Here we have Optimus in his vehicle mode. It's a beefier, long-nose version of the G1 truck mode, and I greatly appreciate it. The monster truck look to the vehicle mode is pretty badass, what with the tires and the truck proportions. There isn't much of the same kind of badass paint apps you'd get from, say, Demolishor, but the scorch on the grille and front bumper make it look badass. It makes Optimus feel more like he's ready to take on the Decepticons than just be a robot in disguise. The windshield and door windows are painted in nice silver paint, while the headlights and foglights are painted in yellow to add a bit of color.
The rear wheels do look a little far apart from the rest of the ones on the front, but it's still fine, right? At least there isn't any sign of exposed thighs from this view, unlike, say, Classics Deluxe Optimus Prime. That rounded port you see is meant for the trailer of the Superbase figure, which is neat to have some form of compatibility. Still, it makes you wonder if a smaller trailer was planned for kids that couldn't afford the bigger toy before it was scrapped (likely due to Hasbro not wanting the larger set to be rejected in favor of the cheaper offering). I theorize that, knowing that there is no actual leftover bit of engineering that would be used for the super mode.
His Minicon (finally have one to present!!!) can be a turret for the truck mode as an attack mode of sorts. While it pegs on a port that's not centered (like with the trailer hitch or the back of the skirt), but it works well nonetheless.
Here is Over-Run, the Minicon of this set. He was never in the show since Optimus Prime had the Bumblebee-esque Sparkplug. Still, this isn't an awful partner for Prime, even if it's a jet mode with so-so proportions with gray plastic that's trying to be silver yet ends up looking a bit translucent.
The robot mode is not too great, but at least the arms can move up and down. I should mention that the joints do feel a little brittle for the legs, so be careful.
Transforming Armada Optimus is sort of like the Superbase version, and I guess Laser Prime in some regard. Essentially, you just extend the legs, accordion the shoulders, and grille hinges onto the chest. Before you ask, there is no Matrix chamber like there is with the Superbase version. The robot mode, on the other hand, is pretty badass. I love the beefiness that's present with the design, whether it's the arms or the way the head looks small compare to the rest of the body. My friend, Ernie Krause, AKA Illiniguy34, loves this design, and I agree with what makes this design appealing. It's more than just a traditional robot mode that Optimus Prime would normally be seen by the casuals. The side does just have the hunchback from the truck cab, but it doesn't mess up the rest of this toy. The headsculpt is pretty neat, though it obviously lacks the mouthplate feature of Superbase Prime. I've seen images of Earthrise Prime having blue eyes on the blue face, and it doesn't look as finished as the yellow eyes on the blue face.
Articulation is the thing fans bring up with this toy. Head is on a ball joint, shoulders move front and back on swivels as well as in and out on hinges, the elbows bend at ball joints and at hinges. Hips move front and back as well as in and out, though the sculpting messes up the movement. Thighs swivel, knees bend at nearly 90 degrees, and the ankles hinge up and down as well as pivots.
Over-Run plugs on his back to activate a punching feature, but it instead doesn't work as well. By that, I mean the punching gimmick is less punching and more shoulder shrugging.
He can instead be Prime's gun, which makes up for the lack of the traditional Ion Blaster. Not the best weapon, but far from the worse.
This figure got plenty of reuses, starting with a clear version released by Takara. Crystal Convoy is best described as a translucent version of the character. Nothing else really interesting beyond that.
The Universe line (the one that's a successor to the Classics line, not the one with nothing but repaints) gave a G1-esque deco to Optimus Prime, and I'm not sure if I'm supposed to like it or not. The original colors were already the traditional Optimus Prime colors aside from a few differences, so if it ain't broke, why fix it? Anyways, this Sam's Club exclusive repaint was included in a 5-pack of Armada toys that were reused for Cybertron. This Battle for the Cyber Keys set included Blurr, Buzzsaw, Longrack, and Runamuck. Funny how Optimus Prime is the only new repaint of the set since the other four came from two-packs released in Japan. And yes, I've mentioned Buzzsaw and Runamuck in previous reviews this week since they're retools of Cyclonus and Side Swipe, respectively (while Longrack is a retool of Hoist and Blurr is a G1-inspired retool of his Armada self as well as being a different character, apparently). Time to move on!
In terms of other characters that got to use the mold, here we have Nemesis Prime. This figure really isn't accurate to the one-time-only character appearance of Nemesis in the show, as he had a messed up face in the anime. Beyond that, his shoulders and shins have a few new paint apps, but the thing that I don't like is just how the beige ruins the look of the toy. It looks bad and makes the toy feel dated when it really shouldn't. I get that it doesn't really catch the eye of kids as much as the red and blue Optimus Prime does, but it clashes with the black (which actually isn't black since it has a bluish hue to it). His Minicon's name is just Run-Over (how creative and brutal)
The Takara version of Nemesis Prime, known as Scourge, does have a nice black and neutral gray color scheme, but it's still not quite accurate in terms of the face still looking pristine. I'm sure that a Generations version of Nemesis Prime in whatever comes after the WFC trilogy will have the proper head swap, though there's a bigger chance it'll be a Hasbro Pulse exclusive. Also, his Minicon (called Micron in Japan) is called Sweep, referencing how G1 Scourge had his Sweeps like how Cyclonus had his Armada. Weirdly, this Scourge is named after Robots in Disguise Scourge, who was named Black Convoy in Japan...which is the Japanese terminology of Nemesis Prime.
We finally have Ultra Magnus. This version of the toy just doesn't look too neat compared to some of the other versions of the mold. Maybe it's just how faint the molded details are in comparison to the other versions with their plastic colors. I feel some of the paint apps just don't look too crisp. While the blue and red look fine, the yellow headlights and eyes just look faintly applied than anything. Also, Over-Run looks almost like a prototype with how the gray looks. Ultra Magnus had misassembled elbows (though this image has them looking normal). He was in a Battle in a Box 2-pack with Treadshot, a repaint of...Side Swipe...now I'm starting to regret that April Fools joke from yesterday since the toy's mentioned more often than I'd like.
This Optimus figure is pretty neat, but he really needs to be big! I already mentioned that the Superbase figure may not be everyone's cup of tea since some fans get triggered at gimmicks, but the Supercon toy, despite being super-poseable, doesn't have the height of the Superbase toy. A version of Armada Prime made by Takara looks to be made in the near future, assuming that it'll get released instead of all the needless repaints of MP-44 like we had to go through with the constant sting of MP-10 repaints. Should you get Armada Supercon Prime? I can only suggest it if you want an Armada Prime for the articulation. For the size, Superbase Prime works well. Otherwise, wait for the new mold to be made. Don't get me wrong, this is a pretty neat mold, and certainly one of the best for the Armada line along with Demolishor, Unicron, Jetfire, Overload, Sideways, and even Hot Shot (suck it, TJOmega!), but as they always say, the Transformers fanbase can be picky as shit.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
No comments:
Post a Comment