RID 2015 Twinferno

Prelude: He is Twinferno, better known to G1 fans as Doublecross, he of the two dragon-head hands. Now while Doublecross didn’t exactly have a large role in G1-related media, Robots in Disguise Twinferno, he of the much cooler name, has actually not appeared in ANY RID-related media. Not the cartoon, not the comics, not even some obscure Japanese pack-in story. So why does he have two figures in the RID toyline while many characters actually appearing in the cartoon have none? Nobody knows except possibly some Hasbro execs. But he is Twinferno, he of the Warrior class, so let’s see what he’s got.

Robot Mode: The RID toyline is basically known for two things right now: a general simplification of the figures and a good share of very weird designs, especially when it comes to the bad guys. Twinferno is a good guy (nominally) and much like the other good guys in RID he adheres to a more basic robot mode with a very general look... until you arrive at the fact that he has two dragon heads instead of hands. The rest of him could be any given Autobot (probably a Dinobot, given his colors), but the two dragon heads as hands are his thing and individualize him.

In terms of articulation Twinferno works fine, though it takes a moment to get used to the way his arms and hands articulate. For weapons he comes with two fire swords that double as flame breath for his dragon heads and while simple, this gimmick works surprisingly well. Nicely done. In terms of detailing he is, like most RID figures, rather basic, but still good-looking. He gives me something of an early Anime vibe somehow, which I like. So bottom line: definitely not the strangest robot mode in RID, but still weird in a good way.

Alternate Mode: Now one would kind of expect a robot with two dragon heads for hands to transform into a two-headed dragon, right? Somewhat like Doublecross did in G1, right? Wrong, because Twinferno just laughs at your expectations and his rather bland-looking robot mode instead transforms into a ... well, I am not quite sure what it is. Certainly some kind of flying vehicle, one that would not stand out in any given 1970s Japanese Anime about some giant robot or other. It kind of looks like a bright red stealth bomber to which some madman has attached twin dragonheads, possibly cackling all the while.

So yeah, Twinferno becomes a big red jet with twin dragon heads. Just because he can, I guess. The jet as such is okay, even if it’s the result of a pretty basic transformation. No landing gear, sadly, but that seems to be a common problem these days. Anyway, Twinferno’s jet mode is good in a strange way. Best way I can put.

Remarks: I am not quite sure why I bought this toy, to be honest. As I mentioned above, the character has zero media presence in RID and I wasn’t that big a fan of the G1 character it’s based on to begin with. That said, there is something about this figure that just clicks with me. It’s cool in a campy, 1970s Mecha Anime kind of way. The gimmick with the flame-breath swords works surprisingly well, too, and overall I just like this figure, though I’m really hard-pressed to articulate why.

So if you don’t mind the general look & feel of the RID line and are capable of enjoying a weird figure now and then, Twinferno might be worth a glance or two.

Rating: B-