Name: Scorch
Series: Convention Exclusives
Allegiance: Autobot
Alternate Mode: Military Truck
TRUCK MODE
Height: 6.5cm Length: 12cm Width: 6cm
A cadmium yellow Jeep with orange flames on the hood, orange bullbar at the front, black plastic tyres and cobalt blue seats & interior, Scorch is a repaint of Universe 2.0 Hound, representing the Turbomaster of the same name. Scorch has a black grille and silver winch. His windshield and headlights are transparent red. He's based on the Jeep Hurricane concept, but lacks the trademarked Jeep grille to avoid copyright (thanks to Edrazeba for this info). There's no roof or side windows. His taillights are painted red along with the Autobot logo stamped onto his hood. It's a thoughtful and detailed colour scheme which clearly tributes the original toy well, to the point where you don't really see much Hound in this vehicle. The colours are bright without being garish, and fit into the bright colours of the 2010 BotCon toys.
There's a yellow cannon with blue barrel that can plug into the back of the right side seat, in reverse direction and colours to that of the original. The detailing on the mould is fairly sparse but done well - the details we do get such as indicators, flood lights on top of the windshield, steering wheel (left hand drive) and the winch, make a difference. Unlike the G1 toy, this Scorch has an open roof, and the flames lick forward rather than backwards as on the original.
The play value relies on Shattered Glass Ravage, who comes bundled with Scorch. There are two blue clips on the bed at the back, which lift up to grasp Ravage (in cassette mode) for storage/transport. It's an odd combination, but one that carries over form the (almost as random) Hound & Ravage set. The wheels roll, of course, and the cannon can be attached & detached.
A visually attractive paint job which also makes for a strong tribute, although this vehicle mode isn't at all a Jeep in these colours. It's a good vehicle mode anyway, with a lot of attention to detail here.
TRANSFORMATION TO ROBOT MODE
Detach and set aside Ravage and the cannon, if attached. Extend the rear and split to form boots. Swing the seats over the top of his thighs and down to form the front of his thighs, fold the blue seat supports in to form the back of his thighs. Fold up the feet. Pivot down the groinplate, lift out the arms from underneath the hood. Swing the front wheels out to the sides. Fold down the hood, which will cause the head to pop out as the windshield stays in more or less the same place. Swing the front wheels back, rotate the arms into position. Flip out his hands, place the weapon in either hand.
The seats as thighs is interesting and very well designed, the lack of kibble in robot mode is admirable and the clips end up invisible in robot mode, on the soles of his feet.
ROBOT MODE
Height: 13cm Width: 7.5cm
A cadmium yellow and cobalt blue robot, Scorch has yellow feet and forearms, a yellow chest and blue head with a silver face, transparent red eyes and a useful lightpipe. His upper arms, hands, groin and boots are blue while the orange bullbar is now on his chest. The front of the jeep - complete with that bullbar - forms the front of his chest, and that means the Autobot logo is in the centre of his chest. The colours look good and line up well to those of the original, and he does a good job of not being Hound. The proportions and general shape work well too. The head and face are clearly Hound, not so much the winged head of Scorch. The colour layout suits the character very well, making the tribute work well in this mode.
This is a well styled robot mode, and while the finer details belie the original intention, the colours do enough to bring him away from Hound. I prefer to leave his front tyres out to the sides rather than behind him, since it reminds me of the wingnut eats of the G1 toy. The handheld weapon doesn't look a while lot like a Turbomaster weapon (and has inverse colours), but still looks good in his hand.
Scorch has very good play value - this time Ravage plays no part but it doesn't matter. His head, shoulders and hips are ball jointed while the elbows and knees are hinged with rotators. The knee rotators are hidden behind the thigh panels (seats) which is a nice bonus - you don't see them even when he's posed. The ankles are hinged and while the heelspurs aren't quite as big as I'd like, Hound gets a wide range of poses. We get the option of placing the weapon in either hand or alongside his head as a shoulder cannon, but the latter clips very loosely and is more of a Hound-esque feature anyway and since the chest slopes down, the cannon ends up pointing down.
A great robot mode which gives us a strong tribute, despite being a coopted repaint. The head is Hound, but the distinct colours make this mode work for Scorch. The weapon is a little disappointing, but the poseability is good, making this a fun & visually appealing robot mode.
VARIATIONS
As mentioned he is a repaint of Henkei Hound. Scorch was sold exclusively at BotCon 2010 and was likely limited to a single production run, making variants unlikely.
OVERALL
A great use of an existing tribute mould for the tribute of an obscure toy. This is an excellent mould with a with strong modes & an excellent transformation. What's more, this is the first time this mould has been reused, making this repaint more welcome. The colours are vibrant and fit well into the BotCon 2010 theme, as well as making sure this repaint works well as Scorch. Recommended if you appreciate the Turbomasters and if you like the Classics concept in general - 9/10
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