Cog and Sixgun up close:

 

Apeface's shuttle mode is growing on me. One cool space brick!

 

If they are the same as I have, there's just one piece that needs to be glued/taped in (in the legs) as there's nothing to hold it in place, but all other parts are snug and done very well as they would be originals parts that should have been there in the first place.

They absolutely makes the figure much more complete as while I really like my UM, it felt completely wrong to have so much emptiness, the worst being the shoulder "towers" part. If those shoulder parts wouldn't have been empty, I could have lived with the rest.

Siege is the first series that I've gotten so many but the gaps do mess up some figures that would be so much better otherwise...so the first time that I've bought kits for any TFs I have.

 

Yesssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If he can't deal with it now he never will.  

 

His name is Ronald...

I'm open to suggestions

 

Pennywise comes to mind.

 

NEVER order the apple pie.
The drive through is not considered 'safe'
All menu items have 20% more git/stone/soil trace.
No vegetarian options! no compromise! GIT SOME!

 

a prototype-accurate Astrotrain repaint with a new head would be nice too.

 

Every time I see that face, I think Zartan for some reason.

 

Seriously satisfying colour schemes!

That's cats for you!

I stand instantly corrected. Your cat is a stunner, btw. Looks a lot like my Georgia, but yours probably has all their legs.

IT'S SPINISTER O'CLOCK!



Rather unfortunately, all my memories of Spinister are kinda muddy. Even with that iconic cover of him and Needlenose running from Slag I actually had to go check and make sure it wasn’t Dreadwind and Darkwing. It’s just that…well, after ‘Time Wars’ everything became a lot less vital.

It’s not like everything that came after was shoddy in any way. The stories that actually involved Spinister were pretty cool, and I remember really enjoying the ‘mini-saga’ with the Carnivac being hunted by the all-new, all different Mayhem Attack Squad. But apart from Bludgeon throwing his sword at Catilla, I don’t actually remember any of the details. Sorry, Spinister. Awesome name though, lad!

I’m not telling you anything new. You already know the guy got way more in story attention when he featured in MTMTE/Lost Light’s Scavengers. Spinister was the endearingly dumb, idiot savant brain surgeon of the team, and a vehicle for some of James Roberts least funny jokes. Yeah, I know. Hot takes are so 2019!

Spinister was one of the two ‘Double Targetmasters’ I saw as a kid, with Scoop being the other. Now, I know I loved Scoop back then, but I struggle to remember my opinion of Spinister. He was just kind of there. As with so many other TF’s from ’88, I think my attention was elsewhere. Specifically the ‘Action Force’ toys and the ‘Justice League International’ and 2000ad comics.

Looking at him now, Spinister feels like he embodies both the best and worse of 1988. It’s a strong character design with colours that work really well in robot mode. And we see a return to real-world alt mode. On the other hand that strong colour scheme looks fucking garish in the alt mode and he feels like he’s been made for a much younger demographic than even the 1987 figures. And I do think that really touches on the problem I had with the ’88 stuff; I felt like I was being ‘talked’ down to.

I’d also like to add that Spinister has fucking crazy proportions. Super slinky hips and long, long legs, and rrrrreally stumpy arms. Still, great head sculpt though!

His helicopter mode is…kinda jarring. It really tried to stay quite close to its real-life model of the Apache Attack Helicopter, and then lost the plot, painted it mad colours and attached two people that turn into space guns to the side. It probably made perfect sense in 1988. Mad as it is, there’s a satisfying sense to the transformation. the steps go beyond feeling intuitive to feeling just correct. Like there should be no other possible way you could do this. Some would describe it as simplistic, but there’s an elegance to it that such a description would diminish.

And here we are, at long last, we have our Generations Spinister. As much as I’ve thrilled to the (IMO) superior versions of the likes of Sideswipe, Shockwave, and Ratchet, there’s been something really wonderful about getting those characters that I didn’t have some sort of ‘placeholder’ for, like Flywheels…and this guy (Impactor, of course, is a whole other level of thrill). It’s maybe why I’ve been just a touch underwhelmed by what I’ve seen from wave one of Earthrise; I kinda want to see more obscure guys in the mix.

And of course, if Siege hadn’t been extended into a 4th wave, then I probably wouldn’t have had these misgivings. Flinging Apeface and Spinister into the mix would have given us a more diverse opener for this line.

But enough about the background, how about the figure?

Well, he’s kinda wonderful. Like, rlly!

While I can appreciate that not everyone has loved Siege, it’s been a real treat for me. I’ve loved these detailed, articulate, exciting toys. In so many ways, it’s been exactly what my CHUG shelf has been crying out for. And Spinister is an apex example of what Siege offers.

For starters, this guy is unashamedly faithful to the super gaudy 1988 deco, right down to the gloriously clashing purple arms against the pink chest. And oh my, that teal mouthplate! Delicious. In fact, the whole head sculpt is beautiful. Whoever is in charge of these head designs needs a raise. There’s just so much character communicated through so few elements.

And, much like Siege Springer, this guy is next level poseable. Sure we can talk about the individual points of articulation and make a nice wee list, maybe even compare them -point by point – with other figures. But the thing I don’t really see people talk about too much when discussing articulation is how well integrated it is. There’s always that crotch flap or gappy elbow that reminds you that this isn’t an alien robot, but a plastic toy (sorry, possibly should have put a spoiler warning in there). All the engineering that makes Spinister so poseable is beautifully integrated to the figure where, to my eye at least, he appears near seamless.

And all that engineering really comes into play when you transform him. ‘Does this guy really need double-jointed elbows?’. Hell, yes! The flip side of this is that he may well lean towards slightly over-engineered, to the point where getting his elbows to line up and leg into his feet (trust me, it makes sense when you do it) can be a bit of a fiddle. Of course, this complexity is probably down to solving the problem of ‘how do we separate his legs but still give him a single cockpit?’, to which the answer is ‘give him a dummy cockpit on the underside’. Smooth. I approve.

Ultimately, I think all the fiddling is worth it. It’s a very cool alt mode and incredibly play-with-able. I mean, that colour scheme does mean we wind up with a pretty nutty looking ‘copter and it wears it’s kibble proudly. But if I were the sort of collector that liked to make all his TFs fight in alt mode, then I’d probably make this guy win a lot of those fights. It’s a pretty righteous and intimidating beast.

Another really cute touch is the ‘optional extra’ of his Targetmaster partners. Sure, if you’re so inclined, you can go and get Singe as a individually packed Battlemaster, and you’ve quite possibly already got Hairsplitter when you got the costly Amazon Skywarp pack. But, if you’re less keen to do so, the guns he comes with actually do a really good job of invoking his old G1 style guns. Well, if you’re ok with Singe being blue and not black.

And, of course, this guy goes beautifully with yer TR Krok and Misfire, and yer Siege Flywheels to give you a slightly fuller complement of Scavengers. Now, give us Crankcase plz? And Fulcrum. He don’t have to be a bomb. I’m not fussy. Plz?

 

Thanks! That's my Harvey Dent. His mom was a Siamese and I've had him since the day he was born. He's almost ten now and he's a sweet boy.

 

And clearly of very even temperament!

 

Just a little boy.

 

Can someone comparison this Jazz with Siege / Earthrise toys ?

 

Fits are a bit loose on the leg pieces, they fall apart easely but you can use a nice permanent glue to resolve that for good.

Yes that's correct Yaujta, most of the pieces fit tight while others, specially the leg ones must to be glued for a better result, other than that these fillers are ace!

 

As mentioned by users like @ziltama and @LongarmMagnus, I can see why they mentioned that using putty for covering massive hollow gaps in the lower legs of my Siege Impactor was a bit of a risky move. They do cracks when not applied in appropriate quantities and require some precise application for a satisfying result; They're also the possibility of the putty not being fully dry at the inside, which was something I almost forget.

Over the past 2-3 days, I went and observed the putty to make sure they fully cure before the final steps of sanding and painting.

Now the putty is fully cured, at last; now it's time to prepare for the final sanding works for a fine finish before painting:

 

I honestly wish I had space. I've never been big on this character, but this just looks cool.

 

I imagine he has the voicebox of a McD's drive-thru. I'm lovin it.



Those are Cybertron's exhaust pipes...

 

Micromaster dropship, preparing for takeoff!

...and yes, they are gonna stay there!

 

Last one--

Had the drill for a leg but felt it might get damaged