Phil's
Energon Inferno & Roablock
and
Superlink Inferno & Inferno Volt
Review

Inferno

A fire engine, more of the spraying foam type. The foam cannon thing is in fact a rather lovely strong missile launcher - 1m-1.5m range, with the drum thing sticking out the back acting as a remote control for it. He's the only Energon toy I've seen so far that doesn't have a transparent Energon weapon. Transform is simple, fold the legs down beneath the cab, the feet and heal spurs down, and the arms round the side. Raise the head, and open the visor halves. And that's it. Robot is decent - lots of articulation: knees, rotation at thigh, hips, shoulders both round and out, elbows and rotation below the elbows. Cannon can be wrist mounted or held. Minicon pegs on the front of each shoulder, spark chip on his left shoulder. Leg mode is formed by folding the back of the firetruck down and folding the feet out. A bit statue like in this mode. Body mode is formed from the robot by folding the legs up behind him as cannons - he's the only Energon toy I've seen whose body mode arms aren't his robot mode legs ! This mode is quite good, and although the cannons look odd to start you get used to them, though water cannons are appropriate on a fire engine toy. Quite neat and fun.

Inferno was available in Superlink in Japan numbered SC-03 by himself and in SS-01 with Hotshot.

Roadblock "Grapple"

Ok It's Grapple. And top marks for Takara on what they've done on this toy. For this isn't just any random repaint, they've taken a so so toy, remoulded and repainted wisely and in the process produced a superb G1 homage.

In all cases for both robot, vehicle and combined mode consider this to be Inferno. Here's a list of the changes:

All red plastic is now moulded in an orangey yellow and the cab/chest has a silver wash on it bringing out a lot more detail.
All black plastic pieces are now moulded in brown - including the wheels.
All grey plastic pieces are moulded in dark blue.
All clear blue pieces are now clear red which obscures the Powerlinx connector more than the original does.

Remoulded pieces include:
* The bumper is a totally different shape and covered in brown and yellow safety stripes.
* The head is a completely different shape - the 2 wings are gone, replaced by a piece that lifts up to uncover the eyes in robot mode and with a totally different face.
* The flaps on the side of the vehicle are different - a hint of stabilisers in the new one.
* The water tank (which was a remote control for the water cannon) is now a control cabin and still is a remote.
* The water cannon is now a crane arm, with a hook on the end. Still a missile launcher, still has trigger on top, still detaches but
* The detached crane arm now has a peg that means it can be held as a rifle.

The toy is a lot more muted and far less plasticy looking than before. Works better aesthetically in both body and leg modes, though it clashes rather with both Hotshot and Inferno who I've tried it with so far.

Overall: Inferno's never going to be toy of the year, but this improves a moderate toy with better colours, a better weapon and a significant G1 homage. Takara should be applauded for the effort.

Roadblock was available in Japan as Superlink toy SC-21 named Inferno Volt.

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