[QuinJester]

Transformation

Yes, the cornerstone of any Macross-related product - the transformation. Since its announcement, the Beagle/Toynami Ride Armor was touted as having the first complete perfect transformation of any Ride Armor with NO parts removal whatsoever, even the parts you would think should such as the arm mounted missile launchers and the Shoulder Armor.

Did they pull it off? Well, first let's take a look at how the bike breaks down.


The starting point. Here we go...


The front and rear wheel mounts unclip from the wheels. These will be the arm and hip armor, respectively.


The front part of the bike unhooks from the nose and the front wheel swings all the way around to the back of the bike.


Then... um.. well ... uh... the back end kind of ...


Er, I'm not sure what ... is that supposed to go there?


Oh god, I think I made it angry. I have no idea what's going on right now.


Hm, okay, well, those top bits kind of swing around and get jammed behind and under the wheels, I think? That looks right ...


Okay, so maybe that was a little over-dramatic, but it's a REALLY complex transformation with a lot of stuff going on and pieces going every-which way. Not a single part (intentionally) comes off during the whole process, leaving you with the entire bike compressing into a backpack with a body housing on the front to put a guy into. It's very impressive, if more than a little awkward.


As you can see from the above shots, the armguards/missile launchers are on a moving piston, allowing them to mount to the arms while never detatching from the bike. Clever!


You can mount the armor on the included stand as-is, kind of like a museum display piece. It actually looks really neat to display it this way.


The armor on display (with properly transformed shoulders and boosters extended)

Overall Thoughts
The first time you do it, the transformation will give you fits. Subsequent times will go much smoother, but it's still not the sort of thing that will go very quickly and it's definitely geared to appeal to the "more complicated is better" crowd. Despite being complex, it still doesn't feel very fragile, and I've never felt like I was going to break anything during my manhandling. It's a very impressive feat and I applaud the designers who made it.

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Armor Mode
The pièce de résistance.


GATTAI! Hehe.


Stick? Stig? Scott? Whoever you call him, he looks AWESOME.




... Unfortunately, as you can see here, he practically requires a "third leg", care of the detachable stand arm, to keep upright.


... and it's no surprise why he needs it, with a backpack like that (which has most of the bike's mass in it, with all the folding and compressing that goes on). Fortunately, it's pretty much unnoticeable except from the rear, though. The dark color blends in well and the tripod extension is easily ignored considering how much other stuff is going on with this guy.




Thanks to the tripod leg, he's a breeze to pose, though.


His "open palm" hands double as both his "handlebar holding hands" and all purpose "gripping random objects he can squish his fingers into" hands, thanks to being made from a soft rubber.


A look at the "hydraulic" mounting arm that connects the missile launchers to the arm gauntlets. It's a really cool idea, but getting everything in place for transformation is a huge pain, and the handlebars (which are attached to the end of the whole assembly) are constantly going to war with the tires.

Overall Thoughts
This figure's armored mode is just as impressive as all the component parts that go into it, if not moreso. You lose the letdown of the standalone figure's cloth joints due to them mostly being hidden by armor, and any loose parts on the bike are locked down by the transformation. The only real negatives are the reliance on the third leg to stand upright and the loss of some poseability in the legs and arms due to them now having bits of armor bolted on. This loss seems totally realistic however, since one would expect to lose some amount of mobility when wearing a motorcycle on your torso, and by disconnecting the locking joints you can give the figure back 99% of its unarmored movement.