General Information:
Release Date: July 2023
Price Point: $24.99 (depending on retailer)
Retailer: Wal-Mart Exclusive (US)
Accessories: "C-20 Electro-Disruptor Cannon", "Distortion Missile", "W-15 Armor-Piercing Rocket-Dart Launcher"
Background:
In July of 2023 Hasbro and Walmart released a new Capsule program (i.e. a set of exclusive toys with a theme) based around the character of Toxitron. Inspired by an unreleased neon green and purple Optimus Prime redeco from Transformers Universe Hasbro decided to do something particularly wacky and base an entire capsule around the idea of wild and bright colors on both the action figures themselves and their packaging. The idea is that all the Autobots and Decepticons with crazy color schemes emerged from a Toxic Sludge Swamp on Cybertron, explaining their decos.
In the latter days of Generation 2, Hasbro had many ideas for redecos of existing toys to release as part of the toy line. Those ideas would largely be abandoned to launch Beast Wars Transformers, but when the Transformers Vault book was released fans were treated to the sight of a gloriously bright mock up of Mirage in pink and green with alligator designs (no, really, you can see the image below). This insane deco became the inspiration for Mirage’s deco in this Toxitron capsule program.
This release utilizes the Kingdom Mirage design which I never reviewed, so this will be my first look at this version of the tooling. Kingdom Mirage itself was a heavy retool and redeco of Siege Mirage, so you can check out my review of that figure as reference for this review.
Packaging:
The Toxitron Collection is technically part of the Legacy Evolution sub-line of Generations so it takes a lot of its packaging design cues from that line including the angled shape of the box, the giant “Legacy Evolution” logo and the use of the character’s alt mode in front of the box. However, the designers decided to really go with the 90’s G2 inspired theme and color the packaging as if it were a neon “black light” poster. The background is very dark while Mirage’s illustration (both robot and vehicle modes) feature him in bright, neon colors. It’s a really fun, creative way to make the packaging distinctive for this capsule program.
The back of the box shows Mirage in both modes calling out a 19 step transformation. It also features a design that looks like sludge with a “toxic” symbol in the middle. The packaging also specifically calls out Mirage as being from the G2 Universe in case anyone had any doubt if this release was a homage to that era of Transformers toys.
Accessories:
Mirage includes the same accessories as the Siege version of the figure. The first weapon is his handheld blaster, the "C-20 Electro-Disruptor Cannon". This design is based on the model used in the G1 animation and Marvel comic book. It features a thin rifle with a thin barrel in front, a weapons clip on the bottom and two "fins" sticking out on the sides. This weapon is made of pink plastic but painted silver. It has a 5mm peg on the bottom, one at the back and the front can fit a Blast Effect.
The other weapon is the "W-15 Armor-Piercing Rocket-Dart Launcher". This is based on the shoulder mounted launcher from the original G1 Mirage toy and animation/comic book model. It even replicates that launcher's "button/trigger" which is sculpted to look like a targeting scope. The launcher features a 5mm port in front and a peg in the back. This piece is cast in pink. The third accessory is the "Distortion Missile" which goes along with the launcher. This piece features a 5mm peg on the back and bottom so it can be held as a separate weapon or attach to other weapons in the line. This piece is cone shaped with fins on the sides and top, just like the G1 model. The missile is made of pink plastic but painted blue except for the handle.
Robot Mode:
The Kingdom Mirage figure was a significant retooling of Siege Mirage. The two figures do share some parts such as the feet, fists, head, waist and wheels. The rest however features all new parts. Here are some of the highlights:
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Torso: The chest in particular has significant changes. Instead of the faux vehicle front being raised with a vent in front, this one dips downward. Also, the designs of the front wings are very different, featuring a bit more raised details than the somewhat flat ones on Siege Mirage. Unfortunately, the torso redesign (which partly alters the transformation) also removes the 5mm port next to his shoulder, making it impossible to attach his rocket launcher in the traditional way Mirage has been portrayed in the past. Instead, you can attach it to the back of his shoulders, but it’s not the same. Finally, while it looks like Mirage has a peg to attach a Blast Effect on his chest it has been shortened to the point where Blast Effects do not stay on (which I find a baffling move).
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Arms: The general shape of Mirage’s arms are similar to Siege Mirage but there are plenty of details. First, the spoiler halves connected to the shoulders are new pieces featuring a vertical end piece on either side and a raised piece in the middle. On Siege Mirage they were pretty much flat panels. Similar to the chest, the left shoulder appears to have a peg for Blast Effects, but once again it has been shortened to the point where Blast Effects do not stay on. Again, a strange decision. The forearms are curved like Siege Mirage’s but the sculpted details on them are different including vent like details on top.
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Legs: The lower legs feature new sculpts (but the feet remain the same). These pieces are similar in design to Siege Mirage such as square armor on the knees, but the actual designs are different. The lower legs themselves in particular feature more curved designs than those on Siege Mirage.
Mirage’s deco is one of the main reasons to get this figure. If you are into goofy, eye searing 90’s inspired decos then this is the figure for you. Mirage is made up of neon green, pink and silver plastic. The distribution of colors largely mirrors that of the concept art towards the top of this review. His arms feature alternating pink and green while the chest has pink in the middle with silver on the sides. Paint colors include pink and silver. The pink is used on a lot of sections to help match up with the concept art including the shoulders, forearms and thighs. Silver is found on the face, torso and legs. One of the sillier and fun details are tampographs that use the alligator theme from the unused G2 concept. The spoiler halves on his arms feature a cartoon alligator design while the lower legs have oval details on them that are meant to evoke scales. The number “188” is prominently displayed on his chest, another carry over detail from the unused G2 figure concept. This deco is very silly and fun and I really appreciate the designers including the weird alligator theme as well.
There are twenty two points of articulation on this figure. Each fist has a 5mm port and there is a 5mm port on the back of each shoulder and under each forearm. For weapons storage there is a 5mm port on the middle of his back. He also has 5mm ports on the sides of his knees and under his feet, all carry overs from the era when “Weaponizers” were new. The joints are nice and tight on my copy of this figure so no concerns about quality assurance here.
Transformation to Vehicle Mode:
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Detach the weapons and set them aside for now.
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Straighten out the arms and legs.
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Swing each fist into the forearms.
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Swing the arms up, including the silver parts they shoulders are attached to.
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Swing the wheels on the back out to the sides so they are under the arms.
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Swing the silver piece in the middle of the back down.
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Turn the head around and swing it back, tucking it in behind the chest.
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Swing the silver back piece back up.
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Pull the upper body up on the hinge attached to the waist.
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Rotate the legs at the hip so the toes point out to the sides.
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Point the feet downward.
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On each leg, swing the panel that forms the lower legs up.
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Swing out the sections with the front vehicle mode wheel.
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Push the lower leg panels up over the thighs. There is a tab on the panels that slide into a notch on the thighs but you may have to push a bit to get them in.
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Push the two halves of the vehicle’s front and middle sections together.
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Swing the robot arms up, then forward.
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Push the forearms together.
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Rotate and push the halves of the spoiler together.
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The weapons can be attached to the 5mm ports on the sides of the vehicle.
Vehicle Mode:
Between Siege and Kingdom Mirage, a lot of parts wound up being swapped out, but in this form perhaps the most significant ones were the halves of the spoilers. On Siege Mirage the spoiler was huge and eclipsed a lot of details on the back of the vehicle. On this version the spoiler is much smaller, allowing more of the sculpt to be seen in this mode. The result is an interesting visual illusion: this vehicle somehow looks a bit bigger than the Siege version even though it is not. The other significant difference is the open driver’s seat and steering wheel in the center which makes sense since this version of the character was meant to be his Earth mode while Siege was his Cybertronian form. Overall it's a good looking F-1 Race Car alt mode and it does the character justice.
When creating the deco for this figure the designers had plenty to go on for the robot mode, but no so much the vehicle mode. There was no art for that so they used the hand painted mock up as a starting point. From the mock up they made the front end pink with most of the green set in the back, but they went a bit further (thank goodness). Among the fun details on this mode are a G2 Autobot symbol at the very front in red and the driver’s seat and steering wheel are painted pink. I am also a big fan of how the alligator details from the robot mode carry over here, continuing the mysterious but fun theme.
Final Thoughts:
I’m one of those fans that thinks that Generation 2 was a very underrated part of Transformers history. While G2 may not have saved Transformers as we know it, it did keep the line on relative “life support” for many years until the rise of Beast Wars. In that time, a lot of very fun and some silly ideas came to be, but I have always been fascinated by those that never made it on shelf. This is one of those off the wall concepts that has finally been made into a reality and I am super happy about it. All that said, I do find myself wishing the designers had used the Siege version of Mirage instead. Between the lack of a port to attach his rocket launcher to his shoulder area and the neutered Blast Effect pegs this figure winds up getting knocked down a notch from a highly recommended to just recommended.
