Mirage is one of the new constructs serving as an experiment in Vehicon technology. Bringing a fast, sleek ground vehicle to the ranks of the Vehicons, Mirage is a nice basic level toy, and a neat addition to any Transformers collection.
Vehicle Mode:
In vehicle mode, Mirage is an Indy Race Car. Like most race cars, his form is sleek and nicely detailed. However, an additional rack of weapons mounted on the top of his vehicle mode show that there is more to this car than just racing! Also, right behind his driver's seat is a weapon that can fold down. All this works together to make Mirage look like one threatening racing vehicle.
Mirage's colors are dark metallic grey, translucent blue, yellow and silver. His detailing looks very mechanical, and the spray ops on the sides of the vehicle are nicely done. The only colors which could have been done better are the pieces which hold his missiles and exhaust pipes. It is a purely yellow color, with no detailing. A bit of detailing would have added a bit of visual eye candy to the toy, but it in no way detracts from its functionality.
As a vehicle, Mirage only has one meaningful point of articulation, that being the weapon that can fold down from behind his driver's seat. To use his exhaust piples as missiles, you can press them from the back and they launch out of the slots and shoot about a foot (estimated). These rely on pressure built up from the ball shaped section of the missiles locked into the slot. Just click them back into the slot once you have launched them.
Transformation to Robot Mode:
Swing back the missile launcher/exhaust pipes section in the rear of the vehicle. Swing out the sides of the vehicle and then swing up the front section of the race car. Straighten out the sides of the car to form the legs. Pull out the rear wheel portions and swing them down and up to form the robot mode feet. Turn the hip piece around. Split up the missile launcher/exhaust pipes section to form the robot arms. Now use the hinges on the yellow section connected to the front of the race car section and fold up the robot head. Fold down the front race car section to form his back. Position the arms, fold down the weapon on Mirage's head and he is now in robot mode.
Robot Mode:
In robot mode, Mirage has exaggerated arms and legs, both of which are fairly thick and out of proportion with his small hip/waist area and upper body. His color scheme is the same as the one in race car mode, but there is a lot more translucent blue here on his lower arms and main body. His head detailing is unusual, utilizing an oval shape that looks like a futuristic racing helmet. His Vehicon Spark Crystal is located on the underside of the front section of the race car.
In robot mode, Mirage has fifteen points of articulation. His head mounted weapon does not need to be flipped forward as the toy will look fine with it folded back. His missile/exhaust pipe launching feature can also be used in this mode. Unfortunately, the way his feet are sculpted, he is a bit tough to stand properly, although once you get him in the proper position, he remains in place just fine. Another potential problem is that by standing him constantly on the yellow stripe detailing on the underside of his feet, the paint may begin to scrape off over time.
Mirage is a nice toy, and well worth the price for a basic. This toy is recommended, but keep in mind the glitches mentioned above. B+
Updated Thoughts (January 7, 2022): After retaking photos of Mirage I have to echo my past thoughts from (ack) over twenty years ago. This is a cool figure and it looks great in both modes. However, the designers definitely needed to refine the robot mode as it has trouble standing without a lot of fiddling. I do kind of marvel at how much you once got for about $7 USD (about $11.53 USD in 2022, a bit more than a modern era Legends Class figure). The figure is a good size, feels solid in both modes and has a blaster weapon to boot. I still would rate this at a B+ but looking back I appreciate it even more.
