Flareup (BotCon 2014 Attendee-Only Exclusive)
Vehicle ModeRobot Mode
Allegiance: Cybertronian Knight
Size: Deluxe (comes in a 3-pack with Alpha Trizer and Apelinq)
Difficulty of Transformation: Easy
Color Scheme: Black, moderately light fiery red, and some silver, transparent light orange, blue, light pale fleshy orange, and pale light metallic orange
Rating: 7.9

(NOTE: Because this is a repaint, this is not a full-blown review. This mainly covers any changes made to the mold and the color scheme, and merely compares it to the original Prime "Robots in Disguise" deluxe Arcee figure. For a review on the mold itself, read the review of the original Prime "Robots in Disguise" deluxe Arcee figure here.)

    Flareup is an "update" to Botcon 2005's female motorcycle redeco who also an Arcee redeco, just like this one. This whole Knight 3-pack is sort of a "celebration" of this being BotCon's 20th anniversary, so it makes sense that they'd revisit some past exclusives. As with her initial appearance, not-quite-Firestar has the primary colors of black and a fiery red. Needless to say, both colors contrast very well together, and both are used in a good enough amount where there isn't any large segment of the toy that's too "one-tone". However, on the original Flareup, the orange was a nice light chalky color that really contrasted well against the red. Here, it... isn't. It's a duller shade-- metallic, but it's soooo close to the red plastic it's painted against that it's barely visible. This is really unfortunate, as there's some nifty paint apps made from it, like some angular "flame" apps behind of and in front of the motorcycle seat. It's also used on the flaps that form the side of the motorcycle mode, as well as on Flareup's chest details in robot mode and on little bits on her lower arms. She does have a nice light orange shade on the transparent plastic on her windshield, though. Thankfully there's also a fair amount of silver on Flareup, from her blade weapon to various angular details on her lower legs and motorcycle tailpipe to part of the back of her motorcycle seat. It looks the best on Flareup's "helmet" on her head, though. The head is definitely the best-looking area of Flareup (color-wise), with the silver contrasting excellently with the unique fleshy orange paint used on her face (again, aping her 2005 version), with some nice blue eyes to help offset the other colors. I wish the fleshy orange had been used on a few more parts, it's such a nice accent color. Lastly, Flareup has her light pale blue Knight symbol on the right motorcycle side flap, complete with wings.
    No mold changes have been made to Flareup.
    BotCon 2014 Flareup COULD have been a very nice-looking exclusive, and it still does look pretty decent, but the failure of the orange to adequately stand out from the red makes her less exciting than she should've been. Still, the red, black, silver, and accent colors do go together fairly well, though not as well as on the original Flareup-- this is a nice pickup if you don't have the original, but if you CAN get the original Flareup for a reasonable price I'd pick up that version over this one.


Flareup Bio:
FUNCTION: Knight Grenadier
MOTTO: "Courage kindles the fire in my spark."
Holding the rank of Knight Grenadier, Flareup is the rookie of the team. While she may be young, she is also a highly trained and quite capable munitions expert. Originally stationed at New Polyhex, she trained under the ancient and mysterious group called the Target Masters and became a star pupil in record time. Setting a new standard for other trainees, Flareup even mastered the devastating and controversial Darkmount Stratagem. This brought her name to the attention of Knight Alpha Trizer, who recruited her directly from the academy for his team of Cybertronian Knights. She demonstrates an uncharacteristically cheerful disposition that can be disconcerting given her specialty, but her bravery and purity of spark also serve as an inspiration.
In robot mode, her exo-structure can withstand extreme temperatures exceeding 8,000 Kelvin, and she carries a super-heated vibroblade that can cut through and cauterize almost any known substance. She is eager to please everyone, especially her leader and newest mentor, Knight Ginrai. This proves difficult most of the time, given the varied personas that comprise the Knights, but being young, her optimism burns bright.
Strength: 6.0
Intelligence: 7.0
Speed: 9.0
Endurance: 8.0
Rank: 6.0
Courage: 10.0
Fireblast: 7.0
Skill: 7.0

Review by Beastbot

*Note: This toy was also re-packaged with fellow BotCon 2014 exclusives Apelinq, Flamewar, and Shokaract/Hunter as part of a "BotCon Legacy Set" sold via the Club Store with a new comic.

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