Transformers Toy Review: “Mechanic Toys’ Small-Scale Broadside – When Was the Last Time This Character Got a Toy?”

Last Updated on September 11, 2025 by xmiaonline.com

Today, I’m bringing you a new product from Mechanic Toys – the small-scale triple-changing Broadside. As I recall, official images of this Broadside figure were released half a year ago, and after such a long period of refinement, it has finally hit the market. Looking at the entire market, Broadside toys are quite rare, and the character itself has never been among the most popular ones. This small-scale version launched by Mechanic Toys largely fills the gap in Broadside-themed toys. How does this toy perform? Follow this review to find out.

The character Broadside is quite a confusing one in terms of settings in the G1 animation. For example, there are two versions of its Chinese translation: “Páipào” and “Xiánpào”. What’s even more outrageous is that two versions of its appearance appeared in the animation. The one I’m reviewing today is the image of the early red-faced version of Broadside that appeared in the animation.

The packaging box of Broadside follows Mechanic Toys’ consistent style. In the center of the box, there is a standing illustration of Broadside in its humanoid form, and the Mechanic Toys logo is located at the bottom left corner. The back of the box mainly displays real-life pictures of the toy in its three forms, which we will skip directly.

The toy contents include the main body of Broadside, a battle axe, a large gun, a pair of cannons, a character card, and an instruction manual. The version I have this time comes with a bonus item, and it also includes an additional set of small aircraft accessories for the Aerialbots.

Mechanic Toys’ Broadside has been aesthetically enhanced based on the G1 version. After all, the original design is hardly considered attractive. The upgraded head sculpture aligns with the style of other G1 characters and incorporates a more biomimetic feel. Meanwhile, the paint quality is excellent, with no obvious paint missing or overflow.

This red-faced version of Broadside doesn’t have excessive paint applications on its body. While the toy faithfully recreates the character’s original design, it also features intricate mechanical details carved into the surface of its armor. The feet of the red-faced Broadside have a jet nozzle design, which differs from the later blue version—and the toy effectively captures this distinction.

The backpack of Broadside is neatly stowed away, with the battleship deck folded into the shape of small wings. The pair of cannons included with the toy accessories are plugged onto these small wings—this also faithfully recreates the original design.

The toy’s head sculpture can rotate horizontally and tilt up or down at a small angle. Its arms can rotate vertically and be lifted horizontally to an angle far exceeding 90 degrees. The upper arms can rotate horizontally, the elbows can bend 180 degrees, and the four fingers on each hand can open together.

The waist can rotate horizontally and lean forward at a small angle. The legs can kick forward and backward by approximately 90 degrees, and the side kicks can reach a slightly more than 90-degree angle. The thighs can rotate horizontally, and the knees can bend to nearly 90 degrees. The ankles can rotate horizontally, tilt inward for ground contact, and the forefeet can bend downward. Broadside’s articulation is quite good among toys in the “classic-style” category—striking regular poses will definitely be no problem.

Broadside’s weapon accessories are a battle axe and a large gun respectively. This type of large gun is a standard accessory for G1 characters, but as for this battle axe, I don’t recall Broadside using such a weapon in the animation. Considering that Onslaught’s humanoid form is at least larger than Jetfire’s—making it quite a bulky figure—it is reasonably fitting for it to wield a weapon like an axe, which exudes a strong sense of power.

As a Triple Changer, Broadside’s transformation design is not difficult. The difficulty of transforming it into either vehicle form is roughly at the official Deluxe (D-Class) to Voyager (V-Class) level—basically, you can remember the process after transforming it once or twice. The battleship mode of Broadside has a high degree of completion, with details from the deck to the command tower all well-depicted. In real life, the hull of a battleship or aircraft carrier is quite thick, so it’s understandable that the toy is made a bit thick too.

The biggest highlight of this battleship mode is undoubtedly its interactivity with the Aerialbots from the bonus set. By placing the small aircraft on the battleship’s deck, we can also get an intuitive sense of the scale between the characters. Speaking of scale, Broadside in its humanoid form is only about half a torso taller than a standard Transformer, but when transformed into a battleship, it’s at least the size of a Base-Class Transformer—there’s a complete mismatch in scale before and after transformation. But hey, just don’t question Cybertronian compression technology.

The fuselage of Broadside’s aircraft mode has a relatively large volume, which easily places it in the transport aircraft category. The red and blue paint scheme on the wings is quite stunning, greatly enhancing the visual appeal of the vehicle mode. Meanwhile, the landing gear has also been fully implemented. Even though it’s a Triple Changer, none of its forms feel rushed or shoddy.

To sum up, there are already very few toys of the character Broadside, and the number of toys featuring this red-faced version of Broadside can be counted on one hand. Therefore, Mechanic Toys’ red-faced Broadside largely fills the gap in toys depicting this specific version of the character. The toy itself has been aesthetically enhanced based on the rather absurd G1 original design, making it much more acceptable to us. The tightness of this Broadside’s joints is perfectly moderate, providing a very comfortable handling experience. The toy’s transformation is not difficult, and both of its vehicle modes boast a relatively high level of completion. Overall, it is a toy that is well worth recommending.

Well, that’s it for this review. Thank you all for watching. If you have any opinions or suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comment section—I will read every single one of your messages carefully. Your support is my greatest motivation. See you in the next episode.

Click here to buy：Transformers toy Dr.wu & Mechanic Toys MS-37M Giant Axe Broadside