This is one I’ve been trying to resist for a while, mainly because DEAR ME those 3P combiner sets cost, don’t they?

I initially very much liked the look of the DX9 release, but that scale looks problematic and the QC on those early test samples was a bit eyebrow-raising. You know how sceptical I am of XTB, however.

I shall admit though that for the price (and yes, that’s a caveat here), Crackup is great. On first handling he seems as solid a bot as we’ve got from XTB, with a transformation that’s actually pretty good. In the world of XTB this is definitely more Klaatu than it is Apollyon.

The soapy cream plastic is actually pretty decent in hand, too. Not Takara MP quality, obviously, but still solid. The ratchets are good and the resistances mostly fine. There’s perhaps a fragility about some of the joints that worries me and parts were a bit stiff, but overall? Yeah, he’s good. He does smell a bit odd, though. Just me?

As for whether I’ll press on with the set… we’ll see. Flipout looks pretty nice, but really it’s the reveal of Motormaster – and how he works as a combiner, and especially how much he’ll cost (my prediction: A LOT) – that will determine the outcome here.

But for £40, Crackup feels like a solid recommend thus far.