Day 299

 Day 299 October 26^th

M.A.X. Elite Heroes wave 2 Fire Fighters 2 pack Review

            This 2 pack is a rerelease of the fire fighters M.A.X. minimates from the first series.  This was done since the first release sold out so quickly DST wanted to ensure people could get their hands on these minimates.  What a great idea, kudos DST!

Packaging – This wave of M.A.X. is blister carded on a cardboard back much like the first wave.  The main difference is that while the first waves cards were a blueish purple colour these ones are more red/orange hued.  The back of the card gives a quick bio about what M.A.X. is all about as well as a write up about the set itself.  It also has pictures of the minimate in the various states of gear included in the set along with the ‘Gear Up!’ slogan.  As with all things exclusive to Toys ‘R’ Us there is the nice silver exclusive sticker on the front of the package.  Inside the blister the minimates and the piles of extras are in the standard clear plastic tray, secured with tape if need be.  While the tape is nicer than the little twist ties it can sometimes leave a nasty tape residue on the parts it’s holding in.

 Fire Fighter 1 – The first fire fighter in the package is the one in full fire fighter gear.  Much like the first release these guys have the great helmet and the huge jacket piece.  There are larger cuff pieces at the wrist to give the jacket a more complete look of a real fire fighters coat.  It even has the clasps on the front like an actual fire fighters jacket does!  Nice attention to detail right there!  The boot pieces are made to look like the high boots a fire fighter would wear yet are made in the style that makes them so much less bulky.  This is great as the bulky boots can sometimes really limit movement and playability factors.  Under the jacket is the blue t-shirt with the fire fighters emblem on the upper left chest and red suspenders.  A great feature but they did not include the non jacketed arms to complete the look.  The helmet is just like helmets you would see on real life fire fighters and has the number ‘77’ on it.  He also has a spare hair piece for when the helmet is off.

Fire Fighter 2 – The second officer in this set is in a more plainly dressed fire fighter, likely to be found hanging out in the station house waiting for a call. He is dressed in black pants and the blue t-shirt with the white crest on the upper left chest.  The red suspenders are a nice addition to the chest block and are nice a clean lines, no colour bleeding here.  In the package he is packed with the flashlight on a strap accessory. 

The Gear – In the M.A.X. sets this has to be a whole part unto itself since there is just so much extra gear included.  First and foremost in this set is the extra set of arms, and the spare jacket piece; both of which are attached to a clear torso piece.  Along with this are the boots and helmet of course.  There is also another helmet that has a full face mask attached to it.  This goes along with the backpack style harnessed oxygen tank for when the fire fighters are in situations that they need the direct oxygen supply.  Also included for gear is a fire extinguisher, to axes, a pole arm and a jaws of life.  All of these are essential tools to the fire fighters and are nice made in the minimate scale!

As a re-release from the previous wave this is a great addition to the previous fire fighter forces.  The new hair piece was a nice nod to the fact that these are a new set.  It would have been perfect if they had included the t-shirt arms for the first fire fighter.  As with the law enforcement officers, my only other issue with this set is still the fact that they have the same faces.  Easy to fix with a parts bin but still would have been nice to change them from the first release.  This is a minor issue though since they are mostly just background characters and if I want any to stand out I can make that happen pretty easily on my own.  I give this set another smokin’ 5 out of 5!