Did you know that Takara once put in a ton of repaints to bulk up their version of the Age of Extinction toyline because it was much smaller than prior movie toylines were? Dubbed as "Movie Advanced Series" this was a way for Takara to reuse older molds and have them go with the current toys, which is something I approve of as it allows Japanese fans new to the movies to own nice versions of older characters while also getting the new stuff! Battle Blades Optimus Prime was one of these figures, now given a ton of paint apps missing with prior releases to make him much more faithful to the CGI model. While the Studio Series versions have been my defacto version of the character as far as the Deluxe-Voyager-Leader scale is concerned, what do I think of this figure a decade after its release?
Here is Optimus Prime in his truck mode. This is one of the best versions of the vehicle mode in the Voyager scale, especially when it captures the look of the truck much better than the MV1 Voyager, either version of the DOTM Voyager, and all of the Studio Series versions of Optimus. I love the deco, the sculpted details are nice, and the proportions all around are made very nicely. Its use of clear blue windows is a nice touch, too. My favorite aspect of the toy comes from the overall complete feel of it, as it has no kibble sticking out from it, a trait that the ROTF Leader Class figure did beautifully. In fact, this guy takes so many traits from the Leader Class figure and almost fits as a mini-Masterpiece approach long before the WFC trilogy adopted that term. I should confess that my copy has the two sunshades without the chrome because it was missing a piece so rather than leave it bare I came up with a compromise and used the two shade pieces from another copy of Battle Blades Optimus and painted them silver. I'd use a chrome pen but I don't have one on me.
Overall, it's a beautiful take on the legendary truck mode that he's known for in the original trilogy. I love everything about this truck mode, and it makes me wish the Masterpiece version was this good (though with how shitty the BB Movie version's truck is right now, I'm taking back what I said for the most part). And yes, the gas tanks are actually chrome, which has its pros and cons. It looks very nice though it does result in one major issue worth going over when they're brought up again.
For a comparison with his Studio Series counterpart, you can see how night and day the differences are. One looks like a proper, complete truck while the other, while not awful, does favor the robot mode a lot more than the truck mode. Amusingly, the first Studio Series figure did have a nicer truck mode, but not as nice as this mold! Yeah, I think we can all agree that Battle Blades Optimus is the definitive version of the character as far as vehicle mode Voyagers are concerned.
In general, it's much better handled and also looks a little bigger. It's not really that noticeable, but you can feel it from the better-handled details as well as the smokestacks. Also fits in better with the other Studio Series figures and may work well with either HFTD or Studio Series Ironhide! The best part? No stupid hollow wheels!
Transformation is very complex, and certainly remains faithful to the Leader Class figure while having differences of its own. Firstly, the legs transform differently since they collapse while the feet are the parts that do such a feature. Also, the arms don't really transform the same, the head is within the chest rather than hinged forwards, the backpack doesn't have the same amount of steps used for the transformation, and the rear wheel arches are a single unit rather than individual pieces. It's a noble attempt at replicating a complex and iconic transformation, though it does leave the uninitiated surprised by how accurate it tries to be to the toy. As for the robot mode, it does feel like a smaller version of the Leader with some parts either simplified or designed differently. While it was a very nice attempt at making an accurate version of Optimus in the movie line, I will say that it does feel clunky and kind of busy from the waist up while the legs certainly feel skinny. The backpack is especially bulky by comparison, which is something I expected since it was like that for the original Leader Class figure. Generally speaking, it tries so hard to be accurate to the movie design that it makes me wonder how possible it was considering the small parts it's made of by comparison to the Leader Class figure. Some aspects of it are not perfect, like the arms look bad and the torso doesn't feel too defined; either way, major props to 2010 Hasbro for pulling something like this off.
Head sculpt is mostly good though the detailing is not the best, and the eyes do remind me of some of the AOE promo art where it's weaksauce CGI that doesn't look anywhere near as good as the CGI used in the movies or the old promo art made for the movies. And yes, there are some splotches of paint apps. The articulation is mostly good but it is inhibited in a few areas. The head can swivel left and right but at 45 degrees for each turn, shoulders move front and back as well as in and out, the biceps swivel, and the elbows bend (though the arm blades get in the way). The hips move front and back as well as in and out on ratchets (moving them front and back does have them bump on the hinges of the torso), they swivel at the thigh if you untab the hip wheels, the knees bend, and the feet can hinge front and back as well as pivot.
Let's arm him up! His Energon blades, now made of a pliable rubber instead of translucent plastic, are now manually deployed rather than spring-loaded like with the Leader Class figure. You can remove them if you want though that does warp them if you're not careful. I also don't like how the swivel is exposed. Alternatively, you can give him two guns made from the gas tanks, which is similar to how Takara's Buster Prime had gas tanks that turn into a gun. This would normally be easy, but the gas tanks being chrome does mean that they can ultimately be DIFFICULT to work with as far as placing them on the backpack or bringing out the gun barrels are concerned. Also, you have to put them all the way in if you want them to fit nicely.
The most interesting thing about this figure is that he comes with a Matrix of Leadership, which can be stored within the chest and is removable as well. It predates the Matrix chamber of the Masterpiece version, but let me tell you how it's both neat and annoying at the same time with this figure. Neat in the sense that a figure this size can pull off such a feature, and annoying in the sense of how you remove it.
Now we shall go over the prior releases of the figure. This is the Hasbro Hunt for the Decepticons version of the figure, with brighter colors, a light gray, bronze joints here and there, and fewer paint apps overall. He looks fine but does feel unfinished by comparison. Compare the paint apps between this version and the Movie Advanced version!
This is the Takara version, with richer reds, gray joints, and Energon hooks instead of blades. The hooks look nicer than the blades but the rest of the toy is otherwise unfinished as far as deco is concerned.
Going out of left field is the Darkseid Optimus Prime repaint made in the Dark of the Moon line for Takara Tomy. Basically a take on the black Optimus Prime/Nemesis Prime repaint schtick that is done before. Interestingly, this version has blades rather than the hooks. His deco does have the more complete flames but is not that interesting otherwise.
And finally, we have the Dark of the Moon Walmart Exclusive version of the figure, which is given a more magenta shade of red and a darker shade of blue. New to this figure are start paint apps as well as a moon reflected on the left windshield a la when he and Ratchet rescued Sentinel Prime. The deco of this figure is weird but even weirder is the option to make it inaccurate (especially with the lack of rim paint and the orange Matrix),. His head is now unmasked this time around.
For a comparison with a more recent take of Optimus Prime, here he is next to the Studio Series version. I'm going to be honest and both have their own merits. Studio Series Optimus's robot mode is far more proportionate, has better articulation, is easier to transform, and has more weapon versatility with his 5mm hands; Revenge Optimus Prime, on the other hand, has more features in robot mode, has a more accurate transformation, doesn't use a faux chest, and his truck mode is practically flawless. Either way, these two are both great versions of the awesome Autobot leader, though while Studio Series Optimus is great for his robot mode (minus some minor things like the paint and the way his parts are placed), Revenge Optimus Prime is perfect for his truck mode.
Now then, as for recommending him...here's the thing: the Optimus Prime I covered in the review is actually an identical knockoff of the official TakaraTomy product. You may notice some slight imperfections with the toy that may not be present with an official one. Despite those, the figure itself is still high quality with a few flaws here and there from both its status as a KO and the issues carried over from the toy design itself. The official versions are much more expensive so getting a KO is cheaper though as always, buyer beware.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
No comments:
Post a Comment