Transformers Studio Series Optimus Primal review

By this point, Optimus Primal is getting quite the spotlight compared to the other characters. Every individual we covered in the Studio Series line has at least one mainline counterpart, with the Voyager we previously covered being the first stab at a normal transforming Primal in his case. That was pretty good, but the Ultimate version made by Takara that Hasbro surprisingly brought to the US in their Pulse site blew it out of the water, bringing in so many play features that I feel make the Leader-sized Primal easily better than almost every Leader Class figure made since Age of Extinction, movieverse or not. Speaking of Leader Class, Optimus Primal has a third iteration to cover, and we're about to see if it is the best version of the character made out of the previous versions or if it will have certain things holding it back.

Here we have Optimus Primal in his beast mode, which is the closest a Primal has towards resembling the CG model associated with the character in terms of main HasTak merchandise. The coloring, sculpt work, and anatomy are entirely accurate this time around, and I definitely see how it really shows if we were to compare him to Scourge, who is based on the concept art in the Studio Series line. The mainline Voyager and Ultimate had varying degrees of resemblance to the CG model seen in the film, but this guy manages to nail it perfectly. The articulation is pretty good save for the hips having less range due to the crotch, but the head is on a ball joint and includes an articulated jaw, shoulders move front and back as well as in and out, the biceps swivel, elbows bend, the wrists swivel, and the fingers are articulated at two points. Hips move front and back as well as in and out somewhat, and the ankles can hinge up if needed, but that's pretty much it. Speaking of, I don't like how ugly the backs of the legs look, moreso than the other toys we took a look at.

For a beast mode comparison, here he is with the Ultimate Optimus Primal figure on the left and the mainline Voyager on the right. The mass retail toys are both more or less the same size, and both are undoubtedly much smaller than the Ultimate version of the character. Obviously, one is meant to be part of a group of other figures, and the other is meant to be a centerpiece toy that gets the big-ticket spotlight (at least in Japan). However, both versions of Primal are worth about $55 each. And this review will determine which figure is worth getting over the other.

For a size comparison with his fellow Maximals, here he is with Rhinox, Cheetor, and Airazor in their beast modes. Primal certainly looks the most accurate among the others in terms of the sculpted details and coloring better matching the CG model, with Rhinox being in second-place while Cheetor clearly has an inaccurately proportioned head and isn't as metallic. Airazor is obviously inaccurate.

And here we have him with the sole Predacon in the franchise, at least currently living. Primal can easily smash the hell out of the other Predacons, and I can't wait to see how the new Scorponok will look in the line once we get him in the Studio Series line. And of course, we can have him posed with Primal as they have a brief standoff. I liked how that was one of the first scenes we see in the trailer, taking us back to that action-oriented energy without either being super obsessed with nonsensical lore (*cough* The Last Knight) or trying to be a cutesy origin story for normies and purists (*cough* Bumblebee).

And here we have him with the Autobots in the movie's iconic group shot. I can hear the theme play as the Optimus duo tells the Maximals and the Autobots to ROLL OUT!

Transformation is similar to how other versions of the character went from beast mode to robot mode, only this time, we get a somewhat more involved forearm transformation where the beast hands are hidden away to reveal the slightly smaller robot hands, which also face the proper way for the robot mode. I don't think we see anything like that with prior Primal toys. And of course, the robot mode is the closest we've ever gotten to the CG model in terms of mainline Hasbro release. Comparable to the Yolopark model kit, the design better matches the more Beast Machines silhouette with the more rounded shoulder pads, organic-looking torso, and bulkier forearms vs prior toys matching the Season 1 look. I love it when a toy doesn't have any hollow parts missing, especially when it makes the toy look as complete as possible with the current Hasbro budget logic. The backpack is a little weird in terms of how it's folded into itself, but beyond that, I feel it does a good job at keeping everything together nicely and tidily. The beast mode feet being visible from the back, however, is ugly as hell. With how much Hasbro likes to make their Voyagers with Benefits so involved, they forgot to hide them. Or at least implement them within the robot's feet.

Head sculpt is where things get quite deviated when it comes to its aesthetics. It resembles the traditional Primal motif, but it also has a bit of a Beast Machines influence from how technorganic the head appears to be. Even with the mouth-in-mouthplate approach. It's odd how they went with this since we barely saw this look in the movie versus the mouthplate being prominent in the film. And even when the face was exposed, it looked more like the normal beast's face rather than this design. His articulation consists of a ball jointed neck, mostly same arm articulation, a waist swivel, better hip movement as well as thigh swivels, knee bends, and ankle pivots.

His swords can be held in his hand either traditional Primal dual-wielding or combined together, Darth Maul style, the latter being what we saw more often on-screen. While the Ultimate Class figure had a bit of an issue holding his swords tightly given the finger articulation and the thumb region not being compatible with the circumference of the sword handles, this one wins with its 5mm hands being as functional even with the finger joints.

The swords could either be stored on his hips like a traditional swordsbot, or they can be mounted on the back like a traditional Primal toy. TFWiki says they can mimic the shoulder cannons from Season 1, but I don't buy it.

The chain he comes with was never used in the movie but was briefly seen in the trailer that had the preliminary final battle scene, which was overhauled for the final movie when the VFX was improved. It's multijointed and can easily hold a pose, making photography and stop-motion work much easier to do if you know how to pose the chain right. If you don't want to use the chain for Primal, then you can instead have Battletrap utilize it since he actually had a wrecking ball. It probably wasn't intentional since it was not mentioned in the instructions, but I feel that Hasbro wanted to rectify the lack of a chain accessory for Battletrap since we don't really see him use his wrecking ball, TFP Bulkhead style.

Of course, when Battletrap wants a real fight, he receives one before Optimus gets annoyed that he didn't give the Terrorcon a stab through his retched spark. Primal's finger articulation makes it easy to pose him holding the wrecking ball in his hands as he's about to smash his face.

Another accessory he comes with that definitely wasn't meant for him is an axe that he can hold no problem as well as store on either the back or his hips, but it is clearly meant for Optimus Prime to use. Also, is it me or is the way Prime using a blade on his right arm and an axe on his left hand a callback to the way it was used in Dark of the Moon? Well, if I were to put on a tinfoil hat and also mention that one of his grunts near the end of ROTB was recycled from when Sentinel cut Prime's arm off in DOTM, then yeah, it was probably an intended callback. 

Bumblebee can also hold the axe to mimic the scene where he attempted to save his long-time friend from Scourge's blade before the Terrorcon leader kills him. Another neat callback to when his older self would have a Battle Blade in the Revenge of the Fallen game and in the Hunt for the Decepticons toy line.

The Transwarp Key is a Matrix-shaped accessory that can either be kept in one piece as was the case at the beginning of the movie, or split in half in reference to how the Maximals kept both halves away from Scourge before one of them was found by Elena Wallace in the museum with the Airazor statue.

For a Primal-themed comparison, here we have him with his other iterations in 2023. Man, Donkey Kong sure has been getting a lot of attention in 2023. Anyways, he most certainly matches the CG model the best, especially in contrast to the mainline Voyager. That being said, when you put him next to the Ultimate Class figure, you start to question if paying $55 for this Leader Class figure is about as valuable as it is for the larger toy. Sure, the Studio Series one has better engineering, but it's still got some hiccups that could have been prevented. Sure, it's the most accurate sculpt, but so is the Yolopark model kit, and he may not transform but he costs less than this toy. And sure, he scales better with the Studio Series line, but that doesn't justify how short he stacks up with other Leader Class figures before him.

Of note, the mainline version of Primal also has an exposed face, but it resembles the Season 1 Primal design a little more than the Studio Series one.

And here he is in between the other two Maximals in robot mode. While they look great as a set (sorry Airazor but you died), especially since they have a Beast Machines influence (I know Rhinox was Tankor in a majority of the series shut up), but again, we got two Voyager Class figures versus one Leader Class figure, and there is only a subtle height difference.

And here he is in between Scourge, who is also a Leader Class figure, and Optimus Prime, who is a Voyager. Being shorter than a Leader Class figure who was also a Voyager with Benefits was already a major knock on this guy, but being shorter than a Voyager Class figure makes things hurt even more. Honestly, I don't hate Studio Series Optimus Primal; he looks great and has a lot of fun articulation to utilize in addition to complimenting the other toys in the line. But I'll admit that he is not worth the asking price versus any other figure we've gotten in the Leader Class line-up this year. SS86 had a reasonable example with Snarl, and Legacy Evolution had Skyquake and Megatron who were at least able to have larger alt modes.  Hell, Scourge was decently taller than Primal and he's okay as a Leader Class figure. If you want to get this guy, I won't stop you. But I recommend getting him at a cheaper price than what he normally goes for. Otherwise, get the Ultimate version. Same price for a taller figure with more features implemented, even if he isn't screen-accurate; sometimes, a toy with play features is better than the one with screen-accuracy in mind.

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

Transformers Studio Series Mirage review

"A lot to take in" was something that described the anticipation towards Mirage when we found out a lot about him. His altmode looked suspiciously like Jazz, the robot design had more in common with the AOE aesthetics, he was voiced by Pete Davidson, which non-stans were surprised by, AND we got this guy's CG renders revealed after the Porsche trailer during the Super Bowl. He didn't win many over, especially when the mainline version managed to have better proportions by comparison. Still, despite the way fans were initially lukewarm on this figure, we can now see if this guy will be worth buying or not. 

Here we have Mirage in his officially licensed Porsche 911 Carrera mode, a beautiful classic model that marks the first time a Transformer bears the marking of this vehicle. Yes, a surprise standout character from a movie gets to be an official Porsche while all of G1 Jazz's toys fail to receive this recognition. And what a beautiful car mode it is! The silver paint apps that you'd expect on a shiny car, combined with the blue paint apps that include Porsche markings, the likes of which are unexpected due to Porsche's previous stance on the Transformers brand (similarly to how Volkswagon was initially against Bumblebee utilizing the Beetle until the release of the Masterpiece toy). We'll get to the comparison with the unlicensed version in a moment, but this is undoubtedly one of the sexiest cars in the BayKniCapverse, and certainly the one I'd be drooling over as a fan of cars and Transformers if I saw this in person. Would have been cool to see the car itself at the statue event where the Rise of the Beasts marketing trio of Optimus, Primal, and Mirage were present.

The biggest issue with this figure, however, is the way the Porsche paint apps are handled here. They were either slightly warped during the transfer or were scratched off from being tied to the cardboard tray. This might have been prevented if it was on a bubble tray as we are getting with Marvel Legends and Star Wars: The Black Series. But beyond that, man is this a nice car. We even get some extra etched details on the back and tail lights to go with the headlights!

For weapon storage, the gun goes underneath the car mode as is expected with a Transformer like him.

For a vehicle mode size comparison, here he is with his mainline counterpart, with a more mismatched car paint job, gray tires, and license-free deviations so as not to upset Porsche, which is odd since Hasbro DID get the license from them. Maybe it was so as not to make their toys more expensive than they already are? Or Porsche has a rule on what can be done with a transforming toy based on their cars. The latter might explain why Mirage ends up as he does in robot mode, as we'll get to.

And here we have him with the other Autobots in the movie. They all look pretty good apart from how oversized Arcee is, but otherwise, it's great to see how the only Autobot missing in the Studio Series line-up for this faction would have to be Wheeljack, and our favorite Pablito will get his figure in a few months!

Transformation is very panel-heavy, as the backpack is made up of almost the entire top region of the car, mostly the hood and the roof. Meanwhile, the doors end up on his waist while the rear of the car ends up as the feet of the robot mode. The chest is present on him and can collapse nicely, but that's about it. The resulting robot mode we end up with for Mirage is not that great-looking. I'm sorry, but it is not screen-accurate to him in any way, shape, or form when it comes to how the hips stick out farther from each other, or how wide the upper body is even with the collapsed chest. Honestly, if the doors and the rest of the car kibble on the legs were absent, and the backpack was able to collapse itself better, it wouldn't be as bad. As it stands, it's like he's trying to mimic Crosshairs' kibble management but nowhere near as cool since he at least uses his car kibble as a trenchcoat. A bigger issue has to be the use of clear plastic on parts of the toy. Yes, we have some nice paint apps for silver and metallic blue overall, but it could have been further extended on the forearms because that blue isn't enough to hide how see-through they are. If the figure did not utilize translucent plastic, it might have been easier to avoid. As is, not so much. He may look better in-hand than from those CG renders we got back in February when the crosspromo was made with Porsche, but it's not suddenly a much better toy.

Head sculpt is one of the best aspects of the figure, and I am happy to see that there is some added blue paint to better match the CG model in addition to him having a proper face to go with Pete Davidson's mannerisms in the movie. I'm sure there was more blue, but eh it's better than nothing. Mirage's articulation consists of ball joints for the neck, shoulders, hips, and ankles, swivels for the biceps, wrists, waist, and thighs, and hinges for the elbows and knees. His gun can go on his hand and is thankfully much easier to conceal than with the previous version.

For a comparison with other versions of Mirage, you can see how kibble and color management can really alter the look of a character. The Battle Changer is obviously the odd toy out, but we can see how the Studio Series version has the nicest deco yet is mixed when it comes to kibble while the mainline Deluxe has so-so color breakup that isn't screen accurate yet has a better level of kibble management and has better proportions. He is also the odd bot out for having the mask.

And here we have him in one image with Dino, who was sometimes called Mirage. As the film establishes that all media that called Dino "Mirage" isn't canon to the main film continuity, it's safe to say that these two are separate individuals from each other and are thus going to be as such. I joked in the past about how Mirage was a Sonic fan at first yet became more of a Mario fan after Sonic 06 pissed him off, hence the Italian heritage he now has. But in this case, I should comment on how despite people bitch over the way older Movie designs were a lot more involved, Dino ends up being a lot easier to understand which part goes where in robot mode than Mirage does. HA! Also, our Wu-tang guy goes decently well with the other Studio Series figures, but he is still far from perfect. Optimus Prime and Bumblebee were obviously done numerous times by Hasbro, so there's not much else to expect when it comes to how easy it is to engineer toys out of their designs. Mirage, on the other hand, feels like a Transformer from AOE that has his budget scaled back like a majority of the line was back in 2014 vs now. It's a shame how the biggest star of the film didn't get much of a major push in merchandise, and when we get merch of him, it feels like there could have been ways to make them better than they currently are. I feel that if you were to combine elements of this guy with the mainline version, we'd have the best Mirage ever in the Deluxe scale. Until then, he is alright but not the best figure in the 2023 set of Studio Series figures tied in with Rise of the Beasts.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Transformers Studio Series Nightbird review

Nightbird's appearance in the movie was pretty cool, getting a few lines and having the ability to fly. I was half-expecting her to just rinse and repeat what Shatter did in the Bumblebee movie, especially when Travis basically said that she was designed after the one-time ninja drone; this time, the female villain gets a more sinister role as a servant of Unicron rather than be a Decepticon, and after her subpar mainline Deluxe counterpart, do we have a version of her worth getting? Find out in today's review!

Here is Nightbird in her vehicle mode, an officially licensed Nissan GT-R R33. Already starting off strong with this figure when it comes to comparing it to the mainline version; apart from the licensed vehicle mode, this toy features a more cohesive color scheme that doesn't make it feel haphazard, and I especially like that the spoiler is now a proper design rather than utilizing weapons that, while clever, were a bit on the asymmetrical side. I also appreciate how the bronze that is present is a metallic shade, complimenting the rims and the gunmetal gray perfectly. This is how you do a car like this justice. Honestly, I could imagine her in Fast & Furious along with Mirage, especially the way they raced briefly in Kuzco. And if you look closely, there is a Terrorcon insignia on the grille instead of a Nissan logo. Nice touch!

The painted parts of the vehicle cast in clear plastic do have a bit of a mismatch, and the rims, while painted beautifully, also have a bit of a mismatch for the pins (the front wheels having a pin and the back section not having a pin visible). Despite those issues, the car mode is a beautiful model that makes me nostalgic for mid-to-late 90s cars.

Weapon storage is on the bottom for the sword, which is different from the old toy's spoiler being made from the sword. This one already has a spoiler so under the car it goes.

For a vehicle mode comparison, here she is with her mainline counterpart, which looks a lot more incomplete in terms of coloring and inaccurate to the actual car used in the movie. The inaccuracies were fine, it was just the coloring that was bad with the bronze breaking things up without even being metallic. But this new one is much more cohesive overall, and it is also more proportionate to the actual vehicle as well.

And here we have her with the ROTB Terrorcons in Studio Series form. They may have lasted in a single movie and were not Decepticons, but they were great to watch on screen the same way Megs and Starscream were in ROTF and DOTM (as well as Lockdown in AOE and Shatter & Dropkick in Bumblebee).

Transformation is the same as with the mainline version, but different in a few areas. For example, the backpack rotates around so the wings can be oriented properly. Meanwhile, the torso can be broken up to look more compact like in the movie, and the feet aren't little black pieces of plastic. The resulting robot mode manages to be a little more intricate compared to the mainline version, being closer to the CG model as well as having a more cohesive paint job. .However, you still have some of the same issues fans had with the prior version, such as the kibble likely getting in the way of articulation as well as a new flaw in the form of how ridiculously small the wings are. Yes, they are present on a toy for once, but it feels so undersized. On the bright side, they are removable, so you could swap them out with longer wings if we get third-party upgrade kits, either from DNA Design or a smaller group. The same could be said for those claws on the forearms because despite being sculpted they are barely visible.

Head sculpt is much closer to the movie this time, with a clear purple headpiece that is much more prominent in addition to better resembling not just the design in the movie but the Gatchaman homage implemented, since Nightbird is a space ninja of sorts much like those characters are. If you don't know what Gatchaman is, ask your parents. Or rather, ask your grandparents if they were around back when it was dubbed in the US as Battle of the Planets to mimic the success of Star Wars. Her articulation is more or less similar to the mainline figure, only the head has a bit more range, while the shoulders don't move up as high on the hinge used for transformation. Waist swivel and hip movement are better, and the knees are a bit easier to use here since the upper thighs lock in place. She comes with one sword only, which is closer to the CG model mostly, apart from the lack of a Terrorcon insignia on the hilt. It can be stored on the hip kibble like a traditional sword.

For a robot mode size comparison, the Studio Series Nightbird is surprisingly much shorter than the original mainline version by a head. While it might seem like a negative on the new version, the height is explained by the wonkier proportions of the mainline version, with how wide the torso is as well as how long the torso and legs are. If we were to align them by where the hips move, the feet of the Studio Series figure go slightly past where the feet pivot on the mainline figure. On the bright side, the colors are much more cohesive on the mainline version, while the chest doesn't look like a big block of a front-end.

And here we have her with the other Terrorcons, with Scourge standing tall and proud (maybe a little too tall with his neck) as well as Battletrap utilizing a special accessory from another figure we have yet to cover. Stay tuned. Oh, and we also have both Sweeps with Freezer and the recently reviewed Novakane. Overall, Nightbird is one of the weakest figures in the ROTB lineup with how the kibble management could be handled a bit better for the backpack, and the wings are as minuscule as the ones that Heimlich has from A Bug's Life. I still recommend her because she is closer to the CG model and is very cohesive in coloring, but she is still a flawed figure.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐