DE 
EN 
Series: Generation 1
Allegiance: Autobot
Categories: Motorvator
Year: 1991
Too hot to handle is ice cold to me.
The thinker in the Motorvator team. Brilliant advisor in battle and tracking tactics. Sneaky and cunning in a conflict situation. As mentally agile as Lightspeed is physically fast, he leaves Overlord behind him in the brain power stakes. Housing Energon figure equipped with problem solving analytical compu-unit. A vastly intelligent mechanism in comparion with Overlord's basic function Energon operators. Flameproof laser-evader proton armor makes both vehicle and robot an invincible attack force.
Robot Mode: In robot mode, Flame is little more than a brick. He can move his arms at the shoulders and his leg can move apart a tiny, tiny bit, that's it. The colour scheme isn't bad, but could have been better. The detailling is pretty plain, not much in the way of redeeming qualities here. What's somewhat interesting is the Brainmaster gimmick (or Energon figure gimmick as it was called in Europe). The smaller Brainmaster figure enters Flame's open chest. Closing the chest panel causes a face to slide up into Flame's empty helmet. That's pretty nifty. All in all, though, Flame is, at best, an average figure for the twilight days of Generation 1.
Alternate Mode: Flame transforms into a yellow sports car with red flames on the hood, looking somewhat like a Lamborgini (is that spelled right?). The car isn't half-bad and offers some features. You can open up the canopy to seat the Brainmaster figure inside. Flame's two weapons, a sword and a gun, can fit on either of the two side doors or on top. All in all Flame's car mode isn't spectacular in any way, but good.
Remarks: Okay, the origin of this toy: Flame was originally caled Laster, a figure produced for the Japanese-exclusive Victory series. He was one of Star Saber's lieutenants and could form a gestalt robot with his two teammates. He was then redesigned for Europe. The colours were changed, the parts for putting together the combiner were left out, and he got a new name. The Brainmaster figure was renamed "Energon figure" and the Motorvators, as the three Brainmasters were now called, were set up against the Decepticons led by Overlord, originally the bad guy from Victory's predecessor Masterforce. Got all that?
Anyway, Flame as a figure is average for the final days of G1, a toy designed more to support a gimmick than the other way around, and rather simplistic. Still, it's a European exklusive and I had one as a kid, so it has some nostalgia value for me. If you get it really cheap you can buy it. If you can get the Japanese version instead, buy that one.
Rating: C
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