You can add Whirl's plentiful artillery to the Helicopter mode.

You may hum Airwolf's theme while thinking of blue Pampers for boys.. NOW

One of the toy's selling points is a third mode.

Like ED-209 with a discount Dalek upgrade

Heliped.

Bear in mind I am one those heretics that dismiss the Macross gerwalk modes as a half arsed thing, so don't expect any gushing here. It just looks like a helicopter halfway through transforming into a robot.

It is a dedicated mode though, with two transformation steps that commit to it so I can't say it's an afterthought. It's just not this Manfish's bag.

Pretty straightforward to transform, another legs fold down, arms swing out affair with some folding and compressing at the back. Just take care with the tight joints beneath the thigh swivel. 

Whirl cuts an impressive figure. The colours suggest a friendly good guy. The rest? Well...

Guns, guns guns!

..fairly unique aesthetically, he has claws instead of hands and is packing those controversial since '07 chicken legs along with massive hooves and a cyclopean visage.
You can attach the weaponry to ports underside his forearms as well as clip them onto his legs.
He's not a particularly welcoming looking individual.
And I like it.

Though it did take a bit. 

And this is in no way any fault of the toy, rather an appreciation for his current comic book form over the choice of homage. What we have here in the (very) blue corner is a fantastic update of the G1 toy, while over there in the red is MTMTE's spindly spiky Geth wannabe.

But the more I fiddled, the more I thawed. He's a lot of fun to pose, packs a ton of gun and the head and legs call out to the current comic design.

Those thin gangly shoulders the instructions leave you with can actually be pushed into the chest.

This makes them tighter for holding poses and improves Whirl proportionally. You can find a sweet spot doing it that lets you still freely use the ball joint and gives him some brilliant arm articulation. 

Be careful with the legs. His thigh joints are incredibly tight and there have been reports of breakage. 

I haven't broken mine. I am a clumsy, hamfisted guy too. Mileage may vary here. Just take your time with those joints. 

SPARTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!

For a dude with no face, Whirl manages to pack in plenty of character from both the poses you can put him in and the difference in aesthetics to the other Transformers in your collection. He's not gone behind glass yet and that's a big thing for me.

Happy. Angry. Sad. Confused.
Feel the emotion!

And if you truly hate the chicken legs you can spin 'em out for a more traditional look.

Bottom line, I'm glad I bought the nutjob. 

The definition of a grower, Generations Whirl packs in an impressive homage to the characters roots while still throwing in elements of the current IDW design that people are so enamoured with. Top stuff.

Time to weapon up, wallflowers!

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Whirl tech spec and G1 box art courtesy of Botch the Crab's awesome site.