TRANSFORMERS TOYS AND MERCHANDISE SECTION

Robot Mode:

Alternate Mode:

Additional Image:

Box Art:

Rookwise's Review: Fansproject CA-02 Flameblast

Name: Flameblast
Function: Unknown
Sub Group: Unknown
Size Class: Scout Class Equivalent

Bio:

Patient no: 1-047481
Name: Flameblast (formerly named: Explorer)

Symptoms: Patient suffered from emotional instability and violent tendencies. Abuse of subordinate was being reported and there are rumors of lynching and unauthorized experiments.

Case History: Patient was former scientist, assigned to be the leader of C3 during the Colossus War, now appointed to be the chief researcher in a classified project. Personality of patient was altered during the war that he even changed his name after several upgrades. Minor mental problems were reported after the prohibition of combination technology.

Dialysis: We believe the emotional problem is the after effects from the combination tech as the tech is still immature at the moment. The symptoms were further aggravated. However, as long as the patient is able to carry out his duty and provide valuable experimental result, we do not recommend any treatment as that may lower the productivity.

Follow Up: Keep monitoring the patient and report upon any circumstances.


Flameblast is a remold of a previous Fansproject character, namely Crossfire's 02A Explorer. The differences between the two characters are basically a new colour scheme, new weapons and a new remolded head.

Flameblast is Fansproject’s 14th creation in a line of add-ons and figures and is the second in the new 2011 Fansproject line titled Causality. This story is supposedly is set in the aftermath of the Colossus War.


Alternate Mode

Flameblast’s alternate mode resembles a kind of space shuttle. The colours on display are mostly white with black with silver sections. Notable differences between Flameblast and Explorer beside a different colour are that Flameblast's alt mode now has windows showing a cockpit, a redesigned tail which doubles as a sword and also new attachments on the wings which seem to resemble additional thrusters/jet boosters.

There’s quite a bit of detail in the shuttle mode, although most of it is in white with some also in black on the wings. There’s hardly any indication of robot parts until you look at Flameblast either from the rear or from underneath. The rear shows Flameblast’s feet sticking out where there really should have been a set of thrusters or the feet folding away better (preferably another 90 degrees clockwise which would have made all the difference). Looking underneath the alt mode, almost all the robot parts are visible but looking from the side there are no visible robot parts as the bottom of the alt mode is completely flat. The only downside I can see is that there is no undercarriage feature meaning the figure cannot roll along the ground.

Unlike CA-01 Warcry, Flameblast doesn’t have any form of weaponry on show.


Robot Mode

After a quite straightforward transformation, we have Flameblast’s robot mode.
Flameblast adds more colours in his robot mode. The white is now at a minimum and black is now the main colour on display. Other colours on show are silver, purple, light blue and a crimson/dark red colour.

More detail is now on show and the retooled head is more rounded than his mold mate’s square head.

Flameblast’s shuttle mode tail section now becomes his sword and the jet/booster packs that were on his wings clip back onto the wings but this time they feature as holsters for Flameblast;s two other weapons – a pair of blasters.

There is 18 points of articulation on Flameblast which should make for some varied posing.

Looking at Flameblast he resembles a kind of robotic ninja design even though he’s supposed to be some sort of scientist.

Most of the alt mode kibble is folded around towards the back of the figure. Most notably the alt mode’s nosecone just hangs off the rear, but, fortunately, this doesn’t hinder movement or Flameblast’s ability to stand upright.

Plastic quality is again very good (the same quality as Warcry) and should hold up to some playing with.


Marks out of 10 for the following:

Transformation Design: 7 – Nice design with a straightforward transformation. Everything locks into place securely.
Durability: 7 – Has a solid feel to it but some plastic sections are made quite thin and could possibly end up breaking.
Fun: 9 – Loads of articulation and a shuttle alt mode… Should keep a person busy for a while!
Aesthetics: 7 – Loads of detail and colours in robot mode but really only one major colour in shuttle mode. Weapons go well with the colours of the robot mode. The only complaint is that the combiner pegs from Flameblast's mold mate haven't been removed during the retooling of the figure but at least unlike Warcry, they don’t look like they shouldn’t be there.
Articulation: 9 – With 18 points of articulation this has got to have a high mark. Not even Hasbro/Takara include this much in their equally sized figures.
Value/Price: 6 – As with all 3rd party creations, these come at a price. Most stores are asking £34.99 for what is basically a scout sized figure but you can see why such a high price is justified when there is so much attention to detail and articulation and limited production run.
Overall: 8 – Another nice quality figure from Fansproject which actually outdoes the official offerings of the same size class in terms of detail and articulation. The only let down is the high price which I can see rising even higher as Flameblast is now starting to show as out of stock in a lot of places. The price is likely to be the major stumbling block with most collectors, but this really is a fantastic figure for the size.