Toybox REVIEW: Transformers Studio Series 86 Exo-Suit Spike Witwicky

Release Date: January 2022

RRP: $11.99/£13.99

While there are plenty of (living, dead and background) characters in Transformers: The Movie to keep the Studio Series 86 line occupied for quite a while, it's nice to know that it didn't take long for Hasbro to turn their attention toward the few non-robotic cast members as well. Studio Series 86 Exo-Suit Spike Witwicky joins the line's core class offerings of smaller figures, representing the now adult Spike in the transforming armour he wore in the movie and subsequent episodes of the Generation One cartoon. In the movie, Spike assists Bumblebee with the Autobot defences on Moonbase Two - stationed there until it was devoured by the chaos bringer Unicron.

As a core class figure Exo-Suit Spike Witwicky comes in a scaled-down version of the usual Studio Series 86 packaging, lacking the individual number designation that the larger figures have. The front of the box is features an open window section so that leaves the top half of the figure both visible and exposed, with new character artwork printed both above it and then again on the side of the box (one side featuring a full body shot, the other a close up of Spike's head). The back of the box shows off Spike in both modes, and then inside the figure is fixed to a backdrop backing card displaying the belly of Unicron. The two accessory pieces are wrapped in paper and then fixed inside card separately.

Although technically this is the second Exo-Suit figure in the Studio Series 86 line (following on from the freebie Daniel figure that came with Slug/Slag), but unlike that one Spike is actually worth talking about. While similar to the Masterpiece version that was included with MP-21 Bumblebee, the core class figure sports much better proportions as a slightly more movie-accurate paint job. The Exo-Suit itself looks fantastic, with great colouring as well as some surprisingly intricate moulding for such a small figure. From the front it might look a little basic, but turn him around and you'll see some pretty detailed thrusters moulded into the backpack. Behind the transparent helmet piece is a properly sculpted Spike Witwicky head that also has good screen-accuracy, but is sadly lacking any additional paint apps on the face which does give it a slightly creepy vibe. That said, the Masterpiece version doesn't have any face detailing either.

One of the great joys about tiny Transformers like these is the ability to fiddle around with them a bit more without far less worries about stressing plastic or breaking parts, and the core class does a really good job of this. Altogether Spike Witwicky features;

- Head and lower arm swivel

- Swivel hinge shoulders

- Hinged elbows and upper knees

- Ball jointed hips and lower knees

With the head completely covered by a helmet that can't be removed the figure doesn't actually have a straightforward swivel, but rather there's a slider on the back that allows you to move the head that way. Simple, but a rather effective gimmick! The rest of the figure is far more standard Transformers fare, but as I previously said it's a great desk figure to just mess around with and pose. There's a good mix of joints in both the arms and legs to provide plenty of movement without a great deal of engineering required, with particular mention to the swivel hinge shoulders and ball jointed knees.

Giving the figure a little more pizzazz are two small blast effect parts moulded in translucent yellow plastic, which can be pegged onto the thruster pegs on the back of Spike's arms. From there they can be left at the back to create a thruster-powered "rocket punch" effect, or alternatively the whole arm section can be rotated 180 degrees so that Spike has a blowtorch/flamethrower weapon instead. The accessories are a nice little touch that add some extra playability to the figure, as well as elevating core class figures beyond just being cheaper price point figures. When it comes to producing characters at are this scale when compared to larger Transformers, the Studio Series does a really good job of it.

In 11 steps Spike's Exo-Suit transforms into vehicle mode, which thankfully has a little more to it than simply lying the figure down on its chest. The legs fold up at the back and the arms sit on top to make something that vaguely resembles a vehicle but more importantly is reasonably close to how it looks in the movie as well. It doesn't look quite as good as the Masterpiece figure, but if one mode of the figure was going to have compromises I'd rather it be the vehicle. Onscreen Spike (or Daniel) would be front-facing in this mode, but unfortunately as the head is in a fixed position (and the helmet stuck down) here he's stuck looking straight at the floor. Overall it's what you'd expect for a Transformer of this size - a nice little fiddly transformation that's easy to work out (and subsequently change the figure back and forth) and a good-looking vehicle mode that wouldn't be particularly impressive if it was any bigger but does the job nicely at this size.

In vehicle mode Spike features four free-rolling wheels that allow him to glide across smooth surfaces. The two blast effect parts can be attached to the vehicle in the same place as they were in robot mode to represent thruster blasts, and although the head can still technically swivel left and right via the slider above it the fact Spike is looking straight down does kind of spoil the effect. While there might not be all that much to say about it in toy form, it was a pretty basic vehicle mode onscreen as well so if anything this is a perfect match for the core class.

Transformers Studio Series 86 Exo-Suit Spike Witwicky is a great example of Hasbro using this smaller size class to do something worthwhile that wouldn't fit anywhere else. It goes without saying that this is a huge step-up from the Daniel packed in with Slag, providing a wonderfully articulated figure with a fun little alt mode too. It's a shame that the face sculpt doesn't have a proper paint job, but that said it probably would have driven up the price and whether these core class figures fully justify their RRP is already up for debate. I was lucky to pick Spike up at half price and think he's definitely worth that, but at full cost he might have been a more bitter pill to swallow. Maybe not a figure everyone necessarily wants in their Transformers collection, but a great addition to the cast nonetheless.