Transformers Studio Series Scrapmetal review

Scrapmetal is best known as 'ze little one' in Revenge of the Fallen. The only thing he's done is get ripped into pieces for Megatron to be rebuilt. Makes you wonder how Scalpel got to be in charge of who gets to be sacrificed. Anyways, Scrapmetal got a toy 10 years after his shortlived screentime, so let's see if he'd be more than just a part of Devastator and be a worthwhile figure on its own.

Here is Scrapmetal in his excavator mode. While I felt Rampage's altmode felt slightly Playskool-esque due to its proportions, this guy fares better in my opinion. Construction vehicles tend to have a dreaded history of being compared to any Playskool toys, especially in the eyes of fans that act like toys with slightly stylized looks suck no matter what, but this vehicle mode doesn't look too bad. I like the paint apps, even if they could go for some a bit more of a dirty look given how this is a construction vehicle. The cockpit looks pretty good, and it scales decently compared to the rest of the altmode. Even the treads aren't too shabby.

The shovel arm has three points of articulation: one at the base, one for the "forearm" of the shovel arm, and one for the shovel itself. Going back to the cockpit, I do wish it looked a bit more completed when viewed i  this angle.

Before we get more into the transformation, you have to remove a portion of the altmode to continue. Without that piece, you have some of the altmode exposed, but the arms look like they can't be aligned too well.

As for the rest of the transformation, it's fairly simple compared to most other Deluxes in the Studio Series line. I honestly think it is reminiscent of G1 Scavenger's transformation and RID Grimlock's (the Build Team Grimlock, not the Dinobot Mechagodzilla/Dragonzord). As is the tradition with most excavator Transformers, the shovel arm is stored in the back, while the robot mode mode instead uses arms resembling faux shovels. Also, the treads become the legs while having the digitigrade look to them.

Scrapmetal's robot mode looks fairly blocky unlike most of the Studio Series line. The concept art for this robot mode looks a lot more jagged than this toy does. Kind of looks more like it could be repainted into either character, and while it does do a better job of being a smoother-looking robot than the Beewun designs, I can't help but think this figure is pretty basic. Most waves have a filler character included, and despite how this figure is needed to complete Devastator, Scrapmetal feels pretty plain in comparison. Sure, some of the design cues try to look unique, especially with the Constructicon elements it has along with the slightly different proportions, but the design feels generic compared to other toys like Bumblebee, Lockdown, Sideswipe, and even the awful Shatter figure in the same wave he is in. While the robot mode at least looks complete from the front, the back looks pretty naked and frail. Also, I think the shades of yellow don't match up too well in-hand.

The head sculpt feels more movie-esque compared to the other options in the line, but the paint apps for this figure's face look a bit sloppy. I can't really tell if the eyes are at least decently painted. Makes me think of the black paint that ruined the faces of some Movie figures because it'd obscure the sculpted details.

Articulation is fairly on par with most Deluxe figures in the line. Head is on a ball joint, shoulders move forward and back as well as in and out, there are double jointed elbows, and the ball joints below the hinges to serve as swivels for the forearms. The claws open, the hips move forward and back as well as in and out, the thighs swivel, and the knees bend.

The same accessory removed from the altmode now becomes a "shield". It looks small, won't defend him in battle, and it certainly didn't defend him when he got killed in ROTF (assuming he used it).

The transformation for the hand mode is pretty decent. It essentially has the toy go halfway into its vehicle mode before it's adjusted to better resemble a hand. A small peg is revealed for when it combines with Hightower. Yes, you need another Constructicon in order to complete the look of the arm. Originally, Devastator's Supreme figure had Hightower be the left arm only, and it remained the same when the Legends figure had Overload combine with Hightower. Now, likely to either have an even number of Constructicons or to make the Deluxe figures feel more complete, Devastator requires both Hightower and Scrapmetal to become a left arm, while Scrapper becomes the right arm on his own because of his size class being a Voyager. May seem like a tease at first, but it makes sense given how the combination sequence had one part of the left arm combine with another. So in essence, this is the "hand" of the left arm. Doesn't look too bad, and the claws can be posed thanks to them already being arms. As for the shueld, it can be stored on the arm if you like.

Here is Scrapmetal next to Megatron. Certainly captures him being ze little one in the movie. Even Scrapmetal doesn't know what qualifies him to be a good candidate for Megatron considering their designs don't look similar apart from the treads. Honestly, this figure isn't one I'd entirely recommend for fans that aren't looking to complete Devastator. As a component, it feels more required given how he and Hightower are Deluxes that have to become an arm likely the size of Scrapper. Also, it looks pretty plain on his own, even more so than his other partners. Thankfully, the figure manages to be of decent quality, but I can only get him for fans that are interested in completing Devastator. If you want him on his own, get him on clearance.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Transformers Studio Series Shatter review

Shatter is the best part of Bumblebee in my opinion. She's one of my favorite antagonists along with Megatron, Lockdown, and even Sentinel (sorry, fans still upset by Ironhide's death). She's intimidating, has one of the better robot designs in the movie, and she's a fairly new character that could rival Windblade if she gets expanded across the Transformers universe. I also liked that she didn't have much of the Saturday Morning Cartoon feel that the Beewun approach went for, as she could almost fit in with Lockdown's crew had she survived. So despite my dislike on the Beewun flick, I was pretty excited to see how a Studio Series Shatter would turn out. Dropkick's first figure was already a big pile of crap, so Shatter couldn't be any worse, right? RIGHT?!

Here is Shatter in her car mode. It's a pretty slick looking muscle car that captures that raw aggression from 80s street drivers. I dig the red and black color scheme, hot rod engine, the roof lights (despite those lacking paint), and the silver paint for the trim on the front. This is overall a very nice looking car mode, even if the tires could be a bit bigger and use some silver paint.

I don't really like the kibble from the back much since it kind of ruins the silhouette, but the red triangle detail near the doors could really use a second coat since it looks noticeably darker compared to the red on the door. At least the 722 is nicely opaque, though it makes me wonder why the red triangle isn't.

For the weapon storage, the guns can be placed underneath in vehicle mode and stored on the inner forearms of the robot mode. They work fairly well in terms of weapon storage.

Here is Shatter next to the other characters in the Bumblebee movie (excluding Optimus Prime because I didn't have him back when these pics were taken). I think the scale with these three is sort of off. Dropkick's helicopter mode isn't supposed to be Blackout's size, but he should be a bit bigger. Bumblebee, on the other hand, could be a bit smaller to work better.

Transformation isn't too great. It's more like the car mode didn't want to have its parts fully integrated to make the transformation feel more worthwhile, so it awkwardly ends up becoming as bad as the original tooling for AOE Crosshairs. I mean, the doors just hinge to the back of the thighs, the front quarters of the vehicle mode are pitiful pieces that don't really do so well at replicating the winged design she has, and the backpack is super offensive. I am happy that her chest design has a faux engine and some lights because it would look a bit incomplete without that piece.

Robot mode looks pretty bad. It's almost like it's going for that sleek nature of the character design, but it ultimately doesn't work because of how shrouded the figure is in kibble that doesn't even want to be used in a cool way. It's almost like the altmode pieces avoided being used for any kind of proper integration for the robot mode. The chest area looks decent, but the legs are ruined by the thighs and the backpack is so cluttered that it makes the toy look like it came from a really bad Deluxe figure from 2007 or ROTF. Sure, the paint apps are nicely done, but they don't make up for just how weak this robot mode is. And remember that faux chest piece I mentioned? Don't expect it to stay on too well unless you're super lucky. The same goes for the "wings", which could come off when you try to detach them from most of the front of the car mode.

Face sculpt is not accurate to the movie. Admittedly, I've only seen the movie once, so I'm not sure if this was a scrapped head or one used in the movie. Either way, it's certainly not that TerminatorXNightbird face sculpt that she was known to have.

Articulation is not too hot. Head is on a ball joint, the shoulders move front and back as well as in and out, though they're likely to pop off at times. The biceps swivel and the elbows bend. Hips move front and back but they barely move in and out, which is very embarrassing for a Deluxe figure that came out years ago. The knees swivel above the hinge, and there is some ankle pivot. So on top of the quality control issues, there's also some pretty awful leg articulation to speak of. It wouldn't have been too bad if it was on a figure that didn't prioritize articulation too much, but this is a Generations figure from 2019! It's very inexcusable for its outer leg movement to be so badly limited, yet this version of Shatter does just that.

The weapons she comes with are two arm-mounted blasters, and they don't look too good in-hand. While there are some decent details added on it, they look a bit unnoticeable when attached. Most integrated weapons attempt to stand out from the arm they're on, but in this case, not so much. I also have the wings detached and make some form of recreation of the character's design in the movie, though it's no better, honestly.

This figure has yet another reuse because Hasbro wants to get rid of the inventory of this toy in old packaging...need I say more?

Here is Shatter next to her fellow Decepticon, Dropkick. I still stand by the fact that Dropkick's the worst figure of the line, but Shatter (and WWII Bumblebee, honestly) are close to being as bad. He problem is that while Shatter at least doesn't look as awful as Dropkick does, she still suffers from the quality control and more limited articulation.

Given how these characters were one of the better aspects of Bumblebee, it really sucks to see that these figures look pretty bad. 

Here they are next to Bumblebee. I guess Bumblebee is the better of this trio, but that's not really saying much.

Here we have Bumblebee taking on the Decepticons in this image. While you can get them in some decent battle poses, the awfulness of Dropkick and the weaksauce hip articulation for Shatter ruins it all.

Much like with Dropkick, this figure's had the potential to be neat for fans of the character, yet the combined forces of the inaccurate head, quality control, and the embarrassing articulation make this toy one of the Studio Series line's worst entries, yet. If you want to get this figure for some reason, try getting it on clearance, but don't get your hopes up high.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Transformers Studio Series Cogman review

Cogman is a fascinating Transformer, in that he is a Headmaster, although it was sadly never seen in the movie along with his abilities to merge with his Transtector or take over Nitro Zeus's head. Despite that, he was fairly entertaining in The Last Knight, and one of the best parts of that movie, which I feel is the weakest of the 5 main movies. As an action figure, however, Cogman was EXTREMELY hard to find. The Last Knight toyline didn't do as well as Age of Extinction's, and as a result, most of the line got very hard to find. At best, Grimlocks, Slugs, Slashes, and Berserkers would be all anyone found in some of the worst aisles. Thankfully, I was able to get the figures I wanted, but Cogman was hard to find. A day after going to TFCon and passing on a $35 TLK Cogman that I initially wanted, it was announced that the Studio Series line would give us a Cogman figure decked in a coat of silver paint, which is what the old figure lacked. Is it worth the long wait? 

Here we have Cogman's transtector in his vehicle mode. An Aston Martin DB11, this car brings back yet another silver car Transformer after MV1's Jazz, ROTF's Sideswipe, and Dark of the Moon's Soundwave. Does get a bit tiring, but at least with Cogman, he's not based on a General Motors vehicle. In fact, while I prefer the other 3 characters mentioned, Cogman's alt mode at least has the nicest silver paint of them all in my eyes. In fact, I'd say that it makes the car mode look like it's made of die-cast. It could almost fit in with a collection of die-cast cars with a similar scale. I also love how front has a nice use of the unpainted plastic for the grill

It's a nice looking altmode all around, even if the cracks from the transformation kind of ruin it. Also, it's important to take good care of the silver paint since it does look prone to chipping off. 

Unrealistically (but traditional for most Transformers), the transtector opens up to reveal seats for two in this coupe. The steering wheel is on the left because that's how it works in London. Additionally, there is another seat for an extra Titan Master (but no Sir Edmund Burton is included).

Here is the proper robot mode of Cogman, which is unpainted yet has a good amount of molded details to better capture the appearance of the diminutive appearance. Curiously, it appears torso's a different color from the limbs and the head, although it's nowhere near as inconsistent as with the original TLK figure. Given how this little guy's got the same engineering as all Titan Masters and Prime Masters, his head can move around on a ball joint, while the shoulders move front and back as well as in and out. You can move the legs and knees, though the legs don't move individually. 

Cogman's transformation is a bit more basic than I'd like. Most TLK and Studio Series figures that become cars tend to have transformations that can stand out from one another. Bumblebee's done before but adds new elements, Crosshairs and Drift do new things as retools of their AOE forms, and both Jazz and Sideswipe try not to make their transformations feel barebones compared to Cogman. I'd say that in terms of car mode transformations, this guy's close enough to Barricade's, although Barricade doesn't have the streamlined backpack that this guy has...to make things even weirder, this figure's transformation can't even be determined since he NEVER used it to make himself an even larger robot. If there was something I wish this figure did have, it'd be better heels. This toy has a bit of trouble standing up due to how the feet are designed, but it shouldn't have much problem standing up since the backpack's flat enough to not mess up the weight.

The robot mode is certainly if Cogman gained robot mode kibble and a bit of weight onto his true form. It's a pretty cool take on the character, for sure, but given how he never used this in The Last Knight, it's kind of hard to determine how accurate he really is. For now, let's say that this is what it somewhat looks like, but with a bit more refinement (i.e. less vehicle mode kibble). It looks like a good robot mode, what with the sculpted details added to make him look more history-based compared to the other Autobots, who are modern in comparison. I'm sure Cogman's the kind of robot that wouldn't have such a "fresh-off-the-assembly-line" look to their designs, given how the likes of Bumblebee and Hot Rod don't have the old-timey feel of Cogman, so the aesthetic fits this character pretty well. It's also part of how old the robot is given his history of being butlers for the Burton heritage. As for the paint itself, it's nicely applied to this figure, and I like how there's a bit of gold to break up the silver along with the darker grays. Additionally, the chest has some nice sculpted details that almost capture the C-3PO ripoff nature of this dude. The sides and backs do make the robot look like it's a car that stood up weirdly, though.

Head sculpt is nicely done, though the faceplate has more paint apps than the rest of the toy has. I'm sure a wash or a coat of silver paint would make it look nicer, but I like the way this guy's head mode turned out. I even love the gold paint and blue eyes, though he does look more related to Bumblebee than Hot Rod is.

Articulation is the norm with Deluxes like Cogman. Head is on a ball joint thanks to the Titan Master head, shoulders are on ball joints for moving forward and back as well as in and out on a hinge. The biceps swivel and the elbows bend. The hips move front and back as well as in and out, while the thighs swivel and the knees bend.

His one accessory is the sword that resembles Cade Yeager's Tailsman when it becomes the sword. It's got some nice silver paint added on it, with the base black plastic serving as the handle and crossguard. It can be held as a traditional sword, though there is no wrist swivel for either hand due to the transformation it has. You can have the hand hinged halfway while opening a car mode panel if you want it to make him hold the sword differently.

Cogman's TLK release does have plenty of differences next to the original figure. At first glance, they don't look like they're too different from one another when viewed in this image, but if one were to have the actual toy in-hand, they'll know the differences a bit better. It's got a wash applied to parts of the robot mode, has a few more gold highlights compared to the Studio Series version, and there is no silver coat of paint on either the car mode or the sword. Additionally, the car mode doesn't have a grill that matches the bumper's color while the rooftop has black paint added on it. I think the black rooftop was not in the car mode seen in the film, but it does look nice. In fact, I think you'd get a better Cogman if you combined the shiny silver of the Studio Series version with the weathering effects of the TLK figure.

And for those wondering, yes, you can switch heads. I think this version of Cogman might fit better with the KSI Boss repaint of Nitro Zeus due to its silver colors being darker than the light gray of Nitro Zeus.

Overall, TLK Cogman's a nice toy to have, though I can't help but feel slightly disappointed with some parts of it. For a toy that seemed coveted by fans due to its AWFUL distribution, it felt like any other normal Deluxe Transformer, and probably not as neat as finally getting some of the DOTM Deluxes that were canceled or the TFP First Edition figures. I love the car mode, the silver paint, the Titan Master feature, and the sculpted details of the robot mode, and the knight's sword that he comes with. Transformation and parts of the robot mode, mainly the lack of a good idea of what it should really look like due to it not having a proper CG model, do detract from this toy. Still, I do recommend him if you see him in stores, even if you got the TLK release so this one can be in car mode.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Transformers Studio Series Optimus Prime (Bumblebee) review

Many praise the Bumblebee movie for making Optimus Prime a lot more classic than he really should be. There's using a similar altmode (while already having classic assets like the head design, chest windows, and having a truck be his altmode) like with Evasion Prime, and then there's making a DeviantArt redesign official. While the design looks good at first glance, there's this annoying aspect of the midriff looking naked compared to the upper torso since god knows why it looks like it's missing pieces. Also, those legs look really skinny compared to the upper torso. Then there's the logic behind how this guy will somehow change his appearance in 2007. It didn't make sense for WFC Optimus to become his TFP form due to their proportion differences, and it doesn't make sense here either. While this can be seen as me disliking how G1 aesthetics are put into another universe due to fanservice, I want to really know how this blockhead is supposed to become the long nose truck robot with flames. Even the concept art did a better blend of the two, and it sucks that it wasn't used. Anyways, perhaps the toy can redeem this blatant nostalgiawash of a redesign?

Here is Optimus Prime in his truck mode. It's a nicely done take on Optimus's G1 altmode, although with some liberties to make it look more realistic. That being said, it's not screen-accurate to how the actual truck mode looks (especially if you look up the images of the truck mode online). For one, the front of the truck mode doesn't match the slightly rounded proportions of the truck mode, and the rear wheels are farther from the gas tanks than they are here. While it has more of a Motormaster vibe than an Optimus Prime vibe, I kind of like this truck mode better. Its smokestacks are weird, but it has better beef than the previous G1 Primes, and I feel this is the best G1 brick of a truck that Hasbro has ever done.

The truck weirdly looks like it's cab is slightly leaning forward, and most G1 Primes don't have the back of the smokestacks covered up, but it's still a cool truck in my eyes. Honestly my favorite Optimus Prime alt modes along with both Peterbilt and Western Star Optimus Prime, Cybertron Optimus Prime, and RID Firetruck Prime.

The gun can be stored on the trailer hitch. There is a method of storing it from underneath, but it'll require you to untab parts of the altmode first before you store it.

Here is Beewun Optimus Prime next to the other Studio Series figures. I think Optimus's truck modes in the first two figures are supposed to be bigger, and while I like the way the 2007 truck looks, the Beewun Prime feels more complete in my eyes. At least it doesn't have shortened smokestacks and more complete gas tanks.

Here is Optimus next to the other forms he'll later take in MV1-AOE. It scales decently with the truck modes he's known to brandish, and for those wondering, my AOE Optimus is a Toys R Us exclusive version that gives him flames (I also added more paint apps).

Here is Beewun Optimus (along with Evasion Prime) next to some of the other G1 styled Optimus Primes I own. Siege Optimus's truck mode has been ridiculed by a few fans for its odd rooflights, but it's not too bad if you look past those and realize it's somewhat Cybertron esque. G1 Optimus Prime's a bit closer to the truck mode he takes form of in the Bumblebee movie. POTP Optimus sucks because of how chubby it looks compared to the other truck modes.

Here is Optimus next to VW Bumblebeetle. They look good next to each other, though I feel the Beetle's supposed to be a lot smaller.

Recreating a scene from the Bumblebee movie (insert that Don't You song yourself), here he is with DOTM All-Stars Prime's trailer next to the first Studio Series Bumblebee. I should mention that the only thing I don't like about the truck mode is that a portion of the grill is not properly aligned, and I'm not sure if other fans ran into that problem. More unfortunate is that the silver paint has a tendency to chip off, which sucks because it looks very nice on the truck and adds a bit more to the design (which I hated how the cartoon truck lacked the silver detail, which most other incarnations contained).

Prime's transformation is surprisingly involved, and I'm happy that it's more than just copying the traditional G1 transformation. Even the legs feel fairly involved, what with the way they headache rack makes up a portion of the inner legs. The torso spins around to face the front to some extent, but at least there are a few more steps that don't entirely mimic how the more involved G1 Primes transform. Given how Optimus never transformed in the movie, this is the closest we'll get of an idea on how he could transform, though I'm sure a Bumblebee 2 of some kind will fix that. If we get one soon, that is. In terms of things that I don't like, the neckpiece popping off when you try to adjust it to the robot mode position can be annoying, and you have to make sure the hinges for the back are properly oriented so they can tab on nicely.

Optimus in his robot mode is noticeably bulkier here than he does in the movie, mainly due to how the back covers up the silhouette of the torso while the forearms have a bit more bulk due to the truck covers on the sides. While it is indeed accurate to the robot mode seen in the movie, I've got some real annoyances with the quality control of this figure. The figure's joints are fairly stiff (especially more than necessary with the head), but the hips are very loose when they move out, which would get really annoying when you're trying to put him in some decent poses. This is a problem that happened out of the box, but to make matters worse, the pieces holding the feet, the shins, and the back of the lower legs together dislodge fairly easily when you try to have him stand up properly. The robot mode does look good, setting aside my G1 fatigue, but it's a shame that the legs have some unfortunate QC problems, which I don't know if other fans mentioned in their reviews. I don't mind that there's no paint for the forearms or the back, because the paint included with this figure does look fairly good.

Head sculpt is fairly accurate, and I do appreciate the bright blue eyes that stand out from the rest of the head's blue. That said, I think the silver paint should be a bit brighter for the mouthplate so it can stand out better. Also, I think the antennae should be longer.

Articulation is no different from almost his recent Voyager figures. Head is on a ball-joint, but it's super stiff to the point where it feels like I'd break it by mistake. Also, because of the way it's shaped, it's harder to make it look up and down than it normally would be. The shoulders move front and back, hinge in and out (the shoulder pieces can be hinged up for extra range), swivel at the biceps, the elbows bend, and the wrists swivel. The waist swivels, legs move front and back, in and out, swivel at the thighs, bend fairly deep at the, and the ankles move back while also pivot sideways. I suggest trying to hold everything together because the legs would likely get undone if you try to hinge the ankle forward or if you move the legs repeatedly.

Optimus Prime comes with his Ion Blaster, his only weapon in the Bumblebee movie. It makes sense for him to come with that since he never had any blades or axes in the movie. It's a decent size and feels more hardcore than his traditional G1 blaster. It can be stored on the back with the side pegs if you like.

Surprisingly, Hasbro didn't go all out and make a ton of variants in all sorts of G1 flavors as they somewhat did with Siege Optimus. Takara did make a slightly more G1 accurate version of the figure to go along with a Japanese release of Walmart's G1 Prime reissue. It has an even more G1 accurate/movie accurate deco with brighter reds, Autobot insignias, and a bit more red than the previous use had. It looks good for those that can't get enough from this mold, but I'd rather not get it since this and the G1 Prime reissue it came with are very expensive, even when put together, more so than they have any right to be.

And here is the Premium Finish Optimus Prime, with weathering and paint apps that further complete the look that he has in the movie, including gunmetal gray that breaks up the solid red on his forearms.

And after various knockoffs from Aliexpress, we get an official version of Studio Series Nemesis Prime announced by Takara as part of their new promotions with Rise of the Beasts in Japan. He's going to be impossible to obtain, but at least we can use the worse version of the tooling ad the bad guy and the heroic one with the ROTB version.

Here is Optimus Prime next to the non-Walmart G1 Prime reissue. Times have changed, look how far we've come, yadda yadda yadda, it's still neat to have more Primes from different time periods.

I'm fine with having both figures because I don't need to get a figure that's twice of what these figures should go for combined, and ironically, I paid $110 for a reissue of G1 Prime on Amazon back in 2014 because I always wanted to have one (and in hindsight, it was pretty steep even in that time period).

Here is Optimus with his Siege counterpart. I felt that Beewun Optimus is kind of redundant due to the fact that we already got a G1 styled Optimus Prime that was pretty good overall, though I'm glad that they're not really sharing too much similar engineering. Still find the fact that we got two G1 styled Primes close to each other fairly annoying, but more annoying is that Beewun Prime got hard to find.

While Beewun Prime's truck mode looks better, I prefer the robot mode of the Siege figure for the most part. While not as cool as the Beewun Prime design (despite me not liking the Bumblebee robot designs much), he's at least easier to pose because his lower legs don't become undone annoyingly.

Here he is next to Power of the Primes Optimus Prime. No real reason beyond adding anther G1-styled Prime in the mix. Classics Prime isn't here because he's designed differently from the rest, and don't ask me about Deluxe Prime, Combiner Wars Prime, or Titans Return Voyager Prime.

Here are the G1-styled Optimus Primes that I own (minus Classics because he's not quite like them as I said). Quite the red and blue blocks people know from the 80's, eh?

Here is Beewun Prime next to his other Studio Series counterparts, this time in robot mode. He's slightly taller than the other guys, though it's mainly due to the bulk of his robot mode. Ironically, the movie has this version of Prime look a lot smaller than he normally should be, so he's supposed to be around the size of the line's Bumblebee!

It's funny seeing how we have two figures that would traditionally be in a Movie line while the Beewun guy shows up out of nowhere, where he's the odd man out.

Here is Beewun Prime next to his other forms. This time, he's shorter than both the TLK Voyager and the AOE Evasion Prime (who I also custom painted in robot mode).

I guess he can do all the explaining regarding how he'll somehow become the design in the 2007 movie, though he's not so sure as to how he's the odd man out.

Here is Beewun Optimus next to Beewun-Twenty Seven himself, Bumblebeetle. The scale looks fine between these two, though their appearances together are ironically brief. It's not like Optimus and Bumblebee weren't close to each other at all times in the older movies, but at least it's moreso in comparison to the Beewun movie, where Prime went "Hey go to the Earth despite already being there, bye!" to show up and say "thanks for standing up to yourself all by yourself!" at the end. Also, Bumblebee wasn't in his Volkswagon design when he's with Prime, as he was in his Cybertron design and a worse version of the Classic Camaro design.

I'm sure both figures may be what Geewun fans would be more into because of their altmodes, but while VW Bee at least retains most of his old design, Optimus almost looks like he stole from an artist without permission.

Here is Optimus next to Classic Camaro Bumblebee, and now I'm starting to wonder why ILM didn't reuse this model instead of having Bumblebee switch tops. Anyway, moving on with the other figures from the Beewun series.

Here is Optimus and Bumblebee next to the Decepticons of the Beewun flick, who are known as Dropkick and Shatter. Considering how I was mixed on Bumblebeetle due to it looking decent yet has weaker quality and engineering while Dropkick being a steaming pile of shit, Optimus is the best figure in the Studio Series line to be based on the Bumblebee movie, though I wouldn't say he's the best figure of all time due to the issues I have with the figure's tolerances. And before you ask, you're in for a treat when I review Shatter.

Curiously, due to how their transformations feel in some instances, it's almost like these Studio Series figures are supposed to be pseudo-Masterpiece toys. In fact, I've got the MPM versions of Optimus Prime and Bumblebee here, and the scales are about what I expect from them! You would expect Optimus to be close to the height of the MPM figure or Bumblebee to be slightly shorter than Jazz, but it's not the case!

This is a mash-up of scale charts made for MV1 and the Bumblebee movie. The heights are what count since they've been used in the movie scale for the past 12 years. Optimus remained 28 feet while Bumblebee was 16 feet (18 feet in TLK), and while I can somewhat see where the size difference between the two Bees lies, the size difference between the Optimus Primes are ridiculously inconsistent with each other.

To add to the ridiculousness of the size discrepancies, I've decided to present how much of a disadvantage Beewun Prime has against his 2007 form if they are meant to be separate characters (God knows if they are or aren't). I know some will say "size matters not", but given the experience of training Optimus and his battles against the Decepticons, it's possible he'll lose against his Peterbilt self. 

So what do I really think of Beewun Optimus Prime? I think he's the best Bumblebee movie Studio Series figure, though it's really by default since Bumblebee was not as good as I thought he'd be, and then there are the Decepticons that just suck. The truck mode looks cool, transformation is not too bad save for some problems I've had with it, robot mode looks good but it's got some QC issues with the legs and a stiff neck. This is me setting aside my dislike on the GeewunBeewun redesign of the Transformers in the movie because had these issues not be present, I'd say this figure is better than the other Voyager Optimus Primes, but while those had aesthetic problems (one didn't look accurate while the other's altmode was somewhat compromised for the robot mode), this figure made me have to tighten the hips with super glue when I first got it.

Then there's the distribution. I've seen this figure in stores twice at a Walmart near me, and then it never popped up at any other store I've been to. Much like with Siege Soundwave, I had to resort to getting him online and for a more reasonable price (thank God). Ironically, this Optimus Prime popped up twice after I got mine, though it's safe to assume Hasbro gave out free Beewun Primes and Siege Soundwaves to older Transformers fans that run fansites or Youtube channels. I'd say that I recommend getting him, though be prepared for either crappy distribution, prices higher than they need to be, and some quality control issues.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐