That Figures: REVIEW: Microman Road Spartan RS01 Machslugger with Microman Kaito

Produced by Takara | Released 2005

You may recall we looked at the Road Spartan RS02 Ridepython with Microman Ryu earlier this month. Now it's the turn of his comrade in arms, Microman Kaito and his ride, the Machslugger.

Packaging

You really can't fault the Microman packaging: it's eye-catching, custom-designed for each figure, displays (and stores) the toys within perfectly and - best of all - can be opened without damaging it. I've mentioned it plenty of times before but I wish Hasbro would take a leaf out of Takara's playbook when it comes to packaging.

Microman Kaito
Microman Kaito is the pilot/rider of the Machslugger, designation RS01. He shares a lot in common with the group's leader, Microman Ryu but still has a few surprises of his own.

The sculpt is great. I love how the Road Spartans have a real sense of the bio-mechanical about them and it reminds me a lot of the original Micromen toys. The basic figure is a little plain and when you look at him beside the other Road Spartans, you can see they share a lot of the same parts. Still there are worse crimes to commit than that.

Like Microman Ryu, Microman Kaito has a bulky ''chest piece'' featuring a transparent panel (a nice nod to the original figures) and three ports on his back: the standard 5mm one, plus twin 3mm ports on either side. These ports can be used with the standardised pegs to insert equipment (such as backpacks) into the figure, as seen here.

Note that the chromed back-unit and blade are parts from the Machslugger - more on that later.

The head sculpt is nice, with Microman Kaito's green visor - a hawk's beak-like piece - pivoting nicely and allowing you to display the figure with the visor up or down. There's also a molded-on headset/mic that finishes-off the quasi-retro look.

Articulation is what you'd expect from a Microman - near perfect. The figure not only has a huge amount of joints but also a superb level of articulation in each. They're fluid but tight and Microman Kaito can not just achieve but also hold pretty much any pose you can come up with. The only downside is - like Microman Ryu - his wrist connector ports are a little loose, which can be awkward when you're posing him holding his bike controls.

Paint is nicely applied, although my Microman Kaito isn't quite as nicely finished as my Microman Ryu. Although it's not eye-catching, it is eye-holding, if you follow my meaning. It might not leap off the shelf but when you start to look closely you'll see the subtle piping and details of the paintwork. And of course, the chrome head looks awesome.

Machslugger

Of the four Road Spartan vehicles, I think the Machslugger is probably my least favourite. There's not much wrong with it particularly but it just doesn't pop in the same way the other vehicles do.

The vehicle is - at its core - a four-wheeled motorcycle with a set of movable control sticks. Again, like the Ridepython, the Machslugger utilises vertical grips rather than traditional handlebars. It's an unusual look and adds to the sci-fi-ish nature of the vehicle.

The Machslugger features a number of detachable parts - two blades, two ''wings,'' a canopy and a tail piece. Each piece features a number of different ports/mounts and can be reattached to the core vehicle (and even to Microman Kaito) to produce different configurations. The pieces are also reconfigured when you assemble the four Road Spartans into their ''combiner'' vehicle (although I've yet to attempt that...)

The pieces aren't the best of fits, to be honest, and will often simply drop off when you handle the vehicle or are attempting to slot-on another piece. They're also quite basic-looking and although there's some minor detailing, there's not really anything to get too excited about.

Although the basic bike rolls along nicely, the rest of the vehicle just doesn't seem to work very well. Getting Microman Kaito to stay in position on the bike is difficult (they should have used the old-style peg-on-the-seat-back like the earlier Microman vehicles had) and he doesn't really seem to have a sitting position that works - the ''wings'' often push against his feet (or vice-versa) and the clear canopy - which really should fit over his head when configured at the rear - doesn't. I get the impression the designers worked back from the combiner vehicle and that it was the at the centre of their plan. So rather than get a nice vehicle that fits together with the others, we get a vehicle that's designed to accommodate the combiner's needs first and it's function as a stand-alone toy second. It's a shame, as the other vehicles in the Road Spartan range work very well as stand-alone playthings.

Like the Ridepython, the only paintwork consists of a few chromed parts and a couple of tampo transfers. It works nicely but given how plain the physical design of the Machslugger is, it would have been nice to have seen a little more in the paint department.

Extras

Microman Kaito comes with a sprue of spare hands (see our Microman Ryu Review for a breakdown) and a stand. Even though he comes with a vehicle and so doesn't really need it. Are you listening Hasbro?

There's also an instruction booklet and Catarog/Infomercial showing other toys in the range. Obviously both are in Japanese.

Final Thoughts

Microman Kaito is a fairly simple-looking Microman. But that's fine, because he's still pretty cool and when you look closely, there's a lot to like here. He's poseable, well-made and visually quite engaging.

The Machslugger on the other hand is pretty weak. The core design isn't great (no matter how you configure it, it never looks cool and it should, given it's a futuristic motorcycle ridden by a micro-cyborg), the pieces really don't fit together very well (one of the c-connectors on the canopy actually snapped-off) and when you do manage to get them in-place, they don't stay there.

Worst of all, it really doesn't work as a vehicle. Finding a place where Microman Kaito can actually sit - and then getting him to stay there - is a real nightmare. It's like the vehicle is something he happens to be hanging-off, rather than riding. I thought the Ridepython was awkward to get a Microman to sit on, but it's a comfy Chesterfield compared to the Machslugger...

Still though, although it may be the weakest of the Ride Spartans, it's still got its own charms and fans of the series - and of retro-futuristic Japanese design - will I'm sure love it. And as I mentioned before, given you can pick-up one of these vehicle and figure packs for under $20 if you shop around, you could do a lot worse than this.

Scores
Microman Ryu