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Acid Rain Speeder MK II Review

logo_seal_small [1]The acid rain line from Ori Toys has shown us some great product.  The Speeder MK2 is no exception.  This transformable buggy offers the best of both worlds, a fast attack vehicle and a mechanical assault robot all in one.  With a great eye for detail and the lure of an interesting story this is a great piece to get you into the Acid Rain world.

Acid Rain Review [2]

The Acid Rain Speeder MK 2 is a transformable buggy that can be converted into a mech.  It is a fast attack vehicle that can most likely maneuver around the back of the battlefield to offer cover fire and transport a driver and one other person quickly.  It has some armor but not enough that I would want to be sitting in the front lines in one of these.  Seems like something that would be good cover against small arms fire and human targets along with mechs or vehicles around it’s size.  Not sure it would have too much of a chance against a Stronghold or anything that would be offering defensive position in sizes like that.

Just looking at the articulation this has it seems to be something that can act as more of a mechanical extension of a soldier than a walking base.  It is controlled by one individual but can carry another even in mech mode.  Soldiers using this are subject to the elements though meaning that their time in it could be limited since gas mask filters need changing in the environment they are fighting in.

Check out the details on the Figure Here [10]

Figure:

The pilot is what comes with this vehicle.  It consists of a highly articulated figure and a helmet.  The head of the pilot is one with a gas mask and the helmet sits nicely over it.  The material for the figure is different than that of most action figures.  It is more of a rubber similar to the material used with Power Team Elite figure vests.  It is nice for the flexibility.  The hands and neck ball are the softest material of the figure.  Everything else is much more sturdy.  Not to say that those two are not but they do have more flex than other lines with similar articulation.  One of the hands is able to bend while the other does not have that option.  When trying to put a different head on the neck there was flex to it that made me can trying too hard.  It does have rocker ankles and you can twist the legs into yoga like positions.  The legs are on a ball similar to most other toy lines.  The vest is a thin piece of soft rubber material that fits nicely on the figure.  It has a latch to keep it from falling off easily.

My favorite part of the figure is the neck.  It moves up and down to look in different positions.  It is hidden well so that you do not see the moving parts too easily.  My only gripe is the arms.  They do seem to look small on the figure.  The feet have peg holes that are just a slight bit bigger than modern era GI Joe figures.  If you did want to swap heads I would recommend doing a little drilling to fit it on the neck a bit easier.  The head on the pilot has a little bit bigger of a hole compared to modern era GI Joe figures.  Star Wars may fit on there better but I had none to compare.  The figure size is identical to that of other action figure lines so these can be put into different universes fairly easily.  I did try to put a POC Hawk vest on the figure and it would not close but it was very close to doing so.  Slight modifications and it could happen.  It can also hold a weapon better than some lines thanks to the flexibility of the material they used.  I was able to get it in a firing position that was looking down the sights.  I did manage to get a Shock Trooper helmet on the head but it was tight.  Gave it a decent post apocalyptic took though.  There are probably a few different things that could be changed out on the figure without ruining it.

The figure is good in my opinion.  Many more pros than cons.

Read the rest of the review Here [33]

Vehicle:

Now for the main course.  The Speeder MK 2.  This is an extremely detailed vehicle.  The weathering that they have done really is beautifully done.  When you look closely at it you can see how much thought was put into it.  They made it look like something that would have been in a poisonous, wet environment.  There is a gritty texture and spots of rust to give it a realistic look.  It does not look manufactured like other toy lines do.  This seems like more of a custom piece than a vehicle you pulled out of a box.

As for size, it is almost the same as a GI Joe AWE Striker.  Hard to say if the Speeder is 1:18th accurate since there is no real world comparison.  I did put it up against a few other 1:18th scale items to show size.  There are a few removable things on it too.  The shovel and pick both can be taken off as can the gray containers on the back.  They look like they can be opened but I tried and had no luck without possibly breaking them.  The cockpit has a Y seat belt for the pilot.  On the back, there are two pegs to hold a figure.

Putting it in mech mode is fairly easy.  Instructions are included.  The joints are tight and click into place very solid.  This allows you to pose this in a multitude of positions that may not be possible with other lines.  You can put it in a crouching position and could most likely have it scale something if you wanted.  With the articulation of the mech, it acts as a great mechanical extension of the pilot.  Really gives you a feel of how this would be a nice fast attack weapon.  The armor on it is lacking though.  The pilot is exposed not only to fire but also the elements.  The pegs that another person could stand on in vehicle mode are available also while in mech mode.  It would at least allow an extra person to apply additional fire in a situation.

In all, I like this more than I thought I would.  I am not really a fan of transforming toys but this won me over after working with it a bit.  I would not be army building these but a small squad would look pretty cool on display.  All depends on your budget of course.

Special thanks to the folks at Ori Toys for supplying us with this for review. You can discuss this review and everything about the line Here [59]

You can view updates about the line on their official blog Here [60]

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