"Overrated but still cool" are the words I'd use to describe G1 Optimus Prime. He gets a lot of praise and recognition than he really should, but I get why he's given so much attention when it comes to him being one of the crucial pieces of the Transformers core. Either way, for as much as I find the character overly praised in G1, his toys generally keep me happy. I remember paying around $100 for a reissue of the figure back when I saw it on Amazon, which was cool but in retrospect was too high in the eyes of someone who has been serious-collecting of late. Still, with so many versions of the character to go over, I would like to mention that mine is the 2012 version of the Commemorative Series figure, which means he has shortened smokestacks and a light gray trailer.
Here is Optimus Prime in his truck mode. It's the traditional flat nose cube truck we've all come to expect, with the red on the block and the blue on the black and silver highlights here and there. For an old toy, the details on it are nicely sculpted with rivets and vents added here and there. I even like the little steps near the door. Also nice for an old toy is the chrome added on the grille, bumper, headlights, rims, and gas tank. There's die-cast on the chest and the feet as well as rubber tires; overall, a nice take way of weight and quality on an old toy.Sadly, being an American reissue of the toy, his smokestacks are shortened to prevent kids from poking their eyes out...yeah it's dumb as hell. New to this reissue (or more accurately, the Chronicle version) is a retooled trailer hitch that can store either his gun or haul the trailer that Dark of the Moon Deluxe Optimus was accompanied with.
The trailer certainly completes the look, and while it may be too big for the cab itself, it's got a nice feel of completion and weight that none of the other trailers have (excluding Cybertron Prime's parts). The figure rolls beautifully on all of the wheels, and it has that classic American convoy feeel to him. I especially love the Autobot insignia and go-faster stripe look on the stickers, giving him that Optimus Prime feel even further. On top of the toy is the rubsign that G1 toys were given in 1985-onwards. As part of the play pattern, Optimus Prime's trailer can open up and you can extend the neck of the Combat Deck before closing the trailer up to give it an attack mode.
Since the fists come off the toy, it is suggested to store them in the cockpit seats that originally were used by Diaclone pilot figurines.
Transformation is practically what you'd expect at this point. Legs go down, arms are hinged back before the shoulders are moved forwards, the head and feet flip in place, and the fists are attached in place. Need I say more? And the same goes for the robot mode. Between the design, the Autobot insignias, the silver stripe, the color layout, the stickers, and pretty much everything about the toy, is there anything else I can say? For an old toy, it's pretty nice-looking as well as designed as one would want the flagship toy to be. Sure, he has a gap on his back is noticeable and the mold-deterioration is kicking in with this version, but it's still a good toy for an old one.
Head sculpt is certainly classic, though it is rounder in parts than the toy generally is. Also weird on my copy is that one eye looks like it's squintier than the other because of the paint app being handled like that. His articulation is decent for his time, with shoulders that move front and back, elbows that swivel as well as bend, and knees that bend. If you want, you can pretend he can look up and swivel his wrists. He has his classic Ion Blaster (called a laser rifle in the old toy), and he holds it awkwardly since the handle he'd normally use is a fake one and he instead has to use a 5mm port that is able to help him hold it straight (as older versions of the toy instead had it be held at an angle).
As for the trailer, it will become a Combat Deck with the ramps deployed and the halves of the trailer splitting to reveal a battle platform with a head module and Roller! You have some stickers to decorate it as well as seats for Diaclone pilots to sit in. Alternatively, it can stand up so it can be a repair station, which as typical for flagship toys like Optimus Prime, but I think this is better than something like the base mode of Star Saber. Oh and the gun can be stored on a spare 5mm post of the trailer.
And here we have the little drone buddies of Optimus, that being the Combat Deck drone and Roller! The former has a cockpit that can open up, an articulated claw, a swiveling radar, and launching missiles (which are ironically extended on American reissues). Roller, on the other hand, rolls and has the tabs as well a 5mm port for the gas port or the gun. It should be worth mentioning that my copy has the wheels pre-installed, though one of the pegs has been messed up somehow.
Alright, since this figure has been reused CONSTANTLY, the mold history has been rather massive, so I'll instead focus on key significant differences between the various versions of Optimus Prime. Here is the traditional version of Optimus Prime. This is what the original version of the toy and almost all normal Takara reissues of Optimus Prime look like for the most part, with some minor differences here and there. The original Diaclone version of the toy looks similar to it but pretend the trailer says DIACLONE and has no Autobot insignias.
Since the figure has had plenty of different variants even when the line first began, you should be aware of the alternate accessories that Optimus Primes came with even in the early days: his gun has either thick or thin barrels, the missiles are either black or gray, the fists either have an extended piece on the hole or no added plastic, the gas pumps are sculpted different, and European versions of Optimus have red feet.
Long before we got Pepsi Optimus Prime in 2007, Hasbro did Pepsi promos back in the 80s with an added sticker on the trailer, with North American releases having a small Pepsi logo and Canadian versions having a bigger Pepsi sticker.
Takara did two repacks with other figures, the first one being a VS pack with their version of Megatron (more on that tomorrow). Optimus himself isn't that different from the Japanese version though he does have new box art on this release as well as the original release that is different from the Hasbro character art.
This is Goodbye Convoy, another multipack that comes with Red Alert and Mirage (named Alert and Ligier in Japan). Not pictured, but this version of Prime has blue windows.
While we had some re-releases as mail-aways and a European reissue, the first significantly different version of the toy is the G2 version. He is given tinted windows, a black trailer with a new sticker that says "OPTIMUS PRIME", twin rocker launchers worth double the damage, and a sound pack that can extend the length of the trailer or be a jetpack; it has lights and three sound buttons: one for driving, one for shooting, and one for when Optimus talks (I AM OPTIMUS PRIME). This version had the Decepticons run for cover.
While we had a regular reissue of the toy in 2000, Takara also did a black repaint of the toy. It's not given any teal nor Decepticon influences, so Jafconvoy is not Nemesis Prime.
And here we have a version of the figure that switches the silver chrome for gold chrome. He should have had a golden tint for the stickers, though I won't lie he looks like a yellowed toy is a knockoff. The gold looks pretty ugly on him, I won't lie.
Takara did another version of the toy with blue windows and blue eyes; also added for this version are two versions of the rifle, a die-cast Matrix of Leadership, multiple Autobot insignias with both the Japanese and American logos, a mousepad with the Autobot insignia and the background grid of the old days, and a surprising addition in the form of a cartoon-accurate repaint of Action Master Prime.
Collection Opttimus Prime is generally identical to prior versions of the toy, but his box is different and he comes with an Energon axe that has never been reused since then. It replaces one of the fists.
HasTak made a reissue of the toy that is distinct from the others as he is now Pepsi Optimus Prime. Originally released a few years ago by TakaraTomy, Hasbro brought this version to tie in with the 2007 movie and thus has new paint apps with the toy not only having the logo on the left shoulder, but he also has a few paint apps to better make him look like the Pepsi logo in the truck mode. He also has the logo on his knee caps and his feet. His trailer is replaced with a new bottle display tray for a small bottle or three cans. Is it too much to ask for Pepsiman?
Apart from being involved with Pepsi, here we have Music Label Convoy with an all-white deco that's practically similar to Ultra Magnus. New to this version of the figure is a head sculpt based on MP-01 Prime and is on a ball-jointed neck. His trailer can now be a docking bay for an iPod or iPhone, and it is one of those novelty features that comes with a toy you'd want to go with for an added display option.
Music Label Convoy was repainted in the traditional Optimus Prime colors, and he looks great with the blue windows, new head, and windows. The trailer is given both a traditional deco and new art for when the trailer has the docking mode.
The tooling and trailer were reused again for J-Pop band Exile. He has no blue, he has yellow, and looks almost like a bootleg without the context of what the repaint's purpose is.
Hasbro's Universe 2008 line has a G1 reissue with paler colors, a light-gray trailer like on my copy, and new bonuses in the form of a DVD featuring More than Meets The Eye, the first issue of the Marvel G1 comic, and a sound box with Peter Cullen voice clips. If you didn't care about it being inaccurate to the original toy, this would be a great addition to any G1 display given how it has even more bonuses than any of the original toys had.
And here we have some of the weirder versions of the figure, which gives Optimus a green deco, a camo trailer, and is made in conjunction with A Bathing Ape from Japan. No word if Optimus Primal had any say in this, but it works well for a G.I.Joe custom.
Another BAPE version of Prime with grayscale colors and slightly gold chrome exists. If it weren't for the BAPE details, he'd be great for a dead Prime.
And a THIRD version of BAPE with a red camo and looks like another bootleg version of Optimus Prime.I think you get the gist.
And here we finally have the Walmart reissue of G1 Optimus Prime! He doesn't have the trailer sadly but he has has two versions of the gun and seems less deteriorated than the one I have. What interests me the most is that his smokestacks are untrimmed, a mistake Hasbro fixed after shortening them since 2002.
And here is Optimus Prime and Bumblebee as they fight against Megatron and Starscream on the table. So overall, yes, I still think that the 80s, G1, this version of Optimus Prime, and the toy associated with him are overrated, but they're still nice things nonetheless. Honestly, I like both modes fine, the transformation is fun, the articulation is decent, the play options are great, and he's a nice display piece, too. If you want one, look for a cheap reissue or find him from people who have a spare copy. If you can find him at Walmart somehow, get him for a cheaper price. Him not coming with a trailer is a big no-no.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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