Optimus Prime

Height: 16.5cm tall in Robot Mode, 8.5cm to top of smokestacks and 15.5cm long in Vehicle Mode.

Articulation: 16 total points of articulation: swivel neck; 3 points in each arm- swivel shoulders, pre-elbow swivels, hinged elbows; swivel waist; 4 points in each leg - double-jointed hip, pre-knee swivel, hinged knee. Other joints associated with transformation.

Accessories: Ion Blaster/Windvane, Laser Cannon/Smokestacks.

Colors: Molded red, blue, black, gray, and translucent blue. Painted red, silver, yellow, gray, and blue.

Release Data: Released October 2006 at a suggested retail price of $19.99. This item is still widely available as of this review (October 14th, 2006)

Gallery: 21 pictures.

Author: RAC

The Figure

Let's clarify this figure's identity real quick: this is the first Optimus Prime. The idea behind the Classics line of Transformers is essentially "Transformers: Generation 3." That is, this Prime, this Megatron, and Bumblebee, et.al, are modern toy versions of the same characters that have been around since 1984. So yes, he does turn into a truck cab.

Vehicle Mode

A very nice modern-looking truck cab, at that! A bit bigger than the original toy, Prime's also no longer any particular recognizeable model of truck, but neither does he look twenty years out of date. He now sports a windvane, as most modern trucks do, and it's a separate piece that will figure into Robot Mode. The blue now starts at the bottom of the cab for a more streamlined look, which I like, and there's also some silver accents that look good. The back end of the truck looks suspiciously like pointed toes, but I suspect it'd look about appropriate if there were a trailer to support. Speaking of which, there's a small post here that'd be good for attaching one, as if there were plans for one previously- or perhaps they wanted to keep their future options open.

Robot Mode

Transformation's marginally more involved than the original, but nothing anyone should find too difficult even if they leap in without reading the instructions the way I usually do. Prime looks like a very-slightly exaggerated version of his animation model- longer legs, narrower waist. Very heroic-looking proportions. Speaking of which, he also reminds me of the G2 "Hero" Prime, particularly in the shape of the head and the black fists. There's some leftovers from truck mode- most notably on the back, where it's all configured in an attractive, symmetrical package, and on the arms, where the folded-up remains of the cab sides sort of hang there. Certainly not the worst I've ever seen, and not enough to detract from the attactiveness of the mode. The light-piping for the eyes isn't quite working for me, though- the plastic is too dark for Prime's eyes to shine on brightly.

Articulation is on-par with modern Primes as well, and while not as impressive as some of the more articulation-focused lines out there like MSiA, Microman or Marvel Legends, Prime does pretty well. The traditional Transformers lack of ankles is once again present, meaning you pretty much have to count on the wideness and squareness of the feet to do the balancing for you. It works within reason, but a good set of ankles can do so much more.

Paint and Decoration

The paint's good overall, nice and neat with two minor exceptions- the seam on Prime's forearms shows the yellow paint, and the same yellow paint on his kneecaps looks a little green around the edges thanks to the dark blue plastic. Other than that, the yellow highlights look good and round out Optimus Prime's arsenal of primary colors nicely.

Articulation gets 8/10

Sculpt and Deco get 9/10
 
Vehicle Mode gets 9/10
 

Accessories

-Ion Blaster/Windvane

The windvane has a couple of potential uses for Robot Mode. First is the Ion Blaster, which looks very much like a streamlined kind of shotgun. For some reason I didn't like this at first, but it's growing on me. I think it's because it's so much more rounded than any other part of the toy. The Ion Blaster takes all the curves and the paint patterns of the windvane and uses them in an equally elegant but completely different configuration. That's the odd thing about it: the curves look so natural in both modes that it doesn't look like it's changed as much as it has at first glance. It's a very nice weapon.

The windvane can also be mounted to Prime's back on the same hardpoint used in vehicle mode. It's a good way to store it if you don't feel like using the Ion Blaster. You can also mount the smokestacks to it and give Optimus a nice cannon backpack. Which is a neat choice and a nice extra, but I'd almost like something else for him to put in his hands when he's using it and nothing is included. Though I bet the Armada Prowl Mini-Con would look pretty good.

-Laser Cannon/Smokestacks

With an ingenious bit of folding the smokestacks become a double-barreled Laser Cannon, smaller than the Ion Blaster but still a good, menacing size. The smokestack details make for a nice gun- I like the more angular shape of this compared to the Blaster. The tiny pegs are used for everything- they attach it to the truck, to the windvane, and to hold the Cannon together- and they could probably be a bit bigger. They work fine, but I'm concerned that they could wear down over time.

Accessories get 9/10
 

Closing Remarks:

As far as I'm concerned, Hasbro has yet to make a really bad Optimus Prime in the modern Transformers line. This one is no exception- while it lacks the gimmicks of the recent TF lines it cuts an impressive figure, and the transforming weapons are a nice touch well-executed. This Prime ran me about $20 (Many thanks to ExVee for finding him for me!) and for that price I'm quite satisfied. He's Excellent.

-RAC, 11/02/2006