For this review, I'm going to be reviewing a Power Ranger and a Necromorph.
...Wait, no I'm not, it's Autobot Backfire...
...and Decepticon Brimstone!
Backfire and I actually have quite the history; I pined for him for quite a while as he sat at my place of employment, with the tiny collection of other Transformers we have, wondering why no-one had taken him home. A price drop mixed with a staff discount and finally he was mine and I'm as glad that he is. Brimstone was acquired at the London MCM Expo this weekend, mostly as a result of being the most snaggletoothed/radical Scout Class on offer.
So I found myself with both an Autobot and a Decepticon, both bikes, both scouts, both same line. To quote a certain homicidal sword wielding Scot, “There can be only one!”
Firstly, the hero of the hour, Kamen Rid...er, Backfire!
Backfire turns changes from a white, red and black super bike into a white, red and black masked-rider wannabe. From the lovely blue eyes and eared helmet down to his red “boots”, hes every bit the superhero-esque chap.
Some very nice touches on his alt mode include fold out handlebars and pretty much no kibble unless you turn him upside down and reveal his folded up feet.
Transforming him reveals this blue eyed beast, complete with exhaust pipe cannon arm and his front end splits and flips to form a great little chest guard without obscuring the now revealed Autobot logo
Another feature is his back wheel, which splits into two and forms a kind of shoulder ornament. They dont really have a bearing on his bot mode, they can be positioned upright like pylons or tucked neatly away out of sight (I personally keep them out for all to see). He's tempermental in his stance, though his feet unfold into bigger ones to keep him planted, he only really likes standing up in a sort of “bring it on deceptichumps” hunch rather than tall and proud (doing so would make him fall due to his honking great back wheel)
RIDER KICK!
And in the blue corner, with buzzsaw-wheels for hands, a hideous red eyed snaggletoothed face and gangly, hideous limbs, the challenger: Brimstone!
The second I saw him, I had to have him; the three red eyes, the grin, everything about him appealed to me. And lets not forget his bitchin' alt-mode, decked out in a rather un-decepticon-y blue with snot green flames.
I love this guy's design, but my main quibble with him is his toy grey plastic colouring. Obviously for five English pounds (or one bison dollar) you cant really expect glorious chrome (or even the silver they used on the wheels) for the whole figure, but it'd have been nice. That complaint aside, hes still a great mould, complete with tiny kickstand for that cocky, leaning to the side, "don't even care if there are Autobots coming my way" kind of vibe.
Then we transform him and well, bang for buck, this guy is ace. His front wheel breaks apart into serrated buzzsaw-like weapons and he unfolds into a lanky death machine. You do have to wonder what his role during peacetime cyberton would've been with giant spinning deathsaws on his arms but with a name like Brimstone, he doesn't seem like the children's birthday party type anyway...
He subscribes to the splitting a wheel in half school of transformations and its a great gimmick which is also helpful when changing him back, as it's a safe assumption that both arms need to be clicked back into place to change him. I approve especially of his handlebar shoulders, although I'm not too sure about his bib-like backrest. It kind of clicks into place so that his head can revolve to face forward (to avoid slicing his buddies in half I imagine) but after that it just sits there. He too can be a little cranky when standing, but for saying hes so dang lanky, his giant engine feet do well to keep him upright. His boxart is slightly unfair as it makes him out to look far less stable than he is once hes freed.
His joke third form is especially funny as I give you...the sexy crab.
Nothing says intimidating like a well executed reverse crab
Worthy of mention is his phallic seat which just kinda unfolds and sits there for all to see. Admittedly, in this form he's a bit more vulnerable what with having nothing to defend himself with...so if you pick one up, I'd advise against sitting him like this.
I SAW you coming!So comparison time! Both have ace designs for their alt-modes, both have great character in their bot modes. It depends what you want for your money as they both embody pretty different forms of transformer; Backfire is blocky and sturdy while Brimstone is spindly and sharp in a Bayformer stylee. If the colour schemes aren't your Kup of tea, Backfire comes in several different flavours, Black and neon green, a blood red and grey and racer blue and red. Brimstone has a red repaint who is every bit as awesome as he is.
Backfire:
Pros:
• Interesting bot mode
• Unique face
• Nice paint scheme
'Cons:
• Tempermental stance
• Worrying transformation (pull aparts are never fun)
Oh snap, Brimstone is the same height...Backfire is gonna ruin him
Brimstone:
Pros:
• Cool weaponry
• Quite sturdy when standing
• Lots of character
'Cons:
• Looks a bit like a Bayformer (if you dont like that kind of thing)
• Transforming him 100% is tricky (as some bits just do not want to close completely)
• Lame toy grey rather than silver on ¾ of the figure
And so in closing, I'd say pick these guys up if you see them. They're both pretty big for scout classes in their bot modes and their alt modes look nice parked up.
-Viewtiful D
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