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The Minimates M.A.X. (Mobile Action Xtreme) brand is in-house and new to DST, featuring an assortment of vehicles and figures designed entirely by Art Asylum. These are the first series of the Toys R Us exclusive sets; each set has two figures with tons of accessories and gear. The lineup includes Special Ops, Law Enforcement, Fire Fighters & Smoke Jumpers. THe Fire Fighters come in two different sets, one regular and one variant with a Fire Chief. This review will cover both sets.

Packaging

The packaging is the blister card pack with figures showcasing the accessories and gear (GEAR UP). The front has the TRU exclusive logo, GEAR UP showing all the accessories with the control art for the figure on the side. The back shows stages of gearing up along with the other figures available in the series.

The Fire Chief box is very similar, with only the red helmets and additional title to differentiate it from the other set. The back of the package is identical.

The Figures

M.A.X. Elite Heroes – Fire Fighters

The Fire Fighters pack comes with two figures but they are essentially the same figure and will be reviewed as one figure, see the pictures for the different combinations and accessories.

Both Minimates have the same minimal facial detail and expression, which is sort of a blank stare but this time with chin dimples. We’re over halfway through this first series and you may have noticed a pattern with the lack of expression and ethnicity of the figures. I’m just speculating here but would guess that in order to get these out in stores in time for the holiday season that DST went with the generic Caucasian males with a simple expression to meet their desired timeframe. There is going to be a LCS release of MAX figures that will be more diverse. That said, let’s move on. There is one regular black hairpiece and two Ladder 77 (yes, I love that!) helmets that are black with red circle number. Also there is another helmet with attached full wrap-around breathing mask. The helmets are very well done with all the right details, even the little silver clip thing on the back (I have no idea what this is actually used for).

This time both figures do have the same torso detail, which is a navy blue shirt with white firefighter logo behind red suspenders that are continued and crossed in the back; simple but perfectly executed. There is one set of regular arms with the short blue shirt sleeves and regular hands. Same goes for the boots, there is one set of regular black feet and two sets of feet with the front boot area. An extra set of arms/hands and feet would have been nice so that both figures could be displayed geared down instead of having to have at least one fully geared. The pelvis and legs are all black, which is not a bad thing; it goes with the full pants/boots look for firefighters. There are two sets of black/yellow striped arms with cuffs pieces along with black hands. Also included are two fully wrapped around black/yellow striped jackets. The colors are very simple but highly effective and are instantly recognizable as firefighters.

This set has tons of gear: two axes, spear, red fire extinguisher, search light with strap, silver oxygen tank and the jaws of life. There is also an extra clear blank torso piece that holds the extra jacket and arms. The oxygen tank can fit over the jacket to give the full geared up appearance or works well on the figure without the jacket. The always fun jaws of life and the Minimate sized fire extinguisher are standouts of the group.

In conclusion, I really love these fire fighter sets, they really nailed the look and feature such great gear.

MMC Score – 9 out of 10

M.A.X. Elite Heroes – Fire Chief

The changes in this set are two of the helmets, one hairpiece and one jacket. Hopefully the pictures below will make the changes apparent.

The hairpiece is the same as the regular set but this one is a light brown instead of black. There is one Ladder 77 helmet that is black with red circle number, the same as the regular set but the other helmet is red with black circle number. Also the helmet with attached full wrap-around breathing mask is red too. There is one fully wrapped around black/yellow striped jacket and one where the front of the jacket is sculpted as being open. I guess the chief gets to wear red and open his jacket.

In conclusion: pretty much the same as the regular set so it deserves the same score.

MMC Score – 9 out of 10

Review and pictures by Lurch77

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