Two Mini-Reviews in One, APC Toys Dark Master 2.0 and 52 Toys Beast Box Acid Ghost & Lithiumon

I’ll be honest I’ve kinda given up the ghost on proper reviews a while ago, but I’m trying to get back into writing other things which includes buying a mechanical keyboard and the ASMR I’m getting from the clackety-clack of the keys is doing things for me only my wife does. So hey, let’s dust off the writing cobwebs with a couple of mini-reviews

APC Toys Dark Master 2.0 (Prime Megatron)

I recently discovered this via ShowZStore and pre-ordered it almost immediately afterwards. This was because the description read that it was gonna be a bit more robust and easier to transform. I own the original version of APC Toys Megatron and it is a lovely-looking bot…but it’s not a great feeling bot. The plastic at used doesn’t feel particularly sturdy and coupled with the odd joint tolerances make transforming the bastard a bit of a…bastard (God I gotta work on my fuckin’ metaphors). It always felt like it was going to snap or bits were getting in the way of each other, and while the paint is lovely it was prone to scratching. Lastly, you had issues with the arms going floppy at the shoulders meaning you couldn’t pose it. I’m actually on my second version of the original mould for that exact issue (in addition to the Beast Wars Rampage version).

So, does version 2.0 fix these issues? For the most part yes.

This pic sums up the differences quite well. The new version does not have the metallic silver finish, being mostly unpainted grey plastic, but it does use that grey well and the silver highlights it does have really pop. The new plastic is much sturdier than the original, and the figure feels like it weighs more because of it. He still has paint in all the right places and that head sculpt is still brilliant. However, it’s in the stuff that you can’t easily see which, in my eyes, makes 2.0 better than the original.

In addition to the plastic before a lot sturdier, the tolerances on the transformation joint have been tweaked to be easier to work with. You do not have to use the same amount of force you did on the original to move parts. Nothing feels loose, but it just lets everything flow better, and while there is still potential for bits of kibble to bump into each other mid-transformation, it doesn’t feel like anything will break due to excess forces and parts can move smoothly past each other.

It’s not until you handle the figure that you may notice something else without it being pointed out. But 2.0 has had some tweaks to its spikier areas. The shoulders are the biggest example. If you look at the comparison pic above you can just about see that the points on 2.0 have been rounded off. This is the same for most pointy parts of the sculpt, even the cheek guards on the head which aren’t quite as long as the silver original and are more rounded. What this does is make 2.0 a lot easier to hold and play with. You don’t feel like you’re gonna take a spike in your hand flesh this time. Couple that with the sturdier plastic and reworked tolerances mean 2.0 is a far better toy to manipulate and hold.

The looks continue with the alt mode. And well.. that’s about it. All the things that make the robot mode and transformation a bit easier to handle carry over here.

2.0 also comes with the same accessories as the original, but tweaked to fit the new colours, here he is all tooled up.

And happily, he still has the light-up cannon.

So, I would say that the 2.0 version of Dark Master is my preferred. Version one does take it in looks because while it is a bugger to play with, that silver is just really beautiful, and I’d say he’s the best version to just plonk in a display. But if I had to choose, I would say 2.0 exceeds it. It still looks very good, and every other part of it just works better. The one drawback is that his backpack is a bit easier to pop out in robot mode, but that may just be my copy.

Beast Box Acid Ghost and Lithiumon

Thanks to Dr Wu’s Energy Dragon, aka Teeny Tiny Trypticon, I found myself looking at 52 Toys Beast Box line, and started by getting their Sub-Zero, basically an ice-themed Godzilla by way of their Stegosaurus mould. Finding myself impressed with him, I on and off had a look at other versions, and was drawn to A) Bloodstone, the red and black original version of Sub-Zero because I am a fucking sucker for anything in that colour scheme. And B) This set is a retool of their most well-known toys Dio and Mega-Dio (soon to be followed by Super Mega-Dio and Super Mega Dio God Dio). In Evangelion EVA-01 colours.

I never really got into Evangelion, but I am a fan of evil-transforming dinosaur mecha with awesome colour schemes so here we are.

And honestly? These guys are great. The larger Acid Ghost is the main draw, with the lovely colours, complex yet fun transformation and great posing, but I find myself weirdly enamoured with Lithiumon. I think it’s that head sculpt, combined with the industrial/Eva battery colours gives me some Metal Gear crossed with TMNT Mouser vibes.

In terms of transforming, Lithiumon’s simple transformation is rather enjoyable, but Acid Ghost steals the show there, he’s a lot more complex than I would have imagined after only experiencing Sub-Zero beforehand. Either way, they’re fun to go back and forth with, and the combined mode is silly but fun.

Overall, a good fun set and if you’re thinking of getting into Beast Box, I’d recommend it.

Robot Revolt #17

Legacy Leader Blitzwing Review

So, the various CHUG lines (oral joke goes here) have been going strong in Transformers since 2006 and the triple changers have mostly been meh. For every Thrilling 30 Springer, there have been about a dozen Titans Return Broadsides. OK, that’s a bit hyperbolic, but nothing has come close to the aforementioned Wrecker leader, save his re-tool Sandstorm, since the line started. Especially on the Decepticon side. Of course, some compromises have to be made for getting 3 modes for the same price as two, but I always the con ones felt more compromised than others right up until Siege/Earthrise Astrotrain. While still nowhere near the greatness of Green Han Solo of the 30^th Anniversary, it looked great, transformed well and felt worth the wait…if not the price. Leader money for a Voyager with a box? Hard to swallow but just edged it. So when Legacy Blitzwing got announced, I was ecstatic. Finally, THE Decepticon triple changer gets a toy that will do him justice.

And what did we get exactly? A decent voyager two with TWO boxes. Woo.

OK, so that is a bit disingenuous as I do think this is a solid choice for a none-Masterpiece/Third Party Blitzwing, especially that robot mode. And yes there are compromises but I do think it edges out his previous efforts. Though with the Thrilling 30 Blitzwing and his wank shoulders, horrible transformation, weak alt forms and general flimsy build, that isn’t hard. But this is just wonderful. The paint, the face detail, the stance and the silhouette are absolutely 100% Blitzwing.

That said bot mode does have an issue with articulation. Though he has most of the ones we’ve come to expect from the latest CHUG lines (ankles, waist etc), his shoulder cannot move far at all. There are flaps at the pauldrons that let him extend it straight ahead, but he can’t put his arms far back at all due to his backpack and there’s no ability to put his arms over his head at all due to the aforementioned shoulder with don’t feature any rotation. You can still pull off a decent pose but he won’t be “raising his hands in the air like he lacks caution” as the kids say.

Accessories wise old Blitzo (the o is silent) comes with two guns and a very nicely painted sword which all have good storage on his back in bot mode. Oh, but what are you getting for your extra Leader price point? Two boxes with red liquorice sticking out. These are dumb. Very dumb. You put these Energon Fists on his hands and he looks about ready to take on Spongebob in a karate match.

Moving on from these stupid things in a hurry, transforming him into his other modes is fairly complex without crossing over into the realm of complicated or fiddly. It’s fun to do which I think is essential for a triple changer, though as with many of his three-way brethren, one mode always looks worse than the others. And as usual with Blitzkrieg, it’s the jet mode.

OK, honestly I don’t think it looks too bad. Yeah, it’s as aerodynamic as a wet sack of hammers, but it looks quite close to his original G1 toy jet mode. It’s very squat and solid looking. If this thing did get off the ground with the assistance of magic, I doubt enemy anti-air fire could dent it.

You can stick the Energon mitts on the back as boosters if you hate yourself.

Tank mode though? Far better.

I honestly think this is the best-looking take mode we’ve gotten for Blitzy Mc Blitzwing. Yes, it has a jet cockpit sticking out the front, not unlike his G1 toy, but everything else? Wonderful. Lovely detailing on the side armour and treads, a turret that can spin AND raise its barrel? On a Blitzwing? WHAT IS THIS WITCHCRAFT? Plus the Energon oven gloves don’t look too bad when adapted into the missiles racks for this mode. So yeah, the tank is the better of the vehicles.

That said, does it edge out the previous effort? Titans Returns? Or rather the superior Japanese Legends version that didn’t have those fucking awful stickers? If you had to twist my arm, I’d say yes, but in fairness, let’s do a quick comparison.

Bot modes. I think Legacy edges it, but going by size I can see why people would find that hard to believe. Yes, Legacy is smaller, but the plastic is far more solid. He feels like a wall compared to Legends, which dues to his design and transformation always felt a little lighter than he should to me. Close one and I can see people landing on either side but for me it’s legacy.

Jet modes. The Legends toy wins this hands down. I mean…just look at them. No contest so I won’t waste more words. NEXT.

Tank modes. I gotta had it to Legacy here. The tank mode always felt off to me for Legends, mainly as you have nowhere to store the head in this mode and that weedy barrel, it never felt or looked tough enough to be a tank. More like a very crap mobile support gun with terrible crew protection. Legacy though? Looks great despite the cockpit and feels well put together. I feel like I could chuck this thing and it would dent a wall.

So yeah I like Legacy Blitzwing and I think this is his best CHUG toy, all things taken into account. He doesn’t quite get to Siege Astrotrain’s level and the gap between him and T30 Springer is more of a chasm, but a solid effort.

War for Cybertron: Kingdom Voyager Cyclonus Review

Oh boy, it’s another mainline Cyclonus figure! That makes this his…sixth. Really? And that’s barely counting Armada. Wow, no love from the bosses from Hasbro huh? Though considering his boss in fiction is the legendarily loopy Galvatron I guess he’s used to it. He’s the Kif Kroker to Galvatron’s Zap Brannigan, but not a complete pushover.

Robot mode is a tall glass of…plastic. One of the first thing’s you’ll notice about old Circle Wind here is that he is much larger than a lot of voyagers over the past few years. He towers over all the other Siege/Earthrise voyagers and even comes up to match a few leaders…whatever the hell that size class is these days. Though maybe “size class” is the wrong way to think about the various price points. They don’t mean just “the big one” anymore, but that’s a discussion for another time.

While I usually like a darker shade of purple on my Cy-guys, I gotta admit this lavender works well. The only place I didn’t like it was on his Decepticon badge, which was a bit too light and quasi-blended into the chest piece. This is why I stuck a silver-backed reprolabel on, just makes it pop a bit more.

One great thing is even at his size at a voyager is that he hasn’t lost anything in the articulation department. Wrists, ankle rockers, waist, the whole shebang, allowing him to bust out some great poses. Due to the transformation, even the knees can pull off a decent double bend, though because of said transformation where the thighs compress into the legs, it can leave a huge gap inside his calves. Putting that aside, this is the most articulated Cyclonus I own outside of MMC’s Boreas, and even then, it’s probably a tie. I love how poseable his neck is, it’s got a load of motion which allows him to look down on his other mainline toys with disdain.

Transformation to jet mode is fun, featuring a rotating cockpit and a telescoping nose cone that doesn’t involve sliding a piece of plastic out of the end and seeing it hang limply like a depressed banana. And it comes out looking the sleekest of any Cyclonus out there.

Of course, this is mitigated somewhat if you do the weapon “storage”

Christ does this look good, there are no awkward gaps like the Classics, no obvious robot kibble as the Combiner Wars guy, it just works. Hell, I think it looks better than some of the masterpiece third party guys out there.

Overall Cyclonus is a great toy, the minor issues I have are just that minor, namely, I wish he had large shoulder pads, the aforementioned washed out Decepticon logo, and his cavernous calves at certain angles, otherwise, brilliant and well worth a purchase.

Earthrise Voyager Snapdragon Review

Everyone has their favourite characters. Oh sure, everyone likes the big guys. Optimus Prime, Megatron, Bumblebee, Soundwave and so forth. But then when you get deep into a fandom, you might find a more obscure character. Maybe it’s a one-shot guy who died nobly, ala Scrounge in Marvel, or maybe they are part of a particular niche you like. Guys like Spinister, Scoop, etc. They may not be big names but there’s some personal connection there. Perhaps nostalgia for when you were a kid and they were one of the few Transformers you had that weren’t your older cousin’s hand-me-downs.

Snapdragon is none of those things for me. He barely had a role in the G1 cartoon (though almost murdering Daniel comes close), did fuck all in the comic and I never owned him as a kid. And yet, he was one of my most anticipated Earthrise releases, and more than that, I’m incredibly satisfied with him.

ANYWAY. So why is Snapdragon so good for me? Well, he’s a Decepticon triple changer with a healthy amount of black and purple, turns into a sci-fi version of one of the greatest aircraft ever created and a reptilian mode right out of some Ray Harryhausen/Toho Kaiju mashup.

Oh, and he’s far superior to his mate Apeface.

In bot mode, he’s got a good amount of articulation, including a full waist swivel. He’s only really limited in three areas. His head, due to being the Head/Titanmaster Krunk, has no up or down movement at all. His wrists lack a swivel due to them transforming into another mode’s feet and a bit of movement in his elbows. This possibly could have been mitigated by being able to extend his arms a little to allow clearance of his arm kibble. But sacrifices had to be made for this guy to make the modern voyager price point. Aside from that, he’s an all-singing, all-dancing, dual purple gun-wielding murder-boy.

But before he can kill, he has to get there. And by turning into a very sci-fi rendition of an SR-71 Blackbird, he’s gonna get there faster than anything.

I mean, there’s not much to say here, but that this thing looks like it could break the sound barrier and not bother to offer to pay for the repairs. The SR-71 is one of my favourite planes of all time, but I could never bring myself to buy the various movie Jetfire versus off it (look I like some movie designs but old man Jetfire never worked for me) and the TR Overlord was too simple of a transformation to mess with due to being an oversized duo-con. This though? Lovely. The details are great and I love the little cockpit controls you have for Krunk.

But when he gets to the battle, what better way to commit multiple monstrous murders than to do it as a giant lizard?

And things get more murder with his second mode, a dragon/dinosaur thing.

OK so technically this is Snapdragon’s worst mode. His articulation extends to his tiny arms, his legs, a bit of neck movement and his torso doesn’t tab as securely as I would like…but I don’t care. He looks fantastic. And getting him to this mode is probably the most fun. How the fuselage becomes his tail and how you plug the titans master into the top of the dino head to great the lower jaw. Ok yes, it’s not the most cohesive head ever, but it works. Can’t you just see this thing being driven by an evil Power Ranger?

So yeah. Snapdragon is good. Buy him. No higher praise I can give really. And as a bonus, it makes that Apeface you bought worth it since they look really good together.

Earthrise Leader Doubledealer Review

It took me a while to figure out how to start this review. Mainly because I’m out of practice. Usually, I would talk about the character for a bit and make a joke, but honestly? Doubledealer is kind of a non-entity. He’s had precisely three toys in his thirty years, and the previous one to this was a repaint of the worst Blitzwing toy. I owned it, cos I like the character’s concept. A mercenary playing both factions? That’s a fun idea. However, that toy was godawful. So as soon as this new version got announced I sold it on. Good luck with those shoulders whoever the hell I sold it to!

Thing is, aside from the concept there’s pretty much fuck all to know about Doubledealer. His most prominent role is in the Japanese Masterforce cartoon, and that’s not even him! He’s a suit of armour of a blue-haired orphan with an inferiority complex. And then we had him in IDW where he got beaten by a magic 8-ball (who later turned out to be one of the Transformer’s gods…sort of, but still).

But after all that I just decided to sit down and write because I need to get this done and back into writing as a whole.

So, we have the first “proper” leader of the Siege/Earthrise line. Ok yes, we had Astrotrain, Prime, Shockwave etc, but they were Voyagers with bits of armour or boxes. While there’s a little bit of that with Doubledealer because of his accessories, but he has enough mass to him to feel like a leader class. His bot mode is rather lovely, featuring colours you don’t see much in the franchise melded together to make a brick wall of a robot armed to the gills with weaponry and a good amount of articulation to boot. Hell, he even has wrist swivels. The only real point of contention elbows could have done with being tighter, as there are many reports he can barely hold his giant gun. Mine can hold it fine in his right arm, but not the left.

As for his gimmick, well it works. See way back in the far-off year of 1988, Doubledealer had three modes. An autoboot robot mode, a Decepticon bird mode, and a “neutral” ICBM launcher mode (which is a weird way to describe a mobile nuke launcher). Those were accessed by his two Powermaster partners, a Decepticon bat and a Not-Rumble/Frenzy. Since you know, complicated parts like that would probably make this guy cost like £100 at least in today’s economy, Doubledealer now accomplishes the same with hinges on his shoulders

Yeah, I tend to put his as a Con because due to his bulk, colours and weaponry, he doesn’t scream Autobot. And this is even taking guys like Roadbuster into consideration. And I’m glad they did this, allowing him to be a Bot or Con in robot mode rather than his original incarnations way.

Speaking of awkward segues, let’s talk about his Powermaster partners Knok and Skar! Because they’re back! If you shelled out £25+ for a pack of 4 sub-legends class toys because dammit you want Rumble (FIRRIB FOR LIFE!) for your Soundwave.

Yeah, that’s about all you can say. They’re fine for bots that turn into rectangles. Just like the rest of the Soundwave tape guys. Though speaking of Soundwave, Doubledealer managed to steal his schtick, as his chest opens up allowing you to stick one of his little buddies there for storage, or to flip around and display him like a Powermaster. He even features a small engine block which you can stick on little guys pegs for that later 80’s nostalgia. Still it only really works with Knok, as he is the same colour as Doubledealer’s chest since he pretty much was the bot mode chest back then. Also at least on mine Skar seems just that bit too small to fit securely.

As for his other modes. Well, they’re fun! But they’re kind of a pain to get to. Transforming his torso for both modes is fine, but his goddamn legs are annoying. For both modes you have to fart on with his double-jointed knees, positioning them just right so they line up with slots. However getting to vulture mode is the most pain in the arse way, because you have to sort of fold the knees in on themselves so a tab on the bottom of one joint can slide into a tab on the other joint and if you don’t get the knees in just the right position to allow this, it feels like you’re going to break the damn things.

And after all, that, are the results worth it? Kind of!

OK, this is one daft looking vulture, what with the front half of an ICBM launcher hanging off his arse…but it works. I dunno, it’s just stupid looking but weirdly nice at the same time. Sure, his articulation is limited to his toes, wings and head but it’s just a daft piece of fun.

And yes, you can store his missile on his crotch so he has the big bird dick if you want.

As for the ICBM mode, honestly, it’s a great mode in both transport and launcher mode, although the way his head is kinda just sticking out the back looking up makes the disguise a little daft. The rear ramp also allows you to connect him to other Earthrise bases and/or robots who turn into bits of a road for reasons.

I like Doubledealer, despite his problems. Yes, he’s got some loose joints, his transformation is finicky. He’s also technically a partsformer, but I’ve found myself softening on that now as long as it’s done OK and doesn’t involve taking the robot apart and putting it back together again. His concept is a fun one, and I’m glad they went with the robot mode allowing him to have both factions rather than being some sort of weird reverse Punch/Counter-Punch gimmick.

Transformers Energon Ultra Megatron Review

So, I recently did a poll on my twitter of four figures to review. After the results came in, two were tied. I chose one to do…then wrote this one instead.

Could a career in politics be far behind?

So yeah, it’s another Robot Revolt Retro Review. I got this guy a while ago in an old nerd shop, not realising it was sun-damaged. I tried to paint it but it did not work. After buying a missing accessory on eBay cheap I shoved him at the back of my Megatron shelf…until a junker one was being sold for cheap. One hasty Paypal payment later I own a slightly knackered but non-sun-damaged toy and a knackered Armada Galvatron which I honestly forgot where I put it already. Two hours of careful disassembly and reassembling later, I have one very nice condition Ultra Megatron from Energon!

A show I hate.

Yes, it’s well established I make poor financial decisions.

Anywho, so Energon Megatron then. He’s certainly a weird beast. I’ve previously said I like certain anime-esque features on my TF’s, and you can’t get more anime than this. Strictly speaking, this guy is somewhere around the region of your modern voyager in terms of pricing at the time it was on sale. Though this particular version is a smaller version of the mahoosive leader class and still has all the same features. The main one being the smaller version of his Armada tank mode which works as his fusion cannon, the holder of his sword, houses all the electronics and a spring-loaded missile (which I don’t have because they’ve all been eaten by everyone’s 5-year-old) And yet he pretty much dwarfs any recent Leader toy in terms of mass. And features electronic sounds! Well, two sound anyway, as his sword clangs when plugged into the tank. Couple that which the bland yet good colour scheme, based on G1 Galvatron’s toy, and you get a very unique Megatron.

Pity he has all the articulation of someone who’s broken at least one bone in every limb.

Yeah, whereas this guy is made of some damn nice plastic and features ratchet in all of his joints…it has almost zero ability to pose decently. Yeah he has a load of ratchet joints, but they’re quite usless because the guy is so back-heavy it makes posing him a bugger. I think this is something that a lot of people who miss “the good old days” of Transformers, they couldn’t pose for shit. Hell, this guy’s previous incarnation in Armada didn’t even have knees…and he was the only one in that line. Meanwhile, this guy’s knees are almost useless.

Transforming this guy is pretty fun though, which bits that slide, rotate and click leaving you with either a spaceship or the world’s most pissed off swan.

Yes, it is daft but I love it for that. It looks like a ship from a shoot-em-up game like R-Type that I’m really bad at. This is only enhanced as it has another feature. HYPER MODE.

This is daft but I like it, you can do it in robot mode as well but it doesn’t change much except make his backpack take up even more shell space.

So…what do I make of Energon Megatron then? I like it, but I find it hard to put my finger on why. Perhaps it’s just because it’s so different to almost every other Megatron I own. Is it good? By today’s standard, not really. But he seems to have some undefinable quality to him.

Either that or I’m such a Megatron fanboy I’ll buy anything with his name slapped on.

Transformers Armada Deluxe Thrust Review

So, does anyone remember Transformers Armada fondly? I do, in a way. It’s what made me aware that Transformers was still a thing back when I was a kid, and through it, I got into the fandom. I took a while to really deep dive into it as I was, unfortunately, part of the Sonic fandom back then.

Yes, it is exactly as bad as you think it is.

Anyway, it’s also where I remember why I liked the Decepticons a lot more than the Autobots. Sure, the Decepticons were always fighting each other and a good chunk of them had the combined I.Q. of a blade of grass, but they had personality. OK perhaps not the deepest personalities, but they were still a load better than the Autobots. I find it a shame we haven’t had more revisits to it in the Generations line. I would sell my sister’s soul for a new Demolishor toy (and for them to spell his sodding name right). Man, this has got me all nostalgic. How about we do a Robot Revolt Retro Review of let’s have a look back at one of my favourite toys from the line? Thrust.

Ah yes, Thrust. Cybertron’s most brilliant tactician…who I don’t think ever won a fight? But he stood out from the cons visually, with his slightly more subdued colours and a unique silhouette, topped off with a head that was more squid than cone. Still, he manages to pull it off, and I keep forgetting this guy has his roots in being Starscream recolour number six.

He does have some rather…odd design elements though. Yes, the hands are dumb as hell but I like their concept. I imagine him using them as flamethrowers or for using bursts of acceleration to blast around the battlefield in something akin to robot capoeira. Certainly, more useful than the fiction fire missile launchers in his knees that only point at his own feet and cause problems with pretty much any pose. I guess he’s got his spring-loaded missile launching Min-Con partner Inferno for fire support. I personally wouldn’t like to be backed up by someone that looks like a cross between a toucan and Colonel Klink but there you are.

God, Armada was fucking weird, wasn’t it? I mean the toys were all essentially squares with horrible articulation. They sacrificed pretty much everything for the Mini-Con gimmicks and it wasn’t always worth it. With guys like Megatron who had loads of electronic sounds and other bits, you could forgive the fact his legs didn’t move. Then you have guys like Hotshot who sacrificed everything to get a shitty missile launching gimmick. Thrust kinda falls somewhere between the two, he has plenty of useful articulation and a terrible gimmick. Behold his assault mode!

Yeah, this is a stupid gimmick. The “shield” keeps getting stuck on the none removable missiles launchers.

Why did I like this toy again?

Oh yeah that’s the good shit.r

Thrust becomes a stylised F-35 and I love it. It’s a very smooth jet mode from a toyline where most of the jets were bricks with tiny wings on. He even has a nice little platform for Inferno to sit on. The transformation is fairly fun too, tucking the legs away neatly and a rather unique way of hiding the head. No clearly visible robot head for this guy.

So yeah, I like this toy. It’s holds up a lot better better than most of his contemporaries. Be nice if he got a new version of this Seeker that wasn’t exclusive to Japan with a bunch of toys I didn’t want.

War for Cybertron: Siege Deluxe Spinister

There was just something about the first volume of IDW comics wasn’t there? Sure, it took a while to get going, but when it did it made us look at established characters in a new way, introduced some wonderful relationships, and in the case of the Scavengers, introduced people to some characters for the first time. OK yes I mean you may have known Krok existed, but aside from the fact he was an Action Master could you tell me anything else about him pre IDW? Thought not.

For me, the Scavengers were a breath of fresh air. They weren’t big-name Decepticons trying to murder their way to peace, they were a bunch of nobodies who were just trying to survive and bumbling their way through life. I think a lot of first-generation millennials can identify with that. And then we got toys of the buggers to boot! First, we got Misfire and Krok in Titans Return and in Siege we got Skytread/Flywheels and the subject of today’s review, Spinister, the idiot savant (emphasis on the idiot) surgeon of the Scavengers. Able to repair brain damage that would give Ratchet chance to pause, and yet able to be distracted by a laser pointer.

Spinister’s robot mode is gorgeous. Yeah, the colours are not your typical dark Con colours but the pink purple and blue make him pop. And that face sculpt is sublime, the eyes and blue-green faceplate really stand out against the black helmet. I’m glad they went with a yellow for the eyes as it makes them stand out more than his original toys blue and gives him another colour to the mix of beautiful bullshit this scheme is. That combined with Siege’s wonderful articulation make this one of my favourite deluxe toys of the line, and an improvement on this still rather good Botcon version he got of the TF2010 Tomahawk mould.

He doesn’t have much in the way of accessories, coming with two guns that resemble his G1 target masters, which I prefer to double up. But he could have come with nothing and still be my fave. Before I get into the transformation, I gotta say I love the way they handled his rotors here. Most chopper-formers have them either hanging off an arm or just kinda there on their back. Using a bit of the alt-modes vehicle detail and a small hole in his back allows Spinister’s robot to stand proud and strong as Primus intended.

And that transformation, wow. Honestly, I feel Spinister’s conversion is to chopper-formers what Triggerhappy’s was to jets. There’s a lot more to it thank you think but it’s weirdly simple and effective at the same time. The funny thing about it was that when he was first revealed and everyone saw the double cockpit legs (a throwback to his original G1 toy) everyone, myself included, was like “Oh how the hell does that work? Where does the other cockpit go?”,

It goes underneath. Yeah, we should have figured that out.

OK so since I was a kid, I have fucking LOVED the Apache attack helicopter. It’s an ugly piece of shit but that doesn’t matter. It is designed to do a job and that job is to blow things up. It’s why I also love the A-10 Warthog. I mean sure I like your hi-tech fighters like your Raptors and Typhoons, but there’s just something about military vehicles that look like blunt instruments that do it for me. So, for Spinister to give us my favourite brick of a helicopter and give it such wonderfully horrible colours is a weirdly specific dream. And it’s not actually that bad of a representation of an Apache either, with the arms becoming the turbines and the decently accurate back end, and the cockpit of course. It’s just wonderful and brilliant and other positive adjectives.

I’m having a hard time thinking of negatives for this guy, aside from some minor issues getting the hidden cockpit tabbed in chopper mode, and how I’m fairly certain his left bot mode foot sits slightly higher than his right, but that could just me how I have him stood…multiple times. I suppose you could count how his hands are just kinda there in copter mode as well, but aside from that, there’s really nothing.

I suppose the worst part is that we still haven’t got a new official Crankcase yet and I doubt we’re gonna get a Fulcrum, so I fear my Scavengers crew will never be properly complete. But then again, I never thought we’d get Spinister to begin with so fingers crossed. I’m happy with Spinister and I’m sure his fellow losers will too.

War for Cybertron Siege Leader Astrotrain.

So, Astrotrain then? He’s a weird guy. He’s one of those legacy characters who are popular despite not really doing much in the original pieces of media from the ’80s. Yeah, he had an episode of the cartoon where he managed to convince a bunch of aliens he was a god, but I think I put that more down to their isolation and gullibility rather than his intelligence. I mean he also tried to take over the Decepticons with a bunch of trains. Not transforming trains. Just regular trains. So yeah, intelligence isn’t his strong suit.

After that his most notable accomplishment was Galvatron getting his name wrong in the IDW comics. But we love him regardless. Because he’s a Decepticon triple changer with the coolest alt-modes out of the lot of ‘em. A space shuttle AND a steam train? Yes please!

For the longest time though he always seemed to get kinda shafted in toy form after his original toy. The concept was always compromised by size or design. The Classics mould had a decent shuttle mode but was happened by kibble in other modes. The Titans Return toy has a great robot mode…but the alt-modes suffered from weird design choices such as quashing the shuttle mode and stretching what you could convince people a train was. But it was decent enough in bot mode that people were mostly happy to say “Yeah that’ll do as my main Astrotrain even if the colours aren’t right unless I wanna fork out for the Japanese release.” Mainly cos he was a decent size.

But then along comes Siege with the best goddamn Astrotrain in years! In the right colours! And in the leader size class! And there is nothing wrong with him!

So yeah, let’s get it out the way. Siege Astrotrain is another one of these “leaders” like Shockwave and Ultra Magnus where’s the main toy is a voyager and he gets extra bits. Ultra Magnus had his normal armour, Shockwave got a surfboard that became some actually cool armour in robot mode and turned his “totally not and laser-gun” alt-mode into a damn good-looking battleship.

Astrotrain gets a box that turns into boots and a backpack. Oh, and LOT of guns, that can also combine into one mean BFG.

Yeah, this is where all that extra plastic went. You could have gotten a bigger one if say they only gave him one gun instead, but honestly, I don’t mind him at his normal size. He frankly looks so good, and as hinted at in the second image, due to how he’s constructed there’s almost no hollowness to him, making him solid as hell. He also has far more articulation than any other Astrotrain toy, including a waist swivel and ankle-tilts. Plus, the box has other uses, but more on that later.

I like the shuttle mode. It looks like his G1 toy/cartoon self, boxy fuselage and all, but beefier and mode robust. Yeah, the back end is a little skeletal but you always gotta sacrifice something in a triple changer. And honestly, the transformation is pretty fun, with some nice intricacies like how the arms become the rear and connect to the boosters and keep the tail fin in place. It’s fun and looks like it’s cartoons elf, which I’m not usually needing but I’ll take it here. Like the bot mode, it features a whole load of ports so you can stick the guns all over him and make the world’s deadliest shuttle. Or you can store them in the box, which can also become a makeshift launchpad, but it looks a bit doofy so I didn’t bother taking any pics.

But honestly? The best mode is the train mode.

I love the train mode. I love the detailing; I also love how this makes no goddamn sense as his Cybetronian mode. But it’s big, purple, and girthy. Yes, I know how that sounds and I don’t care. It just works so goddamn well. Plus, you know that box of his? It can be used as a goddamn tender!

I have no idea why this excites me so much, but it just does. It looks fantastic. Plus, since this mode doesn’t feature as many weapon ports as the shuttle mode adding the tender means you have enough to make the DEATH TRAIN.

So yeah, he’s short because he has a box, but I love this guy. He’s easily made it into my top ten figures of 2019 right at the buzzer. It’d be nice if he wasn’t so short but what we get in lieu of his size makes up for it. Buy him.