The amazing Titans Return line continues and not content with reviving the Headmasters, Targetmasters and Powermasters of yesteryear, the line has taken a swift right into the bad part of town that is home to the bizarre assortment of 1987 robots known as the Monsterbots.

Twinferno (aka Doublecross) is one of the Monsterbots, an Autobot trio that makes the Dinobots and the Wreckers look positively friendly by comparison.  His comrade Repugnus makes an appearance in the low-price Titan Master assortment so we may be seeing the trio complete before the line is done.

Twinferno’s beast mode is an awesome two-headed, bi-pedal dragon — ala King Ghidora. The twin heads have a decent array of movement since they’re also pulling double duty as arms in robot mode, allowing for some cool poses! Unfortunately, the tail refuses to stay together via friction and had to be forcefully compressed together for the photos.

Partnered with Twinferno is the Titan Master, Daburu. His name is derived from the Japanese pronunciation of Double and his nicely sculpted robot form is a homage to White Leo of the Battle Beasts/Beastformers, a toyline with close ties to the Transformers in Japan.

Daburu can ‘pilot’ Twinferno via several mounting points on the dragon mode which is pretty neat.

Being a Titan Master, the pair can combine to form a singular robot and Twinferno’s head is a really handsome visage, if a little plain.

Twinferno stands a little shorter than the other figure I have from this line, the previously reviewed Mindwipe and can even swap heads as part of the signature cross-play pattern.

As a solo figure, he definitely cuts an impressive silhouette and looks like a proper boxy brawler. He has a decent range of articulation and can do a fair Rider Kick and even be a pretty ballerina!

The twin cannons that were previously mounted on the dragon mode’s back can be wielded in robot mode as either shoulder cannons or by attaching them to the side of his dragon face hands.

Twinferno was one of my highly anticipated figures from the Titans Return range and I’m happy to say that this figure does not disappoint! He’s an absolute blast to play with and I highly recommend picking him up for yourselves.

The Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters line has had some really interesting toys that I can’t wait to own and this sub-line throws more into the ring. Predacons Rising is a retailer exclusive sub-line for Target in the States and Tesco in the UK. Today we’re looking at a Cyberverse two-pack, bringing me one step closer to a Predacon gestalt and another edition to my Lost Light crew shelf. They’re the smallest-scaled Transformers out right now but they can be some of the most entertaining toys I’ve owned.

Smokescreen is a damn good character, I was unsure of his inclusion so late to the series but Nolan North managed to make him extremely likable. In this two pack, the Cyberverse mould is repainted to look like Smokey’s G1 namesake and that’s always a great thing. His vehicle form is sleek, sexy and very cool, although there’s some weird issue with the back end. The pieces just don’t quite fit together the way you expect leaving the vehicle mode with a slight hump back. Let’s take a look at his robot mode!

Smokey is a delight to transform, having enough steps to not be too simple but intuitive enough to keep it interesting. The finished robot mode is a great representation of Smokey at a tiny scale and his sparkly red really pops against the navy blue. For a cheap repaint, he’s a solid little figure, despite the problems in vehicle mode.

But where there’s Smoke’, there’s Firecon and Cindersaur is a fantastic G1-inspired repaint of Predacon gestalt leg, Rippersnapper. His beast mode is an awesome looking bipedal dragon shark monster. Cast in grey and, what I believe to be, the same purple as my bedroom walls. Clearly Hasbro is keeping tabs on what shades of purples I dig. I love all the Cyberverse Predacons, not only because they combine into the dread Abominus but also because they’re all brilliant figures, each in their own right. Although again, he has a little trouble in beast mode keeping his face together. Which is an unfortunate undercurrent in this two-pack. Let’s heat things up in robot mode.
While the transformation is much more involved, having to pull double duty for both robot and leg component, the result is a stocky little chap that I just adore. He’s one of the smaller Predacons on the market but he’s got bulk and you cannot ignore his girth. He’s definitely the star of this two-pack for me.
The Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters – Predacons Rising Cyberverse Cindersaur & Smokescreen two-pack (Can you see why I abbreviated the review title now?) is an awesome little set with only a couple niggling issues to tarnish what is otherwise a solid release for this line. I picked this up for around half price and I’d definitely recommend it for that price.