Hi guys! Sharp-O back once again for another toy review and this time I’m taking a look at a downright dastardly duo of DUOCONS! Battleslash and Roadtrap are Legends-class figures from the Power of The Primes line that combine together to form the G1-homaging BATTLETRAP!

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.

After too long in the dark, the beastial Decepticons of the Headmaster era return in the aptly titled Titans Return line and today we’re looking at the master of hypnotism; Mindwipe!

Mindwipe is a superstitious and cowardly ‘Con, the Transformers equivalent of a Ouija board enthusiast who desperately wants to communicate with the dead. Quite a macabre character bio but it soon devolves that into sitcom shenanigans when he’s paired with his scientifically-minded Titan Master, Vorath.

Mindwipe’s bat mode brings to mind the Ricky Gervais bit: Have you been over-feeding a pipistrelle? because this is a proper chubby bat. The wing span is epic and has amazing articulation, befitting of such a creature of the night. His gun/shield kibble tail is a bit slapdash though (Oh! Oh! Can we get a Titan Master Slapdash?)

Just like an evil Kinder Egg, Mindwipe has a prize inside and it’s none other than Vorath! This 1½ inch head on legs has a surprising amount of detail but sod all paint work (but that’s why people fork out for the Japanese ones) but that’s fine because it’d only get chipped in the process of inserting his tiny head into Mindwipe’s neck hole over and over again. That’s way grosser than I intended…

Vorath can ‘pilot’ the weapons in their gun… sled… configuration. My one complaint about this line is the forced inclusion of rubbish ‘vehicles’ in the Deluxe figure range.

The conversion process is lovely and intuitive, the bat wings folding into nice boxy legs while his stumpy legs unfurl for the robot mode arms. Scale-wise, Mindwipe stands at a little under 6″ tall. While that isn’t quite as big as you’d expect but for what he lacks in height, he makes up for in quality.

Ooooooh myyyyyyy! I think I might be turning robosexual with this figure because DAMN, Mindwipe looks gorgeous. The colour palette is like a pimp’s finest suit; blacks, reds, subtle browns and the same sexy-ass purple I have on my bedroom walls!

The proportions are full of satisfying chunk and tight joints. You can pull off a great range of poses but there’s no ankle articulation so his legs are constantly in a wide stance. His weapons includes an update of his trademark Viper Pistol and the clawed shield dealie which will probably end up in a box somewhere…

Mindwipe’s return to the Transformers line is much appreciated as his figure is the best Transformer I’ve messed with in a very long time and after this initial hands-on experience, I will definitely be trying to hunt down both Skullsmasher and Wolfwire to complete the trio. I want to give a super-special-awesome shout-out to Dawfydd Kelly for sending this figure to me out of the kindness of his heart though considering how now I want more, he’s more like a plastic crack pusher…

Anyway, thank you for checking out my review and I’ll catch you guys next time with another Mint in Box!

Titans Return (well, Headmasters Return but I guess Hasbro doesn’t have that trademark anymore0 to the world of Transformers with the redux of the tiniest titanium twink, Rewind!

Originally just one of Blaster’s cassette-bots but given new relevance as once half of the Lost Light’s premiere gay-married trouble magnets, Rewind’s release – in the same line as his husband, Chromedome – is yet another instance of Hasbro taking cues from IDW’s stellar comic series, More Than Meets The Eye.

The packaging is exactly the same it was for Combiner Wars but with this year’s branding. Moving on!

The cassette-bot of 1986 gets a massive upgrade for 2016, now transforming into a touch screen MP3 player… that has a cassette themed background so it makes him look like a walkman. Still, you can plug a pair of headphones into him and he can still be loaded into the Voyager scale Blaster’s chest like a cassette… Which doesn’t make a lick of sense other than THEY DID IT IN THE 80’S!

I’m really thankful that the Combiner Wars mandate of Legends scale figures being triple-changers persists because while this Space Tank mode is as basic as they come, it does add some more value to this entry level Transformer. The transformation between all three modes is so basic yet intuitive that you shouldn’t even have to unfold the instructions.

Rewind in robot mode stands about 3½ inches tall and, barring the bulky forearm kibble, is a dead ringer for his IDW design, even down to the camera sculpted to the side of his tremendous head sculpt that pays homage to Alex Milne’s comic design.

Poseability-wise, he’s got a tremendous range of movement thanks to the hinge and ball joints; allowing for all manner of cool action poses, balancing precariously, or even cute poses when his husband finally shows up.

Overall, for an RRP of £11.99, it’s hard for me to recommend Rewind simply as a toy because when I first started doing reviews five years ago, that would be the price of a Deluxe scale figure but as a massive More Than Meets The Eye fan, I had to get him and he’ll be a permanent fixture on my desk.