This is a very nice looking fire engine. There is plenty of chrome detail throughout the length of the vehicle, but I do wish the headlights had been painted or made of colored plastic instead of simply being black. Like Maketoys Hellfire, there are fake plastic hoses on either side. The windshields are tinted a very dark black so the inside of the cab is not visible. The sideview mirrors are on hinges. There is a chrome rod on one side that rotates. The ladder is on a swivel for a full 360 degree rotation and raises past vertical. It extends through three sections for a total length of about 10.5 inches. An especially nice touch is how the head wings turn into exhaust pipes. He rolls very well on rubber tires.
Transformation is pretty simple. I like how the ladder folds out of the way so the panels behind his head can come together to form the helmet. The crotch plate has a tab, but I never got a satisfying click out of it. It just sort of sits loosely in place. To fold out the arms, you have to open two panels that correspond to the doors of the cab. The front doors were a little tricky to pry open. I accidentally popped off a sideview mirror in the process, but it easily clicked back into place. Going back to vehicle mode is only slightly finicky in having to line up several tabs along the arms and legs.
The horns on his head sculpt could have used some orange and silver paint. There is definitely die-cast in his feet. Both arms have slider tabs, probably in reference to old toys where hands slid in and out of forearms, but they are merely decorative. You have the option of displaying him with two hand cannons, two fists, or one of each. Although I hate photographing chrome (and shiny metal and white), the chrome details give this figure a high end finish. There is quite a bit of imperfection to the plastic on the inner left forearm of my figure. The paint application is dull and a little messy in several spots.
His head is on a balljoint. His shoulders are on hinges with ratcheted swivels. He also swivels at the biceps, wrists, waist, and thighs. His bicep and thigh swivels are ratcheted. His thumbs are on balljoints. His fingers are single pinned, but they articulate individually. The pointing finger has a pinned joint at the second knuckle. He has double jointed elbows and knees. Neither have ratchets. He also has a forward and reverse ab crunch. His hips are on universals, with ratchets along the frontal axis. He has feet tilts and rockers.
His accessories include a rifle and an extra head. The rifle is black plastic, with some line work and 6 dabs of red paint. It uses a Masterpiece-style tab. *sigh* I simply have no luck with this tabbing system. My rifle is constantly popping out of his hand. It stores internally in vehicle mode as part of the transformation process. The extra head is of a smiling face. The horns have orange paint applications. The overall shape of the head is more round. It actually is a very close match to how he looks at the end of the episode, Auto Beserk, when he's holding Red Alert. He also comes with some Portland Fire Department sticker decals. There is a red transparent sheet for viewing his tech specs on the back of the box.
In vehicle mode, I definitely prefer Backdraft over Hellfire. The back of the truck is less obviously robot arms and legs. The diamond-plated details also help to sell the illusion. I also like both his head sculpts more than the one on Hellfire and how his windshields are heavily tinted. Backdraft is slightly taller, but I don't like his proportions as much. His torso and crotch seem to be a little bit too long. Overall, I prefer Backdraft's aesthetics over Hellfire's. He looks less overweight. Both figures are pretty high quality so I have no buyer's remorse.
I don't intend on using Backdraft on my Masterpiece shelf. If the upcoming Takara figure is as disappointing as Shockwave was compared to FansToys and Cloud 9, then I'll probably reconsider. For now, he will probably go on the same shelf as my DX9, Toyworld, and Unique Toys figures.
His head is on a balljoint. His shoulders are on hinges with ratcheted swivels. He also swivels at the biceps, wrists, waist, and thighs. His bicep and thigh swivels are ratcheted. His thumbs are on balljoints. His fingers are single pinned, but they articulate individually. The pointing finger has a pinned joint at the second knuckle. He has double jointed elbows and knees. Neither have ratchets. He also has a forward and reverse ab crunch. His hips are on universals, with ratchets along the frontal axis. He has feet tilts and rockers.
His accessories include a rifle and an extra head. The rifle is black plastic, with some line work and 6 dabs of red paint. It uses a Masterpiece-style tab. *sigh* I simply have no luck with this tabbing system. My rifle is constantly popping out of his hand. It stores internally in vehicle mode as part of the transformation process. The extra head is of a smiling face. The horns have orange paint applications. The overall shape of the head is more round. It actually is a very close match to how he looks at the end of the episode, Auto Beserk, when he's holding Red Alert. He also comes with some Portland Fire Department sticker decals. There is a red transparent sheet for viewing his tech specs on the back of the box.
In vehicle mode, I definitely prefer Backdraft over Hellfire. The back of the truck is less obviously robot arms and legs. The diamond-plated details also help to sell the illusion. I also like both his head sculpts more than the one on Hellfire and how his windshields are heavily tinted. Backdraft is slightly taller, but I don't like his proportions as much. His torso and crotch seem to be a little bit too long. Overall, I prefer Backdraft's aesthetics over Hellfire's. He looks less overweight. Both figures are pretty high quality so I have no buyer's remorse.
I don't intend on using Backdraft on my Masterpiece shelf. If the upcoming Takara figure is as disappointing as Shockwave was compared to FansToys and Cloud 9, then I'll probably reconsider. For now, he will probably go on the same shelf as my DX9, Toyworld, and Unique Toys figures.
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