[QuinJester]

Accessories and Final Thoughts


The Toynami/Beagle Cyclone/Mospeada comes with a stand. It can hold all of the figure's accessories, which is a nice touch and something I've always loved about Bandai's Soul of Chogokin display stands and felt more companies should do.


Even though the Toynami version has a different head and is marketed as the Robotech Cyclone, the toy base still bears the Beagle MOSPEADA sticker. Might bother some, but then again, it might also make some people happier about buying it. Either way, there it is.


Decapitated heads and extremities are the order of the day. The helmet cannot fit over the sculpted head on either version of this toy; they're two swappable heads. There are three different guns, one rifle which can mount on the bike and the two pistol/SMG style guns. The little grey piece is used to mount the rifle on the bike.


Maybe it's just my figure, but I CANNOT get the whole thing to sit straight once I've put the figure inside it. Something just contorts the whole armature ever-so-slightly, giving it a crooked look when viewed from above. As it only happens when the figure is mounted inside the armor, I think it has to do with either the arm hydraulics pushing against the wheels or with the way the body locks into the frame itself.

Other random musings: While the toy feels very solid and well designed and the engineering is extremely sophisticated, the materials used to make it don't reflect that same level of quality. The plastic feels alright, but has many "rough" edges, like flash on a model kit when it comes out of a steel mold that's reaching the end of its lifetime. The rubber on the wheels, again, is a kind of sticky feeling soft rubber that is a complete dust magnet and feels impossible to clean. Maybe some armor-all will help that problem.

The metal content of the figure, while minimal, feels slightly poorly done. While it may very well be strong, it has the appearance of white metal, the kind used to make wargaming miniatures, and as such makes me think of pewter and other pot-metals. A nice blackened or anodized steel would have given the figure an extra touch of class and really helped make the figure feel like it was worth $200.

Oh, right. The price. This little puppy will cost you around $200 for the American release, over that if you opt for the original Beagle version. Let's face it, in today's economy that's a LOT of scratch for a single toy.

Final Thoughts

So then, is it worth it?

<drumroll>

Yes, I think it is. Many other companies have made ride armors that aren't as big, and aren't NEARLY as expensive, but all have fallen into pitfalls that come with that smaller size and pricepoint, be it fragility, lazy design (partsforming, parts removal, horrible proportions), or poor quality control. Beagle, and by extension, Toynami, have managed to put together a nicely sized figure that, despite its shortcomings, still manages to FEEL like a quality toy that feels just as good in your hands as it looks on the shelf.

It's an enigma; despite having crappy looking materials, it feels solid. Despite having a nightmarishly over-engineered transformation, it doesn't feel frustrating (other than that sweat-inducing first time, anyway). Despite coming with all the display materials and having a price that makes you feel like it should be a display-only piece, it's built and designed to withstand play, whether rolling it around in bike mode or swooshing the armored figure around your home firing missiles at invisible Invid invaders.

Is it a lot of money? God yes, it is. But is it a wholly unique and phenomenal figure that simply has no equal for fans of the design or show? Yes, definitely.

.. well, until Beagle's next release, anyway...


So long, space cowboy...