Retro

RETRO REVIEW – TONKA ROCK LORDS GRANITE

Posted by Mighty Mike on August 19, 2026
Posted in: Retro. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a Comment

Rock Lords were a GoBots spin-off toy line and featured robots that transformed into rocks, with heroes and villains based on different stones and minerals. They were quite an unusual concept at the time, unfortunately being introduced when GoBots’ popularity was waning in favour of Transformers.


Name: Granite
Line: Rock Lords
Manufacturer: Kenner
Released: 1986
Price: $4.00 – $9.00 Now: $50 + MOC
Scale: 3-4.5 inches in height
Accessories: Gun

This is probably the Rock Lord that either everybody had, or everybody knew of. That’s pretty much the case for most of my collector friends. Everyone seemed to have Granite if they only had one Rock Lord – it was him. I’m not sure just how common he really was – I ended up receiving a Granite from my cousin when he gave away some of his toys to my brother and I – which included Granite, Brimstone and Stoneheart. I always thought Rock Lords were a lot cooler than Go Bots, but obviously not as good as Transformers. But they were happily welcomed into the Autobot and Decepticon ranks during playtime.

SCULPTING

Unsurprisingly, Granite looks like a rock – that also happens to be a robot as well. I think Bandai/Tonka did a good job with the sculpting; he’s very detailed, and unlike the Go Bots, the head sculpt has a lot of character and doesn’t look too generic.

PAINT

Not a lot of paint for Granite, mainly just the blue on his legs and head, and pink eyes. I’ve always liked the way the blue and grey worked well together. He really pops.

ARTICULATION

Just like with Transformers, any articulation is part of the transformation process. You can easily move Granite’s arms and legs quite well. His transformation from robot to rock is not too hard and pretty straightforward.

ACCESSORIES

He comes with his gun, which clips into his right hand only. Depending on what version you bought, the gun will be in either red or black plastic. My version is in red.

POTENTIAL PROBLEMS

Not really anything to worry about. He’s a study toy.

PRICE

I bought this particular Rock Lord back when the US dollar was at parity with the Australian dollar; what a time that was. I bought a bunch of Rock Lords MOSC because they were very cheap. So hopefully they are still mostly inexpensive.

OVERALL

Granite isn’t a bad transforming rock robot. He’s got a good design and is fun to play with. He’s also a good size when compared to the much smaller Go Bots. There are definitely more interesting Rock Lord designs, but Granite is still good in his own right.

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RETRO REVIEW – KENNER BATMAN RETURNS – THE PENGUIN

Posted by Mighty Mike on August 11, 2026
Posted in: Retro. Tagged: , , .

Kenner’s line of toys based on the Batman Returns movie consisted of numerous versions of the same Batman figure, with a plethora of various accessories, some reused from other lines and a few of the main villains from the film, as well as vehicles and play sets. Kenner took its usual creative license with a number of their Batman toys, including the Penguin toy, which looks nothing like Danny Devito from the movie.


Name: Penguin
Line: Batman Returns
Manufacturer: Kenner
Released: 1992
Price: $5.99 Now: $60 – $115 USD MOC
Scale: 4-5 inches in height
Accessories: Blast off Umbrella launcher

This particular Penguin toy is notorious for not looking like anything even remotely close to how Danny Devito looked when playing the Penguin in Batman Returns.

However, once we move beyond that major issue, it’s still a very nice repaint of the Kenner Super Powers Penguin toy.

Even if this toy probably gets a lot of flak for not being a better representation of the movie version of the Penguin.

SCULPTING

Well, let’s start with the biggest issue people had back in the day and probably still have with it now – this toy looks nothing like the Penguin from the Batman Returns movie. It’s one of those baffling, head-scratching decisions. You could have at least released a second version later. Besides that, the sculpting is very good, and it’s a great general representation of the Penguin. He’s got a very large belly and long nose.

PAINT

I think paint application is where this toy really shines! The black, red and white colour scheme really pops. It’s overall very clean and crisp. And really makes this toy look sharp.

ARTICULATION

Kenner removed some articulation for these toys, being the bendable knees. You have a swivel head, arms and legs. That’s it. Your classic five POA toy from Kenner. it’s still nice to be able to move the toys arms and legs there’s something intuitive about it that makes it fun even if it’s limited articulation.

ACCESSORIES

The Penguin comes with his “blast off” Umbrella Launcher. It’s a pretty neat accessory, it can be plugged into his back for a quick escape or placed on his arm as a gun. What he really needed was a folded-up umbrella he could hold normally, or the option to hold the umbrella normally.

POTENTIAL PROBLEMS

Not too many problems with this Penguin toy. Just watch out for paint rub and missing the accessories.

PRICE

I bought mine years ago, MOSC. But I don’t recall paying too much for this unloved toy. Nowadays he might be a little bit harder to get for a good price.

OVERALL

This is not the Penguin toy people wanted from Batman Returns. It is, however, a really nice Penguin toy in general, and I’m glad to have him in my collection. He feels like a nice upgrade from the Super Powers version – and that’s enough for me.

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RETRO REVIEW – HASBRO GI JOE NINJA FORCE – SCARLETT

Posted by Mighty Mike on July 22, 2026
Posted in: Retro. Tagged: , , , .

Ninja Force was a martial arts-themed sub-line released in the early 1990s. The toys featured built-in spring-loaded “Real Ninja Action” that allowed them to perform kicks or chopping attacks. The toys also featured bright colours and divided fans at the time, as it moved away from more realistic military-style toys.

Name: Scarlett
Line: Ninja Force
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Released: 1993
Price: Then: $4.99 USD, Now: $30 – $100 USD
Scale: 3.75 Inches in height
Accessories: Multiple weapons

When I first saw the Ninja Force toys in store, I was drawn towards them by the hot pink packaging. I picked up Night Creeper as my first figure from that series, as I really liked the look of the character, and he remains one of my favourite GI Joe toys ever.

I didn’t get too many more of the Ninja Force figures when I was younger, unfortunately, but did collect them later in life. 

I intend to cover most of the Ninja Force figures on my website at some point, and I’m starting with Scarlett.

SCULPTING

This is probably going to be a general complaint of GI Joe female toys – most of them really didn’t look that good, and Scarlett unfortunately doesn’t look as good as she could be. Compare her to the Chun Li toy also released around the same time, and they could have done a little bit more to make her look better, like they did with that figure. 

The body, however, is pretty good! Plenty of small details all over. I kinda think this was a missed opportunity to make a female asian ninja character instead. But it is what it is. 

I’m not a fan of the figure’s head sculpt, but the rest of the figure is good.

PAINT

Paint is mainly used for the details on the costume, and it’s used fairly well. You have the dark green and flesh tones, as well as black and gold for the armour. Overall, it’s very neat and not too sloppy. But sometimes you will get a bit of slop here and there.

ARTICULATION

Scarlett has most of the standard GI Joe articulation – except when it comes to her legs, which have her “real ninja action” feature of being able to kick. This limits her leg movement a little bit. Which is a shame because these figures would benefit from the standard GI Joe articulation the most.

You can still get her in a good number of poses, and she can hold most of her weapons quite well. No problems standing up either.

ACCESSORIES

Scarlett comes with a lot of weapons that are all cast in bright yellow plastic. They stand out a lot, but also some suit her too. You get a number of swords and other ninja-themed weapons. There’s a good amount of choice here.

POTENTIAL PROBLEMS

I don’t think you will have too many problems with this figure. The Ninja Force toys can’t be taken apart easily due to having spring-loaded features inside them. Which is a bit of a let-down, but I can understand why that is the case. However, that will make it pretty much indestructible.  

PRICE

I got Scarlett for a good price loose, and she’s not too expensive carded either, compared to other figures. Considering that Ninja Force is not necessarily liked by GI Joe fans, I don’t think you’ll have too much trouble tracking this figure down.

OVERALL

This is a good figure, but not a great one. There are things I like about it and things I don’t. It’s not the worst figure ever made, but I think a lot more work should have gone into its design. I think it’s only worth picking up if you are putting together a Ninja Force collection and aiming for completeness of that collection.

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RETRO REVIEW – HASBRO/TAKARA THE TRANSFORMERS ONSLAUGHT

Posted by Mighty Mike on July 9, 2026
Posted in: Retro. Tagged: , , , , .

Onslaught is the leader of the Combaticons team and transforms into a missile trailer. He is capable of launching 6500-mile range photon missiles. He believes the key to a mission’s success lies in the perfection of its planning. As commander of the Combaticons he is a relentless and furious fighter and forms the main torso and head for Bruticus.

Name: Onslaught 
Line: The Transformers (G1)
Manufacturer: Hasbro/Takara
Released: 1985
Price: Then – $11.99 USD Now – $30 – $300 USD
Scale: 19 cm in height in robot mode.
Accessories: Gun and multiple parts to make Bruticus
Motto: “The mind is the greatest weapon”

My brother was the bigger fan of Onslaught than me. When growing up being a twin, we often had to decide between each other who got what, in terms of sharing certain Transformers – for example, my brother owned Onslaught and Sliverbolt and I owned Motormaster and Hotspot.

Out of the Combaticons I had Brawl and Vortex, while he had Onslaught, Swindle and Blastoff. When you have a sibling you just make it work. 

I appreciate the character of Onslaught even though I technically didn’t own him as a kid. However, that hasn’t stopped me later in life tracking down a version for myself.

My brother is still the Onslaught expert owning at least three or more versions of the original toy, it’s definitely one of his favourite characters along with Thundercracker and Hot rod.

SCULPTING

Onslaught is very nicely sculpted. There is a good amount of detail in both vehicle mode and robot mode.  He’s a very long vehicle and also a pretty tall robot too. I always liked how long the missile trailer was and that you could put other Combaticons on the back as well.

PAINT

Not a lot of paint on Onslaught and the stickers make up a lot of the interesting details on him. What paint there is on my figure is nice and tidy – no slop here. I do really like the black camo pattern on the vehicle mode it really adds something special to the deco.

ARTICULATION 

Like most Transformers from this era his articulation is just a trade off from the transformation. You can move his arms, head and technically his legs too. But he’s pretty much a brick, but a cool looking brick at least.

The transformation is very fun and straight forward, you are just folding out and folding up certain parts of him and extending other parts. Not too hard. But still pretty satisfying for what it is.

ACCESSORIES

Onslaught comes with his sonic stun gun, a ramp and all the parts to help you build Bruticus (head, chest pieces and two hands and feet) all are nicely detailed and well-made. Obviously, the parts are great because they enable you to assemble a larger robot if you have the other Combaticons.

There are also a couple of slight variations to Onslaught/Bruticus mainly being the colour of the grey plastic – it comes in sliver and a light grey. I have both variants and they are great in their own individual ways.

POTENTIAL PROBLEMS

There are definitely a few things to watch out for with onslaught, he’s always been a little bit fragile even when brand new. And gets even more fragile the older the plastic gets. Definitely be gentle when transforming him as the navy plastic can get brittle and easily break if too much force is applied. And don’t lose that small chest plate for Onslaught either!

PRICE

I paid for a second hand Onslaught from a reputable Transformers reseller that included the box with my purchase. So the price was a bit high after the exchange rate. However, it was in absolutely excellent condition and I’m glad I paid a little bit extra for it. Always with vintage Transformers: pay  a price you are happy with or even purchase a reissue.

OVERALL

Onslaught is not a perfect Transformer toy. But he does have his strengths and weaknesses in his design. He looks great in vehicle and robot mode and helps to form a really cool looking combiner, being Bruticus. Just watch out for possible weak arm and leg joints as you don’t want to break him. He’s definitely a fun toy to have and looks great with the other Combaticons on a display shelf. 

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RETRO REVIEW – KENNER JURASSIC PARK DINO SCREAMS VELOCIRAPTOR

Posted by Mighty Mike on June 23, 2026
Posted in: Retro. Tagged: , , .

The Dino Screams Velociraptor was one of the many dinosaurs released in the first wave for Kenner’s original Jurassic Park line of toys, based on the hit movie. The velociraptors are technically some of the main antagonists in the latter half of the movie after escaping their enclosure.

Name: Velociraptor
Line: Jurassic Park (Dino Screams)
Manufacturer: Kenner
Released: 1993
Price: First released – $12.99. Now – varies $200-$250MOC
Scale: About 4 Inches in height
Accessories: JP Collector card #12.

My brother and I, like most kids our age, watched the original Jurassic Park in the cinema when it was first released. We had a choice of that or The Lion King, and obviously, hands down, Jurassic Park was winning that battle. 

I vividly remember other kids at school talking about the movie as they had seen it before us, but that didn’t matter because we didn’t have to wait too long to see it and loved it upon first watching it. Truly one of Steven Spielberg’s greatest movies and excellent dinosaur creations from Stan Winston Studios that helped bring the creatures to life.

And what felt like a common practice, it was a trip to the toy store to buy some toys after watching said movie. This particular version of the Velociraptor I didn’t have as a kid, my brother had this one. I had the brown slightly smaller one instead. 

However, I always liked the look of this one as it seemed to imply it was the leader of the escaped Raptors, being it had a different paint job and was slightly bigger overall compared to the other version.

So, later in life, I managed to pick one up from eBay MOC while reclaiming my childhood toys and figures.

SCULPTING
As like the majority of Kenner’s Jurassic Park line the sculpting on this toy is absolutely excellent and a highlight of the toy. Whoever worked on the sculpting for all the Dinosaurs really did an amazing effort and I thank them for not only making the Dinosaurs look realistic, but matching how they looked in the movie very closely too. This Velociraptor is an excellent representation of the ones seen in the movie.

PAINT
The paint is probably the only questionable aspect of the toy, not because it’s bad, it’s done very well. But, because like some of the other dinosaurs from this line it doesn’t match the source material as well as it could. But, I understand that it’s more “toyetic” this way and I definitely agree that it is and these are aimed at kids, not collectors. 

It’s still a pretty iconic colour scheme for this toy and the combination of colours really makes the toy stand out but still look somewhat realistic when with other toys from the same line. The red/brown stripes and white underbelly work well with the orange/tan base colour, and the green eyes really stand out. The black claws and talons and off-white teeth round out the colour scheme nicely.

ARTICULATION
The Velociraptor has a small amount of articulation; you can move the arms and legs. They swivel pretty well and aren’t too loose. The head and tail are stuck in place. For this particular figure, the articulation works fine. It’s just enough to add play value and still a lot more than the average dinosaur toy would have.

It’s also worth mentioning that this particular toy’s gimmick was that when you pushed down the torso from the tail end while supporting the legs, the arms would stretch outwards in a grabbing motion and the Dinosaur would make noise, hence “Dino Screams” This is a pretty neat feature and made playing with this toy very fun.

The batteries needed changing in mine, and it was very tricky to get them out, so I couldn’t be bothered putting new ones in to check if the electronics still worked or not, as I didn’t want to damage the toy trying to get the new batteries out later. But seeing the old original batteries hadn’t leaked, I’m pretty confident the electronics would still work if tested.

ACCESSORIES
None. Unless you are counting that collector card, and I wouldn’t count that.

POTENTIAL PROBLEMS
There isn’t too much to watch out for here, besides paint rub and it’s somewhat tricky to get the batteries out of their compartment if you want to replace them.

PRICE
I paid what I felt was a good price for one, new mint on card, because I wanted my copy to be in the best condition possible. It’s still fairly readily available on the secondary market, and the price is not too outrageous.

OVERALL
This is one of the classic and iconic toys from Kenner’s original Jurassic Park line of toys. It’s an excellent sculpt. Great paint scheme and fun play feature make it a really great toy. If you are looking to start a vintage Jurassic Park toy collection, you need to make sure you have this toy in your collection, it’s great!

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RETRO REVIEW – HASBRO BATTLE BEASTS WEB SLINGER SPIDER

Posted by Mighty Mike on June 17, 2026
Posted in: Retro. Tagged: , , , .

Battle Beasts was a toy line consisting of small anthropomorphic animals in body armour; each toy came with its own individual weapon. Released in the mid 1980’s, each Battle Beast would have a heat-sensitive sticker on its chest, which, when rubbed, would reveal the symbol of wood, fire or water. You could then play a rock, scissors, paper-type game using the toys with your friends.

Name: Web Slinger Spider
Line: Battle Beasts
Manufacturer: Hasbro/Takara
Released: 1986
Price: Then – around $5- $10 (estimate) Now – roughly the same loose, more MOSC
Scale: 2 inches in height
Accessories: Blade/sword weapon

I discovered Battle Beasts when I was in primary school. I was in the school library looking through the magazines there and came across a full-page colour ad. Now, this magazine was pretty old and this was the mid 90’s, so there was no way to learn more about these cool-looking toys. I do remember I liked the look of most of the toys, Web Slinger Spider being the best. Fast forward to today, and with the internet, it’s pretty easy to rediscover and find things you remember from your youth. Thanks to Alex Bickmore and Super Toy Archive, I now not only know more about these toys, but I was also able to buy them too.

SCULPTING

Considering the size, the detail on the figure is quite good. They are small in height, but fairly wide little toys. You have some nice detailing on the armour, plenty of grooves, panels etc. Overall, I would say it has a lot of smooth surfaces. The standout features of the figurine are the extra legs sticking out from the back, and the great detail in the Spider’s face.

PAINT

The toy is cast in grey plastic, with paint added for the armour and details on the head. As for the application of the paint, it certainly isn’t a standout presentation; however, it is satisfactory. Apart from a few stray dots of paint, I would say it looks pretty good. One thing to watch out for would be paint being rubbed off on the top of the head or the corners of the armour.

ARTICULATION

Web slinger spider only has two points of articulation, his arms. That’s it. You aren’t going to get him into any dramatic action stances, that’s for sure. But it is possible to get a few nice poses out of him.

ACCESSORIES

Just one accessory for this toy: his bladed weapon. I would describe the sword as very smooth, with no sharp points, and it has a nice shape to it. It fits easily into his hand. Sometimes it will fall out if you’re not careful.

POTENTIAL PROBLEMS

Not really anything to worry about with this toy. Just make sure you don’t lose the weapon, as it is small and a dull grey colour.

PRICE

Buying one of these battle beasts won’t cost you much, unless you want one MOSC, then you’ll have a harder time tracking one down for a reasonable price.

OVERALL

I quite like Web Slinger Spider. Once I finally found out more about these 80’s figures, I wasn’t too disappointed. The print ad from my childhood didn’t set me up for any unrealistic expectations, thankfully. You get to really enjoy these toys more when you have a group of different characters together on a shelf; that’s when they start to look really cool. However, even by itself, Web Slinger Spider is still cool in my book! They will look great mixed in with some Transformers Pretenders or any Transformer post the original Transformers movie. I would recommend giving Battle Beasts a try if you have fond memories of them like I did, or if you are into collecting cool-looking little toys.

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RETRO REVIEW – KENNER LAVA PLANET PREDATOR

Posted by Mighty Mike on May 28, 2026
Posted in: Retro. Tagged: , , .

The Kenner Predator series was released during the 1990s and is loosely based on the designs of the Predator movies – and I do mean loosely!  There were at least two series of predators released:  a version more faithful to the film for series one, followed by one far more creative or crazy, depending on your opinion, series two. The Lava Planet Predator was released in series two.

Name: Lava Planet Predator
Line: Alien Vs. Predator
Manufacturer: Kenner
Released: 1994
Price: Then: $5 -$7, now: $30-$40 MOC
Scale: 14cm in height.
Accessories: Blazing rocket launcher

When I was a kid, my brother and I had Kenner’s line of Aliens and Space Marine toys, and then one day, after my mother and brother had gone out shopping, he brought home with him Cracked Tusk and Scavage Predator toys. I picked Scavage Predator for myself. Later on, I clearly remember getting the Lava Planet Predator from Toys R Us in Parramatta. I was instantly drawn to the figure because of the red translucent plastic. I really enjoyed playing with him as a kid, and I thought the design looked really cool, even if it didn’t make sense based on the first series of Predator figures released looked so much more realistic.

SCULPTING

This is the same sculpt as the Cracked Tusk Predator. So, if you own that one, you have it. Now, this time it’s in clear red plastic. Even though there’s not a lot of paint to bring out the details, Kenner still did an excellent job sculpting these toys. There’s a lot of detail on the skin and armour, and I feel they really tried to give each Predator a unique look with the armour and Predator itself.    

PAINT

Mainly being cast in red plastic, there’s not a lot of paint on this figure to speak of. Just a little bit of black spray on the head and some paint on the chest. The yellow eyes really stand out against the black, and the design on the chest looks cool too.  

ARTICULATION

The articulation is identical to the rest of the Kenner Predator line, with moveable head, arms and legs. All articulation points are cut/swivel joints, and there is generally a good range of motion from each. However, there is still some restriction, allowing for only a handful of decent poses. This is mainly from the lack of articulation, and sometimes from the sculpt itself. If only Kenner threw in some hinge joints, then we would be talking!

ACCESSORIES

This Predator figure comes with the same shoulder cannon as Cracked Tusk. Only now it’s been cast in mostly metallic red. Some parts are grey as well, which kinda ruins the overall look though. The Lava Planet Predator also comes with a red mask, the same one again that came with Cracked Tusk. Both mask and cannon look great, and the firing feature is quite strong even to this day.

POTENTIAL PROBLEMS

I don’t really see too many issues with this toy. He’s pretty rock solid.

PRICE

I paid a reasonable price for mine. But not a lot of money. If you hunt around (no pun intended), you can find yourself a deal for one. It’s not the type of toy you should be paying an arm and a leg for.

OVERALL

I think the Lava Planet Predator is a good use of a mold as a repaint. Even if it might look a little bit silly to most Predator fans. On its own, it’s a pretty cool looking figure, and to me, it always will be cool because of the red translucent plastic it’s cast in, but, if you know me, I’m a sucker for toys in translucent colours. If you are a Predator fan, I don’t think it’s worth chasing this one down, unless you are a completest.

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RETRO REVIEW – HASBRO/TAKARA BEASTFORMER (LASER BEASTS) TIGERBURN

Posted by Mighty Mike on May 14, 2026
Posted in: Retro. Tagged: , , , .

Tigerburn is the undisputed leader of the Laser Beasts society and The Great Emperor of the Subterranean Kingdom, heir to the Royal Tiger Clan. He leads with intelligence and a cool, calm, rational demeanour and has an endless burning drive inside him to  make sure the Laser Beasts are the most dominant force on Beast Planet.

Name: Tigerburn
Line: Beastformers (Laser Beasts)
Manufacturer: Hasbro/Takara
Released: 1988
Price: Then – $3 USD Now – $65 – $90 USD
Scale: About 5cm in height.
Accessories: Medical Aid Laser MVP Weapon

I knew of Battle Beasts from my childhood, in particular a magazine ad that was in a book at my school library of all places! But only learnt about Laser Beasts and Beastformers later in life when starting to collect more Japanese exclusive G1 Transformers.

One such toy that caught my eye was Tigerburn. One of shops inside Mandarake Nakano broadway used to have quite the selection of Battle Beasts and Laser Beasts quite a few years ago and I happened to buy my Tigerburn from there. 

He was in the display case with a number of other figures and I couldn’t resist buying him to add to my collection.

However, he was missing his weapon, which I managed to acquire later online, but that did make him a lot cheaper as he wasn’t complete.

SCULPTING

Tigerburn’s sculpting is excellent for such a small toy. He is quite detailed and his armour looks great! However, because of the rubber material and size the details can look a little bit soft. But overall he’s a very cool looking toy.

PAINT

Paint is used very effectively on Tigerburn to colour his armour and bring out small details like his eyes. Even though he’s cast in yellow the colour really pops against the cool stone blue armour with pink highlights and those red eyes really help to convey the endless burning drive inside him! I just wish he had tiger strips painted on him, as that’s the only thing missing!

ARTICULATION

Like all Beastformers he only has two points of articulation being: his arms. They can be rotated 360 degrees and that’s it. Even if it’s not much articulation, I still like it when toys give you something instead of nothing. It does help you can pose him a little bit and aim his gun too.

ACCESSORIES

Tigerburn comes with his medical aid laser MVP weapon which he can use to heal his allies on the battlefield. It’s a pretty neat looking gun that has a tiger on the side of it. And it’s pretty cool that he will heal his allies with his weapon. It’s cast in grey plastic and fits in his hand without issue.

Also like other Laser Beasts Tigerburn has a play feature where you can determine which alliance he is, by shining a light through the clear plastic chest piece! This is a pretty cool feature and just adds that little something extra.

POTENTIAL PROBLEMS

I would say you really don’t have a lot to worry about with Tigerburn. He’s rock solid. However, his paint might have wear on it, depending on condition. I’d always recommend getting one in C8-9 condition if you can and if he’s missing his gun it could be a little bit tricky tracking one down.

PRICE

I really don’t remember how much I paid for Tigerburn, but I don’t feel he would have been overpriced if I bought him at least 10 years ago from Mandarake. As always just pay a price you’re happy with.

OVERALL

I really like Tigerburn he’s a very cool looking Laser Beast and stands out from most of the other beasts with his yellow skin and stone blue armour. His characterisation makes him quite cool – being a strong and feared leader. So there’s a lot to like about him. I would definitely recommend picking one up if you are a Beastformers fan as once you have him on your shelf you’ll be glad you bought him.

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RETRO REVIEW – HASBRO/TAKARA THE TRANSFORMERS ASTROTRAIN

Posted by Mighty Mike on May 12, 2026
Posted in: Retro. Tagged: , , , , .

Astrotrain is a Decepticon triple changer and changes into a space shuttle and steam locomotive. As a space shuttle he travels at 20,000 mph in orbit and as a train, his top speed is 400 mph. He also acts as a decepticon troop and cargo transport. Creating confusion is his specialty and he thrives on foes’ panic and fear.

Name: Astrotrain
Line: The Transformers (G1)
Manufacturer: Hasbro/Takara
Released: 1985
Price: Then – $11.99 USD Now – $50 – $250 USD
Scale: About 12cm in height in robot mode
Accessories: Ionic displacer rifle
Motto: “In confusion there is opportunity.”

My brother and I were both lucky enough to own Astrotrain as a kid, being the European classics version of the toy. Which we both received as Christmas presents (which we some how found them early, and obviously became quite excited knowing what we would receive) Even though by this stage my brother and I knew to be careful when playing with our G1 Transformers so as not to break them. I still remember at some point one Astrotrain had his leg broken and the other his arm, unfortunately. So many years later I was wanting to reclaim my childhood and was able to purchase one in good condition for myself. I’ve always liked the look of the toy and enjoyed that it could turn into a space shuttle and steam locomotive as well. Being one of the two first “Triple Changers” was pretty cool at the time.

Doing my research I read that originally it was intended to have Astrotrain’s arms extend out to be longer and that he might have been originally intended to be released for Diaclone. I really think the extending arms would have been a great added feature. I’m curious to see if any missing link Astrotrain will fix this problem if it’s ever announced.

SCULPTING

Astrotrain is very nicely sculpted, in robot mode and in space shuttle and train mode. I honesty can’t decide which mode I like the most they are all great! The only let down is his short arms and tiny oddly shaped thighs.   (Which are shaped that way as part of his transformation, but still, they’ve always looked weird) Otherwise, everything else is in proportion and which a nice amount of sculpted detail. The stickers also provide a lot of nice detail too.

For some reason there’s just something about the choice of off white and purple plastic that I just love. The plastic feels of high quality and the tones of each colour have always felt premium to me, I really do think it’s important what colour is picked and what tone of that colour too.

Also, it’s worth noting that Astrotrain’s chest shield can be folded away to better match the cartoon design. But it looks very cool when you have the chest shield out. Even if it does limit his arm movement.

PAINT

Not too much of Astrotrain has been painted. It’s mainly the metal parts of his legs which make up the front part of his train mode. As expected it’s painted well and looks good. Just be aware of any paint chips or wear to this part of the toy.

ARTICULATION

Like most G1 transformers, Astrotrain is a brick. You can move his arms a little bit and they are on ball joints so you get a good range of motion, but that’s it. No leg or head articulation. 

His transformation from space shuttle to robot to train is fun and fairly intuitive and feels satisfying. Even if you are just moving and folding different parts of his body. 

ACCESSORIES

Astrotrain comes with his Ionic displacer rifle and that’s it. His gun is notoriously oversized for the toy and for his tiny arms. Still it looks great and fits in and stays in his hand with no problem.

POTENTIAL PROBLEMS

I would have to say Astrotrain is a pretty solid toy. However, I do remember that as a kid one of his legs broke. So like most vintage transformers you still need to be careful with him. Only real issues if buying one would be plastic discolouration or paint chips/play wear.

PRICE

I was able to get my copy of Astrotrain from Transformerland and was happy with the price for the condition of the toy. As always just pay a price you are happy with.

OVERALL

I really like the Astrotrain toy. Astrotrain is definitely a good background toy to have to help build out your G1 collection and a pretty great toy in its own right, even with its limitations. As an adult collector there’s not too much to worry about with this one. He’s a great toy to own. Perhaps the main question is do you have the chest shield out or folded up?

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RETRO REVIEW – KENNER SGT. APONE

Posted by Mighty Mike on April 26, 2026
Posted in: Retro. Tagged: , , .

Please note: Originally posted back in August 2014, but I’ve gone back and retaken the photos so it matches the most recent Kenner Aliens figures photo sets and just in time for Alien Day too!

Kenner’s line of ‘Aliens’ Space Marine toys were fairly short lived. After only 1 & 1/2 series of figures the Marines were dumped in favour of Predators instead to do battle with the Aliens. What marines we did get however were quite cool and in most cases had action features to add more play value. Apone, a character that appeared in the Aliens film franchise, also received a figure in this toyline.

Name: SGT. Apone
Line: Aliens
Manufacturer: Kenner
Released: 1992
Price: Then: $10-$16.  Now: $10 – $26 MOSC or less if loose
Scale: 4 -5 Inches in height
Accessories: Machine gun, two grenades

I really can’t remember why my brother and I decided to collect the Kenner Aliens toys when we were kids – being a toyline based off an MA 15+ series of movies – but they did look cool. The Alien designs were nice and there were a variety of figures. But you can’t just have Aliens… You need Marines as well! Regardless of what collectors at the time and collectors now think of this toyline, I still like what Kenner did with about 90% of the figures they made. Now on to the review!

SCULPTING

Kenner has taken a lot of liberties with their interpretation of each space marine character; they sure do not look like how they appeared in the movie. However, to me, what they have come up with, is still in its own way charming. The sculpting overall is pretty solid there are a lot of nice details on the figure, like the robotic arm or the harness or even the leg armour. I also like the head sculpt too. It may not be the best likeness of Al Mathews, but it still provokes the character of SGT. Apone to me. Like Ripley he has been sculpted in a set pose with articulation added later.

PAINT

The paint on Apone, isn’t too bad, there is the occasional slop here and there, like on the silver shoulder pad on the chest. However, the bulk of the paint is quite good – which is another thing I enjoyed about Kenner’s toys, they were always well painted and well made. The colour scheme is a bit funky too: bright yellow shirt with teal pants and a red cap to top it off. The colours really didn’t bother me too much as a child and I still have a soft spot for Apone even now; but I can understand to some collectors this is one of the main deal breakers for this figure.

ARTICULATION

Apone sports a whopping six points of articulation, swivel head, arms and legs. The waist does swivel too, but it’s only to help with the action feature so it will snap back into its normal position once moved. Apone’s action feature is that he “throws” the gold grenades he comes with, which involves placing a grenade in his hand, raising his robot arm up and then turning his waist and letting it snap back, theoretically throwing the grenade away.

He may have a robotic arm enhancement, but it doesn’t help him throw grenades very well at all. Apone should just stick to using his machine gun and that’s it.

ACCESSORIES

Apone comes with a couple of accessories, his machine gun and two grenades. Besides holding each item in his hands, he can also store them on his back or store the machine gun on his leg too. This is pretty neat as he doesn’t always have to be carrying all his weapons in his hands all the time.

POTENTIAL PROBLEMS

None that I can think of; Apone is rock solid. What would you expect from a early 1990’s toy? Just make sure your one has a good paint job before you buy it.

PRICE

I was happy with the $10 + shipping costs; however, I wouldn’t pay too much for this figure, as he is not worth any large amount of money.

OVERALL

Apone has a couple of faults and short comings; he’s not a very good representation of how the character appears in the movie and his action feature is a bit weak. But like Ripley I think he really captures the idea of the character well, which is a battle hardened space marine sergeant. The toy’s colours may be a bit funky for collectors these days, so I really think he’s only worthwhile if you are buying him to reclaim your childhood or if you really want a set of retro Aliens marines in your collection.

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This post was originally published on August 18, 2014.