Review - Incinerator (2008)

[grahamthomson]

(Originally Published in Hubris 6 - June 2008... Still available: tmukhub.proboards75.com/index.cgi?board=fanzines&action=display&thread=1202)

Plastic “CV-22” military transport aircraft with geared rotors transforms to articulated robot. Incinerator was released worldwide in 2008 as part of the line based on the vehicles from the live-action “Transformers” feature film.

You have to hand it to Hasbro. Even with such a small cast of robot characters in the Transformers feature film, they’ve still managed to come up with a supporting cast (in toy form, at least) using vehicles seen on celluloid but not thought to transform. One such member of the non-Transforming supporting cast is Incinerator. He does, thankfully, transform in toy form.

The Japanese version of Incinerator (reviewed here) is almost all black in “Osprey” mode, just as the vehicle that appeared in the opening act. Please note that while the toy comes with an instruction sheet it does not come with any recipe for alligator etouffee.

Incinerator’s vehicle mode is wonderfully solid with lavish attention to detail (right down to the identity number on the tailfin and Decepticon logo-cum-US Air Force decal) and extremely realistic stylng. Aside from some pieces of red wine coloured struts under the wings, there are no obvious clues that it transforms. Activating a switch on the tail spins the rotors. Very clever. (Just like the mechanism of Blackout, but using a part of the aircraft as a lever instead of an obvious, out of place switch.) The rotors can be moved and pivoted forwards and backwards, mimicking the actions of the real-life Osprey. Very, very nice. The vehicle mode also features retractable undercarriage (with working wheels) and clear-plastic cockpit windows.

Full marks for this mode.

Transformation is quite simple for a Voyager-class Transformer with a very nifty “Automorph” feature. The tail of the helicopter, owing to the mechanism inside, is rigid and prevents any meaningful articulation of the lower body.

The biggest flaws of the robot-mode design are the rotors-for-hands. Normally I don’t mind this kind of thing in a Transformer, after all they shouldn’t all be built for petting animals safely. (And it seems there is a trend of handless Decepticons from the film.) But with Incinerator this flaw spoils the robot mode, which is a real shame. The rotors are removable though. Incinerator actually comes packaged with rotors unattached, and extra hands as accessories could have been included. I almost had a brainwave and wondered if my eHobby “Diaclone” colours Ultra Magnus’s large fists would fit over the posts on Incinerator’s wrists. I checked and they don’t.

The sculpt of the robot’s head is very nice, with lots of detail and a subtle screen printed Decepticon logo on the forehead. It’s a more traditional looking face/helmet aesthetic which will please those not too fond of the other face designs of the toys based on the film’s characters.

A lot of comparisons between Incinerator and Blackout can be drawn, and like him, Incinerator is frustratingly flawed. A perfect vehicle translates to a potentially excellent robot mode. The spinning rotor mechanism is a work of genius in the way it functions... fully articulated arms with joints that still have spinning rotors. As impressive as this feature is, I do wish it was optional.

Incidentally, the tech specs describe Incinerator as the original (Combaticon) Vortex, which I think is a much more apt name for this design
I consider Incinerator one of the better Voyager-class Transformers in the Transformers (2007) range and recommended (certainly the black TomyTakara version over the grey Hasbro version) over the other rotored Voyager Decepticon. The “Edward-Airfoil-Hands” look is more than likely the main element that is offputting to a potential buyer, but if you can look past that and appreciate Incinerator for a near-flawless vehicle mode and a remarkable action feature then you should certain take this Decepticon for a spin!

[Dark Stranger]

Got Incinerator in the January sales, and was well impressed by him. The rotor hands are a bit much, but he poses excellently, mostly due to the way his tail balances him.

[Hero]

Soon to be getting a Incinerator of my own through Phil. I like both colour schemes myself.

===KEN

[grahamthomson]

I did like the look of both versions, but I do try to only have one version of any particular toy/mould and in the end the black version won out. Plus it comes with an Allspark cube.

[Hero]

I remember you saying something like that.

It is just the Voyagers that are accompanied by the cubes?

[grahamthomson]

Deluxes as well. Well Landmine and Stockade at least that I know of anyway.

(Hubris 8 rounds off my batch of Allspark Power reviews with Landmine and his Allspark Cube.)

[Hero]

Oh man... And photoshoots too?

(Is it just me or are the poundsigns appearing as squares on here?)

[grahamthomson]

Jan 17, 2009 20:58:04 GMT Hero said:

Oh man... And photoshoots too?

Oh yes. There's a very tiny preview here: tmukhub.proboards75.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=fanzines&thread=2068

[Philip Ayres]

Movie Incinerator

Incinerator is the last new Movie Voyager toy released sharing a case with First Strike Optimus Prime, a G1 style recolour of the Movie Optimus Prime. Incinerator is an Osprey type helicopter with twin rotors mounted at the end of each wing. These rotors on the real life version can pivot up and down to convert from rotary wing to fixed wing propeller flight extending the range of the vehicle. Incinerator can mimic this real life feature. On his tail is mounted an AWAC radar dish - cranking this backwards - it will spring forward again - causes the rotors to rotate whichever configuration the rotors are in - just how good this mechanism is we'll see later in robot mode. There's fold down landing gear under the nose, and a set on each side of the rear of the helicopter. The wheels mounted on these turn, which is something you don't often see on a Transformer toy ! The helicopter is moulded in two different shades of grey with the rotors in black. A small amount of Allspark blue is visible under the wings - where there's also some Decepticon purple - and through the clear cockpit windows.

TF: Position the rotors so they point up and fold the landing gear away. Split the under carriage in two under the helicopter. Pull each half out to the sides slightly, then fold the back of each side forward and to the sides so it's sticking out at right angles. Fold the sides back under the tail to form the legs. Fold back the covers over the top of the legs. Turn the lower leg so the back of the under carriage is sticking out the knee away from the tail. Fold the under carriage backs down onto the knee caps. Bend the bottom of the legs up to form the feet, and turn each foot 90 degrees in. Fold the cockpit down into the space between & under the wings revealing the head and opening the cockpit up to show the chest. The bottom of the chest clips into the top of the waist, which while it can be a struggle to fit at first will eventually lock securely. Fold each rotor to the side folding it's support under the wing. Then bring each wing forward at the robot's shoulder to form the arms - the upper arm having been pegged into the underside of the base of the wing. From there you pose the arms to your liking.

The robot mode shows much more of the Allspark blue than before: chest and shoulders mainly but also some on the upper legs, ankles and elbows. The upper arms & legs and the waist are the purple with the feet, lower legs & lower arms being the darker grey. The head is a wonderful piece of toy sculpture moulded in grey with a clear light piped visor and a face that's either a traditional face that's smirking or an odd Movie style face. The toy is dominated though by the hands which are the rotor blades. Unlike the similarly designed Minicon Makeshift the blades are fixed here, they don't fold in to form fingers. What the do do in robot mode is still turn - the tail is now extending out of the robot's back (as a tail) and the radar dish can be cranked making the blades for hands turn. What's really incredible is it does this through the arm articulation! Don't forget the rotors could already turn from horizontal to vertical, and have been folded into the forearm. The elbows bend, there's a bicep swivel joint, they bend out to the side at the shoulder, the shoulders turn and bend back. Through all that articulation is transmitted the motion powering this effect. I thought it good when I saw something similar on Movie Scorponok but here it's just incredible ! After that the turning head & hips - that also bend to the sides, rotational joint above the bending knee and bending ankle seem a little secondary !

An incredible piece of toy engineering. I wasn't going to pay £20 for it but it's worth that. The £12 many Entertainer's have been asking for it is a complete steel and if you've hated every other Movie toy (I have with just a couple of exceptions) can I urge you to track one of these down.

The Japanese version of the toy comes with an extra Allspark cube and has some drastic colour alterations. Gone are both the greys, replaced with black giving you a gorgeous looking stealth version. This is quite hard to find not having had huge availability in Japan. A quick glance on eBay found one .... for £70 plus postage from the US !