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I KNEW IT!!
i knew i just had to wait a minute
and some upgrade genius
would come through for me!
...us?


Though, I'm not sure what you need to do with it in train mode.


https://www.tfsafari.com/products/matrix-workshop-m23b-m-23b-tail-fin-for-wfc-siege-astrotrain-upgrade-kit?variant=31452213477489

This fix is very Archer. It's evidently got a 5mm peg on it, so you can just mount it in a 5mm port in engine mode.

I'll either hold out for a G1 toy-accurate chestplate replacement or make one myself, since my desire for cartoon accuracy does NOT extend to model sheet screwups like Astrotrain's chest and the Combaticons below the neck.

I spent too much on TFs this month, but that's on my radar for next month! It's not a perfect fix, but the toy ain't perfect either.

Gotta say, though, it's very much in the spirit of ER Cliffjumper and Arcee. There are probably a few modern TFs that have a gun form a key potion of the vehicle mode.

Gauntlet101010 wrote:I spent too much on TFs this month, but that's on my radar for next month! It's not a perfect fix, but the toy ain't perfect either.

Gotta say, though, it's very much in the spirit of ER Cliffjumper and Arcee. There are probably a few modern TFs that have a gun form a key potion of the vehicle mode.

I see it as more in the spirit of Beast Wars and the Unicron Trilogy, where that kind of thing was all over the place.

On a related note, ye gods would it be nice if there was a company reproducing those accessories.

HEY HASBRO! LOOK! SEE HOW F**KING EASY THAT WAS?! THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN INCLUDED ON A F**KING $50 TOY!!!

Rodimus Prime wrote:HEY HASBRO! LOOK! SEE HOW F**KING EASY THAT WAS?! THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN INCLUDED ON A F**KING $50 TOY!!!

Except that Warden evidently has a huuuge aversion to the "Weapon made from part of altmode" thing that was common in Beast Wars through Animated, except in cases where it was part of the G1 design. So this kind of solution would never have occurred to him (and it does have its downsides - look at how many secondhand toys from that era are missing their altmode's aft).

Of course, the toy could also have easily covered the area without such an accessory if it had a different @#$%ing chestplate. The designer who insisted on the cartoon chestplate and the price paid for it should be sent to the spanking machine, along with UW Bruticus' deco artist (and, IMO, whoever designed MP-44).

Yeah, a different chest would have been an easy enough fix, but this is good as well. And for the most part I approve of what Warden has done, but he got hung up on something small like that? Seriously?

And yeah, UW Bruticus is a bit of a clown show, but it's mostly because Onslaught is bright yellow with a purple chest. The limbs are actually not that bad. They're all only a little off. But Onslaught... I actually bought Brawl, Swindle and Vortex, and along with the exclusive Blast Off and UW Cyclonus made a Marvel Bruticus. The other Combaticon set represents the IDW version.

And isn't MP-44 perfect? For that price he better be.

Rodimus Prime wrote:Yeah, a different chest would have been an easy enough fix, but this is good as well. And for the most part I approve of what Warden has done, but he got hung up on something small like that? Seriously?

That's what I'm assuming, at any rate, since except for characters like Skullcruncher and Galvatron where it was part of their original G1 design he's been avoiding it.

Rodimus Prime wrote:And yeah, UW Bruticus is a bit of a clown show, but it's mostly because Onlsaught is bright yellow with a purple chest. The limbs are actually not that bad. They're all only a little off. But Onlsaught... I actually bought Brawl, Swindle and Vortex, and along with the exclusive Blast Off and UW Cyclonus made a Marvel Bruticus. The other Combaticon set represents the IDW version.

My issue with UW Bruticus' deco is replicating the idiotic Blastoff-colored chestplate from the cartoon.

Rodimus Prime wrote:And isn't MP-44 perfect? For that price he better be.

Only if your definition of "perfect" is "cartoon accuracy gone mad". Where previous MPs were "What the character would look like in real life", MP-44 is instead designed to look like a 2D image that got up off its animation cel; I have thus dubbed him a "Roger Rabbit MP". He's cartoon accurate in the worst possible way - he has a bonkers-complex transformation because he's designed to replicate the on-screen appearance including the dumbing-down.

I just realized I mixed up UW Bruticus with CW G2 Bruticus...

So if Warden has such a hard-on for G1 accuracy, why give Astrotrain an unnecessary tender? He didn't have it in the G1 series. Could have spent the extra plastic on making Astrotrain bigger and fixing his rear end in shuttle mode. And yes, I know we have previously debated the last part, so let's just focus on the question.

Rodimus Prime wrote:I just realized I mixed up UW Bruticus with CW G2 Bruticus...

So if Warden has such a hard-on for G1 accuracy, why give Astrotrain an unnecessary tender? He didn't have it in the G1 series. Could have spent the extra plastic on making Astrotrain bigger and fixing his rear end in shuttle mode. And yes, I know we have previously debated the last part, so let's just focus on the question.

Well, even without plastic going to the tender I think that hangup on the cartoon chest design would have resulted in the faulty shuttle mode aft, especially in conjunction with Astrotrain's arms being so beefy that they have to form the majority of his rear section instead of being able to tuck into the torso like on the G1 toy. Unless they contrived some way to keep that stupid chestplate right-side-up when it moved back to cover the arms (instead of having it swing 180 degrees and expose its hollow back, breaking up some of the body contours in the process), I think the shuttle mode would have looked bad even if all the plastic had been used on the main robot body and he'd had no accessories whatsoever.

Why give him the tender? Because it was something more than just "extra guns" that would bring him up to the Leader-class price point, having that extra component that can also form armor brings him more in line with other SIEGE Leaders, and it adds extra play value and gives the Decepticons another playset piece. And it does complete his steam engine mode at long last, always bugged me that it didn't have one since steam engines kiiiiinda need those (plus giving him a tender conceals the shuttle engine nozzles in that mode).

Also, if people are right about him having been intended for Earthrise from the get-go, the tender also works as a counterpart accessory to ER Optimus' trailer, so there's that.

Saying again that I really do think the original Astrotrain toy was intended to have a tender/liftoff dock just like SIEGE/ER Astrotrain does (back when it was being developed for Diaclone), because the two small upper shuttle engines aren't sculpted as engine nozzles - they're sculpted as pegs. Pegs with no apparent purpose.

Rodimus Prime wrote:HEY HASBRO! LOOK! SEE HOW F**KING EASY THAT WAS?! THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN INCLUDED ON A F**KING $50 TOY!!!

And it could have been one of the wagon's piece.


I still think the tiny front of the train is worse though.

This might be a question for the ER thread, but I wonder how much of Astrotrain was used for the ER seeker mold. I definitely see some resemblance in the torso and thighs.

-Kanrabat- wrote:

Rodimus Prime wrote:HEY HASBRO! LOOK! SEE HOW F**KING EASY THAT WAS?! THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN INCLUDED ON A F**KING $50 TOY!!!

And it could have been one of the wagon's piece.

Could have been, but I don't think it would have occurred to the current design team. And I admit that I would prefer a replacement chestplate since that would be integrated.

-Kanrabat- wrote:I still think the tiny front of the train is worse though.

Well, between the arms thing shifting the train panels back a bit and the need to give him real feet, that couldn't be helped; the train front has to be narrow so that it can fold away into the legs... And while the running plate and wheel gauge are overly narrow, at least there aren't the ugly gaps.

Not counting the 3P options (and there's lots) we'll have to wait for the 300$ Takara Masterpiece version to have the "perfect" Astrotrain.

On a side note, the latest posts have reminded me that Shapeway existed. I didn't find something relevant for Siege/ ER Astrotrain, but I did find the upgraded Drill for Hasbro's Combiner War Nosecone and the "Geewun" gun barrel for Combiner Wars Megatron. Almost 70$CAN shipped total and it will take around a month to make and ship. Plus I'll have to paint those myself. Expensive but I already invested and applied the Repros on both CW Computron and Megs. So it's about time I bought those kits.

Considering the topic, I can't believe no-one made an Ass-trotrain joke...I'll get me coat.

I know this is more of a cathartic b****fest... but... man... he's *not* that bad guys... the back end doesn't bother me. the front of the train did a little bit, but it all blends into the whole. Unless aesthetics just blow folks out of the water, they should give the toy a try and judge in-hand imo.

SpikeyTigertron wrote:I know this is more of a cathartic b****fest... but... man... he's *not* that bad guys... the back end doesn't bother me. the front of the train did a little bit, but it all blends into the whole. Unless aesthetics just blow folks out of the water, they should give the toy a try and judge in-hand imo.

At first, I was going to pass just because if the... butt ugly.
But then I saw it at "secret clearance" at Walmart for just 39 Canadian dollars instead of 70. At that price, I gave him a chance and I didn't regret it one bit. I would be of the same opinion if I bought it on normal sale at 55$CAN.

TlDr; not worth the full price, but more than worth it on sale.

-Kanrabat- wrote:not worth the full price, but more than worth it on sale.

Yeah, that's why I'm waiting for it to be marked down, or maybe find one online without the extra unnecessary crap. I'm not paying $50 for a voyager figure.

Rodimus Prime wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:not worth the full price, but more than worth it on sale.

Yeah, that's why I'm waiting for it to be marked down, or maybe find one online without the extra unnecessary crap. I'm not paying $50 for a voyager figure.

To be fair, it's a voyager-ish.
What I mean is compared to the previous Titan Return, the leader is much beefier and heavier.

Current leaders are still a far cry from the M'07 / ROTF / HFTD / DOTM days however.

I don't think leaders will ever go back to that standard in this current climate. Though I wonder how much mass has been lost in that time span

ZeroWolf wrote:I don't think leaders will ever go back to that standard in this current climate. Though I wonder how much mass has been lost in that time span

After DotM, a LOT of mass was lost. Mostly by removing all lights and sounds and by using thinner and cheaper plastics.

Still, I'm glad with the current Generations leaders, who keep scale in mind. That way we can have "voyagers" that are allowed to bust the parts count of what would be normally allowed. Then have the trailers and extra parts those characters deserves.

Hell, if one wanted a white Optimus with an armor upgrade to become Ultra Magnus, the only option appart the G1 original was the Classic mold with the 3P armor City Commander. Then, G1 Optimus with his official trailer finally came back after G1.

I'm looking forward Doubledealer a lot. I wonder if he'll be a beefy "voyager" or would it be a "giant"?

Judging from the photos from toy fair I think more voyagerish size. A lot of the mass goes to the missile

ZeroWolf wrote:Judging from the photos from toy fair I think more voyagerish size. A lot of the mass goes to the missile

Like the latest Astrotrain, she also look damn THICC. I guess he will have a nice heft to it.
I'm just a bit bummed that his powermasters are part of a Select box.

-Kanrabat- wrote:Hell, if one wanted a white Optimus with an armor upgrade to become Ultra Magnus, the only option appart the G1 original was the Classic mold with the 3P armor City Commander. Then, G1 Optimus with his official trailer finally came back after G1.

I'd just like to point out that there was an add-on set for CW Magnus that gave him his own white prime and a few others odds and ends. Didn't get it, though.

I don't mind the extra bits Siege leaders gave us, but I gotta say ... I'd rather have accessories like that 3rd party blaster than the box he actually came with. I found it pretty useless and just put it in my parts bin.

Gauntlet101010 wrote:I'd just like to point out that there was an add-on set for CW Magnus that gave him his own white prime and a few others odds and ends. Didn't get it, though.

Oh yeah, I remember that one. That was a "reverse" kit, ironically.
I'm still amazed no one made a kit for the MP-01 mold. That would have been one hell of a GIANT full-metal Magnus.