Alternators Mirage

ALTERNATORS MIRAGE

The 2006 Hasbro US release of the Alternators #22 Ford GT "Mirage" was arguably the single most highly-anticipated release of the entire line. Ever since its unveiling as an unpainted resin hardcopy prototype at BotCon 2005, there was a huge buzz and excitement surrounding the release of this toy. The Alternators line was already heavy on repaints and minor remoulds using the same transformation mechanics, so the appearance of this brand new mould with a seemingly newer design coupled with an immensely popular choice of vehicle and character aroused much positivity.

I have to admit that originally when I heard the details of Alternators Mirage, I was quite disappointed. Being my favourite G1 character, I had my hopes (stupidly) pinned on Hasbro/Takara rolling out the massively successful 2005/2006 Renault Formula 1 car as Mirage seeing as how the colours and heritage of the Renault F1 team were not so different from the original Ligier F1 car that G1 Mirage was based on. Once I got over my dinosaur ways, I began to count the days to Alt. Mirage's release, heavily falling in love with the sleek vehicle mode and superb head sculpt that had been crafted for this figure.

From the packaging you can see that Mirage came out after the red-box Alternators packaging had been changed to the bubble-box packaging. The new packaging contains a rear-facing circular aperture not unlike those found on earlier Binaltech boxes. Mirage was one of the last remaining high-profile G1 cars yet to receive Alternators treatment and was released around the time where Takara's Binaltech line was evolving into something altogether very different. Collectors had become very used to the idea that Hasbro's releases would surface before Takara's and that we would not be getting diecast Binaltech equivalents of most new Alternators.

The style of artwork used for the bubble packaging was altered heavily as well since only the top half of the character would be visible on the packaging. As a result, the original pencils for all these new Alternators were not full-body drawings as they were for the earlier red-box packaging. You can see Marcelo Matere's fabulous work for Mirage in the above picture, and also his original pencils towards the end of this article.

The bottom of the box features stock photography, Mirage's motto and highlighting of some of the toy's features. I am not a huge fan of the later packaging design for Alternators as it makes storing and displaying them slightly more difficult. They take up less space which is good, but having to separate so much of the bubble from the base can make things tricky for display and stacked storage alongside other Alternators as it can be less secure than the red-box packaging. Also I'm a sucker for consistency and uniform packaging for toylines. I do however still love the artwork and how so much of the vehicle is visible when packaged, it's certainly not all bad.

Mirage's engine/weapon is attached to the vehicle when packaged, so the only other thing of note contained in the box are the instructions. The way I have opened the bubble above is certainly not the only way, other collectors prefer to cut the bubble at its base instead of separating it etc. I did however have to open the base flaps so I could access the tape holding the inner bubble closed in order to get to the figure itself. Now this is where the fun starts...

Very impressive and very beautiful indeed. While obviously being a little removed from Mirage's usual open-wheel racer format in that the Ford GT used for this figure is a roadgoing vehicle, the colours and high-performance nature of the GT make it a very suitable choice for this particular character. The combination of sleek curves, racing (go-faster) stripes, generous intakes and chrome rims provide a vision of muscle and finesse, making Mirage one of the most stunning of the vehicles used in the entire Alternators (or Binaltech) line so far. It is also a very faithful rendition of the actual Ford GT car, and I have a few pictures of my own taken at various recent car exhibitions to compare with, including a modified GT and also one in classic Gulf racing colours:

As you can see, the likeness is superb between the actual vehicle and the toy. It's a shame I didn't find a blue one at the exhibitions, but at least there's a direct Kissplay Rodimus comparison (2006 repainted Japanese release Ford GT in red with new head, accs and small anime figurine). Going back to Mirage...

Mirage is supremely photogenic and attractive from all angles in vehicle mode. The colours provide excellent contrast and the nuances of the vehicle's lines are not lost despite the main colour being dark. Some of the paint application in various spots is not very good and there is little lateral movement in the front wheels, but those would be the only gripes in an otherwise vastly successful alternate mode. Here are a few close-ups of some of the standout vehicle mode features:

The silver Autobot symbol on the hood is a lovely touch indeed. The close-ups also highlight very visbile lines and swirls in the blue plastic, giving a cracked appearance in places. The tyres are standard Cybertronian Radials, no Goodyear Eagles here.

If I had known more about the car originally, I wouldn't have expected the doors to open in a gull-wing fashion, so there I was like pulling them upwards like an idiot until I realised they opened like normal car doors. The interior shows a satisfying level of detail, but on my particular Mirage the doors can be quite tricky to clip back into place.

Here is a picture to demonstrate how the vehicle mode comes apart in preparation for transformation to robot mode:

The transformation process is very cool, satisfying, not too complex and highly repeatable in both directions, which is absolutely essential for a Transformers toy if it is to retain play appeal and interest for any collector or owner. It even involved my beloved rotating waist mechanism.

Even in this very static and standard G1-style pose, I find Mirage's robot mode to be excellently proportioned with highly distinctive features that already set him apart from all the other moulds in the Alternators and Binaltech line. The excellent broad shoulders, the use of rear wheels as shins and the rear light/bumper assembly as shin guards easily outweigh what some might perceive as a kibbly appearance. The homages to G1 Mirage are far from obvious but they are there in my opinion, but more on that later. One thing I will say though, I find it a shame that the hands were moulded in blue as opposed to black or dark grey, but at least they don't clash heavily with his overall colour scheme.

This is where this truly impressive figure comes to life. Mirage has excellent posability in his arms, shoulders, legs and head/neck. Just by moving a few parts the entire expression and feel of his pose can be dramatically altered, which is the holy grail of highly posable figures. I found this toy to have excellent stability in robot mode, not requiring a lot of steadying or moving of peripheral parts to make him stand the way you desire. In other words, there wasn't a great deal of compromise involved in posing him how I wanted.

While individually Mirage's split handguns do seem rather on the puny side, when he's holding both you do still get the feeling that he is well armed. Although I suppose that when you conisder his function was originally that of a spy with the power of invisibility, a sniper rifle would not have been out of place. Again, due to the great stability and posability, I could have photographed him for hours on end with only my imagination providing the limits.

It may not be clear from the photographs seeing as how dark his overall colour scheme is, but the black flaps on the sides of the chest (folded under in vehicle mode) have small slots where the main chest/hood section connects via pegs. However on this Mirage the flaps were not tight enough to stay in place, so I could not align the pegs and slots properly. As a result, the flaps were sitting just a little under the main chest/hood assembly.

You will see that the Alternator's head sculpt is a really nice amalgam of the original G1 head and the anime head. Mirage retains the signature vents on the sides of his face from both the cartoon and G1 toy, however the face is all silver with a blue helmet more like the cartoon instead of a half-blue-half-silver face like the G1 toy. Also, the eyes on the Alternator are yellow like the G1 toy.

Despite very obvious differences between all the heads, especially the fact that Alt. Mirage now has ears whereas previous incarnations never did, he still retains a huge amount of the original character in his face and I had absolutely no trouble accepting this as Mirage. I just can't explain it.

The above pictures show the Alternators Mirage alongside 2006's Takara Kiss Players Hot Rodimus (w/ Syao Syao). They make a beautiful set, and probably even moreso with the upcoming San Diego Comic Con exclusive Alternators Rodimus and E-Hobby exclusive BT-18 clear Ligier. Incidentally, the chest/flap system on Rodimus works much better and you may be able to make out where the red chest piece and orange flap connect in the above pictures. I find Mirage's head sculpt to be much nicer still, even if the Rodimus is painted nicer with visor and fishing rod included!

Here is the Alt. Mirage alongside a Joustra Ligier (for all intents and purposes a G1 Mirage):

As I said earlier, beyond the obvious there are some other more intricate homages but they could well be coincidental. First of all, both figures have their doors/sidepods as their arm-guards in robot mode with the front wheels as their shoulders:

...and both have the rear sections of the vehicle rise above the sides of their knees in robot mode, almost like outer-leg guards:

Overall, I was so absolutely thrilled and impressed with the Alternators Mirage, I would go so far as to say it is the joint-best mould of the entire line alongside Smokescreen. However, the less-frustrating transformation and absolutely beautiful head sculpt, coupled with the fact that he is my favourite character, probably make this number 1 for me out of all the Alternators and Binaltech toys. A breathtaking vehicle mode is supplemented by a fantastic robot mode which is indisputably Mirage. While I was originally disappointed that he wasn't an out-and-out race car, the Ford GT has proved to be an inspired choice of vehicle. Mirage doesn't often seem to register amongst the top ten when the fandom is asked to name its all-time favourite character, but there's definitely some magic always associated with this figure and character. The obvious care and respect shown in the choice and production of the much-anticipated Alternators incarnation of this character, whose G1 form was the epitomy of speed and style, is evidence of that.

I for one, as a huge Mirage fan, could not have asked for more. A mighty success indeed.