MP-33 Inferno

Why are running poses so hard?

The latest Masterpiece figure arrived at my personal mailbox weeks ago, and I just got around to opening him up.  I have to say that I regret waiting as long as a I did, since Inferno is perhaps my favorite figure of the year.

Let me start this off by stating that there will not be a lot of pictures showing off the accessories or animated versions of the face or anything like that.  I prefer my Inferno like the toy I had in 1985, minus that missile for a hand.  There will only be a few shots with the missile hand.

Once I got Inferno out of the box, I was struck by how large Inferno is.  I mean, the G1 figure was larger than the rest of the cars, but I really wasn't expecting this.  He's hefty, to boot.  The ladder is a much more improved version of the G1 figure's.  The G1 figure's ladder always felt like it would separate at any moment.

This is a ladder that I would not be afraid to climb.

As a kid, I always wondered what the little white knobs on the side of the fire truck were for, and Takara gave me an answer.  I suppose I could have just Googled it or asked a fire fighter, but that would've been too easy.  I prefer to wait 30 years for an answer.  This is a nifty feature that doesn't really do anything, but it's a nice thing.

Transformation into robot mode was fluid and surprisingly easy.  I figured that there would be some step that would frustrate me or make me afraid that I would break something, but I was incorrect.  Transformation is almost exactly like the G1 version.  My only quibble would be the things on Inferno's shoulders.  As a kid, I always folded them back, and on the Masterpiece version, that option isn't available.  This is a problem of personal aesthetics, and I'm sure I'm in the very tiny minority on this.

Hey, that's mighty fine looking Inferno, that is, what with his two fists.  I've never been a fan of bots missing a fist; it's a symmetry thing, I think.  Man, this is one pretty figure.  The legs and feet look great and proportionate.  The more I look at Inferno, the more I fall for him.

Thanks to the way Inferno transforms, his head features what I call two-step articulation for his head.  The box housing his head moves left, right, and up and down.  Inferno's head moves as well, which gives many possibilities for some sweet poses.  Sadly, I'm not much at posing.

The amounts of articulation on Inferno are insane.  Just in the upper legs/hips, I think I counted four points of articulation.

A tried and true way for me to tell if I really like a figure is by the amount of pictures I take.  With Inferno, I took quite a few.  Inferno really lends himself to a lot of poses.  I just love everything about him, really.

Every picture that I took featured the G1 toy accurate trimmings.  I never even bothered trying out any of the 'toon inspired stuff.  Just not my cup of tea.  Especially not the attachment to allow Inferno to carry Red Alert.  They're neat and all, but just not what I need.

This is the first time that I've ever been able to get this pose right with a figure.  I've seen it done with all sorts of Masterpiece figures over the years, but I've never been able to do it.  Just another reason Inferno has endeared himself to me.

Be sure to click on the pictures for full size images.

I did try out the yelling face.  I'm a big fan of the old man yelling pose.

Grapple should release in a couple of months, and I can't wait.  Even more exciting? Artfire.  I'm sure that they'll be just as incredible as Inferno.  Seriously, this is a great figure.  Certainly best this year, and top -5 for all time in the Masterpiece history.