TRANSFORMERS TOYS AND MERCHANDISE SECTION

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Brave Maximus’ Review of Reissue Mach Tackle

Name: Mach & Tackle (Mach Tackle or Tackle Mach)
Allegiance: Cybertron
Alt-Mode: Shuttle, Covered Pick-Up Truck
Function: Air/Land Warrior
First Cartoon Appearance: Victory - Multiforce Combine!

Long before Transformers: Energon came up with the concept of over\under combiners, there was a small group of “Micromasters” called the Multiforce. It was made up of 6 members, each transforming into their own robot mode, but also forming a top or bottom part of a larger robot. They were sold in pairs, and in the Victory cartoon they were only seen in their 3 combined forms, or as the giant warrior Landcross. One of the big selling features of the Multiforce (other than their being a combiner) is that there were 37 possible combinations. The names of the combined robot was made up of whomever was on top, then whomever was on the bottom (Hence Wing Waver if Wing was on top, or Waver Wing if it was reversed). Through the reviews, you’ll see me refer to them as “Micromasters”. The quotation marks are not accidental. They were marketed as Micromasters, but each toy is between 3" and 4" in length in vehicle mode. This is double the size of the average Micromaster.

Second up on the reviewing block is the pair of Mach and Tackle.

Alt Mode:
Mach: Mach is the other flying Transformer from the Multiforce team, this time a space shuttle. As one would expect, his primary colours are white and black, with a little blue filling out the nosecone and windows. The left side of his tail features a tampographed Autobot symbol. There’s a lot of nice, simple detail on the shuttle. It has cut lines along the back and flaps on his tail and wings. The nosecone details are fairly accurate when compared to the real shuttle, and the windows look nice. The wings also feature what look like blasters and thrusters, which is pretty cool and a neat little detail. He rolls on 2 wheels on his bottom, but unfortunately they’re rather narrow, and he’s pretty easy to tip over. He also features a hole on the top where you can place his blaster for an “attack” mode. Over all, he’s a decent alt mode, but he seems squished. It’s not a bad thing - just different.

Tackle: Tackle is a covered pick-up truck. This is the same style of truck you see all over the place, except his is a VERY ugly orange and Blue. I mean, this is the kind of truck that shows up on MTV’s “Pimp My Ride” and they are forced to shoot the owner. It’s actually a weird looking pick-up truck, as the arms form the front wheel wells and they flare out to the side, but the back is all in line with the “hood”. As I said, Tackle is primarly the ugly orange they use in a lot of transformers (Rodimus Prime and Action Master Optimus Prime for examples) with a dark blue cap on the back and black tinted windows. The colours are eye jarring, and I don’t like them. There’s the standard truck details (cutting in of the hood, windows and window details on the cab). He rolls well on 4 large black plastic wheels and has 2 holes on the top of the cap for a pair of double cannons for his attack mode. I think he would look a lot better if he wasn’t the colours they painted him. That’s one of the biggest drawback to an okay figure.

Robot Mode:
Mach: Mach has the .... honour of being the shortest of the Multiforce. He actually looks rather tubby in this form; it’s probably because his legs are massively thick, as is his chest. His arms barely stick out from his chest, and do not move past the central fin on his chest. This means that if he ever fell on his face, he’s toast, and can’t lift himself up (also means no push-ups as punishment). His head is actually my favourite design out of the Multiforce. It’s very angular, and pointed, with a nice V shaped face plate and crest. His colours are unchanged, with a white chest and legs, while his arms and toes are blue. His face plate is silver with Red eyes and he comes with a moderately large laser rifle.

One interesting additional thing you can do with Mach is attach his “Wings” to the back of his legs. To do this, you need to leave one leg turned sideways and attach it to the same peg it would be on in vehicle mode. While his foot looks odd at the side, the addition of the wings does make him look a little more impressive.

Tackle: Ah poor Tackle, cursed with a weird vehicle mode, ugly, UGLY colours and now a bizarre robot mode. He looks tall and lanky (which, admittedly, is a nice balance to Mach’s tubbiness). He has the same out-turned, bow-legged problem as Wing, but the tops of his legs are at the same height as Mach’s arms. His head is... odd. Very square with a huge red visor, and tiny mouth and nose. His colours have, unfortunately, not changed. He’s still bright orange with a dark blue chest and lower legs. Black adds some detail and his visor is dark red. His face is silver and stickers make an appearance again, with black and yellow vents along his chest. Despite all his short comings, Tackle is one of the most stable of the Multiforce and has some decent details on him. He also gets the second largest of the team's weapons in a black rifle. If only he weren’t orange and blue.....

Mach Tackle: This is a nice combined mode (proportion wise). His legs and arms fit nicely, and his head is a good size. Half of the Energon Powerlinx modes wish they could work out as nicely. All that being said, he has a few drawbacks. The fin sitting out of his chest still looks awkward. It would have been nice if his face could have been turned around and we could have seen the blue. The next problem is the colours are really weird and don’t match. It’s the same with most of the Energon figures as well. The last problem is that he doesn’t have any moulded fists. Just two holes in the top of his hands for the rifles. Now, when they’re in there, it looks ok. But when they’re out - it’s ugly. And again: Orange, dark blue and white...... gah.

Tackle Mach: Well, unfortunately, this configuration is ugly. Sadly, this is where Tackle shines. He has a nice chest size, his arms are a nice length with moulded fists and a good sized head. The chest details work nicely. But this poor guy never catches a break. He’s partnered up with Mach, who in this form is short and stubby. With the way his legs bend, and the disproportionally short legs, arms, and body, were he to lean over, he would make a very good mechanical ape. The wing looks... well wrong. One look at the picture and you can make your own jokes. And, still, the colours don’t work well. I wonder who I have to kill to get that orange eliminated from their colour palette.

Poseability: Again, the same as all of the Multiforce. Individually, their arms are the only point of movement, as their legs only bend out (or worse, in). Mach suffers even farther, by not being able to reach past his own chest. Combined, they have 6 points of articulation in their arms, while their legs can rotate.

Transformation: 4. Pretty easy. Nothing to them.
Durability: 6. The legs on Mach have already gone loose on mine, as has Tackle's head.
Fun: 6. They’re still fun little guys - and a tubby shuttle is interesting.
Price: 7. The reissue can still be found for a good price.
Overall: 6.5. Not a bad set of figures. Not the worst I’ve seen, but sadly the worst of the Multiforce. Orange and dark blue.... why?