The Energon Pub

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

I'll have to cheat a bit and talk about a 3P figure. If FANCE CELL TOYS could make a "perfect" Astrotrain with their FC-X01 Captain, HasTak could have done it as well. Appart two very fragile panels for the train mode, it could easily be reduced to "beefy voyager" sized with a bit of tweaking.
The "Turtle head" train could have been avoided as well as the gapy top of the shuttle mode.

Well, frankly the engineering that would have prevented the gappy top of the shuttle mode is present in the G1 toy: Arms that tuck into the side of the torso instead of folding up behind it, and a tailfin that slides back into place instead of requiring the chest be folded backward over the arms. That was easily within the limits of what they could have managed. He didn't need beefy arms like Magnus did, so it was easily doable. That part really is just stupid.

As for avoiding the "turtle head"... It looks like FC-X01 pulls that off by having separate "toes" with tilts (a la Classics Mirage) in lieu of full-length separate feet. So I guess blame the C.O.M.B.A.T. gimmick here. And, well, that would have been a factor whether all the mass went to the main body or not.

[-Kanrabat-]

As I knew it, the obligation to comply to the mainline gimmick did undermine Astrotrain.

Maybe they'll try again with a proper "mini MP" Astrotrain in the Studio Series line with a brand new mold?

[Rodimus Prime]

As I knew it, the obligation to comply to the mainline gimmick did undermine Astrotrain.

Maybe they'll try again with a proper "mini MP" Astrotrain in the Studio Series line with a brand new mold?

Well, he was in the 86 movie and had a fairly important if brief part.

[Starseeker]

How do you all like him compared to TR Astrotrain?

[-Kanrabat-]

How do you all like him compared to TR Astrotrain?

Thinking abut it, I like them equaly. Both are very good but flawed figures. It also show that the newer Astrotrain deserves his "leader" title. Despite being a head shorter than the old TR version, Leader Astrotrain is much, much beefier.

Still, if we could put the vehicles to scale, TR Astrotrain would be at least twice as big!

[bacem]

I'll have to cheat a bit and talk about a 3P figure. If FANCE CELL TOYS could make a "perfect" Astrotrain with their FC-X01 Captain, HasTak could have done it as well. Appart two very fragile panels for the train mode, it could easily be reduced to "beefy voyager" sized with a bit of tweaking.
The "Turtle head" train could have been avoided as well as the gapy top of the shuttle mode.

SIEGE ASTROTRAIN IS COMPLETE GARBAGE!
Kidding. It's a great toy, but it's far, far from the almost-perfection many other figures have acheived in the WFC Trilogy so far.

Since we're bringing in 3p engineering as comparison, instead of fancy cell, i personally would prefer hasbro to take notes from MFT iron sky instead, which in my opinion, has the most elegant transformation among all g1 astrotrain available on the market right now, despite being the smallest and has the simplest transformation. I think if this engineering were to be fleshed out a bit more with leader budget at voyager size, we could get a perfect retail astrotrain.

[Gauntlet101010]

How do you all like him compared to TR Astrotrain?

I like his robot mode more, but I think TR is more successful in it's alt. modes.

[william-james88]

I will say with all the discussion on the tender being needed to complete the "disguise" completely overlooks the biggest oversight to locomotive accuracy. He's a freaking purple locomotive!

Also the tender looks nothing like an actual tender. It even has treads.

[Rodimus Prime]

How do you all like him compared to TR Astrotrain?

I prefer TR in robot and shuttle modes, and Siege in train mode. It's not because Siege is that good, but because TR is that bad.

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

TR's train mode grates on me. Not only was it again not making him a steam engine despite so many other characters getting to be more G1 than their original CHUG versions, but... it looks more like a warship on railway bogies than an actual locomotive. If I could get one cheap I wouldn't mind kitbashing it to actually be a boat and use the mold as a different character, but...

I will say with all the discussion on the tender being needed to complete the "disguise" completely overlooks the biggest oversight to locomotive accuracy. He's a freaking purple locomotive!

Also the tender looks nothing like an actual tender. It even has treads.

It's not an ideal tender by any means, no; I think being made as a Micromaster platform made it take a hit there. I'm definitely cutting it some slack in the looks department because I'm so glad to finally have it at all.
That being said I wouldn't say it looks nothing like an actual tender. There are details on the sides that resemble what the real tender sides would look like, and it does have an actual railway bogie on the underside.

TR's shuttle mode is iffy as well IMO. Not as gappy as the WFC version, but a lot more upside-down

As I knew it, the obligation to comply to the mainline gimmick did undermine Astrotrain.

Maybe they'll try again with a proper "mini MP" Astrotrain in the Studio Series line with a brand new mold?

Well, the gimmick undermined the locomotive mode. The nonsense with the arms, the chest, and the shuttle mode is good old general-purpose stupidity.

Wouldn't bet on a new-mold AT in Studio Series. The impetus for G1 characters getting stuck in there is a combination of filling the line with bigger names, Kingdom's slots being half-devoted to beasts, and the 35th anniversary of the movie. We've had this Leader Astrotrain released once in SIEGE and rereleased in Earthrise, so he's not gonna get a new mold, especially a Leader-class one, within that limited window.
However, a new mold in whatever the regular Generations line du jour is a year or two after Kingdom wouldn't be out of the question.

[-Kanrabat-]

Titan Return Astrotrain SHOULD have been the true Siege Astrotrain. Because that shuttle and especially that bad-ass "train" are SCREAMING Cybertronian. Just remove the headmaster gimmick, thus trimming down the "tower" a bit and BOOM! Perfect Cybertronian Astrotrain. Then release Siege Astrotrain only in Earthrise.

That's why I still love TR train mode.

[ZeroWolf]

The best thing about TR Astrotrain was that his design was already 10 years old when it debuted.

[Starseeker]

I really like the "battleship" train mode on the TR version.

[aronjlove]

I don't mind the mold as Sentinel Prime but it isn't Astrotrain to me. Neither mode look like G1 or IDW Astrotrain to me and those are the two reference points I use for character looks and personalities. I think the spacecraft and 'Battleship on Rails' modes look really cool, especially with that purple, but it ain't Astrotrain.

[TF-fan kev777]

I actually like both modes on the TR version, it is the transformation that is boring as hell, so much so that I sold it off.

[ZeroWolf]

I don't mind the mold as Sentinel Prime but it isn't Astrotrain to me. Neither mode look like G1 or IDW Astrotrain to me and those are the two reference points I use for character looks and personalities. I think the spacecraft and 'Battleship on Rails' modes look really cool, especially with that purple, but it ain't Astrotrain.

That was the design given to Astrotrain when he was going to appear in the early IDW Transformers book- Stormbringer he appears in the extras section. As Kranabat said, its the perfect Cybertronian mode for him as that's exactly what it is.

[aronjlove]

I don't mind the mold as Sentinel Prime but it isn't Astrotrain to me. Neither mode look like G1 or IDW Astrotrain to me and those are the two reference points I use for character looks and personalities. I think the spacecraft and 'Battleship on Rails' modes look really cool, especially with that purple, but it ain't Astrotrain.

That was the design given to Astrotrain when he was going to appear in the early IDW Transformers book- Stormbringer he appears in the extras section. As Kranabat said, its the perfect Cybertronian mode for him as that's exactly what it is.

Huh, I know what I'm rereading when I get home then. Thanks!

[ZeroWolf]

No problem

[-Kanrabat-]

I don't mind the mold as Sentinel Prime but it isn't Astrotrain to me. Neither mode look like G1 or IDW Astrotrain to me and those are the two reference points I use for character looks and personalities. I think the spacecraft and 'Battleship on Rails' modes look really cool, especially with that purple, but it ain't Astrotrain.

That was the design given to Astrotrain when he was going to appear in the early IDW Transformers book- Stormbringer he appears in the extras section. As Kranabat said, its the perfect Cybertronian mode for him as that's exactly what it is.

Oh?
My instincts are good!

[Overcracker]

Question for anyone that owns the Siege Magnus. Not the Netflix version, but the actual Siege Magnus:

Is there a silver/gray/white panel directly behind the cab windshield and grill that prevents you from seeing into the cab and actually seeing the head in there?

[aronjlove]

Question for anyone that owns the Siege Magnus. Not the Netflix version, but the actual Siege Magnus:

Is there a silver/gray/white panel directly behind the cab windshield and grill that prevents you from seeing into the cab and actually seeing the head in there?

Yes, the original has a panel with detailing behind the blue translucent plastic of the window.

[ZeroWolf]

Question for anyone that owns the Siege Magnus. Not the Netflix version, but the actual Siege Magnus:

Is there a silver/gray/white panel directly behind the cab windshield and grill that prevents you from seeing into the cab and actually seeing the head in there?

Yes, the original has a panel with detailing behind the blue translucent plastic of the window.

Is that panel not in the Netflix version then?

[Overcracker]

Question for anyone that owns the Siege Magnus. Not the Netflix version, but the actual Siege Magnus:

Is there a silver/gray/white panel directly behind the cab windshield and grill that prevents you from seeing into the cab and actually seeing the head in there?

Yes, the original has a panel with detailing behind the blue translucent plastic of the window.

Thanks.

Is that panel not in the Netflix version then?

Nope. There is nothing there. I have the Netflix version BTW.

Magnus cab

Subtle change between versions.

[ZeroWolf]

Question for anyone that owns the Siege Magnus. Not the Netflix version, but the actual Siege Magnus:

Is there a silver/gray/white panel directly behind the cab windshield and grill that prevents you from seeing into the cab and actually seeing the head in there?

Yes, the original has a panel with detailing behind the blue translucent plastic of the window.

Thanks.

Is that panel not in the Netflix version then?

Nope. There is nothing there. I have the Netflix version BTW.

Subtle change between versions.

Very interesting I thought the only change was the deco.

[TF-fan kev777]

Question for anyone that owns the Siege Magnus. Not the Netflix version, but the actual Siege Magnus:

Is there a silver/gray/white panel directly behind the cab windshield and grill that prevents you from seeing into the cab and actually seeing the head in there?

Yes, the original has a panel with detailing behind the blue translucent plastic of the window.

Thanks.

Is that panel not in the Netflix version then?

Nope. There is nothing there. I have the Netflix version BTW.

Subtle change between versions.

Very interesting I thought the only change was the deco.

Slight correction to aronjlove's reply, there is no extra part in the Siege version. The blue window piece itself is painted silver on the inside so that you cannot see the head through the cab. It is not an extra part, just a deco change. The panel he references is actually the window piece painted on the inside.