Mirage By Hervé St.Louis Oct 16, 2006 - 8:55:00 PM

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Mirage is the Autobots’ spy, capable of turning invisible and foiling the most despicable plans of the Decepticons. Traditionally a blue and white Formula One race car with a unique sculpt, Mirage has been rendered for Hasbro’s Alternator line or realistic Transformers with realistic car models as a Ford GT. The Ford GT.
 
Likeness

In the traditional cartoon and toy series from the 1980s, Mirage was based on the  Modes Ligier JS25-Ford Formula One. He even had the car’s number and a fake sponsor in the form of Citanes, instead of the French cigarette maker Gitanes. Although in the cartoon series, Mirage appeared to be mostly white, with blue limbs, his car mode was mostly blue with a white front bumper. The Alternator Mirage is not based on any cartoon or comic book series. He retains the white and blue scheme, although the white areas are but decorative elements. The blue’s hue is darker than the royal blue colour he had in the past.

Robot Mode Sculpt

In robot mode, Mirage’s shoulders are bulky, containing each, part of the front of the car as well as the doors. Although the car’s hood folds, it still takes a lot of place, and thanks to the poor instructions’ booklet, it’s not clear what to do with the part. Similarly, the back bumpers sit on Mirage’s knees, taking much space. In all this is not an aerodynamic looking robot. It seems as if the designers ran out of ideas about what to do with all the limbs. I always prefer when car part are actual body parts instead of floating appendages. The face’s sculpt is inspired by the cartoon design of Mirage, although the cartoon version lacked any antennas on his helmet.

Car Mode Sculpt

At least the car mode is sleek. It’s a low-lying car that would almost pass the “is it a real car model toy” test, if it weren’t for Mirage’s toes which are visible from the rear window. The wheels are the Rear BBS Painted Cast Aluminium models instead of nicer Forged lightweight Aluminium design. The latter are more intricate and would have given Mirage a more luxurious feel. As Mirage is an elitist, and an Autobot with fine taste, the better wheel design would have fitted his personality more.

One annoyance in the car mode, is that under the back bumper, two plates slide continuously on the ground. It’s not possible to hold them in place. If you make you car roll on the ground often, these two parts, standing at the same height as the tires, will be tarnished.

Transformation

The Transformation is fairly easy the second time one transforms Mirage. It took me about 20 minutes, while talking on the phone! None of the parts are in the way. In car mode, the arms and the head stay put and don’t move. Remember to correctly enter the pins on each side of Mirage’s shoulders if you want the steering wheel mechanism to rotate the front wheels in car mode. The car’s front must be lifted and the plastic bars that hold it in place must be well adjusted in order for Mirage’s shoulders to lock up well for the car mode.

Paint

While the paint is good, there were spots all over the car’s body. There are also a few blemishes and scratches on the mould. There’s a fine car paint-like coating on Mirage’s body. Most of Mirage’s robot parts are cast in the original plastic’s colour. One problem with Mirage and other Transformers Alternators, is that you’ll mark them with your fingerprints forever if you’re not careful. My Mirage holds a copy of my digits on his doors. I can’t clean it. A fine touch is the greyed Autobot logo on Mirage’s front hood.

Scale

Mirage is about the same height as other Alternators. The car is in a 1 to 24 scale with the real model.

Stability

Mirage is stable. His feet are separate parts with a toes and heels, allowing him to stay put. There should not be any problem with Mirage.

Articulation

Mirage has several articulations. His head can move backward, as well as rotate on each side. His shoulders have limited mobility because of all the stuff Mirage carries on them. I don’t like how Mirage’s legs join at the knees. He can’t stand straight as his legs must be spread apart for his gigantic rear bumper / knee pads not to hit one another. Nevertheless, Mirage’s arms and hands are well articulated. Although he can bend his knees, it looks silly since his knees are really his thighs. There are covers that could be removed, behind his knees allowing them to bend further, but it would not look aesthetic.

Plastic

The windows tend to scratch and take dirt easily. The plastic is mostly hollow, making Mirage a fragile robot. Most of the parts

Props

Mirage comes with his gun which transforms into a 5.4L DOHC mod V8 engine. He also comes with a useless transformation booklet that leaves much to be desired. The drawings are gross-approximation of the toy, and they seem to explain the transformation out of order.

Packaging

Mirage comes in a cardboard base with a clear plastic bubble holding the car model with some plastic. Although it seems like there’s something inside the cardboard box, there’s not much. It’s a nice package that fools people into thinking the toy has more feature.

Cost

Purchasing Alternators is not an easy task. Prices vary from retailer to retailer. I have seen this model as sell to as much as $42 in Canada, while Hasbro sells it for just $19.99. Anything within is possible. Larger store chain like Walmart or Zellers will probably sell this Transformer for a set price.

Availability

Mirage was released in late July / early August 2006. It should not be difficult to find this toy. Usually, such toys are available for about two years as stocks are continuously replaced. After that, expect Mirage to be available only on the secondary market, which includes auction sites and other collectors.

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