Here is Optimus Primal in his gorilla mode. It is much closer to the CG model this time around, although one should keep in mind that it is meant ot be a mix between organic and robotic in terms of design. The head sculpt is somewhat like a blend between the Voyager and what would be the final CG model as we'll get to. This gorilla benefits from the slightly better articulation, as the butterfly joints can hinge forwards to allow for a more natural stance, much like the Kingdom Voyager and unlike the mainline Voyager. The articulation is somewhat limited to the neck swivel & hinge combo, shoulders that move front and back as well as in and out somewhat while leaving the shoulder pads down, and slight wrist articulation (mostly the hinging to make a proper knuckle-dragging posture). With the right arrangement, you can make him look as if he is walking on all fours.
For a size comparison with his smaller toy, here he is with the ROTB mainline Voyager. You can see how organic the beast mode looks in contrast to the mainline figure, with the arms in a more static, straight up and down look that would be rectified with the butterfly joints as we have here with the Ultimate version of Optimus Primal.
And here we have the original Ultra Class toy of Optimus Primal. These two showcase a trend in the Transformers brand, where the more things change, the more they stay the same. While the original figure is meant to represent an organic animal, the ROTB version better represents how the Maximals are fully robotic yet resemble organic animals to show that they are meant to be robots in disguise.
Transformation is the classic trend of Primals in the past: straighten the legs, hide the beast mode head for the robot head to be revealed, flip up the shoulder pads, rotate the waist, and alter the chest. It's almost the same transformation as the Voyager apart from the feet not having better storage (one of the very few faults of this toy), the different torso transformation, and the lower back rotating and attaching to the back. It is advised to remove the missiles during transformation as they can get caught on the hips, and then reattach them in robot mode. The resulting robot mode we end up with looks great! It feels more like an intermediate point between the concept art that stuck closely to the Season 1 BW design and the look we would get in the movie proper. What makes this design work so well is the mixture of textured and smooth surfaces, conveying a sense of how much more mechanical this figure has become in robot mode. I like the gunmetal gray paint applied onto this figure, and the denser plastic makes the details pop that much more than on a normal retail toy. This is the level of coloring I wish the mainline Voyager received, and while it's sculpted nicely, it pails in comparison to this. I don't even mind the 5mm ports on the shoulders, forearms, lower legs, and back. There is a reason why they are present, as it revolves around the compatibility present with the Battle Masters. You can do this with his Mini-Me, Cheetor, Rhinox, Airazor, and Skullcruncher as they are present on their own, but Chainclaw and Arrowstripe are only included with the Optimus Duo in the Beast Weaponizer sets...Maybe I'll get them someday, but you will at least see one of them in the later part of the review if you remember who Arcee came with.
Head sculpt is top-notch, capturing a similar-but-different approach for the Optimus head design so it doesn't feel like a copy-and-paste of any Prime head design from the past 6 movies. Teh details for the ears, forehead, and mouthplate all feel original, as are the green eyes in the darkened face. His articulation is where things stand out even more than before. The head is on a bit of a ball joint limited due to his collar, shoulders move front and back as well as in and out, bicep swivels, elbow bends, wrist swivels, inward wrist hinging, individual index finger articulation as well as the middle, ring, and pinky all molded together (two points of finger articulation regardless), a waist swivel, hips that ratchet front and back as well as hinge in and out, there is thigh rotation as well as an addition rotation joint above the ratcheting knee, and ankle pivots with a bit of toe articulation.You certainly get a sense of how awe-inspiring this Primal truly is in a pose like that.
This figure has numerous play features worth checking out. The inner sides of the forearms have hidden buttons that deploy blasters with nubs for effect piece compatibility, a feature that was not present in the movie but is great to have regardless. They are spring-loaded when you retract them, making a satisfying mechanism all around (plus, the inward wrist hinging makes the posing even more effective with the cannons deployed). The shoulder cannons not only hinge out from within the torso, but you can move two pieces from behind his head out of the way so you can give them the space needed to use the pressure-launch ability. It's no spring-loaded missile launcher, but it's a feature one hasn't seen in God knows how long. You can even hide the gaps left by the shoulder cannons by hinging the panels down, an appreciative feature.
The swords are admittedly the weakest part of the overall figure. I wish they were painted in a metallic color, but I feel bad for mentioning that when they're nicely sculpted and have a bit of orange paint to mak them less monochromatic. You can dual-wield or even combine them in a Darth Maul style weapon, though it was something OG Primal sort of did before The Phantom Menace was released.
When you aren't using them, they peg on the back as is the case with a lot of Primals since the Kingdom release. And with Cheetor on his forearm, you can give him a rather small claw weapon, but it at least is one step towards getting the other Beast Weaponizers before the year ends. And yes, you can give him a more unmasked head in a vein similar to the Armor Knight Primes and the MPM version of Prime by flipping the face up and rotating it to your preferred choice. This is the face design that better matched the concept art/Season 1 Primal in contrast to the final movie's face better matching the beast face.
For a design comparison, here he is next to the mainline Voyager. This Ultimate figure feels like a massive step-up from what we previously had in terms of coloring, detail, articulation, and shelf-presence. The black and gunmetal make this figure feel complete in terms o f coloring. I do wish the Ultimate figure had the Maximal insignia molded on.
And here we have him with his Ultra Class counterpart. As mentioned before, Primal takes influence from the Season 1 design, though the proportions all around are modern in terms of representation to the real beasts as well as his CG model of the movie. Hence why so much refinement went into this Primal in bot mode.
These two still share symmetry with the shoulder cannons and swords, though the ROTB version is much more dynamic with the larger size of the blades, on top of the paint adding a bit of an energy glow. Perhaps the original would benefit from some metallic paint apps while retaining the blue handles. The shoulder cannons are still there, though the original had them spring-loaded.
The only oddity I could find is that if you looked at the past photos, the original Primal's head was closer to the original Prime head design rather than have the tweaks of the cartoon design. So rather than come with a more mouthed head like the alternate face on the Ultimate figure, this guy comes with a mutant mask, a gimmick that was common with Year 1 Beast Wars toys.
One last pic, depicting him with MPM Beewun Prime and ROTB Beast Weaponizer Arcee. He is MPM-scale, and I think he's more than perfect for this unless HasTak wants to make an MPM Optimus Primal. You might use the Yolopark models if you like, but that'll depend in the future. Ultimately, I have to say this figure is remarkable, and I feel he makes for a better MPM than what we would have had if they rushed one out the same way Bumblebee was in 2018. Hell, the Optimus I have here is sort of like that, too. This is easily the best Leader-sized figure we have ever had in the last decade. Beats T30 Jetfire and the AOE Leaders, Combiner Wars struggle, Titans Return is close to it, The Last Knight Leaders also failed, POTP is also behind, Studio Series and WFC Trilogy are close but not close enough, this is what I miss from a Leader-sized toy. A nice, enjoyable toy with plenty of features and a satisfying conversion. He will definitely be one of my top 5 best TFs of 2023.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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