Toy Review - MP-33 Inferno

[DELTAprime]

I've had him for a couple of days now. Really happy with him. Transformation wasn't a very challenging puzzle but was satisfying. No QC issues to speak of. The cartoon accurate parts are really nice to have, but now I wish I had the option for a cartoon accurate chest (and hip panels) on Ironhide and Ratchet cause they are sticking out like sore thumbs.

I have to give kudos to Takara as almost every MP on my shelves evoke the cartoon well which is what I'm after. An anime paint job for Wheeljack, a slight remould and anime paint job for MP10, an MP36 to replace MP5 and the aforementioned Ironhide and Ratchet chest and I would have no complaints.

[aching878]

I've had him for a couple of days now. Really happy with him. Transformation wasn't a very challenging puzzle but was satisfying. No QC issues to speak of. The cartoon accurate parts are really nice to have, but now I wish I had the option for a cartoon accurate chest (and hip panels) on Ironhide and Ratchet cause they are sticking out like sore thumbs.

I have to give kudos to Takara as almost every MP on my shelves evoke the cartoon well which is what I'm after. An anime paint job for Wheeljack, a slight remould and anime paint job for MP10, an MP36 to replace MP5 and the aforementioned Ironhide and Ratchet chest and I would have no complaints.

does your left forearm close up properly or has a gap

[M-bot]

Unbelievably good. I LOVE this figure. Mine doesn't appear to have any QC issues. I would say it's one of the best MPs in recent memory but there have been so freaking many great toys in the MP line recently it seems silly to say. I'm absolutely loving the MP line the last few years.

This has made an Artfire purchase go from "not interested" to "sitting on the fence" for me.

[GoktimusPrime]

Poll?

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Inferno is incredible! TakaraTOMY have truly outdone themselves with this toy, having improved on many features seen on MP Ironhide and Ratchet (although to be fair, Ironhide/Ratchet was a far more difficult challenge). The pieces feel a lot more solid and robust than the Nissan Cherries. Yes, the robot mode does look rather plain, but it's slavishly G1 accurately so. I would personally prefer a more toy-accurate detailed robot form, but I realise that I'm in the minority and that most collectors want show-accuracy, so I can't fault TakaraTOMY for giving the majority of fans what they want.

The transformation is really clever and the way that the ladder "vanishes" into the robot is quite ingenious. MP Inferno just feels as if Inferno just jumped out of the TV screen and became a toy. The interchangeable face, helmet, hand-nozzles and grills, as well as the detachable arm-mounted communicators all make the toy even sweeter. I personally don't care much for a chrome-less cartoon-accurate hand-nozzle and grill, but it's nice that they included it for those who prefer it. I'll stick with the toy-accurate chromed grill and more detailed/angular helmet/face thanks.

The plastic water jet looks weird IRL but surprisingly photographs quite well and is passable as water. Inferno's papoose for Red Alert is adorable and Red Alert fits in quite well. Inferno is also quite well balanced while cradling Red Alert; the weight is distributed well and doesn't make Inferno front heavy.

An excellent toy. Highly recommend.


PHOTOS





















I don't normally photograph toys from behind, but it's hard to ignore just how the ladder is so comprehensively concealed! Remember that the reason why Transformers tend to have featureless rear shots of their robot modes is because the G1 animation models (Floro Dery's design) only ever showed the robots drawn from the front. Animators had to pretty much guess how they looked from behind. So TakaraTOMY have worked to strip away features on the rear of the robot here.

[drifand]

Looks better than expected . Looking forward for mine.

[Magnus]

Even though the original toy was one of my favourites, and I liked the character, this wasn't an instant buy for me; I didn't pre-order, and ended up getting one with an eBay discount code. Now I've played around with this guy for a bit, and I'm pretty happy with him.

The way the shoulders swing around is vaguely reminiscent of the shoulders on RotF leader class Optimus, although these shoulders had me stumped at first because it wasn't quite clear how to turn them around. Folding his head down in vehicle mode was surprisingly challenging at first, because of the way the head-mounted wings fold down; I found if they're not folded all the way down, they're liable to catch on the grey lower frame that forms the bottom of the cab.

With the push towards screen-accuracy, much has been made of the figure's 'simplicity', namely the lack of moulded detail, particularly on the legs. I'm personally not bothered by it, although oddly I'm kind of disappointed that the gun is pretty simple.

Something I noticed about the ladder is that its configuration is screen-accurate rather than toy-accurate; based on the character model, the individual telescoping sections are relatively short, whereas on the original toy each section is over three quarters of the overall length of the truck. No idea whether that was deliberate or a coincidence that formed as a result of making the ladder fold into the body, though.

[philby]

i really like it so far but I have to say the legs in particular are just too plain. This line is supposed to be bringing the best of both toy and cartoon aspects, not only one over the other.

[GoktimusPrime]

Recent MPs have been slavishly cartoon accurate. It's what fans have been pining for for years. I personally agree with you completely though, but I can't blame TakaraTOMY for essentially giving the fandom what they've been asking for. It's a shame that their online feedback survey is still geoblocked. I hope that our Japan-based members are still diligently filling it out (so they get at least some feedback from AU fans). I wonder if I've chucked out my little white slip of paper with the survey code, cos I might take the time filling out the survey in my hotel room when I'm next in Japan. Hhmmm... Still, we've all been able to access their online survey for years before it was geoblocked.

[philby]

I love that they made Ratchet and Ironhide in that shape and not the original toy design. I think they go too far to looking just like the cartoon and they end up bland however. It's silly to me. For me I guess I want the cartoon overall proportions and movement/articulation, just not the plainness. Why do they look plain and simple in the cartoon? I'm assuming because it would take too much time and money to add in all the details! Why limit the masterpiece series like that? Eh. Stupid fans

[GoktimusPrime]

Why do they look plain and simple in the cartoon? I'm assuming because it would take too much time and money to add in all the details!

Not really. The early G1 episodes were animated by Toei Doga which is based in Kyoto. They also animated series like Lightspeed Electroid Albegas, Dragonball Zed and many more. The reason why the G1 cartoon designs were simplified was a deliberate decision from Sunbow's design supervisor and internet troll, Floro Dery. There were actually earlier animation models created by Takara's Kohara Shouhei which were used for early toy commercials, but Dery rejected those designs in favour of his own simplified ones. Just look at the differences between Kohara's and Dery's designs for G1 Sideswipe.

Why limit the masterpiece series like that? Eh. Stupid fans

Therein lies the flaw of democracy.

The funny thing is that MPs started with the complete opposite design philosophy. If you look at MP1 that toy is hyper-detailed. Hydraulic pistons on every joint, air-pump activated shin vents, working suspension on the wheels and ankles, individually articulated fingers and faceplate, foot articulation (not ankle, foot!) etc. -- the list goes on.

Another possibility is that Mitsubishi may not have been so fussy with the Fuso FT fire engine, allowing TakaraTOMY greater freedom in making the vehicle more G1 show-accurate, thus stripping away a lot of the detail granted by the vehicle mode. Other MPs may be relatively more detailed because their vehicle companies wanted more accurate looking vehicle modes (as a condition of their licences), thus then in turn added more detail to the robot modes. Companies like Nissan, Lamborghini, Corvette etc. were obviously more precise in wanting their vehicles to be portrayed in accurate detail. Even VW were quite picky considering that MP Bumblebee even sports VW logos on his hubcaps! Cos yeah, if Mitsubishi were more insistent, then MP Inferno's vehicle mode at least would look a whole lot more better than Super Fire Convoy's Hino Branbilar fire engine mode.

That's not to say that Mitsubishi don't care about any of their vehicles being accurately portrayed in toys per se, but possibly just not when it comes to vehicles that aren't available for sale to the public like their Fuso FT fire engines and cranes. It might be different if it were a commercial vehicle like the Fuso Canter or HSR III (although the odds of an MP Hydradread is highly unlikely ). So it may be a case of TakaraTOMY having wanted to bring more cartoon accuracy for quite some time, but their ability to do so being influenced by vehicle companies.