u/Visible_Analysis9068

it’s like music to my ears

undeniably a huge month. skywarp was an absolute nightmare to get ahold of but i’m so glad i found him

or red alert in a sideswipe costume, whichever tickles your fancy

Faster, Stronger, Superior

so, so bad.

who are you most excited to pick up in June?

i saw some people on here getting one of my favorite minibots on clearance for $7 at target and had to go look for myself. my local target was stacked with new AOTP Deluxes but all of them rang up as not in stock. on the app, on the kiosks, employee scanners and at the register.

the attendant comes to the register to assist me with pricing, since it rings up “unavailable/not in stock” for $0. he asked me how much these run for and i said “normally $27.99 but, i’ve seen some folks on reddit getting them on clearance for $7. maybe they were supposed to be clearanced at your store, that’s why they aren’t showing up?” and as i got my phone out to show him proof, this guy just types in $3.50 and says “alright i hope this works” and walks away.

no review on Powerglide today, just being thankful that i have a God to pray to :)

Here I am on a work trip, bored out of my mind in a hotel room and i get a primal dopamine itch to go to target and check out the transformers landscape out here. and yeah, this is who i walked out with. Since i don’t have any connection to this character or TF Prime, i’ll keep this brief.

The robot mode is straightforward. show accurate? no. do i care? no. i think the butterfly doors save this design and add flare. the door decals look ridiculous in a vacuum, but with such a pasty chassis it brings some flavor into the mix. his feet are super dynamic and the proportions allow him to get into some nice poses

the transformation to vehicle mode is quick. reminds me a little of 86 jazz but needs a little more elbow grease to tab in everything properly. you get a koenigsegg-adjacent car that looks smooth and aggressive until you stare at the doors and realize how awful that overlayed numbering looks on top of checkerboard. shit looks like a freddy fazbear’s pizza sponsorship. but, atleast he can make up for it with the exhaust ports and functional butterfly doors.

in conclusion, let’s say the year is 2009, deluxes are $15 and you’re in 2nd grade. a friend who’s into transformers from class is hosting a birthday party at chuck e. cheese. you know you can’t tell your parents to buy your friend a toy you have been wanting bad, but you also know you can’t settle for some mainline crap and really show them you could care less. AOTP smokescreen is the bot you point to your parents in the store to solve your dilemma. he is just a modest guy - one you could live with or without.

Welcome, fellow 86 Astrotrain hater. i’m not going to lie i disliked this figure at announcement but I am a firm believer in trying things for myself, because you’ll never know which one of these plastic abominations can end up being your guilty pleasure. I will try my best not to regurgitate the same slop of opinions about this thing.

Let’s rip the bandaid off first - the robot mode. Yes. the longer i stare at him from the front, this design continues to grow on me. His head sculpt is pretty much flawless. Sure, he might be suffering from an eating disorder, as seen in his arms, thighs and stomach. Sure, you can customize his chest loadout to purple sports bra or 4th degree stomach laceration- neither help hide his malnourishment. but each mode brings a unique flair to him. however, the moment you get a glimpse at him from the side and see the snow skis he has on and massive backpack he takes everywhere with him? well, atleast he’s supposed to face forward on a display case.

Accessories are neat. how kind of hasbro to give us the toon accurate gun and original toy gun with some pink blast effects? his purple cannon looks sick! the pink blast effects can be put on his back to become pink “dash”effects and i like this feature a lot. with those big ass snow ski’s he has on, he will definitely be doing a lot of dashing around! I actually thought the steam effect would be a one trick pony kind of gimmick but i like how it can fit on his weapons to make a smoking gun, and even in the train mode, it brings the design together even better.

the transformation processes are pretty nice and everything tabs and fits well together. As a childhood Thomas the Train enthusiast, this guy is a straight DIESEL in train mode and i love it. it’s hardcore, weapon storage, blast effects make him look like a war chariot, ready to ruin a little steam engines day. As a childhood Jay Jay the Jetplane enthusiast, this guy is a straight up terrible CG render in spaceship mode. let me be clear, the cockpit works but the back end and engine area is a mess. at least it has landing gear so my son doesn’t have to grind his unpainted shins on the floor when he wants to play with it

In conclusion, 86 astrotrain is the type of guy you’d let date your sister, ONLY after a stern talking to - somewhere inside of him is a guy with potential and good qualities alike, but he’s still too much of a lame to consider a genuine threat. let me be clear, he’s not the type of guy you’d give that stern talking to because he could even think to harm your sister, you just give him a hard time because everyone else does. And it’s that quality about him that almost makes you start to like him a little.