Phil's
Operation Combination & Micromaster Collection Windy
and
Universe Midnight Express
Review
Windy is a new mould toy for the Sixtrain set which was numbered TF-05 in the Operation Combination toyline. She - and I'm assured she is a she - transforms into a Yamagata "Tsubasa" bullet train mainly cast in grey plastic. She replaces Joe from the Sixtrain set, serving the same function as him as the combined robot's right leg. Joe and Windy do share one part - they have the same loop ended connection hitch allowing Windy to link to any of the three trains have a peg connector - allowing the six trains to be connected into three pairs of trains. This can be also used to tow Sixtrain's right foot on which can be mounted Sixtrain's equivalent of either the Gripper probe *or* the Wingard vehicle - see the Sixliner review for details
TF is the same as her anticendant Joe: Turn the toy upside down to reveal the head, body & arms. Fold the back down to form the legs.
Windy (again like Joe) has a distinctive head piece reminiscent of Pirranicon's combined mode head. Her body is green and she comes with yellow wheels.
Like all the other members of the Sixtrain team she's got the standard Micromaster articulation of turning shoulders & hips with joined bending knees, and a peg hole in his base allowing her to use the stands on the playsets and vehicles.
To transform Windy into her part in Sixtrain's combined robot mode you need to start with her in train mode. Fold up her nose and fold down the loop connector at the rear. The loop connector fits into a slot on the top of Sixtrain's right foot - it doesn't fit the left foot so you can't swap Windy & Convertor around like you can for Atlan & Raise with the arms. The exposed hole in the nose locks into the upper legs & waist piece on the right - it will lock on either side but you don't want the feet backwards do you ?
Windy's an interesting toy - strange they should go to the effort of constructing a completely new limb for Sixtrain !
Windy is re-released in 2003 as part of the Sixtrain Micromaster collection. Like Joe she comes with both of the combined robot's fists and is numbered 5. Like all the other Sixtrain parts she's repainted with the grey becoming more metallic, the red of the connector and combined parts becoming blue while the robot's parts become grey.
Like the other three 1992 Six teams, the Sixtrain team gets an alternate chase colour scheme for their Micromaster collection release. One or two toys per box of 12 came in this alternate colour scheme in this case colouring the toys all red. Red Mode Windy comes with the same Sixtrain pieces as Windy, but coloured red.
Micromaster Collection Windy was sold in the Universe line as a KB Exclusive named Midnight Express, after one of the Robots In Disguise trains. This time the toy is packaged much more sensibly with the combined form's right foot.
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