Street Speed Mini-Con Team - Armada - Figures

No gimmicks with these guys, unless you count “super articulation” as a gimmick. Seems to me that articulation was a standard of most Transformers toys since the Laser Rods. But, if it’s their “gimmick” so be it.

Backtrack, Oval, and Spiral all look rather cool in their car forms, very sporty. Reminiscent of the types of cars you’d see in street races. I’m no car expert, so I couldn’t venture to guess what specific models they are. And considering that they don’t have axles, these guys roll really well, on par with the Spychangers.

Transformation is innovative and, at times frustrating. Most notable in the frustration department is Backtrack. When I pull the sides of the car out and back to form the arms, the left arm always pops off. Oval comes in a close second with his inability to lock together in robot mode. Connecting his lower torso to the underside of the front of the car almost inevitably disconnects.

In robot form, these guys are equally cool looking. This is what I remember liking about Transformers during the G1 and G2 runs. All the car parts are used. There are no windshields or trucks flapping around. And these guys have more articulation than most of the current Transformers toys. Backtrack and Spiral boasts seven, Oval has six. Sadly, on all three of them, two of those articulation points really shouldn’t count. If bent more than 5 to 10 degrees, the arms will pop off at the elbows on all of them. May as well have left the arms as one piece.

Overall, this is a neat set, but be prepared to be frustrated if you don’t like having to put your toys together after transforming them. Grade: B+

Reviewer	Richard C. Mistron
Date	December 19th 2002
Score	(7 out of 10)
Reads	5727