Transformers Masterpiece MP-25 Tracks and MP-26 Road Rage

Transformers toylines have a long history of reusing molds as multiple characters. In recent years they've taken this one step further. Remolding certain parts of a toy to make the reuse stand out as it's own character and not just a repaint.

MPs 25, Tracks, and 26, Road Rage, are a good example of this. Both transform into a Corvette Stingray. However their robot-modes have a number of differences to set them apart from one and other.

Vehicle mode:

As mentioned above both Tracks and Road Rage transform into Corvette Stingrays. In this mode, apart from the color of the car, both toys are identical. Even the flame decal on the hood is the same.

Tracks was made with a metallic flake through his blue plastic which looks very nice. It gives his car mode a nice shine to it. That said I personally think this car looks best in red.

Tracks and Road Rage do have "attack modes" but not in the same way as other MPs. No silly guns-on-the-roof here. Both come with a small blaster that plugs into the front bumper. This looks a whole lot less silly in my opinion. More like something you'd see on a car in a James Bond film.

Unique for a Masterpiece figure the car mode has an opening hood. This is because one of Tracks accessories is a static figure of Raoul, a human character from the G1 cartoon who tried to carjack Tracks in one episode. Honestly the Raoul figure is pretty ugly but the silver painted engine block looks nice.

Flight mode:

Getting from car mode to flight mode is very simple. Fold down the wings from the underside of the car. Lift up the rear window, then fold out and straighten what will be the robot mode arms. Line these up along the side of the car with the wheels parallel to the ground and they should tab in just behind the front wheels. Push up the tailfins from the underside of the rear window then lower it back into place. The wings have little tabs on them that will rest against the robot mode shoulders.

The original Tracks toy had a third flight mode which is retained for the MP. It's a little thing. Silly, but fun.

The blaster that attaches to the front bumper can be used in this mode as well. Road Rage can take this one step further. Her robot mode gun can plug onto the underside of the flight mode.

There is also a small amount of storage space in both alt-modes. Tracks' gun is small enough that it can tab inside the windscreen. Otherwise the small non-transforming Blaster (included with Tracks) or Twincast (included with Road Rage) can be stored here.

Transformation:

Starting in flight mode swivel the wings out of the way and untab the arms. The panels on the front can be flipped down and around allowing the hands to be flipped out. Lift up the rear section of the car, flipping in the tailfins and rotating out the small missile pods. The car roof and windscreen are on a double hinge that will allow it to fold up. While this is out you can remove anything stored in the alt-mode and flip up the head (and rotate the panel on the roof if you have the Autobot logo facing inwards in car mode). The shoulders need to be raised on a slight angle to allow the roof to tab in and hold everything together. The car doors are on two hinges that allow them to rotate around and plug into the back, then the rear of the car can tab into the back making a hood behind the head. The wings can be freely positioned however you think looks best.

Seperate the front of the car to transform the lower body. The side panels of the car around the front wheels needs to be pulled out. These will rotate down and get compressed back in to the legs. At the same time flip the feet down into place. The hood sections are on a double hinge to allow them to sit flush on the back of the leg. The panels on the inside of the leg can be rotated out and around to cover the transformation joints on the front of the leg. Then rotate the waist and the robot mode is done.

Robot mode:

Tracks and Road Rage aren't quite as clean in robot mode as a lot of the other Masterpiece figures. The backpack/hood is quite large and makes the back of the figure look quite hollow. It was present on the original toy and Tracks' animation model which is why it is retained here.

As mentioned earlier a decent amount of remolding was done to make Tracks and Road Rage look different from each other in robot mode. The head, upper chest, waist and thighs are different between the two figures. This combined with the different color schemes really helps distinguish one from the other.

Both figures are decently poseable. They're on par with any of the other MP Autobot car molds. The wings can hinder the shoulders slightly depending on where they're positioned but it's a small matter to move them out of the way.

While Tracks is armed with a small pistol (that uses the standard MP grip tab/palm slot system) Road Rage comes with a rather large gun based on the one the original toy had. When Road Rage first came out there were some complaints she couldn't hold her weapon properly. It turns out there's a small tab behind the grip that plugs into a slot on Road Rage's hand. When you get everything lined up I've found it to be very solid.

Tracks came with a flight stand that both can use in flight mode or robot mode. It simply plugs into the figures back. It's a real shame the stand wasn't included with Road Rage because it adds to the display options you have for Tracks. If nothing else the little boost means he can easily be seen when placed behind others on your shelf.

Final Thoughts:

Of the two figures Road Rage is my favorite. I like her head sculpt and colors more than Tracks. However if you were only getting one figure I think Tracks is better value. More accessories - including the flight stand - and the fact he's a memorable character from the cartoon certainly work in Tracks' favor. There are better MPs available but Tracks and Road Rage are still good toys.