Toy Review - Siege Astrotrain

[Tha_Phantom]

Series - Generations
Sub-line - Siege
Sub-sub-line - War For Cybertron
Size/class - leader
New/remould/redeco - new
Wave - 3
Released here - December 2019
Approximate Retail Price - $72
Approximate Size - 16.5cm
Allegiance - Decepticon
Alt-mode - locomotive, space shuttle
Main Features/Gimmicks - coal-car converts to launch pad for the shuttle and splits into armour for the bot mode
Main Colours - purple, dark grey, black
Main Accessories - coal-car, 5 different weapons

Up until yesterday I was totally not planning to get this guy, but after seeing the figure in person thanks to DrLockdown I hurried to the Toymate below us and grabbed one for $72 (price matched with Myer).


The locomotive mode has quite a presence in person, especially with the additional coal-car. While it may be loaded with heaps of detail, make no mistake that this is unapologetically an Earth locomotive. Even the TR/Legend Astrotrain was more Cybertronian than this.

You can remove the top of the coal-car to load it up with whatever you like, or remove it entirely if you want Astrotrain to resemble his G1 counterpart more closely. The core locomotive doesn't rely on faux wheels, which does add some bulk to the sides but it is a nice touch.


The shuttle mode is the weakest of the three, the back looks unfinished to be honest. Goktimus Prime suggested they could have used the coal-car to help cover it.

Instead, the coal-car unfolds to become a launchpad. Not a bad way to use the extra plastic, but would have preferred Gok's suggestion.


Putting height aside, I think he is an improvement on his predecessor and fits in fine with his triplechanger buddies, although I do hope to see them updated at some point too.


Absolutely love the extra accessories they gave this guy, no doubt to help justify the leader price point considering the core figure is effectively a voyager. When armoured up he is ready to join in the War For Cybertron!

Overall thoughts. He is the most faithful GEEWUN style Astrotrain that we have had in Generations and his transformation is even quite similar to the G1 toy in some ways. If you want a more Cybertronian aesthetic then I would recommend his predecessor from TR/Legends, since the obviously-Earth locomotive really doesn't fit with Siege that well. I don't think it is worth the typical leader RRP of $90, but I am happy having paid $72 for him. Grab him if you see him on sale!

[GoktimusPrime]

I think the robot mode looks great and the train mode is beautiful... but that incomplete looking shuttle mode just kills it for me.
As I've already been quoted as having said, () I think that it would've been better if the carriage accessory were able to cover up the shuttle to make it look finished, even if it means forgoing the launch pad mode. I'd rather have a complete looking shuttle than have a launch pad. It doesn't even come with a rocket which is what shuttles need to launch anyway. I reckon that the carriage should be able to split up and cover up the back part of the fuselage.

Excuse the crude MSPainting here, but something like this...


If they re-release this toy later with a whole new carriage that covers up the fuselage then consider me sold. But I'm unconvinced with Siege Astrotrain.

[davieanix]

Love this figure but I think I am doing something wrong.

The front of the train sits too high for the rest of it. Like the wheels at the front don?t touch the ground or line up with any of the other wheels along the body. Looking at the pics above and mine looks different. I think I?m missing a step?

[Tha_Phantom]

Love this figure but I think I am doing something wrong.

The front of the train sits too high for the rest of it. Like the wheels at the front don?t touch the ground or line up with any of the other wheels along the body. Looking at the pics above and mine looks different. I think I?m missing a step?

Yeah the front wheels can be pulled down so they touch the ground. It's a bit tough but it is meant to extend.

[GoktimusPrime]

Comparison shots between G1 (eHobby) Astrotrain with Henkei, Legends and Siege Astrotrain













Thanks to Tha_Phantom for supplying his eHobby, Legends and Siege Astrotrains

[BigTransformerTrev]

Mine scanned wrong at Target so I got him for $24

[davieanix]

Yeah the front wheels can be pulled down so they touch the ground. It's a bit tough but it is meant to extend.

Amazing. Thank you so much!

[Jellico]

I have to say I am impressed how few bad Astrotrains there are.

[shockNwave]

What an amazing toy.

1.Robot mode: Not up there with the TR Astrotrain but makes up for it with the add ons.

2.Shuttle mode: The weakest mode. I find it's best to convert the coal car into it's horizontal platform mode and place the shuttle upon it, so that way it looks like it's under construction. That's the best I can do in turning a negative into a positive.

3.Train mode: By far the best mode. Brilliant engineering that all 17 wheels can make contact with the ground which is better than other TFs.

4.The coal car: It could've been a triple changer instead it's a quad changer! One mode for the robot, one for the train and two for the shuttle.

[doublespy]

This is a fantastic, fantastic figure. Aside from the obvious G1 faithfulness, it does what no Astrotrain figure has done since the original G1 toy: change color between the two alt modes to further distinguish between them. He was a purple locomotive and a mostly grey space shuttle. I think it's also amazing that Hasbro had the guts to go with a full on steam locomotive design; in this day and age I doubt a lot of kids know what a steam locomotive looks like. And all the individual train wheels are movable. This definitely wouldn't have happened had it been just sold as a Voyager.

I like the idea of an accessory pack. Aside from giving the outnumbered Decepticon army some fire arms, some effort has clearly been made to integrate the tender into all three modes in some way, and I do appreciate that. The shuttle launch pad is actually not half bad imho.







































This to me represents everything that HasTak have been doing right in the past few years. It's just fantastic.