Astrotrain Triple Changing Terror Redux Transformers Studio Series Leader Class Toy Item No.: Asst. G0374 No. G2190 Manufacturer: Hasbro Includes: Toy-ish Ionic Displacer Rifle, pistol, 3 pink blast effects, 1 smoke piece Action Feature: Converts from train to robot, also to space ship Retail: $59.99 Availability: April 2026 Other: More or less a Masterpiece Edition at a US Leader price
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I was on the fence about Astrotrain until I saw it in person - the colors got me. I had nothing really against the Siege toy, but it was basically a plush Voyager-class toy with an extra heavy backpack tender that caused the figure to fall over. This guy isn't much bigger, and he costs more, and he has fewer weapons... but he looks like the cartoon, which means he should be the go-to version until Hasbro does a new, even cartoonier collection of these figures. I feel like I keep saying "this is the last one I need to buy," but at this point the only way they could entice me to spend again would be to offer a simpler toy. This thing is basically Masterpiece-level complex with a lot of finicky parts that have to be precisely placed, like a very particular leg bend that I think was left off the instructions. I had to consult videos, like a common peasant, to figure this one out.

The robot mode is a healthy fellow whose ankles are suffering a bit under his weight - but he has ankles! The leg articulation is pretty good, and the figure has quite a few decent joints like his double-jointed elbows and swivel wrists, plus opening fingers. The figure has two chest configurations - the wing chest (like the toy had) can be tucked away, leaving you with the blocky pectorals as seen in the show. He has zero problems holding either blaster, and the coloring looks more than a fair bit like the show but it's not a perfect match. From appearance to appearance, bits of him change. The figure lacks the color around his abs, for example, and the wings seem to change depending on where you see him. The figure is not a precise match to the movie, mostly because of the wings. But he's close. I'm sure you could make a compelling case for a more streamlined robot mode, but it might be tough to pull off as a triple-changr. The head looks good, though, and the colors are close enough that a lot of fans are going to say either "fine" or "what I have at home is also fine." I found the previous versions to be too dark for my tastes, but I assume if I had Japan's Dramatic Capture Series release I might have skipped Studio Series 86. But I didn't, so I got the new choo choo.

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The instructions have you go from robot to train mode, and I did so on a particularly warm afternoon earlier this month that lead me to question a number of my life choices. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, my upper lip sweating profusely, as I try to mash the panels into the shapes shown in the instructions. Hasbro instructions are at times a little opaque, so YouTube proved a rare helpful guide to putting things in the right place. I think. Some of the panels don't feel perfect to me.

If you can get things in order, you're getting a pretty good locomotive engine in purple. The wheels can turn and those connecting bits tab together so the entire quartet of wheels move together. The yellow window is painted in, a Decepticon symbol sits near the front, but it's mostly unpainted and mostly in purple. Hasbro no doubt felt they owed us something with the higher prices and the paint money they were saving, so we got six accessories for vehicle mode - three pink engine blasts, one smokestack plume, and two blasters. Five out of the six accessories are covered in paint, four of which are almost completely adorned in pigment. The metallic pearl smoke has a black fade in the front, the purple blaster kept the gray plastic for its handle, and the three pink blasts show their pearly plastic pegs.

I found 5mm sockets to be accepting of the four C.O.M.B.A.T. energy pieces without much fuss. The 3mm hole on the pink blasts did not want to sit on the blaster's 3mm peg, so I stopped trying before I caused stress or damage. I find the smoke plume to be one of the better accessories in the set, because it really gives that one mode a lot more personality and a unique feel that no other Hasbro train has had. It's great! Most adult fans seem to display their toys in robot mode, so it's unlikely to be appreciated. If Hasbro left it out, you wouldn't miss it. If they offered it up as an .STL for you to print, you might be pretty stoked too. It's a nice extra, executed well.

A fun bonus feature is that the ramp in back of the engine folds down, so you could put your teeny-tiny micro guys from that one clear Galvatron on it. I skipped that set because I just can't spring real money for clear figures - but if you have it, maybe you'll enjoy the many play possibilities that involve a camera and praying that you don't lose rice grain-sized figures.

Conversion to space shuttle was a snap - there are a lot of specific panel fits, wheel tucks, wings-a-flipping, and whatnot. The underside is not pretty, and the back half of the top of the shuttle has visible arm bits and a large gap in the back - but it's a shuttle. The basic silhouette is good, I like the colors, and it's pretty sturdy. The wings have joints that have some give, so those are kind of hard to get perfectly straight. Aside from this, they did nice work giving some gray to the back of the wings and some perfectly nice rolling wheels. If they skipped the rolling wheels, I doubt fans would miss them - it's a nice touch. There are more painted bits visible, like the blue windows, or the gray wing bits, or the purple nose of the shuttle. Most of it is still molded in color, no doubt helping to keep costs reasonable. Molding pieces in color are generally good for the longevity of any toy, as time and dings can happen. Unpainted toys tend to hold up to play wear much better, and even if you don't plan on playing with Astrotrain you might store it in a box with other toys during a future move. Take care to protect the painted bits, or perhaps just transport it in train mode.

The train mode is probably best here, followed by the robot, with the pretty good shuttle bringing up the caboose. To get three pretty diverse modes out of a pile of parts is challenging, and none of them are particularly bad - but you can see there are a few compromises. It's still better than Blitzwing.

After some soul-searching I sold my Titans Return Astrotrain a few years ago, and I'm probably going to sell Siege if I can't come up with a reason to keep it. (I am keeping Classics, it's such a great toy.) Studio Series 86 Astrotrain is likely to be the new king for anyone who isn't exclusively collecting 1980s molds, and all the sculpted wing detail and extra moving parts show that Hasbro did spend the extra money they're charging you on something beyond a bigger box. You can find a lot to like here, and this is the Astrotrain I'd recommend to anyone starting a collection of modern-era robots in disguise. I'm curious if we'll ever see an MPG-edition Astrotrain, but Hasbro's offerings of late are generally cheaper and high enough of quality that I personally would not have much reason to pay for the most expensive version money can buy. This one is definitely good enough.

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