Incinerator
(Movie)
Incinerator's vehicle
mode is an osprey helicopter, nearly identical in form to the ospreys used
in the opening scene of the movie-- that's right, apparently EVERY freaking
vehicle in the movie was really a Transformer. The colors are a bit different,
though-- for the most part they're a drab gray, which is realistic though
a bit dull. A bit of metallic purple is also visible in this mode, which
is a great secondary color, and the prerequisite "Allspark Power" electric
blue is readily visible as well. As an accent color, the electric blue,
the color works very well-- however, Incinerator simply has too much of
it, particularly in robot mode. It meshes fairly well with the purple and
dark, but it clashes with the light gray and ends up just not looking that
great in robot mode. But I'm getting ahead of myself. In vehicle mode,
Incinerator has a lot less of that Allspark blue showing, and the way the
colors match up in general are pretty good. Giving Incinerator a stripe
across the middle of his mode helps to liven up the color scheme slightly,
as does putting a "Decepticon air force" insignia smack dab in the middle
of his form. The mold detailing on Incinerator is excellent, even for a
movie toy, with little panels visible everywhere. His clear-windowed cockpit
even has two tiny little seats inside of it. The proportions are spot-on
perfection, with the only caveat being that Incinerator's upper arms stick
out a little from the undersides of the wings. Incinerator's gimmick involves
his rotors-- by pushing the lever on the tail backward and releasing it,
you can get both rotors to spin simultaneously. The rotors can rotate 360
degrees, which is pretty cool as well. And yes, the gimmick works even
in robot mode no matter how you pose Incinerator, which is all the more
impressive. Incinerator also has three fold-out landing gear on the bottom
of this mode so he doesn't have to rest flat on the ground.
Incinerator's transformation
looks pretty simple, and for the most part it is, but getting all of the
parts to lock into place in vehicle mode is quite a challenge, despite
all appearances. In robot mode, Incinerator's overall proportions continue
to be near-perfect, though a pretty big portion of his helicopter mode
hangs off of his backside. It doesn't get in the way of any movement or
throw off his balance, though it is very obviously kibble. The mold detailing
on Incinerator is even more fantastic in this mode, especially on the shoulders,
head, and the front and sides of his chest, which are just jam-packed with
various mechanical details. I particularly like his head design-- it seems
to be a mesh of a helicopter pilot's helmet design and the movie Decepticon
"alien" face/mouth motif. Incinerator's articulation is also quite good--
he can move at the neck, shoulders (at a whopping four points), elbows,
hips (at two points), knees (at two points), and ankles. Regarding his
overall design, the most common complaint I hear about Incinerator is that
he doesn't have any real hands, just his propellers on the ends of his
arms. I can see this, in a way, but it doesn't bother me all THAT much--
it's apparent that Incinerator was made for slicing-and-dicing, not typing
on a keyboard. Still, that said, just including a huge in the middle of
each propeller would have allowed the propellers to collapse around a central
point and form three-clawed hands as well, which I think would've been
easily doable. I'm also not found of how the various panels on his upper
legs don't "lock into place" anywhere, and so can easily be moved around
when you're playing with him. I do like the "fragmented vehicle" look they
give to his legs, though, which definitely fits in with the movie aesthetic.
Ditto regarding the rather ingenious way his cockpit splits in half automatically
when you transform him.
Incinerator is a pretty
nice toy, though the lack of proper hands, a lot of back kibble in robot
mode and too much of that Allspark electric blue do keep him from being
downright A+ excellent. Recommended.
Review by Beastbot