Toy Review - Siege Spinister

[Gehirn]

Series - War For Cybertron
Sub-Line - Siege
Size/class - Deluxe
New/remould/redeco - New
Wave - 5
Released here - 2019
Approximate Retail Price - $35

Picked this up today as it hit Big W and was really impressed with it. The Siege line has been pretty great and I think this is the culmination of all the positives in the line. Interesting transformation, and both robot and vehicle modes are good with the exception being the second cockpit being a minor complaint in vehicle form. In robot mode there is also little hollowness like some others in this line, and everything is tight and works well including the v-blade position. Definitely recommend this figure if you are not already picking it up.

[GoktimusPrime]

My thoughts...

PROS
+ No ifs or buts, this toy is undeniable Spinister.
+ 20 points of articulation, bay-beh!
+ I love the way that the tail section of the helicopter collapses rather than just folding back. It significantly reduces the amount of alt-mode kibble.
+ Great sculpt and well coloured. The head and underbelly cockpit appear to be inspired by Spinister's IDW model.
+ Nice use of tampographs for added details. So glad that they've moved away from stickers.
+ Rotor blades can spin freely (unlike G1 Spinister's).
+ The guns resemble Targetmaster guns and can be wielded individually or combined, just like the G1 guns.
+ The yellow eyes are a big improvement over the G1 toys' blue eyes, and I think that it stands out better than the red eyes on IDW Spinister (as it better offsets his pink upper body).

CONS
- Not a Targetmaster. Boo.
- The legs and the faux cockpit. It's not the concept but the execution that bugs me with this. The faux cockpit just sits there on the underbelly and it doesn't sit completely flush against the fuselage either. IMO if you can't do it properly then just don't do it. I would have no qualms if the legs were just one cockpit that split apart into two separate legs. Okay, you'd have to sacrifice the clear windows, but I'd be okay with that.
- The hands aren't concealed in helicopter mode. They're completely exposed.
- The rotor blades don't lock into position in robot mode. I can make them loosely sit in a balanced position if I squeeze the centre of the rotor blades into the back, but it doesn't lock in. While this may be fine for static display purposes, the moment I try to play with this toy and the blades swing. I guess that adding a lock feature may have exceeded budget, but they could've made one blade higher/lower than the other and allow them to intersect and 'scissor' around the tail shaft (thus effectively locking into place).
- The wings are quite chunky as they're formed by the feet. I can personally forgive this as the feet need to go somewhere, and it's more creative than just having fold down wings on the G1 toy. But yeah, it's not the best look.
- I wish that the blue gun and fists were black. Again, G1 bias kicking in here, but I don't see why they could've have moulded that gun and fists together with the black head.
- Not a fan of the "battle damage" on the forearms and thighs. Gah.

Mine also has a QC issue. The right elbow joint has been assembled backwards, making it really hard to make the arm bend all the way in, which is essential for transformation. Probably an isolated case so I'm not counting this as a negative feature of the toy, per se.

OVERALL
On the whole it is a very nice toy, although not without its flaws. I'd give it a 7/10.


PHOTOS

Alt mode next to Crosshairs


Helicopter mode


Robot mode...


Comparison with G1


The obvious solution to the lack of Targetmasters -- just use the G1 Targetmasters (joys of 5mm post weapons!)


Rotor blades balanced in the "V" position. Unfortunately it's not terribly secure.

[dirge]

CONS
- The rotor blades don't lock into position in robot mode. I can make them loosely sit in a balanced position if I squeeze the centre of the rotor blades into the back, but it doesn't lock in. While this may be fine for static display purposes, the moment I try to play with this toy and the blades swing. I guess that adding a lock feature may have exceeded budget, but they could've made one blade higher/lower than the other and allow them to intersect and 'scissor' around the tail shaft (thus effectively locking into place).

They do lock in place. You just have to make sure the tail is full collapsed into the torso. There's a tab that catches a notch on the rotors. It is, IMO, the cleverest feature of his transformation.

For what its worth, I'm super impressed with Spinister. Much nicer in hand than in photos. Even if locking the faux-cockpit underneath the fuselage is tricky.

[GoktimusPrime]

Got around to removing the "battle damage" on my Spinister's forearms and thighs.

They do lock in place. You just have to make sure the tail is full collapsed into the torso. There's a tab that catches a notch on the rotors.

Yeah, I've been doing that. But the tab on mine doesn't quite tab in firmly. The blades on mine still wobble, and with sufficient force during play, they're prone to becoming dislodged.

[dirge]

Yeah, I've been doing that. But the tab on mine doesn't quite tab in firmly. The blades on mine still wobble, and with sufficient force during play, they're prone to becoming dislodged.

Damn. Works well for me.

Also, I found he's one of the easier Siege toys to remove that silver paint crap from.

[Tha_Phantom]

the tab on mine doesn't quite tab in firmly. The blades on mine still wobble, and with sufficient force during play, they're prone to becoming dislodged.

It seems yours has a few QC issues Gok. The blades on mine do stay in place like Dirge says. Okay, there is a bit of wobble, but nothing major, they still stay upright. Also, the feet on mine tend to lock in place far easier for the alt mode than yours did, or maybe I was just being super careful with yours. Lastly, mine came with both correct elbows unlike yours did. The only issue still remaining is that faux cockpit not tabbing into place 100% properly as a lot of them tend not to, but at least it's hidden unless you go looking for it.

Overall I'm liking this figure a lot more now than I did when I messed with Gok's the other week. I give it an 8.5/10.

[Dimi194]

Yeah, I've been doing that. But the tab on mine doesn't quite tab in firmly. The blades on mine still wobble, and with sufficient force during play, they're prone to becoming dislodged.

Also don't have that issue on mine-even with a lot of shaking they're staying in place.

[Dimi194]

Adding some more thoughts now I've played with this guy a bit more-I think one of the BEST siege toys hands down (the best Deluxe, but it's hard to beat OP Voyager as the best overall).
The robot mode is solid, tall and really cool looking (love the moody head and the way the tail/rotor transform to create a neat outline). Weapons are good and work as handheld and forearms blasters really well. Articulation is great, couldn't ask for more at all.

Transformation is interesting and not too hard.

Helicopter is solid also, looks really cool (the colours actually work out???). Some have issue with the undercockpit thing, I think it's fine (imagining a gunner would lie there and shoot from an underslung blaster or something) however I think it looks weird straight on because there's a weird hole/void at the back of the undercockpit which faces forward and looks a bit unfinished. Otherwise the hands hanging out and the feet winglets don't bug me at all!

Worth full retail price imho, and I have no attachment to the character before seeing/playing with this version here.

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Haven't really messed around with mine much yet, but so far/out-of-box the helicopter blades are pretty loose in robot mode as well, and the backpack looks to be solidly tabbed in.

More thoughts to come when I get around to transforming him and writing them up.

[Paulbot]

Overall he’s pretty good. Don’t particularly like the “second” cockpit but was happy I got the right one up front on the first try. The blades don’t feel ultra secure but better in one V formation than the other so try spinning the blades the other way.

I think the two combining guns to emulate his targetmaster partners are a nice touch and don’t mind they don’t transform.

Questions though: mine seems to have come with Autobot instructions (Autobot symbol next to his name on the cover, red arrows and highlights throughout)? I’m away from home so can’t check but pretty sure the other Siege Decepticons had purple books? Also both this (from Target) and my Mirage (from Amazon.com) both had a packed in multilingual chocking hazard flyer. That’s new right?