Mirage
(Classics)
Mirage's vehicle mode
is, just like his G1 version, an Indy race car. He's ever-so-slightly futuristic-styled,
likely to keep from being to close to a real-model race car. (The "futuristic"
detail is a sloped, very sleek, long cockpit window, which looks pretty
darned cool, though there isn't any real cockpit detailing inside the clear
window.) All around, Mirage's vehicle mode is pretty much flawless- the
proportions are right-on, and there's no robot extras to speak of. Even
though his knees form the back end of the vehicle, they've got exhaust
pipes molded onto them so the fit in with the rest of the vehicle mode
instead of making it look toy-ish from that angle-- a very nice touch.
The blue-and-white color scheme is simple, yet very effective, and fitting
for a race car. All the decals are also a pretty nice touch, especially
the "Witwicky Sparkplugs" on the rear fin, which is a nod to Sparkplug
Witwicky, the father of Spike Witwicky in the G1 cartoon. The "F.P. Racing"
emblems on the sides MAY be a tribute to Fun Publications, the company
who is in charge of the Transformers Collectors' Club, but that's pure
speculation on my part. The mold detailing is rather sparse on the figure,
but this can mostly be chalked up to wanting a very sleek vehicle mode.
Another, rather minor, downside to this mode is that the gun, which stores
under the front part of the vehicle mode, has a tendency to pop out of
its slot a little bit, though not all the way. Mirage's Autobot allegiance
rub symbol is near the rear of the vehicle mode, on the top of the right
side.
Mirage's transformation
is simply ingenious, and it gives the robot mode very unique proportions--
however, they aren't ugly, and work surprisingly well for the toy. Mirage's
robot mode has a very lanky, cool, slouched appearance, and it really gives
him tons of personality and certainly sets him apart from other Transformers.
His stomach is very skinny, his chest fairly wide and hunched, and his
head (which is nicely-detailed and G1-accurate) small. Some would argue
too small, but if it were "normal-sized" it would have looked rather big
next to the skinny, lanky appearance of the figure. His legs start fairly
normal in their proportions, but get fairly large and "flappy" near the
feet, which again adds to the overall look and lanky appearance of the
toy. About the only parts of Mirage that are "normal" in their proportions
are his arms. The only real vehicle mode extra is the front wheels and
part of the cockpit, which stick out above his shoulders. They stay out
of the way, however, and they don't look overly out-of-place, so that's
only a very minor downside. His hand-held gun, which doesn't fire a missile,
is a bit weak for a gun-- it's really just an excuse to use the front fin
of the race car mode so it doesn't stick out on his back-- but at least
it's small doesn't get in the way of movement. Mirage has excellent articulation--
he can move at the head, shoulders (at two places), elbows (at twop laces),
waist, hips, knees, and ankles. And given how spread out his body structure
and how evenly balanced his weigbht is, he's one of the most posable Transformers
of all time! His paint detailing is still excellent in this mode, with
tons of paint apps, though his mold detailing is still a tad lacking.
It's hard to find any
real downsides to Classics Mirage-- he's got an excellent, unique, extremely
well-articulated look in robot mode, and a perfectly-proportioned, extra-free
vehicle mode. My favorite of the Classics Deluxes-- HIGHLY recommended.
Review by Beastbot