Post by Philip Ayres on Sept 18, 2010 17:54:19 GMT
Transformers Mirage
Full disclosure at the start: I do not at present have own a Mirage toy or have one in front of me when I write this review.
Mirage is a racing car, who originally appeared as a Diaclone toy in this case #16 Ligier JS11 F-1. Ligier are a French car manufacturer who for many years ran the Ligier Formula 1 team. Both of the pages I've linked to there feature a picture of the car Mirage is based on so you can see how accurate a replica he is even down to the name of the cigarette manufacturer sponsor of the racing team and the racing number used - Ligier traditionally raced under numbers 25 & 26. The Diaclone version of this car, and it's Transformers offspring, are blue like the real car but as you can see at Diaclone.net there's a version that swaps blue for orange/red. This was found in the Powered Convoy deluxe set a giftset which contained the Powered Convoy Diaclone toy , who would be recoloured in Transformers as Ultra Magnus and eventually released in his Diaclone colours as Movie Preview Ultra Magnus, an exclusive for Toy Festival 2001. The other extra car included in this set is a black version Diaclone #15 New Countach-LP500s, who was painted red as the Transformer Sideswipe and would be released in the black colours as Deep Cover. A quick search of the net confirms that Ligier appear mainly in the blue colours but that there are some different coloured versions of the Ligier racing car out there.
Transformation: Sideswipe/Spychanger, but with a twist in the middle. Literally! Pull back on the back of the car, then split in two down the middle and stand on the rear of the car with the top of the car facing you. Pull the sides out to form the arms. Turn 180 degrees at the waist. Fold the nose forward to become the chest. Fold the arms up at the elbow.
Mirage's robot mode is mainly blue with a white chest, upper legs and lower arms and black plastic hands. The hands can be used to hold his silver chromed hunting rifle while his missile launcher clips onto the wheel axles behind his shoulders. His distinctive car mode gives him a similarly unique chest helping you easily distinguish him from his Autobot colleagues. He can still use the transformation joint at the waist in this mode, in fact I think he's unique in the 1984 & 1985 toys in possessing a waist. In addition his arms turn at the shoulders and bend at the elbows.
Mirage has a distinctive form amongst the original Autobots and has some of the best articulation of the Diaclone cars. On the minus side he is quite fragile. I can see one on eBay right now missing the tail fins, I've seen them without wheels and even snapped at the waist. Mirage's other problem is his availability. He was widely sold in both the USA and the UK during 1984 & 1985, and offered in the USA during 1986 for $8 and 2 robot points. He was sold in Japan in 1985 as Transformer 07 Ligier, and again in 1986 as part of the Goodbye Convoy with Convoy/Optimus Prime and Red Alert. But that's the last that was seen of him. He didn't get a European Classics release in 1990/1991 and wasn't part of the Transformers Collection, Commemorative or Encore series of modern reissues. It's believed that the mould has been lost/damaged, but that hasn't stopped other toys being reissued and indeed a high quality modern Knock Off of Mirage has been created in a multitude of colour schemes.
So if you can't get an original Mirage, who's going to fill in for you as Mirage in your Transformers collection?
Well in later years the name "Mirage" becomes a short hand for "racing car Transformer" producing many toys with a similar car shape to the original but in a wide variety of colour. The earliest reuse of the Mirage name is on 1995's Gobot Mirage, which is a little in authentic in black and yellow, but looks slightly better repainted as Spychanger Mirage. The plain looking and off colour 1997 Machine Wars Mirage would eventually, via several repaints, be repainted in the correct colours as the superb Robot Masters Ligier. Beast Machines Mirage and it's repaint are just too yellow as is Mini-Con Mirage. Alternators Mirage isn't even a racing car but thankfully Classics Mirage is a superb toy.
Several toys appear to be homages to Mirage without using the name. In 1993 both American Decepticon Deluge and European Autobot Speedstream have similar vehicle modes, colours and Transformations to Mirage while 2004's Energon Prowl is more Mirage than his namesake Prowl!
Given a choice, and a lack of the original, it has to be either Robot Masters Ligier or Classics Mirage standing in for him.
Full disclosure at the start: I do not at present have own a Mirage toy or have one in front of me when I write this review.
Mirage is a racing car, who originally appeared as a Diaclone toy in this case #16 Ligier JS11 F-1. Ligier are a French car manufacturer who for many years ran the Ligier Formula 1 team. Both of the pages I've linked to there feature a picture of the car Mirage is based on so you can see how accurate a replica he is even down to the name of the cigarette manufacturer sponsor of the racing team and the racing number used - Ligier traditionally raced under numbers 25 & 26. The Diaclone version of this car, and it's Transformers offspring, are blue like the real car but as you can see at Diaclone.net there's a version that swaps blue for orange/red. This was found in the Powered Convoy deluxe set a giftset which contained the Powered Convoy Diaclone toy , who would be recoloured in Transformers as Ultra Magnus and eventually released in his Diaclone colours as Movie Preview Ultra Magnus, an exclusive for Toy Festival 2001. The other extra car included in this set is a black version Diaclone #15 New Countach-LP500s, who was painted red as the Transformer Sideswipe and would be released in the black colours as Deep Cover. A quick search of the net confirms that Ligier appear mainly in the blue colours but that there are some different coloured versions of the Ligier racing car out there.
Transformation: Sideswipe/Spychanger, but with a twist in the middle. Literally! Pull back on the back of the car, then split in two down the middle and stand on the rear of the car with the top of the car facing you. Pull the sides out to form the arms. Turn 180 degrees at the waist. Fold the nose forward to become the chest. Fold the arms up at the elbow.
Mirage's robot mode is mainly blue with a white chest, upper legs and lower arms and black plastic hands. The hands can be used to hold his silver chromed hunting rifle while his missile launcher clips onto the wheel axles behind his shoulders. His distinctive car mode gives him a similarly unique chest helping you easily distinguish him from his Autobot colleagues. He can still use the transformation joint at the waist in this mode, in fact I think he's unique in the 1984 & 1985 toys in possessing a waist. In addition his arms turn at the shoulders and bend at the elbows.
Mirage has a distinctive form amongst the original Autobots and has some of the best articulation of the Diaclone cars. On the minus side he is quite fragile. I can see one on eBay right now missing the tail fins, I've seen them without wheels and even snapped at the waist. Mirage's other problem is his availability. He was widely sold in both the USA and the UK during 1984 & 1985, and offered in the USA during 1986 for $8 and 2 robot points. He was sold in Japan in 1985 as Transformer 07 Ligier, and again in 1986 as part of the Goodbye Convoy with Convoy/Optimus Prime and Red Alert. But that's the last that was seen of him. He didn't get a European Classics release in 1990/1991 and wasn't part of the Transformers Collection, Commemorative or Encore series of modern reissues. It's believed that the mould has been lost/damaged, but that hasn't stopped other toys being reissued and indeed a high quality modern Knock Off of Mirage has been created in a multitude of colour schemes.
So if you can't get an original Mirage, who's going to fill in for you as Mirage in your Transformers collection?
Well in later years the name "Mirage" becomes a short hand for "racing car Transformer" producing many toys with a similar car shape to the original but in a wide variety of colour. The earliest reuse of the Mirage name is on 1995's Gobot Mirage, which is a little in authentic in black and yellow, but looks slightly better repainted as Spychanger Mirage. The plain looking and off colour 1997 Machine Wars Mirage would eventually, via several repaints, be repainted in the correct colours as the superb Robot Masters Ligier. Beast Machines Mirage and it's repaint are just too yellow as is Mini-Con Mirage. Alternators Mirage isn't even a racing car but thankfully Classics Mirage is a superb toy.
Several toys appear to be homages to Mirage without using the name. In 1993 both American Decepticon Deluge and European Autobot Speedstream have similar vehicle modes, colours and Transformations to Mirage while 2004's Energon Prowl is more Mirage than his namesake Prowl!
Given a choice, and a lack of the original, it has to be either Robot Masters Ligier or Classics Mirage standing in for him.