[Den-O]

The engine is running and TokuNation is ready to take another lap with Kamen Rider Drive! Today we're taking a quick look at the 4th release in the Tire Koukan toyline with Drive's secondary accessory set, TK-04 Tire Set 2!

Packaging
Nothing new to report here after 4 releases in this line. The mass retail toylines don't tend to have the fancy bells and whistles of Bandai's collector lines for packaging but they get the job done. This set is patterned in the same way as the TK-02 Tire Set. Just a nice slim box with some stock photography of how these tires interact with the various TK figures released thus far.

This will be a fairly short and simple review. As this set doesn't really include a figure but just accessories to be used with one.

Spin Mixer
It should come as no surprise that the Spin Mixer Tire is by far the most boring and generic in the set. Seeing as Tire Set 2 is patterned in much the same way as Tire Set 1, we were bound to get one tire that didn't do much, or anything really. This tire's counterpart in set 1 is definitely Funky Spike, but at least it had spikes. Spin Mixer is decently sculpted with some nice rocky details but that's about it, no action feature on this one. It looks pretty sharp on Type Speed but fairly generic on Wild.

Mad Doctor
Now for the first interesting one of the bunch, it's the Mad Doctor Tire! This much more vibrantly colored tire doesn't come alone though as it's also packaged with the Cure Quicker healing device. The two can be combined primarily for use when attached to Tridoron, but it's an extra bit of play value the more standard tires don't have. It's very similar in that regard to Rumble Dump. The tire itself is a nice pearl white with a pretty great decal applied along it's tread simulating a heart rate monitor. The Cure Quicker amounts to being a mobile defibrillator and has the electrode attached via a small red vinyl cord. A fun additional accessory all in all.

Dream Vegas
As with the first Tire Set, there's a clear winner here, the Dream Vegas Tire! This quirky Tire has one of the more unique abilities in Kamen Rider Drive, one which mostly carries over to the toy. As a standard tire Vegas has some Drive inspired roulette emblems on it. Overall the detail on the decal featuring these emblems is quite nice. The same goes for the included weapons, the red & green Drum Shields. Sadly these drums can be a bit difficult to get a Tire Koukan figure to hold. A problem I've had with most mainline gimmick figures for Kamen Rider shows is that many figures use the same generic hands across releases, nothing is made specifically to hold anything with them. So sadly Drive's hands are a bit hard to use and get a firm grip on the Drums. The closest example I can think of in another line is the difficult way AC Kamen Rider Knuckle's gauntlets worked. But that's no the main reason you get this set.

You want the Dream Vegas Tire to do some ridiculous torso extending on Drive! Just as in the show the Dream Vegas Tire and Drum Shields can be combined to form a new torso section on Drive! You need to attach the actual tire first to Type Speed Torso (or Wild's shoulder if you so choose). Then take either of the Drums and snap them over the connector on Drive that's still exposed when the tire itself is attached. Then attach the second drum to the first, and plug the other half of Drive back on the end. And there you go! One crazy stretched out yet weirdly properly balanced rider. Though on Type Wild it doesn't look crazy, it just weighs his arm down. But overall this is pretty damn awesome, even if it is a bit silly.

Final Thoughts
Clearly the TK-04 Tire Set 2 is really only a necessity if you own Drive Type Speed, Type Wild, or DX Tridoron already. Without one of these the tires won't serve much purpose. Overall this set I feel has a bit more to offer than the the TK-02 Tire Set 1. Primarily because Doctor & Vegas are fully realized and you only get one dud in Mixer, whereas with set 1 the real star was Monster.

Once again I find myself rather pleased with Kamen Rider Drive. This toy line may have had a few weak tires, but it's unquestionable that these things are fun and offer lot's of swapping possibilities. This gimmick just really works for me.