Tiny Transformers based on familiar faces rather than being part of a rank was a trend that began since the 2001 Robots in Disguise line's Spy Changers, with characters like Optimus Prime, Ultra Magnus, X-Brawn, and Scourge getting figures along with those who were in-universe Spy Changers. The concept wasn't brought back in the mainline until Legends of Cybertron, with smaller versions of characters getting toys in that line to let kids own their favorite Bots and Cons if they can't afford the bigger toys. It continued from the first movie along with Animated, Universe, ROTF, and HFTD before being rebooted with the Scout Class into Cyberverse, where kids with pocket money can now buy their favorite characters and go with playsets, too. Meanwhile, the Legends line was used for Generations since 2013 before being replaced by Battlemasters and Micromasters. Kingdom now has the tiny Transformers gimmick back in action for both main stars and other characters made for the scale (though the former might have a place for a specific toy soon to come). Here's wave 1's Optimus Prime, Rattrap, and Vertebreak!
Here is Optimus in his truck mode. It's got all the G1 attributes everyone expects on a toy like him, and I've got to say that they've done a pretty good job emulating the design of the Earthrise figure but at a small scale. While the Cyberverse toys were nicely detailed, this guy takes it up a notch by having rivets, vents, and panel-lines all around, making for a surprisingly polished toy worth mostly pocket money. The only oddities are the gray that make up the shoulder's butterfly joints, the exposed thighs, and the feet sticking up. Also, the top of the truck has a wind vane that was never on the Earthrise toy, but it helps in hiding the head like the Classics toy once did.
The side view has nothing much to write home about aside from the ugly parts I mentioned (kinda makes me wish the gray parts were a more durable red plastic that'd probably not accept paint). Oh and the weapon storage consists of placing the gun on the trailer hitch.
Transformation is pretty much similar to all small Optimus Primes, mostly the Reveal the Shield and Thrilling 30 toys. The legs detach, there is an ab-crunch type joint, the upper torso swivels, and the arms straighten out like days of old (though the tires now end up on the back. In fact, this is almost like a more refined version of the Legends figure! The details are just as nicely done in this mode like with the truck, including the vents on the shins, the torso details, and while they lack the paint, the waist has the yellow lights I'd expect from him. The back kibble mostly has the front wheels and the head cover mostly cover up the ugly gaps.
Head sculpt looks very nice, and while it's hard to tell, the eyes are a different shade than the rest of the toy. Also nice that the figure sculpt looks amazing, even if it's slightly fatter than the SiegeRise one. Articulation is mostly ball joints, which are found at the shoulders, elbows, hips, and knees. The head is a swivel, though.
His ion blaster can peg onto his hand and look pretty badass if you ask me, especially considering how nicely sculpted and painted it is. It can also store on his back but does look odd when the handle is pegged on his butthole. You can also remove the kibble if you want, but it won't look that good. His gun can also peg onto the forearm, but it looks like it was made for an Energon ax that was scrapped for some reason. Also, there are some tabs on him that serve no purpose in the transformation...could they be for another toy?
The Legacy line may have regular retail Nemesis Prime, but Hasbro Pulse features a cartoon-accurate repaint of the guy who features white plastic instead of grey, painted rims, an axe, and a trailer that features some play features of its own, such as the combat deck and tiny Roller. This set feels like it is meant to compete with the Legends-scale figures that 3P companies make of late, but I never cared about that approach when I have Deluxes and Voyagers so this and those are a pass. Besides, Core Prime on his own is fine.
For a size comparison, here he is next to his Earthrise counterpart. The details between the two are similar to one another, but what surprised me the most is the sculpting for the knees having those flaps that served a purpose for Siege Optimus (but not Earthrise Prime). The proportions are also different, with the Kingdom guy looking wider than the larger toy.
Next up, it's our sarcastic and pessimistic Maximal, Rattrap! This version of the toy has more of a realistic look to it, meaning he has none of the cartoony attributes. I'm sure some will complain about the realistic appearances of the beast modes, but I'm going to be honest and say that the MP versions will tackle that better. These figures are meant to be modern toys of the G1 (and now Beast Wars) characters rather than be the replications of the cartoon designs. The MP line is for that, and you'd definitely get that from the likes of Optimus Primal and Cheetor having the cartoony appearances of their beast modes. Plus, the Thrilling 30 version of Rattrap would easily fit in with the MP line.
Back to the review, I do like the sculpted fur pattern on him as well as the subtle paint apps used for the feet and ears to make them look like bare flesh as well as the whites on the eyes to give them the look of reflection on the otherwise featureless eyes. You can sort of have him stand upright like on the show, but more importantly, the gun can be stored on the side if you want to see what a rat with a gun strapped on his hip would look like.
Transformation is a little more involved than with Optimus Prime, which makes sense given how straightforward he was by comparison. The legs and backpack are parts of the transformation that feel the most involved, but some of the typical steps include revealing the arms, hinging the head of the beast mode into the chest, and flipping the head around. The robot mode is certainly reminiscent of the character design, though he has some of those toyish attributes like the feet sticking out (at least it's just the front feet). Rattrap's design vaguely reminds me of some He-Man shit when it comes to his head and arms representing the bare skin while the torso and lower legs are more like the armor. From the side he's got a bit of a backpack and doesn't look too hot from the back, but it kinda fits Rattrap. Also look closely and the forearms are given tiiiiiiny Maximal symbols.
Head sculpt looks like Rattrap, what with the exposed brain and the buck teeth, though some of the red paint used for the mouth ended up on the upper lip and looks like a bloodstain. The articulation for him has the same points as with Optimus, but his shoulders work differently as they look like they're used for moving in and out but are used to move the arms to the front (not so well to the back because of the kibble); the feet also move around at the ankles.
His gun can be held in his hands and look kinda badass. If that's too scary for you the gun can store on the back. Rattrap himself may not feel as complete as the Thrilling 30 figure from the earlier part of the Generations line, nor is he that significantly different from the old basic toy in terms of the silhouette, but he is still a nice figure to own as part of the new Beast Wars scale that we'll get in the Kingdom subline.
So far, Rattrap is the only Core Class guy to receive a reuse, as he replaces the Battlemasters found from the other Netflix Voyagers and is now included with Optimus Primal. He's a more desaturated version of the figure, with the orange now looking faded and the fleshy bits having a more pale look to them. The gray looks to be the same. Honestly, this version isn't worth it if you already own the regular one.
And here is Vertebreak, who is not a raptor but a Dracotrex (or a fossil of a Dracotrex). The thing that threw me off about her is the feel of the toy. While Optimus and Rattrap feel like the typical small Legends-scale toys of days from the past (albeit with a thinner feel), Vertebreak feels like someone made an action figure out of chicken bones. I know it sounds weird because the figure is designed after a fossil, but that's not the feeling I got from messing around with Paleotrex. Still, the sculpted details on her look crisp, and it's worth noting that most of the materials are PVC, which is true for the tail, head, back, and chest piece.
The articulation in this mode is kinda present, with a jaw that can get kind of stiff and even hard to open if you're not using it much, and the hips and knees move around as you'd expect in robot mode. The ankles are even poseable, which helps you with the walking poses!
Transformation is the most straightforward of them all. You just straighten the legs, unfold the body, and flip the dino head down with a new flap to represent the chest panel. Almost like a cheaper version of Energon Cruellock's transformation. The robot mode, unlike the two F.O.S.S.I.L. characters, is more symmetrical and normal. Unlike them, however, she is not capable of splitting into gear for the other robots to use. Even if her design isn't as ballistically weird, it's already funky when you consider how she looks with her boney thighs, skinny knees, and her body being kinda chunky compared to the rest of the limbs.
Head sculpt is kinda funny as it looks like she's wearing a dino jaw with goggles, though part of me sees a bit of a TLK Megatron influence with the helmet and the cheek guards being pointy. Might be me though. Her articulation is the same as with the other two toys, though her head is on a ball joint with limited range, and her ankles are also ball-jointed.
Her weapon can be held in her hand and be a boney sword or whip as with almost every tail weapon ever (yawn), but you can place it on the back for storage, which is not a bad thing because it feels kinda hard to remove it off her hand (and I worry about the durability of her Lego hands).
And here we have her male repaint, Dracodon! He's just a green version of the mold and is now a Maximal instead of a Predacon.
And that's all three of the main Core Class Transformers released so-far! My favorite of them all is Rattrap (of course), followed by Optimus Prime and Vertebreak in 2nd and 3rd, respectively. While it's neat that they replaced the Micromasters in this line, I kinda wonder why they're kept at the same price. Like I get that the prices are getting higher and that we can't really expect much out of the economy or else it'd take a bad piss, but I kinda felt like I was getting my value for money when I bought a Cyberverse Commander figure at a slightly lower price and with a bit of height advantage to them as well as weapons that gave them more play value! Sure, two dollars extra isn't bad of a price increase, but I kind of prefer the gimmicks of the Cyberverse line more than the Core Class. And another toyline I collect, Power Rangers, has action figures that feel more worth the 10 dollar price tag because of the height, articulation, and accessories they come with (I know they have different approaches, but come on!)....still, these four are nice to own, though Rattrap will be the one many would want because he's fucking Rattrap! Now good luck trying to get him or else "we're all gonna die!"
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (for the entire trio)
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