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Series: Fans Hobby
Allegiance: Autobot
Categories: Convention Exclusive
Year: 2026
Prelude: We need more men! We don’t have all the men yet! Do you hear me, Fans Hobby? We need more men! All the men! Thankfully we finally have another man, namely Fireman, the next unofficial third party Turbomaster figure. So after we got nothing but Predator-Men for the last few years, the next Turbomaster-Man is here. Let’s say go!
Robot Mode: Just like all the other Turbomasters and Predators from Fans Hobby, Fireman, too, is a retool of a previous figure. Fans Hobby’s Flame Breaker, their version of G1 Headmaster Hosehead, received a new paintjob, a new head, and a new weapon to become a third party version of Turbomaster Scorch. Unsurprisingly, seeing as Flame Breaker was a fire truck, not the kind of slightly deformed pickup truck Scorch was, the figure does look a bit different than back in 1992.
In robot mode, the main difference is, of course, that Fireman doesn’t have a windshield as a chest. Instead it’s on his shins. The chest plate is sculpted to somewhat hint at a pink chest window, sure, but the general layout of the figure is decidedly different. The paint job does a lot to remedy that, as the yellow and blue colors with the pink details and the flames on the chest do a good job of emulating the old figure. The yellow is a bit different from the original, but that might just be the faded color on the G1 original. The head is doing an okay job of resembling the old noggin’, the wings on the side of the face are a bit smaller relatively to the rest of the head, but overall you can see the resemblance.
Likeness to the G1 figure aside, Fireman looks pretty good to me. He is big, he is chunky, he’s got big boots and big forearms, a nicely sculpted torso and, given that he could almost be called a shell former, he has a surprisingly clean silhouette. The car chassis has folded together into a rucksack and the lower legs, barely any visible car parts to be seen. The articulation is pretty good, including opening hands and ab crunch, so no complaints here at all. You can flip open Fireman’s chest to see his tech spec ratings (if the head is plugged in, that is), a leftover from the Headmaster figure he was originally used for.
Finally, there is the weapon. Like all Turbomasters, Fireman carries a big turbine with a yellow missile as his main weapon. No spring-loaded firing mechanism, naturally, but it looks very cool. A very short missile is meant for the turbine, while two longer missiles are supposed to attach to the sides of the lower legs, similar to how it was for G1 Scorch.
Bottom line: the resemblance to the old robot mostly hails from the paint job, sure, but overall a very nice robot mode. I like it.
Alternate Mode: As mentioned above, the original Scorch transformed into a slightly deformed pickup truck with the big Turbomaster turbine on the truck bed. Fireman, as you might have guessed from the name, transforms into something that was originally a fire truck. The ladder that was still included with Flame Breaker is gone, instead the turbine goes on top.
The truck looks pretty cool, even though you can see that it’s assembled from quite a few separate plates. The transformation into truck mode is pretty basic in general, but getting all those plates to click together correctly requires a bit of finesse. The finished truck has no visible robot parts, though, and holds together very well. There are quite a few painted and sculpted details, so no complaints here. The only slightly weird thing is those side mirrors on the doors. To be honest I forgot to unfold them for the pictures of the truck mode, but you just swivel them upwards and turn them 90 degrees, no more. That, I think, could have been done a bit better.
The truck features a functional driver’s cabin, though the side doors don’t open. You fold down the front portion instead, revealing two seats for “Junior Drivers”, aka the smaller Headmaster figures (called Junior Headmasters in Japan). Fireman’s head, transformed into a humanoid figure, can take a seat here. Given that it’s a Japanese truck, the steering wheel is on the right side. With two seats in the truck and just one driver figure included, you can use the other seat to store the separate forehead piece (see below).
Bottom line: it’s definitely not the right vehicle mode for G1 Scorch, but it does make for a decent truck.
Partner: As mentioned before, Fireman is a Headmaster, so his head detaches and becomes a smaller robot / armored human (take your pick). The figure isn’t the entire head, though, there is an additional piece that forms the forehead and those side wings. The figure is decently articulated for its size, featuring knees and elbows, and decent detailing as well.
Remarks: It’s been three years since we got Bossman, the last Fans Hobby Turbomaster before this one here, but now that the Predators are done, Fans Hobby is finally bringing us some more good guys, too. Seeing as Fans Hobby has no pickup trucks among its existing figures yet, it isn’t that big a surprise that the alternate mode doesn’t quite fit. Still, with the great paint job and the new head, Fireman does work as a (slightly changed) version of G1 Scorch. With three more Turbomasters to go (Hurricane, Rotorstorm, and Flash), we’ll see what Fans Hobby will do with them.
Bottom line for this figure: it does the best possible job of portraying Scorch, I believe, given that the alternate mode doesn’t really fit. Would I have wished for a more faithful Scorch with a pickup truck mode? Sure, but I’m happy to get another Turbomaster either way, so me getting him was never in question. That said, unless you have an unhealthy fixation on the Turbomasters like me, I’m not sure how much appeal he will have for you. I do think the paint job here is the best we’ve seen on this figure yet, though. So, final thought: go and buy him if you’re a Turbomaster fan. Everyone else, I’ll leave it up to you how much you like him.
Rating: B
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