Armada Race Team

Robot Modes: Well, I can't really say all that many positive things about the robot modes here. All three are below average. Mirage is a clone of Swindle and has the same problems, barely any posability (though he looks pretty cool). Dirt Boss is the biggest of the three, but has almost no posability and his arms can only go up and down at the elbows, nothing else. Finally Downshift is the best of the three, but still nothing much to write home about, especially his head tends to come off at odd moments. All in all some of the worse Minicons out there.

Vehicle Modes: The three Race Team Minicons transform into pretty realistic looking cars, a formula 1 racer, an SUV, and some kind of racing hybrid. They look good, but nothing more. The real play value is only to be found in their combined mode.

Combiner Mode: The three Minicons combine to form the Skyboom Shield. At first it doesn't really look like a shield, more like some kind of airborne vehicle, but it does look pretty cool when carried by one of the Armada Transformers. Most of the supersized toys can protect almost their entire bodies with it and even larger toys like Jetfire can protect their vitals with it. Being one of the three great Minicon weapons, the Skyboom Shield is the main reason for getting these Minicons.

Remarks: The only real reason for getting these Minicons is the Skyboom Shield, bottom line. While it didn't play that big a role in the cartoon (unlike the Star Saber and Requiem Blaster) it was vital as part of the Hydra Cannon that (temporarily) killed Optimus Prime and was used to power up Unicron for the final battle. Also, it looks pretty cool as an enhancement for the Armada Transformers.

Rating: C+

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