It's time to go back to an older Leader Class figure I initially held off if. Astrotrain looked like a promising addition to the WFC line, but seeing reviews and remembering the price being $55 made me realize that it wasn't going to end as well as I anticipated. At least Ultra Magnus (as well as Galaxy Upgrade Optimus Prime) had a decent size for both modes and used the armor to make it work, and Shockwave's super spaceship mode was a nice size for a Leader considering how it extends the length and even width of the original ship. Now we have the choo-choo-rocket who's pretty much barely taking advantage of the super mode and has to be in two sublines since he also has part of a gimmick from the Earthrise line, that being the A.I.R Lock System. The weird thing is that he's accompanied by a Voyager Optimus Prime with a trailer and a self-contained Doubledealer. So now it's time to continue the review and see if he's worth owning.
Here he is in his space shuttle mode, which is pretty much a modern version of the G1 toy but with all the WFC-details added like in the rest of the line. It's a pretty funny-looking space shuttle, what with the proportions looking blocky and inconsistent, and the wings as well as the front feeling like the only real parts of the shuttle, but the thing I like most about it are the colors it has. The dark gray and the purple added to it make it feel like Astrotrain, especially compared to the typical white that Hasbro likes to use. This and the Takara versions of Classics & Titans Return Astrotrain have the best color scheme choice for the character. But it kind of sucks how the color scheme is better than the rest of the ship's design because it's not too hot-looking. Not awful, but it's not a mindblowing shuttle like the one Sky-Lynx would have.
Using the tender as a treaded crawler for the shuttle, this guy doesn't really clip onto anything and just rests there. Still, there are some wheels to help it roll somewhat as it allows the vehicle to work somewhat like how most shuttles are.
This is the tender as a launching platform. The 5mm posts used for the tender in train mode are used for the space shuttle, which is a pretty neat feature if you ask me. The side panels have A.I.R Lock System clips that allow him to attach to other toys like Ironworks, Optimus Prime, and Sky-Lynx. The front of the base doesn't fold flat, which I'm trying to guess has to do with excess plastic that inhibits the details.
This can double as a weapons cargo, which lets you store all these weapons while it's in tender mode.
And here is the tender complete! It's got some tank treads that make it kind of funny when attached to the rest of the train, though.
Transforming it into the train mode is pretty much turning it inside out like the G1 toy but with a few new tricks like how the front of the shuttle turns into the front of the train. There's a lot more purple to this guy now than in the shuttle mode, but I think this train mode works better than the shuttle mode as it doesn't look toyetic. The density of the train mode even has a bit of weight from the plastic, and I can almost imagine someone using it to smack someone in the head with (NOTE: THE QUANTUM SURGE STAFF IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DOMESTIC FIGHTS INVOLVING ASTROTRAIN). What I like most about the transformation is the way the space shuttle front turns into the front of the with the swivel for the parts along with the cow-catcher and even the steam pipe shifting in place.
Attaching the tender to the back makes it even longer and further makes it more like a proper train, though those tank treads are kind of funny on the back. But hey, if people can complain about the tank treads for Armada Prime's trailer, then it's fine to complain about this.
Transforming it into the robot mode is a much more involved version of the G1 toy, kind of making it an example of G1 with knees. I guess there's not much else to expect for a character like Astrotrain, but it is not too shabby. Still, the robot mode is pretty faithful to the G1 character design with a few baggy proportions to the lower legs (seriously, look at how thick his legs are from the knee down). It's got the colors from the shuttle mode, the wings, the pecs (no bow-tie though), and the faux shoulder wheels. I don't know what else to say other than it looks like Astrotrain, because the Titans Return version had the best-looking robot mode design yet was different from the G1 character model. Still, it is funny how Astrotrain goes from being 90% gray on the front and then becomes 90% purple from the back.
Head sculpt is spot-on to Astrotrain in the series, and I can't think of anything that would be negative to it other than the slight yellow overspray. Some will say the purple helmet is inaccurate but who cares, honestly? Astrotrain is a character who won't have any required consistencies like Optimus Prime or Megatron do. The articulation is pretty much the same as with every WFC figure in existence, though he has hip skirts for the leg movement while the wrists do not swivel.
The display options with the guy are pretty neat but it mostly comes from the weapons. He has a missile pod that he can hold or arm-mount, two twin rifles that are slightly different due to the posts being on different sides, and two distinct cannons that have different details like the barrel sizes and the scope on the one for his left gun.
For a size comparison, here he is next to Optimus Prime, a Leader-Class-Transformer-that's-actually-a-Voyager-when-you-exclude-the-trailer, and Megatron, a-G2-themed-repaint-of-the-Earthrise-Voyager-that-may-or-may-not-have-a-higher-price-tag. He's smaller than either figure, which would make sense for the white Optimus Magnus figure because it'd get a bit of a height boost for the Siege figure while Shockwave would make somewhat sense since he isn't that big. I get that Astrotrain is this height in the character scale chart, but it feels off to me because for the price he's worth, I kind of wish he'd be the same price as these two or even bigger.
Attaching the parts onto Astrotrain is pretty simple, as you just attach part of the tender on his back, give him slippers that slightly give him a height extension, and combine the guns into a single big cannon. It's not that significant of a difference from the regular robot mode, but I can't help but lie that it sucks how Shockwave did a better job looking different from the regular mode of his when the armor parts are attached. I mean, sure the gun's big and the slippers are there, but if you never knew about the toy's functionality, would you be aware of the super mode?
The back of the figure doesn't even do him any favors, as it's just an empty backpack that won't really store things much if that gap is left on there. I guess if you had another Astrotrain, you can give those to complete the backpack and have a smaller toy stick around and hitch a ride. I guess you can give him a bit of a cape look, but it's not any better when the thing is going to spin around freely.
And in the Legacy Velocitron Speedia 500 subline we get a reuse after dusting the mold for a bit; it's none other than Victory's Galaxy Shuttle! He has a standard shuttle color scheme that was surprisingly not reserved for Astrotrain! He can compliment the likes of the Botropolis 2-pack and Sky-Lynx, both of which came out 2-3 years ago! His head sculpt looks like Jazz in a way, but the red weapons look bad.
And here is Astrotrain next to Shockwave, a Leader-Class-Transformer-that-doesn't-deserve-the-high-price-tag-like-Astrotrain-does. I'll give Shockwave credit for some things though: the figure itself won't really be that appealing as a Leader given how simple his transformation works, so they at least made up for him by adding clear plastic for the eye and chest. At least the armor he has not only changes his look while it's attached, but it also adds to his vehicle mode when it's attached. Shockwave is a figure that doesn't really deserve the price-tag of the Leader Class line, but I can stomach it a bit better when you consider the stuff that's added on him to give more play value. Compare that to Astrotrain who would pretty much be good for a standalone Voyager Class toy without the need for extra accessories and he'd be a nice counterpart to Siege Springer like how Snapdragon was with Apeface. Hell, the figure doesn't even need the tender piece since it otherwise works without it due to the lack of devoted clips or pegs that you'd find on Shockwave, Ultra Magnus, etc. So in short, he's better than I expected, but only if you got him for a cheap price. I got mine for $35 after failing to see him again for $17 at Ross. The choice is yours if you want to go with him or add some consistency by having all of the Decepticon Triple Changers be Titans Return dudes.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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