After taking a look at the other two, being Chigurgh and that one from Machine Boy, I knew this one would be the Astrotrain I wanted. I had no idea, however, just how good it would be.

The transformation's difficult and not self-explanatory, but it can be mastered within an hour or so. All three modes look great, and the colour scheme is phenomenal.

My only major gripes are the colour matching on the shuttle mode and the amount of sliding panels on this, which makes me worried I'm going to break them some day. Until that day though, this is fantastic.

Panels, panels, panels. Eight thousand hinges. This is the tradeoff for a toy that strives to tuck everything away perfectly for each mode. And admittedly, aside from as many transformation lines as a jigsaw puzzle, all three modes look good. I'm especially fond of the old-timey choo-choo. The shuttle's lines are nice and smooth, and the robot, despite slightly strange proportions, is a magnificent homage to the G1 toy with a vibrant chest crest and a supernice headsculpt.

ASSORTED CONS: Instructions are pure doodoo; you will need a video tutorial. Even after weeks of practice, getting him from mode to mode can take upwards of twelve minutes each. The locomotive wheel bar hangs off the shuttle wings loosely with no way to plug it in. Guns don't seem to peg anywhere in shuttle mode. Robot upper calf transformation is bafflingly complex for a very small result. Two pull-out sections for train mode keep sliding back in.

ASSORTED PROS: The ab panels tucking in diagonally is really clever. Wheel bar actually turns all three train wheels. Nifty tiny red visor. Two plugs to cover screw holes. Good paint overall, and the metallic red is gorgeous.

The biggest thing in his favor, I think, is that his overcomplicated transformation is accompanied by parts that don't require a lot of force. There are only a few steps where I need to push hard (hand reveal, upper calves, shuttle front section pegs). The rest have hinges and tabs that are smooth but not loose, so when I'm performing a surgically-complex move (like that damn backpack), gentle patience will get everything into place without the kind of strain that'd make me worry I'll break the toy. The plastic is often thin enough to make me worry about it anyway, but like BII before him, the ease of transformation keeps that to a minimum.

An introduction: I had some very unsavory experiences with "third party" items in the past. This, combined with my hesitance to spend too much on collecting has led me to be extremely selective in my purchases.

Astrotrain is one of my favorites. I was unimpressed with the Generations version a few years back (although I always prefer buying official), and the DX9 offering, with its wildly different cartoon design, is not to my tastes. This Evila Star rendition of the character is near-perfect. It scales well with my Transformers display. The design and detail in all three modes is superb. The transformation is very complex, and the included instructions are worthless. There are videos online which help, though. The wings, and the struts for the train's wheels, are loose in robot mode, but hold position well in a static display. I highly recommend ToyWorld's products. They are well-made, less expensive than some companies' comparably sized toys, and match existing Transformers collections nicely, without too much extraneous detail for the sake of detail - a turn-off for me.

Amazing engineering and a marvel to transform. This is what I've always wanted! The train is greatly detailed and the shuttle is nicely proportioned. The spring loaded nacelles, working wheel pistons, and sturdy plastic construction make for an awesome product. Some may not like the complexities of this figure but TW-06 should be more hyped. Glad I jumped on this one.

Received in Evila Star and I really didn't know what to expect....I own other Toyworld offerings.....Hardbone and Dinobots which are nice. Let me tell you Toyworld has gone crazy awesome with detail. The train and shuttle modes are insane...very nice look like high end models. The weight is surprising hefty and the laser cannons are awesome. I prefer the train mode over the shuttle....robot mode is solid and bigger than I anticipated. This is a VERY nice take on Astrotrain and worthy of any Decepticon collector.