Transformers G1 Astrotrain review

Astrotrain seems to be the only Triple Changer to be reissued regularly. Springer, Sandstorm, and Octane haven been brought back, Blitzwing had a Platinum Edition repaint as Flywheels/Skytread, and Broadside sucks ass. Is the love for Astrotrain because kids and adult kids love spaceships and trains? Is it because of mold availability? Whatever the case, here is my review on the choo-choo rocket himself, who I got with an Energon Steamhammer for a good price.

Here we have the Astro half of the equation. It honestly looks too much like a block with a cockpit, wings, and tailfin attached onto it. The color scheme is interesting with the dark purple and the off-white, but it feels kind of like a weird mix of real shuttle colors and anything appropriate for a a Decepticon. At least the stickers aren't annoying to put on that much. 

And as for the train side of things, which annoyingly has the side panels mistransformed since they should fill the gap to complete the etched-on wheels. The actual wheels are probably better at rolling than the ones we get with the mushroom pegs, but likely not enough to move on wooden train tracks. I still don't like the way the Decepticon insignias are cut out. At least the color scheme is more cohesive.

Finally, transforming him into his robot mode is mostly panel-based. The wings revert to their shuttle orientation, the tailfin now splits in half, and the leg panels flip back into shuttle orientation while the shins open up if you haven't transformed the front-section by hiding the shuttle front. The robot mode is a parallelogram with wings, an oversized-bowtie, and stubby arms. You can tell how primitive his engineering is since he's less defined than some larger G1 toys. I find it quite amusing how Hasbro and Sunbow were able to try and force as much better design language than this toy can translate. We'll get to his big gun in a moment, but his articulation is only at his arms.

As far as previous uses are concerned, the original Hasbro version has lighter purple instead of the one we have. The Takara version opts for making it match the NASA shuttle and a real locomotive instead.

Up next, it's the Takara eHobby Anime Astrotrain version, with a proper shade of gray and purple that matches the cartoon (al beit without the hues matched properly in the stock images). If Hasbro uses this deco in their Walmart reissues, we won't get the prototype's extending arms anytime soon.

And finally, it's the Platinum Edition version with a weird color scheme that replaces the purple with orange that vaguely homages Victory Machtackle. He came with the aforementioned Flywheels/Skytread-colored Blitzwing.

For a size comparison, here he is with my Takara reissues of Megatron and Starscream, so you can get an idea of how small this guy is. And the 86 movie wanted us to think this guy would carry toys larger than him??? Nice try! That being said, he is neat for an old toy, but the price he went for at Walmart isn't one I would trust.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐