Doubleface Review Capsule

Doubleface is a character from Micron Legend (Armada) and is made from a Generation 2 mold, just recently sold here during Robots in Disguise. Now he matches the purple character best known to American fans as Sideways, except now he has no Mini-Cons. Is he worth it? We think so. If you dig it.

Introduction

Surely not to be hugely popular with American fans due to its relation to Armada's biggest pegwarmer Doubleface is actually a pretty good toy-- he takes a great mold, and Takara applied an existing character to a mold that fits him pretty well.

He's pretty much the same highly posable mold that was used for several G2 characters as well as Wal-Mart's exclusive Robots in Disguise Axer.

Robot

Like many Robot Masters, this is a repaint-- but not a bad one. Except for the head.

On the whole, the figure matches the color scheme of his counterpart from the Armada-verse. The head has a heck of a lot more yellow, but it's striking-- not necessarily in a good way, but it makes the head look like more of a helmet and since he's a motorcycle, it's a fitting detail. His eyes don't light up-- the cats at Takara painted over the eyes, but the light up eyeport is still on the back of his head. Overall this is for the best, but why on Earth didn't they just make the back of his head a color that matches the whole noggin?

For a mold that's fairly old, it's a great repaint. There's a lot of nice details (best visible on the bike mold) and there's a nice embedded weapon, but more on that below.

Vehicle

In vehicle mode, Doubleface is a motorcycle, a bright purple one so apparently it scares off American boys. This is, of course, appropriate as the main market in the USA will be 20-somethings that have nothing better to do than sit around and criticize a toy made for someone half his age in a country several thousand miles away. (Hey wait a minute...)

Despite our complaints, there's a lot to like here. The word (and initials for) "Doubleface" has been painted in to the toy in numerous places, easily visible in the above pictures. This is handy if you have a bad memory for such things or like the fact that the toy is properly equipped to serve fast food and is identified to you, the customer.

The Destron/Decepticon logos on this toy are few, we only spotted one on the front of the bike that tends to blend in to the blue paint surrounding the purple logo. It may as well not be there, which is appropriate on many levels fo rthe character. It's a great mold, though, and the bike mode is excellent despite its having been pimped.

Accessories & Gimmicks

Unlike the bulk of the Robot Masters line, poor old Road Rocket has no original accessories for this release-- just a light-up muffler which, unfortunately, does not photograph well. It is removable, but odds are it was not meant to be. As such, please consult the above for photos.

Packaging & Tech Specs

This toy came packaged in regular Robot Masters packaging, but unlike the first wave of toys there are a lot more twist ties this time around.

Not only does it look fairly nice, it's sturdy, dynamic, and has a lot of information on it. For example, the character stats are right on the front of the packaging-- a first. Unfortunately, they also added the clip-n-save card on the back, instead of having a trading card inside the box that's pre-cut and all of that. It's a nice box with a lot of layers, but it doesn't have the abundance of plastic trays that you saw in some of the earlier toys.

Fin

It isn't as exciting as Road Rocket, but it's still a great toy and the very first character in Robot Masters that alludes someone from Micron Legend. The mold is able to show a lot more of its detail off in these colors than some of the other releases, but it's bright and somewhat gaudy. Still, it's neat but it tends not to fit in on a shelf of toys from this line particularly well. As such, get it if you can do so cheaply, or if you're going for the set. It isn't a bad toy, but if you find the colors off-putting you can find different deco for this mold and will likely see more in the future.

Reviewed and photographed by Adam Pawlus
Sample received in January, 2005 from a Japanese toy dealer for about $15
Reviewed on February 12, 2005.