Review: Mixels Series 4 Infernites
Posted by CapnRex101,
Series four of the Mixels has let me down overall. We have come to expect characterful models which encourage creativity and although the parts selection is as impressive as ever, I don't think the characters are as interesting on this occasion as they have been before.
However, the Infernites buck this trend to an extent. I expected this to be my least favourite tribe of the selection given that these are not the first fire-themed Mixels we have seen, but in fact they are my favourites.
41530 Meltus
Meltus is probably my least favourite of the group, but I love the idea of a dinosaur-based character. The general shape looks superb and the angled wheel arches on his head are brilliant, particularly since they fit quite tidily around those bulging eyes. The flames coming from his nostrils are a nice touch and the trans-orange highlights (which appear on all three models) are an attractive addition to break up the otherwise uniform colour.
The poseability is fairly typical, with ball jointed legs, hinged arms, a hinged tail and a hinged head. My only criticism here is that the mouth is not articulated so we cannot get a good look at those banks of teeth, which are pretty important for a dinosaur based character!
Although I like the idea and shape of Meltus, the parts selection is poorer than in the other two in my opinion, particularly since the variety of dark red pieces is very limited. Nevertheless, this is not a bad addition to the collection.
41531 Flamzer
I am not sure how a creature that looks like a cross between a shrimp, a cyclops and a blast furnace can look adorable, but Flamzer does it for me. The unusual shape is great and there are plenty of moving parts including his four legs, two tiny arms, tail and upper jaw giving some excellent options for posing the figure.
The colour scheme works very well as a whole on all three Infernites but I am not entirely convinced by the grey pieces used for his tail. This is unavoidable without casting the ball joint components in a new colour, but that would have been ideal and seeing these parts in new colours would be lovely.
Flamzer is opposed by a Nixel, who, like his brethren in the other tribes, is new for series four. He looks very stubby on his tiny legs but that just gives him more character and he serves his purpose: to generally annoy the Mixels.
41532 Burnard
Burnard apparently loves to laugh, and that is conveyed well through his crazy eyes! The inclusion of two red inverted domes is a huge draw to this character if you are looking for parts and there is a useful mixture of red, black and dark red pieces included too.
Burnard's articulation is pretty standard, featuring ball jointed legs, hinged arms and a hinged jaw. This is fine, but does limit poseability to an extent, a fact true of the majority of the series four Mixels in my opinion. The use of varying coloured slopes on his feet looks great and the addition of a monobrow is always fun!
For me though the best part of the figure is his face, which looks superb. The inverted domes around his eyes are perfect and the way it is angled back makes it look a little more unusual which is excellent for a Mixel. As you can see in the photo above, the angled head does leave a rather unsightly area visible from the back, but this will not be easily visible on display nor an issue for play.
Verdict
The Infernites are my favourite tribe of series four simply because they maintain the standard set by previous series. Each model has a distinct character and unique design, with features that make all three well worth buying. The parts selection is not necessarily as interesting as the other tribes since red is obviously a common colour, but the variety of hinges, joints, slopes and those two inverted domes is pleasing.
Series four has disappointed me a bit. An impressive precedent was set by the previous three waves of Mixels and these don't live up to that in my opinion. On the other hand, there can be no doubt that the parts selections are as good as you are going to get for £2.99 or $4.99, and there are definitely some characters that stand out as the best of the lot. For me the pick of the bunch is Flamzer as he is unique in appearance and conveys the most character to me.
Which is your favourite? Let us know below.
Thanks again to Huw for the photos.
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13 comments on this article
"I am not sure how a creature that looks like a cross between a shrimp, a cyclops and a blast furnace can look adorable, but Flamzer does it for me."
That's all the justification for being online I needed today! What a line! :D
Yes, that was a great line!
I thought you considered the Glowkies to be 'the best of the bunch', no?
No, that review said the Infernites were the best. I like them enough, but I don't like this established trend of expanding one tribe from each series. We're getting Frosticons in Series 5 and Glorp Corp in Series 6, but these Infernites are more original and creative than the future expansions.
I took my Mixels Series 4 Infernites out for a field trip to the Lava Lands Visitor Center at Lava Butte last weekend for some real adventure - http://www.flickr.com/photos/wiredforsound23/16315206300/
Looks like they are right at home :)
IMO the worst of all the series. The Dino-guy looks cool, but still quite weak compared to Bugly or Niksput.
I think this is the best series yet, espically Boogly, Rokit and Meltus
Huw, will we have a Series 4 building competition to look forward to? The custom creations are by far and away the best thing about the Mixels for me.
My order from the end o last week for a full set of S4 Mixels has just come back with a message that Meltus is now unavailable and has been removed from my order. That was a fast sell-out!
My Tesco has a stack of them, if you can't find one locally, LMK and I'll pick one up for you.
I got the last one from my local TRU: they had a big rack for Mixels, with about 8 packs on it, fortunately one of them was a Meltus. Thanks for the offer.
Did Lego produce fewer of this series, or have they suddenly got more popular?
Wait a month and more will show up. I have noticed with Mixels and CMF that there seems to be a surge of them right before the next series comes out. Like Lego found some in a warehouse and shipped them out.