Beast Machines - Mirage
If you want to know how I got this guy (it's not very exciting really), check out the
Scavenger review. I'll just leave the rest up to you.
Mirage, as one might expect, is a formula-1 race car. Well, sort of. Of course he's a Vehicon, so
the whole thing is stylized and futuristic looking, but it's about as close as you can get to
being a formula-1 racer from Cybertron, I suppose. It rolls very nicely, despite the potential
to scrape the ground, being a major low rider. The color scheme is a weird sort of dark greenish
gray metallic color with yellow and light gray highlights. The engine and rear spoiler are translucent
blue and bright yellow. It all fits together quite nicely.
His tailpipes, made of a translucent blue plastic, also double as missiles (along the lines of
RID Prowl in that they have no springs and don't shoot very far), though it's something of a pain
to fire them off in this mode. If you try it, not only will they make his robot head a lot more
visible (this, by the way, is one of the few Vehicon vehicle modes that doesn't have eyes of sorts), but
the rear spoiler stands a good chance of coming apart (as it's supposed to, but not in this mode). However, the
cockpit has a nifty gun you can snap into place, so it's all good.
Transformation is one of the most complicated things I've seen in a while for a basic. Probably not since
Sonar has a basic had such a complex transformation, and Sonar's was also annoying, while Mirage's
is fun. I was actually not expecting such a neat transformation (especially since I opened Obsidian and
Scavenger before him), so it's definitely one of the selling points of the toy.
Robot mode is somewhat awkward looking. He has the same problem Buzzsaw has, with tiny thighs and
huge lower legs, but he makes up for it with swivel joint ankles. Actually, Mirage is the only toy
from the Beast Machines line that got the 'wheels for feet' scheme right. His feet house his wheels, but
they actually stay in the position you put them in, unlike Thrust and Blastcharge. Way to go!
Other awkwardness consists of his upper body being fairly skimpy looking compared to his pretty
big legs and head, which is actually proportional, it just looks too big for his body (opposite problems a
lot of Transformers have).
Also odd, but refreshing, is the fact that the front of his vehicle mode ends up on his back, not as his
chest as most car Transformers have (the Autobot brothers being another exception). You actually can
make that part his chest, but then his missile launchers get in the way of, well, everything.
Ah, so weapons? Well, like I said, he has those two missile launchers, and the gun is on top of
his head. Yes, he has a gun on his head. How cool is that? And to add to that, you can remove it
from there and he can hold it! Yay! A pre-RID Transformer with a handheld gun! The last time that
happened was back in the early Beast Wars line when guys like Cheetor and Tarantulas had those nifty
body part guns.
All in all, Mirage is a pretty neat toy. He isn't without his fair share of awkwardness (also I forgot to
mention his head is on a ball joint, but it looks very odd in most positions aside from 'looking forward and a little
down'), but a lot of it is made up for elsewhere. The transformation alone is very cool. If you can find one for
under ten bucks, pick it up, it is quite the excellent basic.
