FANS TOYS FT-61 INQUISITOR > REVIEW

Preamble

It’s amazing to me to think that Fans Toys first teased us with Inquisitor way back in 2015… that’s almost 10 years ago! It was a blurry silhouette but it had Masterpiece collectors intrigued. In that time we have had to put up with / enjoy X-Transbots Andras (depending on your point of view and collecting preferences). But since obtaining Quietus back in 2018, it has been a release I have been anticipating for some time. Of course Scourge has been represented upon my shelf by the aforementioned Andras, but like in all things, the new comes to supplant the old.

Having had Inquisitor for just over a week, I think that’s time enough to have had a good play with and formulate an opinion I can put forward here in this review. It’s possible that there maybe one or two points you won’t expect… but then, nobody expects the Cybertronian Inquisition do they!

Box & Accessories

Box quality is Fans Toys standard, it’s sturdy, glossy and printed well. As ever, the figure is presented inside a tomb of polystyrene, which I adore as it gives off an air of prestige. Along with the figure are the accessories which include; a blaster, a Targetmaster (Fracas), display stand adaptor and four swap out faces. Also included is the almost obsolete instruction booklet and a collectors card.

Vehicle Mode

In his alt mode, Scourge to me has always looked like some intergalactic, futuristic and metallic bar of space soap. It’s a sleek looking science fiction pebble with three protrusions on the top, although others I’ve heard describe him as a ‘space slipper’. Regardless of what you call yours I think it’s safe to say that I don’t think anyone actually knows what its supposed to be. This conundrum aside the alt mode does look really nice in this case, well from the top anyway. The underside does look a little untidy but I think we can let that slide really as I don’t think many will sit for hours staring up his faring plates. Because of the way he transforms and assembles, there are a lot of panel lines. But it’s cool as all of them tab in tight and stay in place. No gaps or mis-alignments here. And because it is Fans Toys, the paint application will be talked about repetitively, starting now. It’s bloody lovely, no two ways about it.

Attaching the stand adaptor you can then place him on the included stand… err, oh wait, there is no included stand! But that must mean then that you can use the stand that came with Sovereign right? Well, no you can’t do that either. What you can do though is place him on the Fans Toys Universal Stand (sold separately). I did not have this stand but I did happen upon one that was going for a good price so I picked it up. I anticipated that I would be able to use it for a wide range of the Fans Toys figures so in time it would be worth it… right?

While in his alt mode the blaster can be attached to the underside but sadly the Targetmaster has no where to be situated. There is also the ‘head out’ gimmick, but I’ve never been a fan of this so I didn’t do it nor take a picture of it either.

Transformation

Transformation is not difficult but it feels very haphazard. There are panels and pin joints everywhere at one stage, with the whole figure splayed out waiting to be folded up upon itself. But I must point out that for all the folding, tabbing and compressing, the paint work held up and suffered no scratches, scuffs or marking. At no point did I feel an apprehension or concern that anything would break or stress. I have a gentle but deliberate touch anyway so breakages aren’t something I experience very often, if at all. As I would assume most people do by now, I’d stay clear of the transformation steps as shown in the instruction booklet and go with an online video walk-through sequence. There are many out there so choose the one that best fits for you.

Robot Mode

I’d say my main impression of Inquisitor in his robot mode is that he’s quite statuesque, articulation is good but it’s limited by design choices for the over all look rather than functionality. The wings are not very dynamic and at times feel like they are in the way, this is what hinders some of the articulation I feel. The backpack isn’t unsightly, although it is a folded up mess of plastic panels. The tabs used to hold it in place are okay but can easily be disconnected when moving the figure around. I would also say that it hinders the very limited wing movement too. The head articulation is to be honest, quite abysmal. I still think that heads should be on a ball joint to give a comprehensive range of movement. Although I do accept that this option would bring the potential for loosening and rendering it useless over time and continued play.

But it’s not all negative, I assure you. All the joints are very stiff, as too are some of the parts for the transformation sequence. This is a good thing, especially when you consider that some of the joints are based upon friction and don’t have ratchets in them. He holds most poses very well but does tend to be back heavy. It’s not an official part of the transformation but there are flip out panels to the rear underside of the feet that can be used to steady him slightly. That stand adaptor I talked of earlier, is no use in robot mode so no unique ‘flying’ style photo’s I’m afraid. The heads swap out easy enough, just a matter of flipping the head up and slotting them in on a single peg. The hands hold his blaster well…. but not the Targetmaster!!! This is an epic ball drop from Fans Toys I feel. The problem is that the handle is far too short to fit in the hand peg slots. I know why, and it’s because they seem to have been focused on making Fracas look really good, which he does. I think it’s the best Targetmaster we have had to date. Maybe an extension of some sorts could have been provided to get him to fit in hand? And that brings us back around to the paint application. Which is as ever from Fans Toys, impeccable. The differing tones of blue really make this figure stand out, add to that the shimmer that also comes off it under the light and you have one really stand out piece for your collection. Closing Thoughts

I’ll get straight to the point, and state that it is another great figure from Fans Toys that has their usual shortcomings, however minor they may be. I am very much happy with it and glad to have it in my collection. It is a worthy upgrade to X-Transbots Andras, which has held the line for the past decade. Although don’t discount Andras out of the game just yet, there is still lots to like about that figure, its just that his age is showing and was never going to be able to stand toe to toe with modern MP engineering.

Stand out points for me are the quality of the materials, the paint applications and the general sculpt of it all. Fans Toys have built him well and for me captured his ‘86 Movie likeness, I say the movie as the animation is not the most reliable for the 3rd Season of the cartoon to use as a comparison. Tight joints and good articulation ensure you can achieve some interesting poses. The inclusion of his Targetmaster means no double-dip in the future but the lack of a stand for such a figure is a minus point. And of the minus points I have mentioned throughout this review, for me the ‘worst’ if you will, would be the head articulation. 

So yeah, he just looks the part and displays well with his fellow Heralds of Unicron. However I do have to say, once or twice while taking the group photo’s with Sovereign and Quietus, a question did enter my head which was; does Inquisitor now make them both look slightly dated?

And that’s about it. The rest you can gather from the photo’s or by heading over to Omegalock and buying one for yourself.

Right, I’m out of here. I’ve been Edd, he's been Inquisitor and you’ve been awesome for spending a little time reading my ramblings.

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