MP33 - Inferno - Thoughts

[elburrito]

After an extended stay with the CBSA, my MP Inferno arrived [edit removed "today" to avoid excessive unintentional rhyming].

Box showed up with a big piece off yellow tape letting me know that customs had opened it. Also some scuffing to the posterior midsection of the toy...okay kidding about the scuffing.

Despite all of that, I was not charged any extra fees. Ordered from AmiAmi and shipped EMS.

Right out of the box Inferno impressed me. The Fire Engine is big. I probably should have expected this but for one reason or another, I did not and was pleasantly surprised with a nice big Firetruck.

The transformation took a few minutes (I followed the instructions as best I could not being a reader of Japanese). While a couple points seemed scary at first, in the end everything made sense.

In fact, this transformation is my favourite yet. There are at least 3 steps that could be called "masterpiece moments", perhaps 4 or 5. In particular, stowing the ladder into robot mode is a thing of beauty. It seemed complicated but just kind of happened in a blur of folding, flipping and tucking away. It is a little reminiscent of that piece of sweetness transforming Ultra Magnus' cab. Better than it ought to be.

The robot looks a little like an old guy with his pants pulled up to high but this is acceptable to me. The bot stands exactly as tall as Ironhide or Ratchet (if you keep their legs extended). Personally, I compress my IH & Ratchet legs so they stand a little lower compared to MP 10. This makes Inferno about 2-3cm taller, which I like.

Articulation-wise Inferno is again more than I expected. Both elbow and knee go well past 90 degrees allowing for some really dynamic poses. He bends in all of the other expected places although there is interference at the waist, neck and shoulders. The neck and shoulders are easy to work around, the waist, not so much.

Looking at qualitative factors, Inferno really rings my bell. Great looking toy. Solid with lots of smooth lines. Sticker-haters will be pleased that these do not come applied. There are a few paint apps, otherwise this is just a big red robot.

For me, Inferno edges out Ironhide in toy awesome-ness (just). He is MP through and through and all over.