Backfire's alternate mode is a motorcycle with three wheels-- sort of like a Spyder, but not close enough to actually be a licensed vehicle. This mode is Backfire's best, as it's really hard to find anything wrong with it. The proportions are really great (though the handlebars could stand to be a bit longer), and there's no robot mode extras to speak of-- a bit rare, given the alt mode. The color scheme isn't anything to gape at, but that's pretty standard for the movie line-- the dull greenish gray and black serve as the main (realistic) colors, with a bit of milky brown and silver thrown in as accent colors. Backfire also has two machine gun weapons on C-clips that can be mounted on the rear of his seat in this mode. His human partner, Spike Witwicky, is your standard Human Alliance human figurine that looks like an armored-up motocross rider, and has all the standard movement that these figurines do. That said, there's nowhere for him to peg into on Backfire's alt mode-- a pretty big oversight, given the whole point of this subline. He can only hang on via the teeny handlebars-- needless to say, this isn't a very stable way of connecting them.
    The weapon mode-- as is the case with most Human Alliance deluxe figures-- is pretty darn weak overall. It has a port on the backend to be held by (considerably) larger figures, but the only really "weapon" part of this mode is the transparent orange (non-firing) cannon that's exposed by splitting the top of Backfire's motorcycle mode in half. The transparent orange plastic DOES look pretty great against the colors, though. You can also still keep those machine guns mounted right behind the cannon, but Human Alliance figurines are going to have an even harder time "riding" Backfire in this mode, given that there's not even handlebars for them to hang onto here. The entire back half of this mode is essentially meant to be ignored, as it doesn't look like anything but half a motorcycle hanging off.
    In robot mode, Backfire's awesome chest and head detailing immediately draw the eye. He's got extremely detailed engine-like details for a chest and a very spiky head (for an Autobot, at least) complete with some really nice orange light piping for the optic visor. The painting of all this in metallic silver and bronze also really helps it, and largely makes the robot mode. His arms are pretty proportional, but they don't have any real hands to speak off-- they're merely molded on the insides of the halves of his front grille area. On the upside, his machine gun weapons can clip onto his front grilles perfectly, so it looks like he's "holding" them in this mode. There's also a wheel just hanging off of each arm, but at least they stay out of the way. The front part of Backfire's legs look pretty sound-- part of the gas tank forms his upper legs pretty effectively, while most of the motorcycle seat halves form his actual lower legs and feet. Unfortunately, there's a fair amount of vehicle mode junk behind said legs-- the halves of his center wheel headlight and handlebar bits. Given how thick they are, they can impede knee movement a bit, but if you keep looking at him in a direction that's not completely from the side they're not that big of a deal. As far as articulation, Backfire can move at the neck, shoulders (at three points), elbows (at three points), hips, and knees (at two points).
    Backfire has a few issues-- such as some kibble on the back of his legs, a lack of real hands, and his joke of a weapon mode-- but to be fair, most Human Alliance deluxe figures have the latter problem. Overall, Backfire is a pretty solid toy, and definitely one of the better Human Alliance deluxes in the subline-- his chest and headsculpt are particularly impressive. That said, if you're looking for just one version to buy, I'd go with the one that comes in the K-Mart exclusive set w/ Bumblebee, as that one's colors are a bit better.

Review by Beastbot

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