Yet another Decepticon general joins my Mastermind Creations collection. This is a large and fun figure. The quality seems to be a step up from other figures in the same line. I appreciate Mastermind Creations Reformatted figures for introducing me to characters I have no familiarity with.
Carnifex comes out of the box ready to be assembled into robot mode. Not surprisingly, transformation to his first alt mode involves some parts forming. The legs are easy to deal with. The upper body is where it can get aggravating. Connecting the canopy to the nose cone is tricky because of tabs that have to be lined up on both sides of the arms that swivel at multiple sections while being mindful not to damage the antennae on his head. It would have helped if the upper and lower portions of the canopy could separate from each other. The shoulder pauldrons are a pain. The steps are there in the instructions, but it will take some care and patience. It involves pushing some pieces past each other, but the clearance isn't there. There are a series of tabs and ports to line up along the fuselage and thrusters. There is also a pair of tabs on hinged pieces that I simply could not engage. When completed, the pauldrons were at a slight angle to the fuselage, but I suspect they should be straight. The leg pieces tab on fairly securely, but I wouldn't trust them not to fall off.
This is a beautiful looking spaceship. The shiny black plastic gives it that fresh off the lot feel. The tank pieces make this look like a bomber. Unlike Jaegertron, there are not many breaks in the form. I would prefer the large canon to be center mounted, but I like how it is so ridiculously large. The canopy opens to reveal not much of a cockpit. The landing gears roll very easily and can retract.
Separating the large spaceship into a slightly smaller spaceship and a tank is pretty straight forward. The spaceship is pretty much the same in this form, except for a different wing design that gives it a sleeker profile. This mode satisfies my urge to fly it through the air while making swooshing noises and annoying my kids. The tank is large and bulky, but the color scheme doesn't exactly instill fear. The rubber treads are functional, but they don't work, at least not on solid surfaces, so it slides instead of rolls. The turret doesn't articulate.
Although the product shots on the box show a base mode, it is not covered in the instructions. It's simple enough to figure out by looking at the picture. The results may not be worth the effort though.
Transformation to robot mode is many times simpler, but the pauldrons still cause a little concern because of the tolerances. The combiner port for the legs simply involve shoving each into place until a reassuring click is heard. It's much simpler to deal with than the TFC Toys combiner ports, but the Combiner Wars ports still take the win in design.
He's a large and imposing figure. As is usual with MMC figures, the line sculpting is plentiful and well-detailed. He is covered in a mix of shiny and flat painted plastic. There is very clean paint application scattered throughout the figure, but there are spots that are disappointingly bare. His head sculpt is wonderfully made, but I could have done without the silly grin. A couple of panels on his chest open to reveal missile launchers. A cannon flips out from his abdomen. I wish his shoulder pauldrons articulated with his shoulders. If you raise his shoulders, the pauldrons get left hanging when you bring his shoulders back down. His feet are kind of irksome. If you press down too hard on him, his toes will fold upward. It's the same issue as with TFC Toys Ironwill and Medic.
His head is on a hinged balljoint. His shoulders are on ratcheted double hinges and ratcheted swivels. The pauldrons articulate separately on their own hinges and swivels. He swivels at the biceps, forearms, wrists, waist, and thighs. His thumbs are on ball joints and the other fingers are single pinned and articulate individually. Every finger has three pinned knuckles. He has single-jointed elbows and double-jointed knees. His hips are on ratcheted universals. He has feet tilts and ankle rockers. His toes and heelspurs are on separate hinges.
His accessories include a large rifle, two swords and a shield, and an extra head sculpt. The rifle is several pieces of colored plastic. It is hinged at several locations to facilitate transformation into his tank turret / spaceship cannon. The swords are single pieces of glossy black plastic and are identical. The shield also serves as the cockpit section of his spaceship modes. It tabs onto slots on his forearms, but can also be held by a handle. The handles on all the accessories use Masterpiece-styled tabs that fit securely in his hands. His extra head sculpt is pretty much the same, but features a maniacal grin and a missing eye lens.
Carnifex is going on my new shelf for MMC Reformatted figures. A solid vehicle mode and superb robot design overshadows the few minor issues I had with this figure. A bunch of Decepticons are yet to come so I hope that MMC will balance it out with a few more Autobots soon. I am definitely looking forward to collecting more from them.
