TRANSFORMERS TOYS AND MERCHANDISE SECTION

Robot Mode:

Alternate Mode:

Additional Image:

Additional Image:

Box Art:

Scout's review of: Beast Wars Neo Mach Kick

Name: Mach Kick
Allegiance: Cybertoron
Function: Express Courier

"I, Mach-Kick, was once the second-in-command of the Thoroughbred Corps, which has regrettably- since been destroyed. I have copious battlefield experience and stores of all manner of wisdom. My weapons include my Elastic Hand attack, which shoots my horse's head feature from my left arm, and it is amazingly destructive. I also posses a Tomahawk Tail, which is a combination of an axe and whip. This weapon is cabable of sliceing any of my enemies in two."


My rankings are as follows:
Strength: 6
Intelligence: 10
Speed: 5
Endurance: 10
Rank: 8
Courage: 5
Firepower: 7
Skill: 4


My Alternate Mode is indeed, taken after a horse - a thoroughbred to be exact. Study the form well and you will note the long body and thin, streamlined form that makes this creature ideally suited for my function. I would prefer it over having wheels at any time, since it allows me to move through or over any type of ground without as much chance of getting bogged down as others.

The horse form must have impressed others as well, for there is a small toy in existance that resembles my form. Specifically made by humans for human fans, I must give their design engineers credit for even attempting to reconstruct it. Equines have a great deal of moveable features. The main attack areas lie in the horse's teeth and feet, and this has been accounted for and supplemented in my own form, and echoed in the toy form.

However, due to the nature of muscle and bone structure in the horse's body, it is necessary that each one of the four legs, two halves of the chest, head and back must be moved and rotated in order for a transformation from horse to robot to occur. The humans made a valiant attempt at replicating this in their toy model, however, it is not very successful in my opinion. The Cybertorons would have lost every delivery that I have been assigned - if it took me as long to transform as it takes the average human to transform that toy. Their technology is just not advanced enough to allow for slippage. Each piece must be lined up perfectly for the sections to stay and hold together securely.

I must say that the detailing on the toy is well done. Veins are clearly seen underneath the replica Cybertoron skin, and the engineers have also been careful to note (and include) my white facial blaze and fetlock hair just above my hooves. The addition of the replica real hair adds a nice nod to my organic likeness.


When the humans replicated my Robot Mode, they also did an excellent job. The colors are bold and very striking. This is to ensure that my enemies know they are dealing with a formidable opponent. The gold colors enhance the red, black and white color scheme well.

They also did their best to simulate my moveable features in the toy's robot form. The legs move nicely out of the way, while my main weapon - my Elastic Hand Attack, is kept ready for battle with the Destorons. The ball-and-socket pivoting joints were a wise choice for freedom and flexibility of the small figure's movement at all essential points.


Transformation: 9. For ease of poseability and articulation, the humans added proper ball-and-socket joints. This was a wise move. After watching the humans try to revert the toy from robot back to horse, it became apparent that very few-if any- of this toy would have survived the attempts to revert it. The pieces are apparently very difficult to fit and lock securely together.

Durability: 7. The humans popped those joints many times during the transformation process, however, none of them broke.

Fun: Based on the human tester's frustration with the toy transformation, I would allot it a 3. Even though the human enjoys having the toy in her collection greatly, she also reported that it will very likely never be transformed again.

Price: I would give this a value of 9. The Mach Kick toy was available three times on the Earthen world market. The humans in Japan marketed it by itself. and also with my Destoron opponent - Archadis. In the USA in 1999, the humans marketed it through an obscure group named Hasbrocollectors.com. Because of the ready availability, the toy can easily be found for between $8. and $12.00 in either of its packages at toy shows in the USA.

Overall, I would advise those who love a challenge to go ahead and purchase the human toy. It probably would not rate more than a 4 on the "best-to-play-with" list because of the difficulty, however, it is specially modeled after a one-of-a-kind form. The human artist, Disney, once had his artists complain that horses were to difficult to animate. They attempted it anyway and eventually became very successful in their attempts. The same could be said of the transformation here, but it is more likely to sit and be admired in a single form than played with repeatedly. It was an admirable recreation of my form though, and one to be admired.