Toy Review Archives

[Blackjack]

Grand review so far.

Actually, the designers wanted Megatron to be a triplechanger between his new tank mode and his 2007 gunship mode, evidenced in the comic adaptation and (possibly) the Movie Universe. Not that it'll work in any toy, mind.

Still, we do have a loose interpretation of triple-changing...

[Transformer Kamen]

Found a pic. This is Jin Saotome's (sp) Custom Megatron. That actually looks quite convincing...from that angle. I'd like to see a shot from behind to see how his treads are taken care of.

[Tramp]

Found a pic. This is Jin Saotome's (sp) Custom Megatron. That actually looks quite convincing...from that angle. I'd like to see a shot from behind to see how his treads are taken care of.

Yeah. That's how a few others transform it too. I keep the treads in their standard tank position with the wings locked in place to give the alt mode more solidity. Hiving the treads folded up like that pushes the wings up higher than they should be and angles them forward.

[Tramp]

Grand review so far.

Actually, the designers wanted Megatron to be a triplechanger between his new tank mode and his 2007 gunship mode, evidenced in the comic adaptation and (possibly) the Movie Universe. Not that it'll work in any toy, mind.

Still, we do have a loose interpretation of triple-changing...

Actually, it does work very well with the Voyager class Megatron. There are, in fact, a couple of variations of the Cybertronian jet mode depending upon how you transform the treads (I leave them in standard tank position and just retransform the arms). And yes, the Movie Universe Guide does say he's a triple-changer.

[Tramp]

Here is my version of the Cybertronian jet mode:

[Detective Barricade]

Nice paint job! Personally though, I just don't see his 'jet mode'. It sort of looks the part, but doesn't feel as solid as I've heard it is... I'll be sure to give it a mention when I do my review of the guy though.

[numbat]

Actually, it does work very well with the Voyager class Megatron. There are, in fact, a couple of variations of the Cybertronian jet mode depending upon how you transform the treads (I leave them in standard tank position and just retransform the arms). And yes, the Movie Universe Guide does say he's a triple-changer.

Thanks!

I'll modify that to make reference to the guide.



I have to say, he didn't seem to transform in to his 2007 jet mode at any point in the film. The plates did fold out to form wings, and he became flatter, as in the concept art, but I don't remember it being such a dramatic change.

I still find it difficult to call that a Triple Changer, as it's a feature that could be part of the tank mode - it just doesn't feel like a totally stand-alone unique pair of alternate modes (as a train and a shuttle, or a 'copter and dune-buggy...).

[Detective Barricade]

Name: Breakaway
Function: Autobot flier
Sub-Group: ROTF Deluxe Class

Serving in an army of robots tied to the ground makes Breakaway unique. He is one of the very few among the elite Autobot fliers, and he is unmatched for speed in a straight line. While other pilots focus on aerial acrobatics that confound the enemy, Breakaway is content to speed over a fight at seemingly impossible velocity, releasing bombs and missiles that strike their targets before the thunderous boom of his passage can catch up

Strength: 6 Intelligence: 7 Speed: 10 Endurance: 7 Rank: 7 Courage: 8 Fireblast: 8 Skill: 4

Just like the first movie line, there’s several figures that appear in the movie, and several that don’t. Breakaway is one of the later. How does this affect him? Read on and see...

Alternate mode:
In alternate mode, Breakaway is loosely based off of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. This is the second transformer to use this choice of alternate mode, and the first to represent it realistically. (Sorry, Armada Thrust) Other than the head staring up at you from inside the clear cockpit, he does a very decent job keeping the disguise together. Sure, his legs are visible from underneath, but at least they still flow with the profile, unlike some jets I could mention... (first movie Starscream, Universe Silverbolt) Most of his colors (beige, dark brown, light blue, silver, and light green) are fairly matte, like many of the Animated figures’ colors. While seemingly odd at first, like Acid Storm they turn out better than expected in hand! And as a bit of a rarity for Deluxe jets, he’s got working landing gear. Okay, so it’s just the front landing gear and two wheels inside his legs, it’s still a nice throw in.

Robot mode:
Transforming Breakaway is easy enough, though you might want to open the cockpit at the start. In robot mode, he looks pretty cool, and fairly close to the CG model used in the game. His face looks like he’s wearing a flight mask, an interesting look. Lots of details everywhere as well. His Mech Alive gimmick is by turning a dial on his right arm, the gatling cannon spins as well. It’s not much, but at least it’s unobtrusive. He has a total of 20 points of articulation, though with a bit of modding you can give him some meaningful head articulation. All of this is helped by his excellent stability.

Transformation: 4 Pretty easy, though some things need to be done in a specific order.
Durability: 9 He’s taken a few tumbles, but nothing’s broken off on him yet.
Fun: 9 With the mod, 7 as it is.
Price: 8 Worth the Deluxe price.
Overall: 8 A somewhat unique vehicle mode and a very good robot make for a great Autobot for your collection. The mod will make him even better if you want to do it!

[Detective Barricade]

It doesn't look anything like the first movie Megatron's jet mode, it's just something kind of resembling a jet. I know the description sound exactly the same, but...

[Blackjack]

Name: Astrotrain
Allegiance: Decepticon
Function: Military Transport
Sub Group: Triple Changers
Accessories: Ionic Displacer Rifle

"In confusion there is opportunity."

When I returned to collecting Transformers again in late 2007 (some time after the first movie), I tried my best to look for Classics toys. All I could get were the later waves like Cliffjumper and Rodimus. I couldn't find the likes of Mirage, or, more specifically, Astrotrain. At this time I was unaware of the Japanese Henkei line. It was until a trip to Singapore, when I walked around and my eyes rested on rows of Classics Transformers with Japanese packaging. Judging from the paint applications, those couldn't be knock-offs. Or at least, those are good knock-offs if they were. Happy, I picked up Megatron, Mirage and Astrotrain.

Later, when I got home, I found out from this very website that these Japanese Classics, a.k.a. Henkei, are Japanese/Asia-exclusive Classics toys with a TV show-accurate paint job, chromed details, and, um, a heftier price tag. Oh, and it comes with a bonus comic.

Astrotrain is probably one of the best Classics toys ever, and that's including the recent Classics 2.0. And, more importantly, the Decepticon triple-changers, all three of them, had been reincarnated in modern toy form. Blitzwing in Animated, Astrotrain in Classics, and Octane (Tankor) in Classics 2.0. Despite Octane coming nearly two years after Astrotrain, Astrotrain is still the better toy.

Astrotrain first appeared in the second year of the Transformers, 1985. He appeared in the second season out of nowhere, but he soon made regular appearances, and his spotlight episode was Triple Takeover. Not his best moment, but that's a funny episode. Astrotrain's most memorable scene was in the 1986 flick Transformers: the Movie, where he ferried the Decepticon troops back to Cybertron. He claimed that there's too much weight (though there's no weight in space — he's lying!), 'forcing' Starscream to dump Megatron and a few other damaged Decepticons into space. Unicron rebuilt Megatron into Galvatron, and Starscream got turned into boots. Astrotrain, however, was not punished, and would make cameos throughout season 3. While Blitzwing and Octane got kicked out from the Decepticon army (one being noble and the other being an opportunist), Astrotrain was the only triple changer that Galvatron found valuable. See? Astrotrain's the best. The cartoon version of Astrotrain had a slightly different colour palette than his toy. In the comics, Astrotrain didn't appear until much later, well after the movie, except in some UK stories. His US debut was alongside Octane and Blitzwing, where they got infected by scraplets. Astrotrain made cameos throughout the US run, until he got vaped by Starscream in the Underbase saga. Astrotrain appeared in Dreamwave comics as part of Shockwave's new rule. He also appeared in the current IDW comics as part of Starscream's Earthen group, and made constant appearances in Infiltration, Escalation, Devastation and All Hail Megatron. A second Astrotrain appeared in Transformes: Universe (a repaint of Armada Jetfire) and another one in Shattered Glass.

Actually this toy had already been reviewed by fellow Astrotrain fan numbat. But I like him so much that I had to give him a review.

SHUTTLE MODE

Astrotrain transforms into a space shuttle mode that's very reminiscent of his original G1 alternate mode. At first glance Astrotain looks just like a normal NASA space shuttle, but on closer inspection, it would reveal that there is, to use a cliché, more than meets the eye to him. Of course, there are the Decepticon insignias that Astrotrain wears proudly on his purple wings. There are also parts of his train alternate mode sitting at his sides. Of course, the train parts couldn't be placed elsewhere, and besides, it flows with the curves of the shuttle mode so that it's barely noticeable.

A personal opinion, I prefer Astrotrain's cartoon colour scheme (a more subdued gray and dark purple) to his toy scheme (white and purple with black rims). It gives Astrotrain more of a... dangerous feel. I can't describe it, but it's better in my opinion.

Astrotrain's entire back thing had been chromed, and (other than the three exhausts) painted over with purple. Now, here's a little warning. Be very careful with it, the purple finish scratches off easily. You don't want that to happen.

Astrotrain's electro-disruptor rifle could be pegged onto his undercarriage for storage, and he has landing gears. And, also, by a 'complete design fluke', Hasbro claims that the Classics Astrotrain mold's front landing gear could peg onto Cybertron Jetfire's head section. Looks stupid, but I'll mention it here anyway.

TRAIN MODE

A few twists, a few adjustments, and we have ourselves Astrotrain's train mode. His original G1 train mode was a steam train. Now since Classics wants realistic alternate modes, Astrotrain's steam train had been lovingly updated into an up-to-date bullet-train. IDW chose a modern steam train for their updated Astrotrain, but the Classics/Henkei toy picked a bullet-train.

This toy's bullet-train looks wonderful, with the white lines on the front and detailings like windows being present. Unfortunately, since this is a triple changer, compromises had to be made. Thankfully, a space shuttle and a bullet-train look very similar—both are sleek, and have to look powerful. Astrotrain's train mode is the worst of the three, with the shuttle's wings forming the back of his train mode (with unpainted windows molded in) and the flashy chromed exhaust thingies on the back. Whatever the case, those must've given Astrotrain a boost on the rail tracks.

You could peg Astrotrain's gun on his back, to form a 'battle mode', but it looks stupid.

Surprisingly, considering this is supposed to be a 'worst' mode, Henkei Astrotrain manages to again pull it off. Compared to, say, the recent half a piece of twisted plastic that is Tankor Octane... Honestly. If they had placed effort into Octane's actual transformation instead of focusing into his gimmick (i.e. the giant claw) Octane would've been a more interesting toy.

ROBOT MODE

Of the three modes that this space choo-choo offers, I must say that his robot mode is my favourite. In addition to the chromed engines (which rest on his back), his chest panels, which is the tail fin split into two, is beautifully given a metallic finish as well, and painted over with purple and red. Unlike some other Henkei toys I could name, Astrotrain's chrome application doesn't seem forced, nor did it break the flow of his paint job.

Posability is nice as well. The neck is on a ball joint and can crane up. The shoulder and elbows are on ball joints, and the knee and thighs are jointed as well. No waist joints, due to the transformation, but hey, at least it's worth it. He's no Classics Mirage, but there's only so much you could cram into a Deluxe Class figure.

Overall, we have Astrotrain in all his glory. Very similar to his G1 incarnation, yet subtly different. The detailed head sculpt harks back to his character model, while the characteristic chest to the toy. Honestly, he looks just like G1 Astrotrain other than the train cabs hanging off his arms.

Astrotrain comes with an electro-disruptor rifle that is a splitting image of the original G1 toy. A large gun, not dinky tiny guns that the Classics 2.0 toys have. Sure, it doesn't fire, but he does look badass carrying a huge gun like that.

Overall, this figure is highly recommended, the only question being whether you want the Classics version or the Henkei version. For me, I like the Henkei paint job better (and it's affordable here).

Marks out of ten for the following:

Transformation 5/10 The transformation is simple enough, not quite as challenging as the newer Classics 2.0 molds. Simplicity is beauty, no?
Durability 8/10 Astrotrain is a very durable toy, but there are some qualms about him. Firstly, the chest/wing thing feels like it could just snap off. Another thing is the chrome. It could chip off.
Fun 10/10 Three excellent alternate modes, quick transformation, adequate posability, a big gun... Astrotrain's very fun to play with.
Price 8/10 Astrotrain is definitely worth it for me.
Overall 10/10 What else do you want? Three excellent modes, nice posability, a big gun, excellent transformation, modern alternate modes, G1-esque robot and shuttle modes... if the price is a problem, buy the Classics toy. This mold is a definite must-have.

[Detective Barricade]

Him and Dinobot make the Henkei deco look good. Nice review!

[Tramp]

Nice paint job! Personally though, I just don't see his 'jet mode'. It sort of looks the part, but doesn't feel as solid as I've heard it is... I'll be sure to give it a mention when I do my review of the guy though.

Some others, when they do the jet mode, will fold the front treads up into the rear ones as if they were going to form the legs, but instead spread them out horizontally and hide them under the wings (as seen in the Jin Saotomi picture). The problem with that is that the final mode is indeed very floppy because there's nothing tabbed together to keep the parts in place. They'll also tuck the head inside the chest cavity. With my version, the only thing that's transformed differently to create the jet mode is the arms. Everything else is transformed as if you were making the tank mode. By simply retransforming the arms, so that they lock together out in front as the jet's nose, and leave everything else as you would in tank mode, it does create a more solid alternate mode that won't come apart, so to speak, because the wings are properly pegged into the treads holding everything together.

My suggestion, try it out.

[Detective Barricade]

I've tried it just now. The back end is of course more secure. (since you're supposed to tab the rear stabilizers into the tracks) The 'nose' however comes apart at the slightest touch as the arms aren't really supposed to connect...

[Detective Barricade]

Name: Scalpel AKA ‘The Doctor’
Function: Decepticon medic
Sub-Group: ROTF Scout Class

“Need more parts... KILL ZE LITTLE ONE!” - Scalpel orders the Constructicons to kill one of their own, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Scalpel has a massive database of anatomical data for millions of creatures across the universe. He can disassemble anything that doesn’t struggle too much in a matter of minutes, and usually puts it back together with only a few parts in the wrong place. He serves as medic to the Decepticon army, but most Decepticons prefer to suffer in silence rather than allow Scalpel to work on them.

Strength: 2 Intelligence: 10 Speed: 6 Endurance: 2 Rank: 8 Courage: 4 Fireblast: 4 Skill: 8

Now, there have been several well known medics in the Transformers franchise. Most of them have been Autobots such as Ratchet, First Aid, and Red Alert in Armada, Cybertron, and Animated. Essentially, the only well known Decepticon ‘medic’ has been the G1 Constructicon Hook, but that’s not his primary role outside of forming Devastator. ROTF introduces quite possibly the first true Decepticon medic, Scalpel, also known as ‘The Doctor’. He’s also the only Scout so far to actually appear in the movie! So let’s put ‘The Doctor’ under the microscope, shall we? (Pun intended)

Alternate mode:
Scalpel’s alternate mode is a microscope! Okay, so it’s not very exciting, but he’s the first microscope transformer in about 25 years. So he could be buddies with Perceptor. Joking aside, he pulls it off very convincingly, with even the legs folding up underneath not looking like legs. For features, due to transformation the height can be adjusted. He’s got all of the appropriate dials and knobs to allow an actual microscope focus in on the specimen, and even throws in detail for the clips and slide on the stage! He’d never work though with that Decepticon symbol stamped on the lens... He’s mostly off-white and black, with some grey and purple.

Robot mode:
Transforming him to robot is easy, but it is a tad tedious when it comes to the legs. Now, many of the movie figures, especially Decepticons, have some insectoid hints to their robot mode. Scalpel takes this to a whole new level! He kind of looks like what you’d get if you cross a microscope, an insect, and Einstein together. Due to how his joints are assembled, he stands extremely well on his six legs! He’s got a total of 20 points of articulation, mostly in his legs. Though, he is a bit front heavy, which cuts down on what the legs can do other than keep him standing... I’m not sure if they’re supposed to, but his glasses are removable. Overall though, he’s a fantastic little Scout, so even his drawbacks don’t seem so bad.

Transformation: 5 More tedious than hard, especially the legs
Durability: 9 He’s fallen more times than I’d care to count, and has survived each time. His antennae love to pop off though.
Fun: 10 This guy mutilates, FOR SCIENCE! And looks cute while doing it! How is that not fun?
Price: 9 For a Scout, the price is right! (No pun intended)
Overall: 10 Grab on sight. Don’t hesitate, just grab!

[Blackjack]

Proofed, grand review as always. I like ze Doctor as well, but he still haven't arrived. I did found RANSACK at last, though. Yaaaay.

[Blackjack]

I don’t believe there’s been any other jet-formers to have this specific alternate mode,

Armada Thrust did, if memory serves right. Didn't change it yet, though...

Nice review.

[Transformer Kamen]

I randomly picked him up with a $10 gift card from Kohl's, and he's quickly become one of my favorites of the line. I'm really looking forward to Thrust, now.

Also, there are two variants of Breakaway, a light brown version (almost cream) and a dark brown, bronzish, version. Sounds like you have the latter, which I think looks better than than the former, which I have.

Anywho, good review, and I agree that the modes make him a much better figure!

[numbat]

Grand review so far.

Actually, the designers wanted Megatron to be a triplechanger between his new tank mode and his 2007 gunship mode, evidenced in the comic adaptation and (possibly) the Movie Universe. Not that it'll work in any toy, mind.

Still, we do have a loose interpretation of triple-changing...

Sorry Detective Barricade, am I getting confused by Blackjack's post?

He seems to suggest it should be similar to the 2007 jet mode.

Can you guys clear this up for me, so I get it straight in the review? I don't have the prequel comics or Movie Universe Guide thingy.

Interesting concept either way though, and different from what I seem to remember for the 'blink and you'll miss it' appearances of Megatron in any alt mode in the film, and from the concept art I've seen. Nifty idea too!

[numbat]

ROTF Voyager Megatron seems to be the Energon Scorponok of the line! Although fan modes are all jets...

Nice that it has the flexibility to at least allow a jet mode (unlike the Leader Class version, that only delivers a piss-poor tank mode...).

[Detective Barricade]

I have the lighter version. The darker one is supposed to be TakaraTomy's version, but a few of it and Sideways 'accidentally' got sold in North America. I'll just fix that little error. (I don't own Armada Thrust, so I had to Wiki it)