Spinister is the Decepticon Dual Targetmaster attack helicopter. I've stated (many times) how I associate the Autobots with cars and the Decepticons with planes. Now Helicopters, which are an airborne vehicle, you'd expect to slide towards the second of these two groupings. So in the run up to 1988 when Spinister came out, how many Autobot and how many Decepticon helicopters were there?
Autobots:
1985: Whirl
1986: Blades, Springer & Sandstorm
1987: Highbrow
1998: Sky High
Total = 6
Decepticons:
1986: (a year later than the Autobots !) Vortex
1987: Battletrap (well half of him anyway)
1988: Spinister
Total = 3
The Autobots considerably outnumber the Decepticons by two to one. It's a similar story after 1988 during Generation 1:
Autobots:
1989: Crossblades
1990: Over-Run (he rides in one), Action Master Bumblebee (he's got a helicopter backpack) & Blazemaster.
In Japan we have Tracer (the Cybertron version of the Decepticon Micromaster) and Skyhyper piloted by Deadwheeler
1991: Elite Action Master Windmill
1992: Rotorstorm in Europe while in Japan we had Guard City's Fly-up.
Total = 10
Decepticons
1989: Skyhopper and in Japan Blue Bacchus the Crossblades remould & repaint.
1990: The original Decepticon Micromaster Tracer
1991: Elite Action Master Turbomaster
1992: Battle Gaea's Targethawk
Total = 5
Two to One again, and thus 16-8 over the entire line! So the Autobots have their grip on the helicopter as their Airborne mode.
Spinister is a little multicoloured with a sea green nose complete with blue painted cockpit, purple engines and undercarriage, black side wings, pink tail and grey rotors & wheels. He comes with two Targetmasters which, in a change to the norm, attach to two pegs under the wings using the 5mm holes in the top of the weapons mode to give the impression of built in weapons systems, a little like how the Targetmasters serve as tank gun barrels for Quake.
Singe is the Black Targetmaster who, like his companion, is a dual barrelled gun. Fold the gun barrels back onto the body of the gun behind what's revealed to be the robot's head when you stand it on it's rear. This is another dual TM with it's peg and corresonding socket toward the bottom of the robot mode between the lower legs, and as I said the last time thank the lord that they're not any higher. He's got grey arms & waist/belt with pale blue upper legs and face. Mounted on one shoulder are twin gun barrels while on the other is a 7 chambered missile launcher.
The purple Targetmaster is Hairsplitter is also a dual barrelled gun. The gun barrel fold back behind the feet in robot mode with the 5mm peg for holding him becoming a chest cannon while the corresponding hole is on the robot's back. He's got a gun moulded onto his right arm. Both arms and upper legs are blue while the waist and face are grey. If you fold Hairsplitter's guns back as heel spurs and plug the peg on Singe's legs into the hole in Hairsplitter's back it looks like he's giving Singe a piggy back ride.
Transformation: Remove the Targetmasters under the wing. Swing one blade of the main rotors slightly off centre to form a v shape pointing towards the rear of the helicopter. Fold the wings up. Fold the nose forward 180 degrees to form the robot's legs. Stand with the underside of the helicopter facing you and fold the rotor blades together behind the legs. Turn the body and tail of the helicopter through 180 degrees at the robot's waist. Fold the tail down onto the robot's back. Turn the head round and fold the hands down from under the arms.
Spinister's robot mode adds more colour into the mix! He's got a sea green lower half with the lower legs formed from the cockpit covered in the pale blue paint used for the canopy. This also shows up on the face trying to obscure the moulded detail which consists of a faceplate with side vents and eyes. The head is moulded in black plastic as are the hands. The chest is shocking pink while the arms are purple. He's the articulation king of the dual Targetmasters with knees that bend (not useful with no hip movement), a waist and head that turn and turning shoulders. His hands have 5mm peg holes allowing him to hold the Targetmasters either individually or combined to form a super weapon. When not in use the Targetmasters can be stored on the pegs on the side of the waist that were formerly under his wings.
A decent vehicle mode with good integration of the Targetmasters into the design and a good robot mode with a decent level of articulation for the time.
Spinister was sold in the USA & UK as a carded toy in 1988. He was not sold in Japan.