I remember being told that on the box for another Microchange modelkit there was a pic of a Microx kit which only required the middle guy to transform and complete the camera. I knew there was a Japanese Transformers modelkit by Seven but that required all 3 robots. The other JTF modelkits released by Seven were all pretty much the same as the MC versions (Soundwave, Gears,Windcharger, Brawn-as-Bumblebee).

A few weeks after hearing about that weird Microx kit, I spied one on auction for something like $6. I had to get someone else to bid for me, but he won it and the total was $8-something shipped. I gave him $20 total as a thank you et cetera.

Now I already knew that one of the arm-pegs was broken so the right arm didn't stay on well. Other than that, the rest was fine. The flash was there and so was the lens. The way the pics were taken in the auction made it look like it was the one-robot-Microx kit. Score! Or so I thought...

A few days after the item was won for me, I get an email from the seller saying that when he went to pick it up, he put it in a plastic bag with a bunch of other TFs, with no protection, and as a result the left leg broke off. He offered me a complete refund.
Annoyed as I was, I thought I could fix it and still have a complete mini-Reflector of sorts. The potential for it to be funky was still pretty high.

When I received it I was disappointed. It DOES actually require the other two Microx guys and I haven't been able to fix the leg. Glue is unsuitable and it's pretty fiddly at the best of times with something this delicate and small. So not just broken... but very incomplete. I guess the JTF one was derived from the MC version after all, and the pic on the box must have been a proto or something...

Anyway, sob story aside, here are some scans.

The MC Microx modelkit in Camera Mode:

You can see the missing arm peg on the left of the pic, and unlike the actual Microx/Reflector toys, the flash goes on top of the middle guy, not the guy on the right. Two pegs on top of the middle robot's shoulders see to it that the flash stays in place. Also, the kit has no magnification capabilities so the lens is solid, not a tube of sorts.

Middle guy in robot mode:

Again, you can see where the leg and arm are separated. Obviously no chrome on this kit either.

MC kit compared to Reflector toy:

Here you get a good idea of the size of the Microx kit. The face on the kit is obviously just one colour. If the JTF kit is anything to go by, the other two guys from the kit are both grey and blue also, not one red and one blue like the actual toy. The stickers are pretty close to the toy, just a little bit less detail, which is evident in the scan.

Again, due to the lack of magnification capabilty on the kit, the chest area is just solid plastic, not a transparent lens like the toy. One thing worth mentioning: The TF Reflector has two blobs on the end of the arm-pegs to help prevent the arms from actually coming off during transformation. The Microx toy never had these and the kit is based on that, so no blobs on the kit either. I am unsure exactly when the blobs were added to the TF mold.

The size and feel of the kit makes you really appreciate the relative bulk and weight of the original toy.

Both robots from the back:

Only things to see here really are the size difference for the various components, the sticker on the back and the different materials used in each version. As for the copyright on the kit, it's in roughly the same place as that of the toy, and just reads "(c)
TAKARA".

Finally, a look at the two sets of accessories:

The kit's flash is very very simplified. It's monochromatic, non-firing, just there to complete the overall look of the thing in Camera mode. Also visible in that scan is the difference in mold, shape and colour of the lens for the kit and the actual toy.

Despite my un-enthusiastic tone, It's not a bad kit at all. I'm just disappointed mine was incomplete and then unnecessarily damaged further. As it stands, there's really not a lot I can do with this thing display-wise until I come to some solution concerning that leg. Looks very incomplete as a camera, so I'd have to display it as the middle robot in figure mode only.

If someone were to have a complete, undamaged version of this modelkit, I imagine it would actually be pretty damn nifty and would display superbly next to the actual toy. I suppose if you can get one for a good price, it would be a really nice novelty item for your collection, and I'd even go so far as to call it a must-have for Microx/Reflector lovers.

But not my particular one.

All the best
Maz