Kranix Spare Him This Mockery of Justice Transformers Studio Series Deluxe Class Toy Item No.: Asst. G0477 No. G2195 Manufacturer: Hasbro Includes: Blaster Action Feature: Converts from robot to space ship Retail: $27.99 Availability: May 2026 Other: First Transforming Movie-Specific Kranix
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Hasbro is really working hard to keep fans of Studio Series 86 engaged for the long haul. I never expected we would see Kranix in stores as a toy with an alt mode. Sure, Marvel published an alt mode in the Transformers Universe profile books, but most people know this guy as a robot that escaped Lithone and was later fed to the Sharkticons by the Quintessons. And if that sentence means anything to you, you're on the correct web site.

This is not an impressive vehicle, and the robot is pretty good. You'd probably have been happier with this guy before the price increase, but Hasbro did a nice job giving him a lot of articulation for a nobody mold that might have little reuse potential as an Arblus retool. Maybe. Who knows. (Nothing has been announced.) Hasbro also put an extra feature in his face that I found to make it feel more like a decent collector figure.

Hasbro made an SDCC Kranix [FOTD #2,259] back in 2020, which was technically not an SDCC exclusive. It did not transform.

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If you've only seen the movie, you'll probably look at the Kranix robot mode and say "that's great!" He's not as skinny, and the shapes aren't identical to the animation models, but I don't know if it would be possible to keep the proportions and give him an alternate mode. The toy's colors don't feel as saturated as the movie, and the face may not be exactly the right color or shape, but it's dang close and really good. I love that they tried making this big-headed mustachioed scientist and managed to generally nail the vibe. If anything, he looks more like the comic model with desaturated cartoon colors. The comic is a tiny bit browner, and the cartoons pinks are a bit hotter. Whatever you're looking for, at least you can say that Hasbro gave us a pretty good compromise.

I'm more than halfway happy with the toy's execution, as he has those weird clawed feet with rocker ankles. The hips, thighs, knees, shoulders, and elbows all have an impressive range of motion - much of which is hidden by the design. There aren't a lot of obvious rivets or pegs, and yet everything feels sturdy and solid. Nothing feels particularly fragile, although there are some gap-covering panels that may pop off during transformation. (I hit one with a little too much force.) He stands well, sits well, and looks good. I like how it turned out.

His head looks good, with green eyes and a pink mustache. His eyebrows - I think - over his forehead look great, just like a 1980s cartoon robot. What really surprised me was his mouth - the beard and lower lips are jointed for the transformation. This means you can have his mouth open or closed in robot mode. This is the kind of extra detail and feature that you'll see after paying $28 for a deluxe toy and you'll go "...OK maybe it's worth it." So many of these toys are good, but lacking in fun features or surprises during the transition from "toy" to "toy-flavored adult collectible" that I find these charming and refreshing. I generally know what to expect on most collector lines, so kudos to Hasbro for trying something new and being successful at it.

I don't believe his blaster was in the movie, but it came out of necessity. The scientist had a blaster on his ship mode, and it had to go somewhere. Making it a removable handheld arm makes a lot of sense, and it fits in his hand nicely.

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 ship is pretty easy, but I needed the instructions because I hadn't seen a physical model of the ship before. You have to move a lot of stuff around to get a contorted robot as a space ship, and Hasbro did an admirable job going from a robot animation model to a decent approximation of a comic strip's alt mode. Despite having played with hundreds of these, it's still wizardry. Sure, you can see his feet and knees, and year, the hands may be visible depending on the angle. But they pulled it off!

The ship is mostly a pretty blah brownish gray with some pink highlights on a mauve-ish plane. It doesn't so much, and it doesn't look like much, but you have to appreciate the audacity Hasbro took to make it happen. Getting weird toys with weirder alt modes like this speaks to the success of the line, which probably means we're at or near the peak of Transformers as a collector line. This is some grade A weirdness, and it's fun that Hasbro did it rather than just making a simple robot figure instead.

If you need more Studio Series in your life, go get Kranix. I just doubt Hasbro will revisit him or rerelease him, but maybe I'll be proven wrong. I expect he will go from a slow seller to impossible to find in short order, but hey - we've seem some wild swings here. I'd recommend getting it early so Hasbro sees people want more stuff like this. It's not really like the traditional toys - and we need new stuff like this to keep it interesting.

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