Transformers TLK Optimus Prime review

Optimus Prime's character design in the original trilogy was one that I fell in love with the moment I saw it transform before my eyes. It was the kind of reminiscence of his old self that I actually like in retrospect because I didn't need him to be exactly like his G1 self. The robot design makes Optimus a lot leaner while still giving him a powerful look. And he looks amazing without the mouthplate, as the exposed face hits him well than it would on G1 Optimus if his blocky face had no mouthplate. Seeing the reveal of his new look did get me both excited and concerned. At first, I dug the fact that he has a new design to help keep him different from what we got, and it did provide that unique knight motif; the problem comes from how it was presented at first, with the somewhat stylized AOE artwork making it hard to tell how it's exactly supposed to look, along with some of the design cues not being 100% accurate to what was unveiled to us. To make matters worse, fans were horrified to witness how awful the 2014 First Edition figure looked, being a $60 vac-metallized turd and all. The $45 Leader figure was better, but it's not exactly good. The Voyager, on the other hand, was the Evasion Mode figure with various repaints that were in almost every store (due to its constant repaints), but while the engineering of that figure was pretty good, its color scheme is inaccurate. While the Knight Armor reuse of the Leader figure attempted to be accurate, and its Excalibur variant managed to make its backpack removable, it wasn't until 2017 where we have an Optimus Prime that manages to be engineered well while also not requiring transforming. Here's my look at what's hopefully the first step in cleaner-looking AOE/TLK Optimus Prime with my review of the Premier Edition figure!

This is what the figure looks like when it's stock. I changed the details back when I got back home from my vacation in Mexico (where I first bought this figure), but for anyone wondering what it once looked like, here you go. The sword's inaccurately orange, the shield has baby blue, the rims are missing paint, the head has more blue than silver,, and there's no red on the feet, amongst other details.

Here is Optimus Prime in his vehicle mode. The Western Star truck mode he takes form of in AOE and parts of TLK is pretty faithful to what it looked like in the movie, though I went ahead and added some paint for the rims, smokestacks, and Western Star logos. This vehicle mode pretty much has everything one would expect for the proper vehicle, so you don't have to worry about the lack of any details that are missing aside from what's usually added on the stock toy. As truck modes go, it's certainly a departure from the more "traditional" Peterbilt design, but it does work as an evolution from what we got (unlike that red box that appeals to the 80s man kids). The flames are applied nicely, the molded details are present (even if some of them aren't painted), and the proportions are about right to what the truck mode should look like (though the truck sits a little closer to the ground than normal, and the rear wheels are a little far apart from each other)

Here the weapon storage for the shield: it goes on the trailer hitch, which fits well and doesn't really ruin the look of the truck. Also, notice the silver smokestacks. The sword goes under the truck, and it doesn't get in the way either. That's how weapon storage works in my books.

Here he is next to a Transformer that doesn't show up often: Galvatron. Seeing these two together is kind of cool, as we get to see the more vibrant and colorful Optimus Prime next to Galvatron, who's a lot less flashy in comparison. I'm sure G1 fans thought that Galvatron was going to be Motormaster, especially considering how no one expected this gray truck to be a new body for Megatron.

It's funny I mentioned Galvatron because the transformation of Optimus is honestly similar to Galvatron's. The backpack looks similar, but the rest of the transformation works way better than Galvatron's. Obviously, it's due to the fact that Optimus has more part layout to go with his color scheme, but props to him for at least having more things to do for the transformation. The front of the vehicle and the gas tanks all become parts of the legs, while the torso, despite not having the same level of springs and hinges Galvatron had for his backpack, it's a lot more compact than any of the other Optimus Primes before him with the same body design. The arms and chest transformation are fairly simple, but props to the arms for using parts of the truck mode.

The robot mode is easily better than anything we've gotten before from HasTak. The proportions look right, the molded details are accurate, and while there's still some kibble here and there, at least it's cleaner than the messes made before. It's so good, to the point where I easily forgive Hasbro for the three-year wait I had with getting an Optimus that scales nicely (and not getting the Leader or its shrunken down knockoff counterpart). Like I said, not entirely perfect, and I can see Hasbro wanting to make one last shot at a Studio Series version of Optimus Prime, but it's far superior to the larger scale figures, especially with Hasbro learning from the mistakes of the larger toys. The leg kibble's sort of prominent, but it flows nicely and is reminiscent of his old legs. It's also nice that his backpack doesn't have the rear wheels strapped on him and looks more like he's transformed more convincingly, even if it's not 100% accurate. You can also have the sword on his sheath and notice the added paint apps done by me.

Head sculpt looks closer to Optimus's design in the final movie It's nowhere near as thin from the front and has all the sculpting one would expect, though the eyes could be a little less soft. Maybe I could easily fix that with a toothpick and silver paint one day. Also need to paint the silver on a bit better than in this image. As for the articulation, while I won't compare this to Evasion Prime (as I already once did that in a review for Beewun Prime), I will say that in terms of articulation, Beewun Prime's better in that department. Head is on a ball joint, shoulders move front and back as well as in and out. The shoulder pads don't get in the way, and it's also nice to see them not be flat pieces like on the FE or stupid roof halves like on the Leader. The biceps swivel, elbows bend only at 90 degrees, and there is sadly no wrist swivels. The waist swivels, hips move front and back as well as in and out, the thighs swivel, and the knees bend at 45 degrees. There is also no ankle pivot due to the transformation. The slightly limited leg articulation from the knees down kind of sucks because there are plenty of poses to put this Prime in, especially when it comes to the weapons.

His sword and shield are properly sculpted, yet I had to add the paint on them because they aren't painted accurately. The sword's not too bad because of how easy it is to paint over it. The shield could use a little more work on my part. Still better than what they first looked like.

Some fans are able to make their TLK Optimus Prime kibble-free. As you can see, the figure now has almost everything associated with the truck mode now separated from the toy proper. While that may seem cool in theory, I don't like the execution used on it. The problem is the fact that the toy needs the stability associated with these toys to work properly, as without them, the feet won't stay on properly, nor will the truck mode really stay together that well. I'd rather Hasbro take another stab at an even cleaner AOE Optimus so no one has to take the figure apart while also giving us some better paint apps and articulation.

This is a version of Optimus Prime was from a Toys R Us giveaway, which is just the same toy only with some weathering all over the toy. It's something you can do with your figure if you know how to weather toys.

Let's go over the other reuses of the figure (all of which were made in 2017 only). This is Dark Optimus Prime, who is also Nemesis Prime and has the more accurate flame deco, darker colors, silver smokestacks, a purple sword to go with the eyes, a blue shield, and blue for the hip armor. While it's got some nice added paint apps missing from the regular release, I wish the head had the proper red streak on one side (which was an iconic aspect of Optimus when he was temporarily Nemesis). Plus, the figure looks drabber when Optimus really wasn't as dark in this deco when he was Nemesis. I guess it depends on the lighting of the scenes Nemesis was in.

This is the SDCC version of Optimus Prime, which gives the character a bit more of an accurate despite a few inaccuracies here and there. The weapons are better painted (at least the shield is), the chest is better painted, the legs have more paint applied, and the back panels made from a side fo the truck are red plastic with blue paint instead of the blue plastic with red paint from the original release. There are still a few details that aren't accurate, like the smaller flames and the blue-collar piece. The packaging is similar to what the Alternators were packaged in, and also included is a piece of a tire used from the real truck Optimus Prime turns into. Yeah, it's not the most exciting accessory, but at least the deco's closer to perfection.

This is the Clear Optimus Prime version of the mold, and he's got about the same details Dark Optimus Prime got, only in translucent plastic. He can only be obtained at 7net by getting the home video version of The Last Knight, with the following: regular Blu-Ray + DVD + Special Features Blu-Ray, a 3D version of the same thing, a 4K version of the same thing, or the main 5 movies in one set.

For anyone wondering, yes, this guy was given a chrome version for the Lucky Draw line. Still, it's pretty blinging.

For a robot mode comparison, here he is next to the AOE First Edition mold, the Leader Class figure, and the Battle Command toy. Why am I making this comparison? Well, despite me wanting Hasbro to make one more stab at the Knight Prime design (no, not that Beewun Blockhead), I want to remind people about har much better the TLK Voyager is than anything we've gotten from the past. While I don't mind Hasbro using some vehicle kibble to make the toy remain transformable, it should all depend on how it's done. Example: look at how much junk is on the FE's trunk. I don't care how much chrome is thrown up on that thing, it's an awful Transformer that is a regression from the 2009 engineering, especially when it comes to how embarrassing the $60-80 price tag was. The Leader figure is slightly better, but only slightly, as the legs use some engineering (while the backpack is mainly the rear wheels). It's still not great, as the arms look disconnected from the figure and the toy's kibble is still just as annoying. The Battle Command figure may seem like the best version of Optimus, and I know its paint apps and sculpting may look the best from what we got, but its only good from the front, as any other angle is ruined by the stupidly big butt kibble and barely modified truck front. You can attempt to remove the kibble, but know that the wires are going to be cut off. So...even with the room for improvement, I still prefer the TLK figure over what Hasbro made in 2014 (or Takara when it comes to Booty Command Fannimus Prime).   

Here he is next to Megatron and Galvatron. It's so nice to have an Optimus look great with a Megatron that's done right from the start of the toyline he's from and a Galvatron that's painted decently. Beats having a Leader Prime not scale with Voyager Galvatron.

So where do I stand with TLK Optimus Prime right now? Well, I have to say I owe it to this figure for being the Transformer that got me back into collecting Transformers again after choosing to quit from the peer pressure that was the Combiner Wars Completion Crisis and the Titans Return Walmart Drought. I wasn't really in the mood to collect Combiners when I wouldn't go outside often and sadly, I could only go to the one Walmart store at Indiana (because the other one near my brother's high school is one that we rarely go to) and the Target near me closed down. It wasn't until I stepped into college where I began to delve into the collecting hype again, what with the multitude of Targets to visit, and the abundance of places to check out. Now, my collection feels a lot more impressive if a little crowded, and it's all thanks to this Optimus (as well as Berserker and HFTD Starscream). I guess it's better to buy Transformers that feel different from another than get Deluxes that form limbs and Voyagers that form torsos (also why I skipped out on almost everything POTP). Still, TLK Optimus Prime fills the gap I wanted since Age of Extinction came out: a good, Voyager-scaled version of the badass Autobot Leader's new form with good engineering. I wanted an Optimus Prime that felt like a real Transformer, not some robot with kibble barely useful for the transformation. I wanted an Optimus Prime that captured his new look wonderfully. This new figure, while not exactly perfect, does everything I would want a Voyager Prime to do. But until the Studio Series version comes, what could you do to make this guy better? Well...

You can get the Dr. Wu upgrade kit, giving him a much better sword and shield than what was made beforehand. I recommend the metallic option!

You can also get him some stickers to give him some details that were missing from the regular release. A little more red's needed here and there, like on the shoulders and forearm gauntlets.

If you have the painting skills (and ones better than mine), you can make your TLK Optimus look gorgeous with a movie-accurate deco makeover! Ryuki of Seibertron.com made a tremendous take on the mold with some sweet paint apps in mind.

BUT if you're going to make an Optimus Prime repaint that's not trying to be accurate to the movie design, then don't do it...like...this...

Yeah, I hate to be rude, but there's only one way to react to that:

Anyways, here's an image of the TLK group I took from 2018! So like I said, Optimus Prime's got some things that still could be fixed, but for the most part, I'm happy to own this figure and am glad he's the one that kickstarted my interest in collecting Transformers again.

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

Transformers TLK Berserker review

Berserker did not do anything whatsoever in The Last Knight apart from appear in one scene, say one line, and one name reference by Megatron. While I cringe at a lot of anti-Movie dorks and their "ThE bAyFoRmZ hAv BeArLeE ScReNtIeM" bitchfests, this is one of the few exceptions I'm making, along with some of Megatron's crew and Blitzwing (didn't think I wouldn't make a jab at that Bumblebee film, eh?). It's also annoying when Berserker and the Dinobot repaints would warm pegs badly during the run of The Last Knight's toyline. It's like he was supposed to do more, but whoever edited the movie did as poor of a job as the theatrical cut of Suicide Squad. Berserker would later be reused in the Studio Series line as Crowbar and weirdly get repainted as Crankcase (despite CC having Berserker's design), but neither use of the mold didn't warm pegs as badly. So we already took a look at Crowbar in the first-ever wave of Studio Series figures, why not we take a look at Berserker? I'll mention that it'll be a shorter review since it's not entirely different from Crowbar aside from the robot mode retooling.

Here is Berserker in his vehicle mode. It's the same black Chevrolet Suburban seen with Berserker, with good proportions and decent details used to be accurate with the real vehicle. I appreciate the navy blue windows, red sirens, gold emblem for the Chevy logo, and the headlights painted in white. Some may find the tires a little oddly placed, though I don't like them as much as I do the gray hinge present in-between the doors. Otherwise, this vehicle's no different from its retool, Crowbar, aside from the lack of dreads from the back.

This is how I store the spikes in vehicle mode. You couldn't do that with Crowbar to my knowledge, and I really don't know why since the other method's kind of annoying.

The transformation is slightly different from Crowbar, as the lower legs hinge forward to give the overall robot look a little more of a bestial appearance, the windows are what hinge close to the forearms, and there are little shoulder spikes on the back instead of dreads. The robot mode on this figure is certainly a Crankcase homage, though the colors are slightly different from what Crankcase has. There's more gray than Crankcase's black, a few red accents are there (notably with the X on the chest), and the dreads are silver. Design wise, aside from the exposed wheels and the back kibble, this figure doesn't look too bad, even if it's not quite as refined.

The headsculpt is pretty much Crankcase, albeit with dreads a little shorter than the norm. At least the headsculpt looks pretty good, even if there's not much in terms of coloring (i.e. the lack of the aforementioned gold dreads).

The articulation is pretty standard for a Deluxe. Head is on a ball joint as well as a neck hinge. Shoulders move front and back, in and out, the biceps swivel, and the elbows bend. The hands can bend inwards, though you have to alter the kibble somewhat. Hips move front and back as well as in and out (but the movement's not too hot with the wheels on the hips), the thighs swivel, and the knees bend.

Here he is with his spikes. For a robot comparison, here he is next to the DOTM Crankcase figure. You can tell how much more involved the original Crankcase figure is compared to the TLK Berserker figure, even if it's not necessarily a bad thing (as it's not like the TLK figure is extremely simplified)

Here he is next to Crowbar, his retool. It's funny going from the Studio Series retool to reversing back with the TLK figure, even if Berserker came out first. Yeah, you can tell how far the retooling game has gone between these two, as it's more than just a head swap.

 Their spikes remain the same between both releases, and the same goes for my opinion on Berserker. Despite being a pegwarmer and having little to do in the movie, this guy isn't a bad toy at all. I feel that had there be a little bit more color variety and would be repainted as the more appealing Crankcase, then you'd get a pretty good figure. For now, I'm going to repaint another copy of this guy into Crankcase and think of some genericon for the CrowCase repaint in the Studio Series line.

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

Transformers Prime RID Revealers Bumblebee review

2011-2012 was a rough time for Transformers fans when it comes to the Dark of the Moon and Prime lines. Most stores tend to have Bumblebees warming pegs due to Hasbro believing at the time that kids would really want a version of the character, so they provided plenty of repaints, versions of the character that aren't really needed, and it not only caused some characters to get hard to find, but it also led to the last bits of the DOTM line to be canceled in the US. The First Edition line didn't fare any better, as retailers didn't want to have the Prime toys until the DOTM series was over, and when they did, people would only find Wave 1's Deluxes, but no Voyagers or the 2-pack; even then, Bumblebee's the more prominent entry in the wave. To make matters worse, the Robots in Disguise subline showed up, and fans were disappointed in seeing the remaining glut of DOTM Bees next to First Edition Bees and now the PRID Bees taking over toy shelves. Also, fans would do bash Hasbro for bringing out a figure they found inferior to the First Edition and give the PRID line a lot more flak than they've ever given a mainline. But honestly...is the PRID Deluxe really that bad?

Here is Bumblebee in his vehicle mode. It's basically a cartoon-style Camaro, but it's actually got a name in-universe, that being the Urbana 500. It won't just rock your world; it will transform it. Anyways, it's more than just an unlicensed version of the Camaro; it changes the stripe layout from the normal parallel motif to a more splayed out approach, the design is a little boxer than the somewhat rounded edges of the Camaro, the grille and headlights are a lot different from a Camaro, and the engine is exposed. It's neat car design, though the yellow shades are somewhat inconsistent with the yellow plastic used for the articulation, the yellow plastic meant for the aesthetics, and the yellow paint applied on the clear blue plastic. The silver applied to the rims is my doing because the toy doesn't have any nicely painted rims at all.

The side view of the car mode is totally "cartoony", as the rear wheels are bigger than the front wheels, and the proportions are not really like a Camaro would. You can also tell the discrepancies between the shades of yellow.

The hot rod engine can mount its guns on the back, which does give me vibes of G1 Hot Rod's Targetmaster plugging on his engine.

The transformation is pretty basic and has the typical hood-chest/door wings/trunk legs motif. It's seen on Movie Bumblebee, G1 Jazz, etc. Thankfully, it's not exactly as boring as one would expect, as the torso actually transforms with an Automorph gimmick (which is why it's called a Revealer). It's cool, though it does leave the head raised up a little more than I'd like. otherwise, the rest of the transformation is not too involved.

The robot mode is pretty much a version of TFP Bumblebee. You have every detail needed for this toy, but I have to say that the torso is pretty wonky. In terms of proportions, the chest is a little too big and sinks down a little more than I'd like, while the arms are at an angle that makes them look like they're supposed to go back more, but they don't. The legs are pretty basic, and almost have Jazz's leg design (minus the rear windshield on the legs). The waist is especially small and almost looks frail compared to the rest of his body. Next to the First Edition, he does look like a mistransformed toy compared to the FE mold, which is a shame because some PRID figures like Arcee and Starscream don't actually look too bad. I especially hate how the middle part of the car grille is sticking out.

The side view looks pretty okay save for the small gap from the side, and the back is basic. The red taillights are my own doing.

The headsculpt is normal but it could really go for some added details aside from the silver face. I added some black to the eyebrows and the middle part of his head, which makes me want to add some paint to the mouthplate.

Articulation is basic for a Deluxe figure. Head is on a ball joint, the shoulders are move front and back on mushroom pegs while they move in and out on hinges. The elbows swivel and bend, but there's no wrist articulation. Hips move freely on ball joints, the thighs swivel, the knees bend, and the ankles hinge up and down.

The arms can use the mounted arm cannons in a way similar to Hot Rod's pipes, which is a little bit of a departure from Movie Bumblebee's Plasma Cannon/Stinger Blaster.

Let's go over the reuses of this mold. This is the Arms Micron version. This figure has almost every paint app replaced with stickers, which includes his stripes (which are a little more accurate yet are prone to get messed up by the door hinges); said stripe stickers are not too great when you have the Micron ports break up the ones on the doors, and speaking of breaking, opening the doors will ruin the stickers applied on them. Definitely not worth getting an Arms Micron version of this mold.

Here is his Arms Micron, B.2, who is almost like the love child of a Rock Lord and a Mega Man enemy. He turns into one oversized version of Bee's arm cannon. He's cast in gold-plastic, so pray he doesn't crumble to dust.

Here is the Shadow Strike version of Bumblebee. This guy may look like he's an inverted color swap of Bumblebee, but he's actually gray, he's got different paint apps, his front has yellow added, and his head is molded in gray plastic but has the cranium painted in yellow. This guy makes for a decent but not exact stand-in for the Season 3 version of Bee's deco. The arm cannons being yellow is distracting.

This is the Terrorcon version of Bumblebee. This guy's in a slick black and metallic purple color scheme, though the Allspark blue's also distracting. He comes with a purple version of Zori, who belonged to Soundwave. While it's not really a show-accurate repaint, he's pretty cool nonetheless.

This is the Dark Energon version of Bumblebee, who coincidentally was sold alongside yesterday's review focus, that being Starscream. His gold is clear plastic, and he's totally similar to Goldbug. The blue head looks too weird in blue and almost makes me think of a fucking Boobah instead of the "cute" yet confident Autobot scout. Still one of the interesting repaints of this mold.

Here is the heavy retool of the Beast Hunters line. This guy is heavily retooled with spikes everywhere, and he also has a new cannon that is called the Eagleshot Bow, which launches missiles. It's pretty cool, but be sure to keep all these missiles so you don't lose them. He still has the arm cannons but in lighter gray plastic.

Here is the Takara version of the mold, which is...about the same a the Hasbro version, but with a slightly darker shade of orange, black panels instead of silver ones, and shinier headlights. Yeah, you don't need this one.

Here is the Night Shadow version of Bumblebee, who has painted rims for once! Otherwise, he's yet another black repaint of the mold, but this time is actually black with bits of gold here and there. I still worry for the gold plastic.

Here is the Predacons Rising version of Bumblebee, with the Nova Blast moniker. He has a bit more blue in this version of the mold but is otherwise not too necessary.

And here is the only reuse of this mold that belongs to a different character. I'm going to be honest and say that this version of the mold isn't doing it for me. While I'm glad Hot Shot's not a repaint of Bumblebee by having a new head and replacing the gray with red, this figure kind of makes Hot Shot feel a lot more second-rate than he should be. At least he has a new head (with flip-down goggles that make him look like TLK Hot Rod) and flames, but the latter ironically makes him look like Tracks. I'm going to say this, but I prefer Rescue Bots Academy Hot Shot for having his own look and manages to have a new altmode to further make him look different from Bumblebee.

Here he is with the rest of Team Prime. He fits in well with the rest of the line, even if he's the weakest figure in this group shot. Still...

...does that make this toy bad? I don't think he's 100% perfect, but that doesn't mean he's an awful toy just because it's not as good as the First Edition. He's got a few things to like about him, like the car mode and the Automorph feature. If you do want this guy, get him for cheap like I did, when I got him at $7. Still, if you want to get the First Edition figure, stick with looking for it at conventions or toy shops.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐