Dave's Transformers Classics Rant: Deluxe Wave 2

     Mirage
     Grimlock

     Permalink: http://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/BW/Classic/Deluxe2 (check back
here for updates before emailing me with an omission or correction).

     I ordered both of these online from hasbrotoyshop.com, then had them go
on backorder just as the toys started to hit stores.  I found Mirage at
Wal-Mart, but not the shortpacked Grimlock.  I kept the receipt so I can
return the online one to Wal-Mart if it ever actually ships from Hasbro.
     Grimlock will also appear in wave 3, shortpacked again, along with
recolors of Bumblebee and Starscream as Cliffjumper and Ramjet.
     Update 12/11/06: Hasbrotoyshop cancelled my Grimlock.  Slagheads.  I did
get Mirage from them, though, and immediately took it to Wal-Mart to get my
ten bucks back.
     Update 12/19/06: I got it from KBToys.com instead.  So there.  
     Update 12/20/06: Grimlock review finished.

CAPSULES

     Mirage: Yes, another formula racer.  But a nifty transformation scheme
and a very poseable (if oddly proportioned) robot mode.  Some kibble issues,
but nothing insurmountable.  Recommended.  $9.87 at Wal-Mart.
     Grimlock: Zoid-ish dino mode, interesting transformation, good robot
mode.  But a serious engineering flaw bedevils both modes.  Recommended
(would've been strongly if they'd fixed the flaw).  $10.99 plus shipping from
KBToys.com.


RANTS


AUTOBOT: MIRAGE
Altmode: Formula Race Car
Function: Spy
Weapon: Electro-disruptor
Motto: "You can't catch what you can't see."

     Together with BUMBLEBEE, MIRAGE completes the AUTOBOT spy team.  Where
BUMBLEBEE focuses on information however, MIRAGE perfers sabotage.  Smart and
fast, he's always ready with a joke, even when the situation doesn't call for
one.  Though he is not totally dedicated to the cause, he cares deeply for
his friends, and will do anything he can to protect them.  His specialized
electro-disruptor weapon can create complex illusions, and even allows him to
turn invisible.

STR 6  INT 9  SPD 7  END 5  RNK 7  COUR 5  FRB 6  SKL 10  Avg 6.875

     The only callout is "Electro Disruptor weapon!"  The co-sells show
Jetfire, Bumblebee and Grimlock.  Otherwise, same style of packaging as wave
1. 

     Gone is the aristocratic background, but the dubious revolutionary
fervor is still there.  And while the cartoon just had him go invisible, the
original toy instead made him more of a Displacer Beast, creating illusions
that he was somewhere other than where he really was.  So this is a good
combination of the two.
     Before I go into the toy, a few notes on his various decals.  "Witwicky
Sparkplugs" is fairly obvious as a G1 reference.  A little harder to read on
his front end is "Lithonian Drivetrain," which refers to the Lithones, the
race Unicron eats at the start of the original Transformers the Movie.  The
number 26 refers back to the original G1 toy's number.  The Citanes logo is
gone, but since that's a real company that these days would insist on
licensing, that's understandable.  [Monzo on the AllSpark points out that
Gitanes is the real company involved with racing, "Citanes" was a trademark
dodge itself, but also turns out to be a different real company.] He also has
"F.P. Racing" next to an orange and black 2x2 checkerboard.  There is a
Formula Pacific, but what little I've been able to find on it suggests that
Mirage is not a Formula Pacific car (and that particular circuit doesn't run
in the U.S. anyway AFAICT).  It might be intended as a fictional formula,
again to avoid trademark issues.  Finally, tiny decals flanking the cockpit
read "Plasma Injection Energy."
     [David Willis points out that designer Joe Kyde put "F.P." in as a
reference to his RPG guild, and the checkered flag was meant to be the guild
colors, but got altered later.  I guess it was probably to reduce the number
of paint masks or something along those lines.  Willis also points out that
Mirage runs on P.I.E.  Mmmm, PIE.]
     Two twist-ties and no rubber bands.  The rear spoiler is packaged in a
weird position that suggests a non-standard design, but it is shown correctly
on the package.

     Vehicle Mode: A formula racer in blue and white, much like many other
toys with the name Mirage over the past five or six years (there's been
others before that, but the name reuse really took off lately).  5.5" (14cm)
long.  The airscoop atop the cockpit and most of the chassis are medium blue
(0033CC more or less) plastic that glows strongly under UV.  The spoiler and
some of the front end are white plastic (moderate glow).  The windshield is
part of a single piece that includes part of the nose and the front axles,
and is made of a clear blue-green (00FFCC) plastic with extensive white and
silver paint.  The number 26 is printed in black on a silver oval on the nose
and the sides, the other decals have been mentioned already.  A slightly
brighter blue paint is on the white plastic parts.  The wheels are black
rigid plastic with silver spokes.  The twin tailpipes on either side are a
medium gray (999999) plastic, as are the struts that hold up the spoiler.
The orange paint used on some of the decals glows strongly under UV.
     The wheels roll freely, and the robot head is faintly visible inside the
cockpit.  The whole thing is pretty stable.  The rubsign is on the right rear
topside, and does not cover any panel lines or otherwise fit badly.

     Transformation: The rear half pulls back and unfolds into the legs, like
straightening out a Z by pulling on the two ends.  The arms pull out from
under the driver's section, and then the rest of the front end does a nifty
double-fold that reminds me of the Seeker jet transformation to become the
chest.  The rest of the transformation is fairly obvious, although you may
need a pry tool or strong fingernails to get the fists out.
     While the front end of the car ends up as a backpack, there's a false
cockpit and canard set that end up on the robot chest and pelvis.  The
airscoop becomes a sort of skidplate/fannypack (fanny meaning rump, to any
British readers).

     Robot Mode: 5.5" (14cm) tall at the head, a little taller if you count
the backpack.  3.5" (9cm) of that is the height up to the waist joint...he's
VERY leggy.  I mean, if you bend his lower leg segment 90 degrees to act as
huge boots, he has almost "correct" proportions for a human.
     The head, outer shoulders and boots are mostly blue plastic.  The torso,
thighs, forearms and toes are white, as are the false canard "gundam skirt"
pieces.  The middle joints of the arms and legs, plus the pelvis, are medium
gray plastic.  The fists and inner shoulder sections are black plastic.  The
eyes are lightpiped in blue-green.  There's silver paint on the G1-evocative
head and face, orange bars on the forearms, and blue paint on the false
canard.  The false cockpit is painted pale metallic blue.  There's no version
of the "T in a shield" pattern found on the G1 version.  The color scheme is,
however, generally close to the G1 toy.
     Both the elbows and knees use a double hinge joint, with a central gray
section, but the lower "knee" is really just a transformation joint unless
you want to Dorf him and use the joint as an ankle.  In both cases, the joint
lets you bend the limb 180 degrees.  The head is on a ball joint.  The waist
swivels on a joint that actually pops apart pretty easily like a plastic
shower curtain ring (I can't help but make the comparison, I just replaced my
shower curtain), but unlike the G1 Mirage it reassembles easily.  :) (Aside:
for those who don't know, the waist on G1 Mirage was very prone to breakage.)
The shoulders and hips are ball joints.  There's a swivel above the upper
elbow.  The wrists turn inward on transformation hinges, which can be kinda
floppy, but tightening the screw on the forearm fixes that.  The toes are on
a combination of swivel and ball joint, which is stiff enough to help
stabilize some pretty extreme poses.
     The true canard (front "wing") becomes the electro-disruptor.  Due to
the slenderness of Mirage's arms, his fists are too small for a 5mm hole, and
his weapon instead uses a 4mm (3.8mm to be a bit more precise) peg and hole.
Personally, I'd have preferred it if there was a way to hold it looking like
an axe, since it does look more like an axe than a gun.  Or if they had it
flip over for weapon use and molded a crossbow shape onto the bottom.
     The weapon is supposed to store on the notch in the skidplate, but the
tab is a little too wide.  Instructions are really vague on the matter, too,
and I have to wonder if this was something the instruction-writer discovered
rather than an intended design feature.  It's not a good idea to file down
the tab, since it IS the right size for its vehicle mode storage point.  But
widening the slot a little doesn't help either, it seems to depend on
stressing the plastic to work.  Feh.  Sticking it back in its vehicle mode
storage point in robot mode works okay, though.  [Later note: some people got
Mirages where the tab fits the slot perfectly, so it looks like this is
another case of quality control issues.]

     Overall: Pictures don't really do the robot mode justice, it looks much
better in person than the gangly, spindly thing seen in photos.  The weapon
could certainly be better in several ways, and the backpack is kinda ugly,
but it's nice to see something different done with the oft-used formula racer
altmode.  


AUTOBOT: GRIMLOCK
Altmode: Robot T.rex
Function: Dinobot Commander
Weapons: Guardian Blaster, Smashing Whip
Motto: "Me, Grimlock!"

     GRIMLOCK keeps a collection of the parts he's torn off his DECEPTICON
enemies.  His super-thick ultramantium skin in both robot and dinosaurmode is
coated in energy-absorbing materials, making him nearly impervious to
damage.  There are many who might say much the same thing about his mind.  He
is actually quite smart, but a programming flaw in his speech centers givs
him only the most basic communications skills.  He dislikes the weak, but is
dedicated to the protection of those he views as lesser creatures.  The only
thing he hates more than weakness, in fact, is those who exploit the weak.

STR 10  INT 7  SPD 3  END 10  RNK 9  COUR 10  FRB 8  SKL 10  Avg 8.375

     Callouts include: "Firing Guardian Blaster projectile!"  "Guardian
Blaster attaches to T.rex mode!" and "Tail becomes smashing whip!"  The
co-sells show Jetfire (mislabeled as Astrotrain), Mirage and Starscream.

     Still arrogant, and now clearly possessed of a sense of noblesse
oblige.  "That's mightly Autobot of you."
     Packaged in dino mode.  The flip-for-robot-mode gimmick only has a
little bit of the picture covered by the velcro.  One twist-tie holds the
Guardian Blaster in, while five more hold Grimlock into the bubble.  It's
actually packaged with the left hindleg totally out of position, otherwise
he's too wide to fit.  Baby's got back.

     Quality Control warning: there have been many reports of figures with
two right fists or two left fists.  If you look at the calves of the dino
mode's hind legs in the package, you should be able to tell if you at least
have two different fists (and if they're on the wrong sides, at least you can
swap 'em).

     Beast Mode: I have heard tell that Don Figueroa based this design on the
GenoSaurer from Zoids (one of the limited-production Deathsaurer spinoffs).
And I can definitely see the Zoidness in it.  Especially in the tail.
     8" (20cm) from snout to tail tip if the tail is straight.  Height
depends on whether you use the old fashioned T.rex pose of G1 Grimlock (as
shown in the instructions) or the modern-style horizontal body (which the
head seems designed for...it can't look down far enough for the tail-
dragging pose).  In horizontal pose, the back is about 3" (8cm) off the
table.  In tail-dragger pose, the top of the head is 4.5" (12cm) high.
     The head, chest and parts of the thighs are light silvery gray (CCCCCC).
The Guardian Blaster, the, ah, cloaca region and some inner parts are black
plastic.  The lightpiped eyes/forehead, missile, launcher trigger and a gem
on one side are clear red (FF0000) plastic.  The rest is a medium light gray
(999999) plastic.  Except...there's two different medium light gray plastics.
The dino forearms, the conning tower, the mid-thighs and the rear hip joints
glow greenish under UV, while none of the other gray plastics glow
particularly.  The clear red glows brightly.  The claws of the rear legs, the
neck and several accents along the tail are painted gold.  The edge of the
blade of his bayonet is also gold.  There's black accent paints in several
places.  The rubsign is in a dedicated indentation on the left flank just
ahead of the left hip.
     Poseability is decent, although not as good as BWX Megatron's mold.
Because the neck and head becomes the legs, there's no way to make the head
as poseable as with Megs.  It hinges up and down, and the mouth opens.  The
forelegs are on ball joints, but no other jointing within the limbs.  The
legs, being also the robot arms, have a lot of jointing: universal hips,
mid-thigh swivels, hinge knees and ankles, and hinged single-piece claw
pseudo-ankle.  There's a sort of conning tower on the back (in part a
callback to the cockpit on G1 Grimlock), and it's hinged to swing aside in
transformation.  Finally, the tail is hinged to swing back and forth...with
four joints.  Having built more than a few Zoid tails, I'm having flashbacks
to that design now.  :)  Each hinge can bend 45 degrees, so the entire tail
can bend in a 180 degree U.  No up and down jointing, though, which makes the
tail-dragger pose a bit awkward.
     The hips, unfortunately, don't lock into place.  There's obviously tabs
and slots meant to do this, but the tabs aren't wide enough to actually
hold.  Some people have simply eschewed the official hip position in favor of
pulling the joints down to bring the hips closer together, but this makes the
figure a bit oddly tall instead.
     The Guardian Blaster (the name of which I hear is a reference to an
obscure G1 item) plugs into the conning tower.  It's kinda a gunsword, but
not as stupid as the ones in Final Fantasy.  Unfortunately, it only has one
grip, so the robot can only hold it as a gun, not as a sword.  The weapon is
3.25" (8cm) long unloaded, about a centimeter or so longer with the missile
in place.  It uses a standard 5mm peg, so you can mount AEC weapons on
Grimlock's back too.

     Transformation: You don't have to remove the tail or the gun while
transforming, but odds are the tail will pop off anyway, and you at least
don't want to leave the gun loaded, else it'll shoot you in the face in
accordance with Murphy.  :)
     The chest forward pops out and unfolds into legs, separating with the
head halves opening up as feet.  The flank flaps fold away from the waist,
but that's mainly for appearance, as they don't really block anything.  The
hip section rotates 90 degrees to bring the part with the red gem around to
the front, and then that whole front panel (with a dino leg attached to it)
spins 180 degrees to put the leg on the other side as the right arm.  The leg
left behind becomes the left arm.  Neither shoulder really pegs firmly into
place, sadly.  The black box around the robot head that the tail connected to
folds open, with the bulk of it becoming a backpack for tail attachment, and
the sides folding down on either side.  The side tabs have little bumps on
them that look like they're supposed to go into slots on top of the shoulders
to secure them, but they don't even come close to lining up, and wouldn't be
wide enough to make a secure fit anyway.  I've also seen some people saying
that the side flaps on theirs were on backwards or upside down, but I'm not
seeing any orientation of them that would actually help keep the shoulders in
place.  There's also a tab on the backpack part that looks like it might at
one point have been intended to lock the torso and keep the transformation
joint between chest and abdomen from moving, but it falls about a millimeter
short of being able to do that (although keeping the tail attached to it will
limit movement some).  The lower dino hindlegs collapse into bulky and short
forearms, revealing the fists, with the claws hanging off the backs of the
forearms in a sort of reverse-Lioconvoy thing.  The dino forelegs just sort
of hang there off the calves.

     Robot Mode: 5.75" (14.5cm) tall at the top of the head, a tiny bit
higher at the tops of the shoulders.  Yeah, he has big shoulderpads.  The
head and surrounding fold-down bits are black plastic, as are the abdomen/
pelvis piece and the thighs.  The visor slit is red lightpiped, and the red
gem is now on his chest, like a sort of subsidiary Matrix (it also reminds me
a little of Guiledart's chest from BW Neo).  The hip joints are light gray
plastic.  There's vibrant red (FF3300) but not UV-glowy paint details on his
waist, and a silver grille on his pelvis.  (I do have to wonder if this has
anything to do with Scott McNeill's convention-quoting of the MST3K line
about a rigid grille structure in-character as Dinobot.)
     The head turns very stiffly, and you have to be careful if you don't
also want the surrounding stuff to turn with it.  The "waist" (between the
chest and abdomen) turns fairly loosely.  The shoulders are universal joints
(swivel around and hinge up), but the lack of any firm connection to the
torso makes it hard to pose them without having to then put them back against
the body.  There's upper arm swivels and hinge elbows.  The big dinosaur foot
claws can't really be moved into any sort of good-looking attack position,
unfortunately.  The hips are ball joints, with swivels right below them (much
as seen in BWX Megatron).  The knees are hinges, but the shortness of the
thighs makes posing less dramatic.  The ankles have hinges for toe and heel,
but the toes can't bend more than 45 degrees away from straight down, meaning
that any leaning-forward poses require instead levering up the heels.
     The Guardian Blaster's handle is close enough to its rear that despite
the stubby forearms, it can be held even in bent-arm poses.  The 5mm peg on
the tail-whip is on a hinged piece that lets it be held less awkwardly, but
it doesn't fold all the way in, so the whip is always raised at least a
little bit.  The joints in the tail let you make it a nice enough hook for a
more piratical Grimlock.  "Me, Grimlock, am PIRATE King!  Me say, me say is
wonderful thing, for me be Pirate King!"  Ahem.  Both weapons can store on
the back, and if you fold the conning tower under the backpack connector you
can even have the Guardian Blaster poking up over his left shoulder instead
of his right (I think it looks better sideways and up than blade-on).  This
does limit posing a bit, though, and forces the backpack a bit to one side.

     Overall: It looks really good in both modes, and has a fairly
interesting transformation.  Unfortunately, it literally falls apart on the
dino hips/robot shoulders and their inability to stay in place.  There's even
pegs that look intended to hold them, the pegs simply are too small to catch
hold.  This major design flaw knocks Grimlock down a peg...the toy's other
problems (toe joints, stubby arms, lack of real sword) pale in comparison.
[Later note: One reader suggests that maybe the shortpacking and the defects
go together...Hasbro noticed the problem after some had been finished, called
a halt to production while they tweak the mold, but are still selling the
semi-defective ones.  Interesting if true, but given the quality of the
Ultimate Battle figures...I kinda doubt it.  :/ ]

     Dave Van Domelen, on to the Ultimate Battle pack.  And to clear space on
the shelves for Grimmy and the Op/Megs set.