Freakwency & 8-Trax Target Exclusive Transformers x Stranger Things Collaborative Item No.: No. G2785 Manufacturer: Hasbro Includes: Freakwency van, 8-Trax 8-track, rubber chicken blaster Action Feature: Converts from robot to van, from chicken to blaster, from tape to condor Retail: $59.99 Availability: May 2026 Other: A good example of where the line could go
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Hasbro's Transformers collaborative toys have cranked out some pretty neat results. For the alt mode-first toys, we get fresh designs that are a little more old-school - there's no robot mode to match for Freakwency & 8-Trax. Hasbro made something close - but not exactly matching - the 1977 GMC van from the show. The headlights are a pretty good giveaway, but it's otherwise pretty van-shaped. It doesn't have the antenna from the top of the van we saw either, but you can steal one from another toy if you have one. Or you can just use the rubber chicken gun.

Getting Transformers packed in vehicle mode is a real treat. Almost every single one for the first 25 years came to you as a van, a truck, a plane, or a dinosaur. Part of the fun was unfolding the (typically) realistic object and getting a cool robot. This one throws back to that, giving you a nice blue van with livery similar to the s how.

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It's not an exact match. The 5-inch long van's panels were changed, and the rainbow lines coming from the bird's mouth don't quite match. The toy has 4 colors, and the stills I'm finding from the show seem to show six. Will anyone notice? Probably not - because everything else is really close. The eagle with the lightning bolt looks good, the WSQK looks the same, even "the Squawk" in red seems about right. Any changes to the car are likely to avoid licensing issues, but the blue is pretty close and it even saws "Hawkins Hitmaker" on the windshield.

The proportions are all pretty much the same, and it's even got the round windows near the back. It can even store the yellow 8-track tape, 8-Trax, inside in vehicle mode - but you have to put it in while in robot mode. It can't store the rubber chicken accessory internally while in vehicle mode, but you can stow it on top. It's a good compromise, you'll be at least halfway happy.

The van rides on Cybertron 5000 tires, which are all hard plastic. There's no rubber here to worry about decaying.

Conversion of Freakwency is fairly easy, but not obvious. You have to pull down a big part of the back of the van before getting the thing in robot mode, so I'd say consult the instructions. It's not challenging, but it's a little different than usual. I like it, it's a good example of how I'd like to see Hasbro handle vehicle modes in its main line. I want something either really realistic, or very fanciful, and this is a great example of the former.

The rubber chicken gun is a snap to change - but the leg positioning isn't obvious. I'm amazed it had jointed legs at all. 8-Trax is a little more challenging, because there are a lot more twists and turns than you'd expect from a Laserbeak-alike toy. I'd suggest using the manual.

Freakwency stands about 6-inches tall, putting it in line with a decent Voyager-class toy or a very small Leader. He's a hair shorter than Kingdom/Studio Series 86 Blaster. It kind of stings when Studio Series 86 Soundwave costs the same as the van-bot, but has three tape buddies. On the other hand here you get two bird buddies, a little more paint, and I assume a royalty that went to Netflix on your dime. If this exact toy were made without the livery or license, I think fans would be very pleased with it. Not that I dislike Stranger Things, but the design is strong enough on its own that I'd have happily bought this as a Voyager-class toy missing one or both buddies and the branding.

The big blue bot has plenty of personality with a blue visor, a red helmet, silver headphones, and an understated smile. Elements of the eagle come through on teh soulders, plus you get a car stereo on the abdomen. It opens up, and that's where your bird buddy is stowed in tape mode. His knees have painted red brake lights - the van doesn't, but I don't budget the paint on these things. All of the joints are pretty great, with ball-jointed shoulders and wrists ensuring that you can get some pretty good poses out of this guy. It looks a lot like a robot that could have been around in the 1980s, at least in terms of vibes, with modern articulation that doesn't seem excessive. I feel this is one of the better new additions to the collection in recent memory, since he can do more than just be a replacement for a toy I already own.

8-Trax is pretty neat. The tape mode is fine, and the bird is pretty cute. It's similar to tapes, but there's a peg on each Freakwency shoulder for perching purposes. Everything fits together and can be worn or stored on the blue bot - and there's space for a shoulder cannon. I wonder if something else was costed out.

Is it worth $60? Well, it's a big blue Voyager-size robot (about $45), a yellow chicken gun (about the same as a $7 Rise of the Beasts blaster accessory), and $8 leftover for the bird tape. I think it more or less adds up, but it doesn't feel like the deal that Studio Series 86 Soundwave - with three tapes - provided. But it is cool, original, and still fits in with the G1 aesthetic. On sale, this is a no-brainer - get it. At full price, it feels worthwhile because it's not a remake, or a re-re-remake, or an item we've bought a few times over. I'd love to see more vehicle-first robots in disguise, as Frequency, Bone Shaker, and Twin Mill have proven to be excellent. Vote with your dollars, and hope Hasbro follows through with more stuff like these guys.

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See more Stranger Things figures in Figure of the Day:
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Day 1,671: Funko Pop! Television Stranger Things Joyce Pop! Vinyl Figure
Day 1,687: Funko Pop! Television Stranger Things Lucas Pop! Vinyl Figure
Day 1,694: Funko Pop! Television Stranger Things Barb Pop! Vinyl Figure
Day 1,706: Funko Pop! Television Stranger Things Dustin Pop! Vinyl Figure
Day 1,714: Funko Pop! Television Stranger Things Demogorgon Pop! Vinyl Figure
Day 1,732: Funko Pop! Television Stranger Things Will Pop! Vinyl Figure
Day 1,793: Funko Pop! Television Stranger Things Mike Pop! Vinyl Figure
Day 2,712: Mattel Masters of the Universe x Stranger Things Skeletor and Demogorgon Action Figures
Day 3,008: Mattel Masters of the Universe x Stranger Things He-Man and Vecna Action Figures
Day 3,097: Hasbro Transformers x Stranger Things Collaborative Freakwency & 8-Trax

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