Ah Inferno. So cool yet so overlooked. A gung-ho character that was either fighting fires or fighting Cons or dealing with his psychotic superior. Inferno is not considered a fan favourite by many, but I always loved the guy! The original toy was great with lots of features and was a good size for its era and he was a fun character on screen during Season 2 of the G1 cartoon (my personal favourite TF ep’s ever!) Now to appease the likes of me, Tak/Tom have brought us Masterpiece Inferno!
Vehicle Mode
As mentioned, the G1 Inferno toy was one of my very favourite toys from that era. The fact that the Fire Engine mode had a telescoping ladder with its two little nozzles on the end, along with the foam cannon at its base meant it had moving parts as well as looking like Inferno could actually shoot stuff in vehicle mode. This vehicle mode here is very faithful to the cartoon but of course it suffers in the modern era by looking too simplistic. The Leader-Class Sentinel Prime from DOTM was a fantastic looking Fire Engine as well as pretty damn big. To compare the two, Inferno looks smaller (though pretty chunky for the current MP line all the same) and a lot plainer.
This said, he looks pretty damn good, the grill work on the front of the truck is pretty nice and the hoses on the side are present (both sides now rather than just the one – I would have preferred just the one myself) as well as other little details. The telescoping ladder now has three sections instead of two although it looks a lot more boxy to my mind. Being able to flip out a little hose at the end of the ladder and attach the spraying water facsimile is a great touch and makes it really look like a fire engine in action!
Robot Mode
Everything you have come to expect from the MP line, including tilting ankles, opening hands, manoeuvrable head, knees, elbows etc. Inferno is very poseable and his dimensions are spot on. He is able to retract his hands to have big laser cannons come out, though no missile launcher like the G1 toy. You can have him shoot faux water in this mode as well and he has his rifle so you can set him up to look like he is either fighting fires or Cons – whatever floats ya boat. His head wings and foam launcher are present up top and while it is not something I bother with much myself you can change his face with the four different plates provided. An issue I have with the MP line in general with some of these larger characters are how plain the legs look. Inferno’s are better than MP Ratchet (see review HERE) and MP Shockwave’s (see review HERE) legs due to the hoses etc on the side but they all look a bit plain to my mind. But that’s what fans have to remember – Tak/Tom is giving you a toy that looks like the cartoon as much as possible, which means you often lose lots of the nice details you got in the toy that they never bothered to replicate on screen. Of course the flipside of that is you get little details such as his wrist communicator that the toy lacked.
Red Alert Lifter
When I saw all the images online of Inferno carrying MP Red Alert, replicating that classic episode where Inferno saves a crazed Red from a burning building, I just assumed it was something fans were doing for fun. However when looking at the different chest plates for Inferno (there are 3) I realised one is specifically to set up this pose! This shows great interactivity between the MP toys which is sometimes missing (besides putting the cars in MP Optimus’ trailer) in the line and hammers home that these toys really are made for the G1 enthusiast and that if you are shelling out this much money for the toy, then you should know the scene between Red and Inferno by heart already.
Transformation
The headaches that earlier MP toys provided – particularly Megatron and Rodimus Prime – are truly behind us. Inferno will take you a few minutes the first few times and using the instructions until you get a feel for the toy is recommended. I’m very much a fan of how they made the ladder fold up so compactly and fit into his back. This is a definite improvement over the original toy and makes him look very much improved from the back!
Worth Buying?
If you are not a G1 nut, then for the exorbitant price tag (especially after currency conversion and postal fees if purchasing from overseas) I’d have to say a no. There are cheaper and better looking Transformer Fire Trucks out there for you to buy on the secondary market like the aforementioned DOTM Sentinel Prime. Even currently you have the Combiner Wars Hot Spot, Pyra Magna and upcoming Megaempress (think Megatron with a sex change) who aren’t the most brilliant Fire Engines but have the combining feature and their own teammates. But if, like yours truly, you are a G1 nut and MP fan, then this Inferno is definitely a worthy addition to your collection.
So what do you think of Masterpiece Inferno? I’d love to hear in the comments section below!