Mach Kick

STRENGTH          RANK
9.0                9.0
INTELLIGENCE   COURAGE
9.0                8.0
SPEED        FIREPOWER
10.0               7.0
ENDURANCE        SKILL
9.0                9.0

Mach Kick
Function: Express Courier
Class: Beast Wars Neo Cybertron/Maximal #C-36
Mach-Kick was second-in-command of the Thoroughbred Corps, which has since been destroyed. He has copious battlefield experience and stores all manner of wisdom. His Elastic Hand attack, which shoots out the horse's head from his arm, is amazingly destructive, while his Tail Tomohawk, a combination axe/whip, can slice an enemy in two.
(thanks to Thaddeus Cultt for the translated Tech Spec)

Color Scheme:

Deep purple and dark blue shades over the body, accurately mimicking the blue-ish appearance of shiny black hair on a "black stallion" type horse. Also has black legs and mane, as well as real (fake) hair for the horse's tail and pony-tail on the robot head. Robot mode reveals more colors including white, red, and gold accents. Very nice.

Beast Mode:

If there's one thing Takara knows how to do it's awesome beast modes! At first glance, this bad-boy looks like half a dozen kinds of horse-only toys. Not only does he looks just like a real horse, with barely ANY robot parts visible (unless you pick him up and look at his underbelly), but also he can stand on his hind legs in a rearing position (see beast mode pic). Top that off with a moderately cool gimmick... when you press the back section of his mane, his head extends on an extension-arm apparatus that is disguised AS his mane. Very Cool.

Robot Mode:

As great as the beast mode is, the robot mode is as well, with a few small drawbacks. As a result of his refined beast mode, he has a lot of "kibble" in robot mode. Bits of shell from his beast mode hang off his hips, back, and shoulders. When well placed, though, they are easy to ignore. As I mentioned before, he has a pony tail of real (fake) hair. Another very nice touch. His horse tail becomes an axe/whip weapon, and his horse head is his right arm, which can still extend to "grab" things. His lower legs are a bit funky, but they work well, and are reasonably stable for posing him. His main drawback in robot mode is his waist, which is a single ball joint and can be a little floppy. I don't like modifying my toys, but some people suggest a little clear nail polish on the ball OR socket to tighten the joint.

Alternate Mode:

I've also noticed that many of these (Beast Wars Neo) toys have alternate modes which are simply contrived. Mach Kick is no exception. His alternate mode is nothing more than a folded up mess of beast parts, robot parts, and kibble. I included a picture only because it's a mode they promote with instructions and pictures.

Transformation:

Very complex. Although it's obvious that Japanese instructions are more specific than American versions, this guy is spelled out with a whopping 22 steps from beast to robot! I also needed every single one of them to get it right. Getting him back into beast mode is even MORE difficult. It's very tricky to get him in *just* the right position so that all his kibble falls into place. I believe he's rated by Takara as one of the more difficult levels of transformation (if not the most), and I can understand why.

Gimmicks:

As I pointed out earlier, his horse mane disguises an extension arm that his head is connected to. It works very well, and adds a lot to the play value of the toy. I also already noted his "real" hair horse tail and pony tail.

Pros/Cons:

Very nice beast mode, but kibble-ridden robot mode. Overall a great toy.

Notes:

Japanese toys have some things we've learned to live without here in America. It's really nice to experience these things again: molded plastic packaging to hold the toy (no paper glued to it, or twist-ties to unravel!); full box, even for a "deluxe" sized toy; complete catalog for the series, with full color pics of each toy in both modes; in depth transformation instructions; individualized character art on the packaging. These are some great things that I think Hasbro/Kenner should go back to in their toy packaging.