Post by Benn on Oct 26, 2019 20:13:07 GMT
Okay, where to start?
Is this the definitive Generation Mirage, or is Combiner Wars, or Classics still top bot? Well.
Siege Mirage is a hard toy to love. He's a mess. His top and bottom look like they've been designed by two different teams, with different agendas. His forearms are the wrong colour. And yet...
He's a boxy lad up top, which isn't an issue if you get the fan vote three pack version. G1 Mirage was a boxy toy, and the toy head suits that perfectly. Single release has a head based on the animation model, which really does belong on a more slimline design. It's a good sculpt though, with a cocky little half smile which I like. The way the rear wing hangs from his biceps is also a nice nod to the OG racecar design, with them replacing the sidepods that originally hung there.
His legs aren't terribly out of proportion, but do suffer a little from looking a little hollow, although not to the extent that Prowl does. He's posable enough, and the translucent blue is actually kinda nice. He's got the originals replica weapons, which is what swung me to buying this, and they look good, even if the missile has a handle which throws the design off a little.
But transform him and... oh dear.
Transformation itself is pretty clever but not complicated. The way his torso folds in and out of itself was a lot of fun to try and work out. But in car mode all the flaws become apparent.
The front of the car, his legs, look really good. it's a sleek design, kept simple and clean, and you can understand the compromises in the somewhat hollow legs making a nose and chassis front that look this good. But then you reach the rear of the vehicle, which is obviously just the top of the robot bundled up into a box. His forearms form a comically oversized airbox that makes no attempt to sit flush with the rest of the car and the rear wing just squats there, making no attempt to hide his biceps and shoulders. And even worse, the fake chest/nosecone sticks out the rear of the car like the designer gave up and went for a long weekend on the piss. It is almost unforgivable given the effort that went into the legs.
And that's why I say it's a toy that's been designed by two different groups, with different priorities. One group made an effort with the legs, making an elegant solution to the problem of getting a fairly beefy set of legs out of a pretty slender racecar. The other was only concerned with making a chonky chest, and that's what they did. Considering that Siege has given us a lot of miniturised Masterpiece toys, Mirage is kinda odd in that he's neither G1 slavish, nor a complete reinvention.
If I'm honest, I'd say Mirage is a fairly decent Slapdash pretool. Swap the fake nosecone chest for an engine block and that solves almost all of his problems. Slapdash has an exposed engine anyway, one that's on his chest in robot mode, so having it stick out the back of the racecar isn't too inaccurate. He's even got 5mm holes in his shoulders for fake wheels, should Hasbro or a 3P want to go that route.
DO NOT MAKE HIM INTO SURESHOT. That will not work at all.
Overall though... Is he the definitive G1 update? That depends on what you're after. If the cartoon/comic look is what you're after then yes. In robot mode, he's a better Sunbow Mirage than Classics or CW. But Classics is the better toy. It looks better in both modes, with no glaring compromises or the lazy design choices that hurt this Mirage. I'm still unsure how much I like him, and he's not the worst toy to carry the Mirage name. But I don't think he'll be transformed again anytime soon.
Three Electro-Disruptors out of five.
Is this the definitive Generation Mirage, or is Combiner Wars, or Classics still top bot? Well.
Siege Mirage is a hard toy to love. He's a mess. His top and bottom look like they've been designed by two different teams, with different agendas. His forearms are the wrong colour. And yet...
He's a boxy lad up top, which isn't an issue if you get the fan vote three pack version. G1 Mirage was a boxy toy, and the toy head suits that perfectly. Single release has a head based on the animation model, which really does belong on a more slimline design. It's a good sculpt though, with a cocky little half smile which I like. The way the rear wing hangs from his biceps is also a nice nod to the OG racecar design, with them replacing the sidepods that originally hung there.
His legs aren't terribly out of proportion, but do suffer a little from looking a little hollow, although not to the extent that Prowl does. He's posable enough, and the translucent blue is actually kinda nice. He's got the originals replica weapons, which is what swung me to buying this, and they look good, even if the missile has a handle which throws the design off a little.
But transform him and... oh dear.
Transformation itself is pretty clever but not complicated. The way his torso folds in and out of itself was a lot of fun to try and work out. But in car mode all the flaws become apparent.
The front of the car, his legs, look really good. it's a sleek design, kept simple and clean, and you can understand the compromises in the somewhat hollow legs making a nose and chassis front that look this good. But then you reach the rear of the vehicle, which is obviously just the top of the robot bundled up into a box. His forearms form a comically oversized airbox that makes no attempt to sit flush with the rest of the car and the rear wing just squats there, making no attempt to hide his biceps and shoulders. And even worse, the fake chest/nosecone sticks out the rear of the car like the designer gave up and went for a long weekend on the piss. It is almost unforgivable given the effort that went into the legs.
And that's why I say it's a toy that's been designed by two different groups, with different priorities. One group made an effort with the legs, making an elegant solution to the problem of getting a fairly beefy set of legs out of a pretty slender racecar. The other was only concerned with making a chonky chest, and that's what they did. Considering that Siege has given us a lot of miniturised Masterpiece toys, Mirage is kinda odd in that he's neither G1 slavish, nor a complete reinvention.
If I'm honest, I'd say Mirage is a fairly decent Slapdash pretool. Swap the fake nosecone chest for an engine block and that solves almost all of his problems. Slapdash has an exposed engine anyway, one that's on his chest in robot mode, so having it stick out the back of the racecar isn't too inaccurate. He's even got 5mm holes in his shoulders for fake wheels, should Hasbro or a 3P want to go that route.
DO NOT MAKE HIM INTO SURESHOT. That will not work at all.
Overall though... Is he the definitive G1 update? That depends on what you're after. If the cartoon/comic look is what you're after then yes. In robot mode, he's a better Sunbow Mirage than Classics or CW. But Classics is the better toy. It looks better in both modes, with no glaring compromises or the lazy design choices that hurt this Mirage. I'm still unsure how much I like him, and he's not the worst toy to carry the Mirage name. But I don't think he'll be transformed again anytime soon.
Three Electro-Disruptors out of five.
