Rolling brick that shoots water.

I’ll be honest, I chose Voyager Inferno way back when I got him because:

1) He was on clearance for RM55 ($14).

2) Based on pictures, I figured he was the biggest of all the Universe 2.0 Voyagers.

We’ve looked at his predecessor already. Let’s take a look at the flagship CHUG Inferno!

Vehicle mode

Inferno is a firetruck. Duh.

But he’s not a firetruck with a ladder. No, he’s a firetruck with a water cannon! I guess he really is an update of the G2 Inferno. Not like I had the water cannon for that Inferno though. It’s a great vehicle mode with almost no robot mode kibble. Also, he has a detailed cockpit. I always love those.

Inferno rolls well on all six of his wheels. The water cannon rotates 360° as well as pivot up and down.

Transformation

It’s simple and straightforward. It’s very panel centric and some people will take issue with that. I don’t really care honestly.

The head reveal is just awesome though. They didn’t need to make it spring-loaded but I’m glad they did. It’s my favourite part of the transformation.

Robot mode

Now this is a thicc robot mode. Dummy thicc. He has the same mass as other Voyagers releases in the same time frame (2006~2010) but he gives the impression he’s bigger. It’s a good look. Not all the Transformers need to be heroic proportioned like Optimus.

There’s a lot fewer paint apps than you’d think there’d be but he’s got lots of molded detail. His head in particular is molded very nicely. Honestly, the only problem I have with Inferno in robot mode is the kibble behind his shoulders. They can be moved out of the way for most poses but they’re still quite annoying.

Articulation on Inferno is a bit hindered at places but you can still get some good poses out of him. His head is on a ball joint. His arms rotate at the shoulders as well as go in and out. He has bicep swivels, elbow bends and wrist swivels. His legs go in and out as well as forward and back at the hips. They rotate at the hips too because of their odd design. He bends at the knees and rotates below them. His feet are ball jointed but a bit limited in movement. His toes bend up.

Gimmicks

Inferno is quite barren on this front. He’s only got his dramatic head reveal and his firing missile. He doesn’t need any flashy gimmicks though, Inferno’s a great Transformer as is.

Oh, right. Light piping counts as a gimmick! On top of a great looking headsculpt, Inferno has some very nice and effective blue light piping.

Toy or collectible?

Both man.

Inferno has two big and fun modes as well as a simple enough transformation. He’s still available for reasonable enough prices too, so he’d make a nice surprise for a kid.

Inferno is also one of the better CHUG updates. He’s a great Transformer with a great heft and size that’s uncommon these days. He’s also not been usurped by a newer Generations update like Optimus, Megatron, Hound or Jetfire since his only other CHUG figure is Hot Spot with a different head.

Closing

Inferno was one of the best things to come out of the Universe 2.0 line even with his flaws and he still holds up a decade later.

He’s a Transformer pretty much anyone can enjoy and I wholeheartedly recommend you hunt him down!