Astrotrain's safety testing and packaging had already been made up and done by the time Toys "R" Us cancelled the G1 Reissue line, so Hasbro didn't let all that production money go to waste-- instead, they released Astrotrain in limited quanties (around 2,000, I think) on their own online store, Hasbrotoyshop.com, for a price slightly less than TRU was charging (though still rather expensive, given the small size of the toy).

    Astrotrain's shuttle mode is the best of the toy's three modes, being nearly flawless in most respects-- the proportions are very good for a triple changer, and the color scheme varies enough between the white and the black and there's enough stickers to make him look mildly interesting. (Another couple of secondary colors couldn't hurt, though...) You may notice, however, that G1 Astrotrain in the cartoon wasn't black-and-white, he was purple-and-black. Well, Hasbro decided to release something here they thought (rightly) that many G1 fans didn't have-- they released a previously Japanese-only color scheme for Astrotrain. It's definitely more realistic in its colors than the "real" G1 toy, but I still liked the purple-and-black better. There are a few hints that he becomes a train, such as the train-wheel-shaped-panels on the front half of the shuttle mode, and the rectangular bits that stick out above the shuttle cockpit look a tad out of place, as well. Overall, though, a very solid mode, considering his three modes.
    Astrotrain's train mode is the weaker of the two alt modes, though it's definitely a train in it's own right-- it's nice to finally have a REAL triple changer toy again, I'll tell you what. For a G1 toy, the train mode has a surprising amount of mold detailing in it, with different pistons and everything molded in there. The reason I say it's the weaker of the two modes is because most of the wheels are just molded into the plastic panels that cover up the shuttle parts, the only real wheels are on the front sides of the train and near the rear, on the underside. There's also a few white pieces of the shuttle poking through the panels here and there, and the wheels on the TOP of the train and the rocket jets in the back also detract from the real-ness of the train a bit. I also would have appreciated a bit more paint detailing or at least some more applicable stickers in this mode, as the train's almost entirely solid black.
    Astrotrain's robot mode, on the other hand, is pretty laughable. His arms are so small and midgety that they look absolutely ridiculous-- having no discernable elbows doesn't help much, either. His large gun only suceeds in making his stubby arms look even smaller. Plus, the chest-fins, though rather cool-looking, don't really lock into place anywhere, so they tend to wiggle around a little when you're fiddling with the figure. They also get in the way of Astrotrain pointing his gun forward, what with his little arms and all. The legs don't look that bad, if you ignore the fact that he has almost no upper legs-- however, this guy's almost a total brick, even for a G1 toy-- he has ball-joint articulation at the shoulders, but that's the extent of his movement in this mode. I do like his head design, though, and the long, rectangular body makes him look like he'd be a pretty tall Transformer (ignoring his scale with other figures, natch).
    G1 Reissue Astrotrain is a bonafied triple-changer, with two pretty good, unique alt modes. Unfortunately, his robot mode royally stinks, and is just plain goofy-looking with its little stubby arms. Add to this the $25+shipping price tag, and I'd only recommend this figure if you are a G1 "olden days" fanatic or just REALLY like triple changers, regardless of the quality of their robot modes.

Review by Beastbot

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