Toy Review - CRIMSONFLAME

CRIMSONFLAME
Series - Undetermined
Size/class - Deluxe
New/remould/redeco - Retool of The Last Knight Steelbane
Wave - N/A
Released here - N/A (overseas Jan 2024)
Approximate Retail Price - $81
Approximate Size - 13cm
Allegiance - Autobot
Alt-mode - dragon
Main Features/Gimmicks - N/A
Main Colours - orange and gunmetal grey with red and transparent yellow accents
Main Accessories - hand cannon (barrel, shaft, tassel), shield, blast effect, flight stand (base, arm)

NOTE: as this toy is a retool and repaint of Steelbane, this review thread will focus on changes made. Please refer to the Steelbane review thread for reviews on the original mould.

Crimsonflame's box
https://i.ibb.co/jzYzsnk/crimsonflame01.jpg

Crimsonflame in robot mode. The head, dragon kibble and tummy/groin armour parts are new.
https://i.ibb.co/F8zwBMW/crimsonflame02.jpg
I'm not sure exactly what kind of Chinese armour the new robot parts are based on. The helmet looks to be inspired from the Ming Dynasty, while the tummy/crotch armour appears to be lamellar, which is more typical of Qin armour. The shield also looks to be inspired by Qin. Qin and Ming China are 2000 years apart from each other, so... :p
(disclaimer: I'm not a historical expert, so please correct me if I'm wrong)

Crimsonflame's weapon is a hand cannon, which was the first firearm. It has a decorative set of transparent yellow tassels on the base of the shaft. There's also a red painted tassel sculpted on the shaft itself.
https://i.ibb.co/F5fddQG/crimsonflame03.jpg

Includes all you see here.
https://i.ibb.co/r5tR6zT/crimsonflame03a.jpg

Robot mode comparison with Steelbane. Steelbane still has a better looking chest. The lack of paint apps on Crimsonflame's chest really makes a lot of that sculpted detailed become visually obscured.
https://i.ibb.co/wpnxrgB/crimsonflame05.jpg

Robot mode back comparison. Changes made to the dragon mode kibble.
https://i.ibb.co/4mQmj0N/crimsonflame06.jpg

Dragon mode comparison with Skullitron. The head, legs and tail are all new. Steelbane's wings were attached to the legs, and the new forelegs are wingless.
https://i.ibb.co/TTKLtrL/crimsonflame07.jpg

With firebreath bloosh effect in dragon mode on flight stand. Note the Autobot logo on the stand base. tfwiki has listed this character as being factionless, as there are no insignia on the box or instructions or the figure itself, but given that there is an Autobot symbol on the stand base, I'd say that he's an Autobot. And there are no other faction insignia anywhere else.
https://i.ibb.co/pZ3ySh4/crimsonflame08.jpg

Close up on leg details
https://i.ibb.co/7pxqjsT/crimsonflame09.jpg

High angle shot of dragon mode.
https://i.ibb.co/n1jtztG/crimsonflame10.jpg

Make a wish. :p
https://i.ibb.co/wSrFGvh/crimsonflame11.jpg

PROS
+ We finally have a Lunar Zodiac themed Transformer who transforms into its patron animal! :)
+ This is the first Asian dragon moded Transformer we've had, with all other dragons being either European or alien dragons. This is specifically a Chinese dragon, given the branched horns and five toes on the feet. Japanese dragons have straight horns and only 3 toes. I'm not sure about other East Asian dragons though (feel free to chime in if you know!).
+ Except for the lacklustre robot chest, the colours on this toy are really well done.
+ The dragonbreath blast effect looks good. Steelbane and Skullitron actually have a small post inside the dragon mouth for a blast effect but never came with their own.
+ The removal of the wings also makes this toy less cumbersome to handle.
+ The display stand works well and can be adjusted for robot and dragon mode support.

CONS
- This toy has inherited many weaknesses from the original mould (see Steelbane review thread), although the removal of the wings does make it less cumbersome to handle.
- The display stand doesn't do much for the robot mode, as the base mould doesn't have a flight stand port beneath the pubic basin. It does have a port on the lower back, but the display stand's armature doesn't have an articulated neck, so it can't access it in robot mode. The stand is great for the dragon mode though.
- This toy has a fire breath blast effect. This is mythologically inaccurate, as Asian dragons expel water from their mouths, not fire. This has been a point of contention with modern Western media, assuming that Asian dragons expel fire like European dragons (e.g. Mushu from Disney's Mulan etc.). Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings actually showed a mythologically accurate Asian dragon that expelled water. The firebreath effect does look nice (hence why I've also listed it as a "Pro"), but it is a mythological inaccuracy, so I'm also listing as a Con... it really depends on whether or not you care about mythological accuracy, but given that the target market for this toy appears to be in Asian countries, I'm surprised that they made this decision. Yes, I am aware that this character's name is Crimsonflame. :p

OVERALL
On the whole this is a nice retool and redeco of what is an inherently flawed mould. But I cannot think of any other existing Transformer mould that would be easier to retool into an Asian dragon. Ideally a whole new mould would've been better, but I assume that this wasn't in this toy's budget.

I must admit that I am biased when it comes to this toy, because I've been wanting a proper Asian dragon Transformer for ages, and a set of Lunar Zodiac Transformers for at least 12 years now. The last Year of the Dragon Transformer, the repainted Ultimate Optimus Prime toy, made no sense to me. I did get Year of the Snake Omega Supreme only because he was the closest thing to a CHUG G1 Omega Supreme at the time (couldn't care less that it was YotS themed; I sold the toy after news of Siege Omega Supreme came out). Year of the Horse MP10 Optimus Prime and Year of the Goat Soundwave were all easy passes for me. And this is also why my alt mode wish is for a chicken Transformer, because we currently have nothing to represent the Year of the Chicken. So it's for this silly reason that I've gotten this toy, and if Hasbro continues to make properly themed Lunar Zodiac Transformers, then they can shut up and take my money. :p

However, objectively speaking this really isn't a great toy. And given its premium price, I honestly cannot recommend this toy (as much as I want to).