Mirage is not thrilled about being an Autobot freedom fighter. Prefers hunting turbofoxes on Cybertron with his high-priced friends. Effective fighter, more effective intelligence gatherer. Electro-disrupter can cast illusions altering his physical placement and appearance for up to 6 minutes. Expert marksman with armor-piercing rocket-dart hunting rifle. Unsure of Autobot cause... can't be fully trusted.
First/Last Comic Appearance (US) - Issue 1, September 1984 / Issue 50, March 1989
First/Last Comic Appearance (UK) - Issue 10, MJanuary 26th 1985 / Issue 47, February 8th 1986
First/Last Cartoon Appearance - Episode 1 (Season 1 #1), September 17th 1984 / Episode 64 (Season 2 #48), December 16th 1985
Figure Details
Manufacturer - Hasbro
Toyline - Classics
Additions/Mods:
- Added an Autobot symbol to the leg, to cover the rubsign
- Added an Autobot symbol to the chest
- Added various 1:32 scale racing labels
- Added the FansProject G3 trailer weapon
Review
Mirage is as duplicitous in name as he is in nature. On the one hand, Mirage represents what for me is the darker side of the
Autobot cause. He clearly is uninterested in the war, and has been dragged in regardless, which for me goes against the 'free will' principles the Autobots so staunchly defend. On the other hand, Mirage is a bit of a spoiled brat, who has had to climb down from his ivory tower (or whatever the Cybertronian equivalent is) to rough it with the proletariat. This is what makes Mirage one of the more interesting characters. Who is he? Where do his loyalties lie? Even his special power promotes distrust and sneakiness. All this psycho-babble aside, I was a big fan of the Mirage figure, which turned into an awesome racing car. OK, the livery may have been subtly altered to 'Citanes' but everyone knew what sneaky Hasbro were getting at. Let's see how the 'classics' re-interpretation fares.
Appearance (Robot Mode) 7/10
In this incarnation, Mirage is incredibly slender, and is cinched in at the waist like a
fembot. In fact,
Arcee would be jealous of his figure. He also has an incredibly tiny head, which reminds me of Egyptian death masks for some reason. I'm not a fan of the mould, but the paint apps are lovely. In it's own right this is a good-looking piece; incredibly elegant and sleek but aesthetically he is at odds with every other 'classicsverse' figure. He has diddy hands with non-standard holes (as is the case with Hot Rod) and is supposed to wield his front spoiler as a weapon, which in my opinion looks absolutely terrible. The
FansProject shoulder launcher adds some much-needed oomph, and I also feel the racing labels I have applied make the figure a bit more interesting.
Appearance (Alternate Mode) 8/10
Based somewhat on a F1 car, this alt mode is not as nice as the original, which was one of my favourites. Still, it is great to look at, and the attention to detail is fantastic, eclipsing later toys from the same range. I particularly like the 'Witwicky Sparkplugs' decal on the rear spoiler - well played, Hasbro. I augmented the already-sumptuous detail with some slot car decals, many of which can be seen on the G1 car, although this time they are spelled correctly!
Transformation 8/10
The upshot of Mirage's slender and slightly odd proportions is a transformation sequence unlike most other figures. The head is stowed in the 'cockpit' and the entire front chassis ends up behind the head in robot mode. This is achieved by rotating the shoulders into position. The only concession to parts forming is the detachable front spoiler, which for me is a poor representation of a weapon. The legs are rather obviously made from the rear section of the car, with the spoilers becoming feet.
Poseability 9/10
Mirage really shines in this respect, being a quite superb poser. This is due firstly to his articulation: He has a ball-jointed head, shoulders (which also tilt up and down) and hips, additionally he has waist swivel. He also has bicep swivel, elbows which are effectively double-jointed, knee joints and multiple points of articulation in his feet. A surprising omission is the lack of thigh swivel, although it is understandable due to the transformation. Mirage's large feet and slender frame mean that he is a breeze to pose in all sorts of configurations.
Quality 7/10
Due to his wasp-like waist, I think that Mirage could end up in 2 halves extremely easily. The front and rear fender are made of (necessarily) thin plastic. Having said that, this figure is already over 6 years old and feels very solid, and his white parts are still nice and white, with so far no sign of the dreaded yellowing.
Overall - 39/50
Mirage is a very nice figure who doesn't really fit in, which is perhaps appropriate given his proclivity to bugger off and change sides. In fact, the only Transformer that he really displays well with is
Hound, who is also a bit of an oddity when surrounded by his Autobot brethren. Oh well, at least the two of them had quite a few scenes together in the cartoon. This figure's poseability is exquisite, which brings him up a few notches in my estimation.
