Titans Return continue in Feb of 2017. This month also includes one MP fig that I’ve been eagerly awaiting for some time.

• Titans Return Megatron, Walmart, $24.86

• Titans Return Optimus Prime, Walmart, $24.86

• Masterpiece Inferno, hlj.com, ¥11200 (about $101.62)

Both TR Megatron and TR Optimus Prime are solid offerings. These 2 are quite fun to play with. Both of them continue the trend of being Triple Changers for all Voyager class figures in the TR line. And as Triple Changers, all 3 modes for each figure are decent. There are no modes that look immediately out of place. Megatron has a jet mode and a tank mode, while Optimus has a fuel truck mode and a jet mode. Does this sound familiar? That’s right… Hasbro’s real motives are to use these modes as Blitzwing and Octane. Once again, they issued the repaint of the mold first, and saved the real character for later. But this time they used such famous characters for the repaint. Oh Hasbro… will their shenanigans ever cease?

Anyways, if you just want one character each of this mold, then get Blitzwing and Octane. However, if you need more figures to add to your Megatron or Optimus collection, by all means pick these up. Hasbro did make several minor mold changes for each character, so it feels like you’re not getting the exact same thing.

And as Titans Return figures, they both come with a Titan Master which forms the head (aka Headmasters in G1). The Titan Masters can sit comfortably inside the cockpit in alt modes.

Now for the big prize of the month… Masterpiece Inferno! Many fans have waited for this figure for a long time. And he does not disappoint. There are some 3P variants of Inferno out there already, such as MakeToys Hellfire and MMC Backdraft. I don’t have these figs so I can’t attest to how good they are. But what I can attest to is the brilliance of MP Inferno.

MP Inferno comes packaged in fire engine mode. Takara did a good job with this mode. It looks show accurate to me, and the whole piece feels cohesive and solid. Though to be honest, I think every interpretation of a MP styled Inferno has a pretty good alt mode. This official MP is not any better or worse.

Transformation wise, Inferno has one particular feature that has all TransFans wetting themselves… the ladder hiding mechanism. This feature has to be seen to be believed. The ladder collapses on itself and folds into the back. Writing about it doesn’t do it justice… it’s times like these that I wish I did video reviews. I may start doing that one of these days. But yeah, this transformation mechanism alone gets Inferno a score of awesome for engineering.

In robot mode, Inferno looks like he stepped straight out of the G1 cartoons. No gripes about the appearance from me whatsoever. Compared to Hellfire or Backdraft, he as a more simplistic look. But that also makes Inferno more G1 show accurate. Construction of the figure is also superb. The joints are all solid and clicky. Add some nice detailing to all this and you really have a winning package.

Inferno with his good buddy Red Alert.

Check out all the accessories that come included with Inferno! Accessories fiends will find nothing to complain about here.

I don’t even know what all the accessories are, but in here I see:

• 1 hand pistol
• 1 alternate color grill/chest
• 1 alternate color hand cannon
• 1 alternate grill/chest for having Inferno hold Red Alert
• 1 extra helmet, possibly for more G1 toy accuracy
• 3 extra faces
• 1 pipe and water attachment, to make Inferno look like he’s fighting fires

All in all, I highly recommend MP Inferno. If you need a MP scale Inferno in your collection, look no further.

Transform and Roll Out.
 

I recently purchased Allen by Unique Toys. Any TransFans worth his energon will tell you immediately that this is Springer, the green Autobot triple changer first made famous in the 1986 G1 Transformers Movie.

There has been other 3P attempts at Springer, such as FansProject Defender. As a side bar, I believe Defender was the very first 3P full-blown figure produced (all 3P products before that were accessories or add-ons). Oh how times have changed. There are almost too many 3P figures to count nowadays.

But back to the topic at hand. As far as I know, there are 6 different 3P companies making their own MP scaled Springer. UT struck first with Allen. And in my opinion, they have set the bar very high. This won’t be a full review. I will post some pics, then bullet point some pros and cons of the figure.

Box

Robot Mode

Car Mode

Helicopter Mode

Pros

• Amazing engineering – Allen is mechanically well designed with a satisfying transformation
• Fun to transform – Allen strikes the perfect balance of complexity and fun
• All 3 modes look good – the Helicopter is my favorite, robot mode is great, and car mode is adequate
• Solid construction – nice tight joints and transformation points; figure is big and heft and will withstand some rough play
• Super paint job
• Fully articulated
• Great value – he currently goes for only $59.99 since UT want to move him before the other 3P Springers hit the market

Cons

• Questionable aesthetics – many have said that this figure feels like a Fisher Price toy
• Feet that seems way too big, and the wrong color
• Figure feels a bit big – may not scale well with other MP figures
• G1 accuracy is debatable, especially when compared with later 3P offerings of the character

Personally, I love the figure since he’s so playable and so much fun to transform. But the first bullet in the cons section is a notable negative for me. The other negatives are all appearance related as well. If they styled the figure more “MP” like, I would give Allen an even stronger recommendation. But as is, he’s a terrific figure at only $59.99, which is what I got him for. And out of other 5 MP scaled Springers out there, Fans Toys Apache looks the most G1 accurate. I may consider buying Apache as well in the months to come.

This is my first and only purchase from Unique Toys, and they have me impressed. I will be on the lookout for their offerings in the future.

And why is he called Allen you ask? Your guess is as good as mine. TransFans have suggested he really should have been called Jerry – and if you don’t get the joke, then Primus help you.

Transform and Roll Out.