Here we have SS86 Optimus Prime in his vehicle mode, depicting him much closer to the cartoon than prior toys have. In fact, it could be seen as comparable to the MP-44 version with how much simpler the details and paint apps are. I do appreciate that the paint apps are crisp and applied properly, and I'm relieved that the grille, bumper, gas tanks, and rims, among other parts, still have silver paint apps. The Autobot insignia on the truck mode being in the toon style bothers me because of how incomplete it looks compared to the ones on the trailer, so I want to add some Reprolabels on the shoulders. As for the trailer's deco, it's noteworthy for being one of the few versions to have a solid gray stripe versus the traditional silver and light blue combo. I prefer the toy-accurate approach since I've seen it on the G1, MP-10, and Earthrise versions, but this at least looks better than I expected thanks to the two-tone shades of grey combined with the blue in the bottom breaking up the monotony. As a set, this looks great, and while the cab isn't as rich in detail, it at least goes well with a trailer that won me over unexpectedly and results in a perfectly clean set.
On its own, the truck looks to be yet another attempt at replicating the G1 flat-nose truck we've seen numerous times, especially on the 40th anniversary. Once again, it's not as detailed as the Earthrise version, but I am happy that Hasbro didn't leave this as flat and soft in sculpt work as I initially expected. I love seeing the addition of step ladders, rivets, and other truck details that would keep this from feeling incomplete. I'm amazed that the back section manages to look rather clean without over-complicating the transformation, especially when most versions of Prime have them unchanged as legs compact together. On a side note, the Ion Blaster can peg on the back of the truck a la the Chronicle version of G1 Prime.
The trailer can stand on its own like proper trailers would, and I am happy to report that the hinge is much sturdier this time around. It also stops at a certain point without becoming overly floppy. As we'll get to, those stabilizers can move in place while having the feet rotate in place, the latter being a new design trait not seen on prior versions of the trailer.
In the back of the trailer are two effect parts stored away within the wheel assembly, waiting to recreate the scene where Optimus launches into the air. Yes, they made a set of effect parts where he transforms into his robot mode as he shoots down numerous Decepticons while The Touch plays. Of note, they each come in two pieces likely for storage reasons in plastic baggies within the box.
Opening the trailer up with the stabilizers deployed feels much better than the cheaper Earthrise version, thanks to the denser plastic used throughout the item and the tighter hinges with pins installed. We still have a nice level of sculpted detail, though we sadly still lack any blue seats like in the Diaclone days. At least we have storage for the Ion Blaster, axe, and blast effect parts. At least we do have some blue to break up the gray of the trailer, as seen on the Combat Deck's "head" module. Despite the lack of paint apps or stickers, I do appreciate that the darker grey plastic keeps the details from feeling washed out. One thing I find a bit annoying is that Roller has to face backwards because of where he tabs in place. Not the end of the world, but I'm used to him facing the ramp as every Roller did since 1984.
The turret at the top of the trailer can open its cockpit, though the seat is so tiny there is nothing that can pilot it. At the very least, we have two points at the neck, 4 points at the clawed arm, and rotation at the neck. While the satellite doesn't rotate, you can implement the blast effects in place of missiles. The assembly can be removed and hauled by Roller, something briefly seen in the cartoon
Roller can also use the Ion Blaster as seen in prior toys, though be sure not to chip the paint off too much on either item. I also love seeing that the Titan Masters can hitch a ride with the little scout car, even if some of them face backwards.
Roller can also haul the trailer, which is amusing to see yet does explain who or what's making Prime's trailer disappear off-screen.
For a truck mode comparison, here we have SS86 next to the Earthrise version of the mold. While I love the sculpted levels of detail seen on the Earthrise figure, they do come off a bit more Cybertronic in appearance, not to mention the back section looking rather plain (and then there's the gap left from the gas tanks flopping around. I do like the top section of the truck, mostly the width of the windows and the headlight section slightly overlapping it, but the cleaner aesthetics of the truck mode on SS86 version looks much more convincing as an Earth mode. And while the paint apps or sculpted details are nowhere as prominent on the SS86 version, there are still plenty to keep people happy regardless. Once again, the back section looks better than the Earthrise version, especially with the few steps needed to accomplish that. The size difference is not as obvious here as one would expect, which is thankful for anyone wanting to get the SS86 version or stick with Earthrise. That being said, having pinned wheels all throughout the SS86 version is a massive godsend, making the difference in quality between the pinned yet incompletely-painted front wheels and the better-painted yet cheaper rear wheels painfully worse.
Of note, the entire Earthrise set is about as long as the SS86 trailer. Now that is a genuine surprise, though it's to be expected from how under-sized the trailer is. The quality difference is also surprising for anyone initially on the fence, with the Earthrise trailer looking much cheaper and incomplete by comparison. The sculpted details are much sharper on the SS86 version, and combining them with the darker colors makes the stripe and insignia feel opaque, with the Earthrise version almost needing Reprolabels.
If you really want to switch trailers, the SS86 trailer on the Earthrise figure works fairly well despite feeling somewhat undersized and more in the scale of the G1 toy.
Other way around, we have a rather massive scale issue combined with the gap between the SS86 cab and the Earthrise trailer. Don't get me started on the trailer's snap on wheels contrasting the pinned wheels on Prime.
Up next, and here we have the Legacy United version of the same character released this year. As overrated as the design can be, I love owning these two versions of the G1 character, with one feeling like a cute tribute to the original toy without being exactly like Missing Link, while the other aims to be the most definitive version of the Autobot Leader in a CHUG display. These two feel the most like a labor of love in this otherwise monotonous 40th anniversary.
He, too, can carry the SS86 trailer. He ends up looking rather undersized, but that will be more appropriate for a certain Deluxe truck from years ago.
Although this isn't entirely relevant, I wanted to bring in the Reactivate version of Optimus Prime just to showcase how much bigger the game version of the character is than prior versions, mostly with the roof section and the bulked-up proportions representing the post-apocalyptic setting of the game. It doesn't feel quite as dense or as quality as the Commander Class version, but I will admit that outside of the light-gray parts and the post-apocalyptic details, Reactivate Prime could almost feel like the CHUG Prime of my dreams from back in the early 2010s after seeing the IDW Infiltration Prime design that had a bit of a Bayverse influence (even if one of the story arcs tried mimicking the film aesthetics too much). I like seeing these two just to showcase what I almost wanted back as a younger fan in 2013 vs what I'm happy to have as my final CHUG Prime.
For some more truck and trailer combos, here we have Ultra Magnus next to Prime. Magnus was our first Studio Series Commander, and these two made perfect sense to represent in the size class thanks to the level of engineering and features implemented on both figures. I'd argue that these feel comparable to owning MP-44 Prime and MP-22 Ultra Magnus, though at a CHUG level.
I'm sure many would debate over which version of Prime would match well with SS86 Magnus's hollow can for synergy's sake, and SS86 Prime's cab mode doesn't feel like it's cut from the same cloth in terms of aesthetics. Honestly, after going from Siege for both to Earthrise for Prime and then Kingdom for Magnus and later SS86 for the City Commander before we ended up with the Prime we have here, I'm done with worrying about them matching or not. Magnus isn't even going to turn into a white Prime anymore, so why does it matter at this rate?
Here we have Optimus Prime with his successor, Rodimus Prime. Now we have Prime feeling somewhat bigger than Rodimus Prime, which feels much more appropriate. Not saying that because I'm in the camp of aging Geewunners who'd rinse and repeat anti-Rodimus dialogue amongst other NPC dialogue they still use, but I always felt Earthrise Prime felt fairly undersized next to Kingdom Rodimus. I still need to get some paint for those wheels, though Reprolabels may save the day amongst other reasons.
For some Primes with trailers made after G1 ended, here we have the Studio Series DOTM Optimus Prime, whose grill tabs still haven't broken on me yet. The Earthrise version of Prime scales better with DOTM Prime, so it's making me wonder if Hasbro would ever think about delving into the 15th anniversary of the Dark of the Moon line by giving us our first live-action character in the Commander Class line. It may not be DOTM Devcon or ROTB Stratosphere, but I'll easily take an improved Bayverse Prime if it means doing yet another truck and trailer set. Make him better than the current Voyager mold, make the trailer gorgeously detailed, make the Jetwing pack awesome, give him every weapon from the original trilogy, implement the Matrix and alternate abs somehow, and find some way to get Jetfire compatibility. Bam, easy money maker, Hasbro.
For anyone wondering what the Commander Class trailer would look like on this figure, even the Voyager-scale mold can haul it with no issue. Kind of gives you an idea for what could be a dream come true in 2026. Don't let me down, Hasbro!
And though Armada was made before Dark of the Moon and the prior live-action movies, here we have the later-released Legacy Evolution Armada Optimus Prime, just to showcase another side of extreme deviance going past Rodimus Prime's aesthetics. The beefy truck proportions, combined with the unique design of the trailer, gives Armada Prime the kind of identity that Transformers reimaginings used to strive with prior to everything being samey since 2018. I bet TF fans in 2002 were sweating bullets when they saw how different Armada Prime looked versus their precious G1 version (though it makes me wonder how they survived when RID 2001 was reworked into being a reboot rather than somehow part of the Japanese G1 series).
And yes, the Armada version can haul the SS86 trailer, though it looks uneven and is clearly not intended to go with it.
One more comparison, this time featuring Kingdom Huffer as part of the Deluxe truck bit I alluded to earlier. Even he can haul the trailer with either port, though the hole further back is recommended for a better turn radius. Either way, it's still not that great thanks to the huge smokestacks.
For a quick trailer comparison here they are both standing up. While neither can have their heads poking out in trailer mode like on the old toy, you can see how much has changed for the sculpted details between both interiors, which makes the design process a lot more interesting with how they integrated weapon storage as well as the distinct sculpted details to make up for the lack of sticker detailing, with SS86 going as far as adding asymmetrical details. within both sides of the trailers. That being said, you do have a bit of a hollow look for the tabs that'd close the trailer up. Doesnt't seem as distracting a the slits in the Earthrise trailer's center road.
And here we have the Rollers made for their respective Primes, but keep in mind I should put an asterisk on the Roller on the left. The Earthrise Roller is painted blue to match the old toy, the wheels are unusually translucent instead of opaque, and it doesn't stay in the 5mm port within the trailer that well. That being said, it needs to be mentioned how Hasbro neglected to include a Roller with their Earthrise Prime and instead had to include him with the Centurion Drone as part of an accessory DLC kit. It's a practice Hasbro did sparingly of late, which continued with Kingdom Tricranicus and Legacy Red Cog, albeit with the former having blast effects and the latter with generic guns.
Transformation is surprisingly nowhere near as complex as MP-44 and any of the third-party counterparts. The upper body doesn't require any faux windows or constant folding into panels beyond the backpack, while panels meant for the front of the altmode don't require as much black magic to go inside the legs as much as on MP-44. Also interesting is that the waist swivel technically isn't needed for the transformation, though the faux robot mode grille does need to be rotated in addition to the rest of the lower torso region. Do keep in mind of the paint-chipping that'd affect the bottom of the bumper when pegging to the back, or the red paint on the panels that hinge to cover the wheels may be scrapped when sliding into the gaps within the legs. The resulting robot mode is undoubtedly cartoon-accurate, from the smoother details to the white waist and thighs, and from the lack of visible wheels to the proportions matching the cartoon model. I am grateful that we still have silver for the faux grille and smokestacks, the latter parts annoyingly spinning freely in spite of having small indents meant to keep them in place. While the legs look very clean beyond the small bit of red exposed, many could say that the backpack is a straight-up eyesore and is demanding of any filler kits to complete the look. While it's not as great as prior backpacks, the bulk of it is somewhat comparable to the sound-pack integrated backpack from MP-44. It may stick out to the back, but I can defend it and say it doesn't ruin the silhouette. I should point out that the heels are misassembled, currently upside down and on the wrong feet. It won't affect the the figure and is easily neglectable, though later samples do have the proper assembly. I remember some rando on TFW2005 having a meltdown over the misassembly, but I'm getting ahead of myself.
Head sculpt is closer to MP-10's head sculpt, which I am more than fine with as someone who's still on Team MP-10. I loved the shape of the helmet, mouthplate, and eyes, and seeing those details on this figures makes me a happy man. Articulation is fairly different from prior versions of Prime we got since Siege. The head is on a ball joint but sadly has worse range for looking up and down than the WFC trilogy versions. We have swivels for the shoulders, biceps, wrists, waist, and thighs; meanwhile, the arms (moving in and out), elbows, fingers, knees, and ankles are on hinges. Going back to the fingers, we have a level of range similar to figures like Kingdom Rodimus Prime as well as fellow SS86 figures Ultra Magnus and Concept Art Megatron, with an index finger that moves independently from the other fingers. While the arms can move back due to transformation, they can now move forwards to add further articulation potential, such as the scene where Prime gives Megatron the final blow in their brutal fight during the 1986 movie. I chose to recreate the cover from the first cover of the Skybound Transformers comic, though it isn't 100 perfect because of the arm length and how far up the legs can move up thanks to the skirt panels.
With the Ion Blaster in his hand, and a blast effect to go on the tip of the barrel, you can pose Prime as he blasts the Decepticons in any scene from the G1 cartoon or the 86 movie. These blast effects appear to be the same in design as the ones included with MP-44. As for the axe, it's now cast in the same PVC materials seen with the blast effect parts rather than cast in clear plastic as seen with some other Primes of late. The PVC material is fine for the most part beyond the warping potential, but the integration is comparable to MP-01's method of hiding the hand rather than sliding the axe over it.
Optimus Prime's chest can open to reveal the uncommon cover for the Matrix before reaching the ancient artifact proper. I do find the design of the panel as well as the chamber's lack of paint to be very lackluster, especially with the potential there is in bringing those details to life since Earthrise did that 4 years ago.
Of course, the Matrix is removable, but the best way to hold it in Prime's hands is to have the fingers loop through the holes. As expected, it's the same Matrix we've first seen with Earthrise Prime, later included with the mold's repaints as well as figures like SS86 Hot Rod, Kingdom Rodimus, and SS86 Ultra Magnus.
Now it's time for the comparisons! Let's start off with the figure that many would likely either keep or replace., that being Earthrise Optimus Prime. While the figure had the potential to be 100% perfect, I always questioned Hasbro's wisdom in having an inconsistent deco layout. Parts of the legs are left in bare gray plastic while the yellow square on the crotch is missing. Proportion issues were also odd somewhat, with the upper bust and arms looking disconnected from the stomach-down, a result of the transformation having the chest windows stick out further. The decision to have more silver paint as well as grey legs versus the gray paint and white legs is a matter of personal preference, but I do have to commend SS86 Optimus Prime for feeling more proportionate to the character model. I also appreciate that the deco doesn't feel as compromised or as incomplete (aside from the Matrix chamber). The energon axes are integrated differently, and while I prefer the clear plastic look for slightly better durability reasons, the SS86 version manages to look better with its glowing look and for not exposing the hand.
The guns are where we'd see a step-up from the way the size is much more proportionate to the toy, not to mention it's not left with obviously unpainted 5mm ports. That being said, the handle on the SS86 version isn't as long as that on the Earthrise version. But let's go back to the Earthrise version and comment on the Centurion Drone's DLC kit, which features a much larger Ion Blaster than either version we previously discussed. It's painted in black and doesn't feel hollow, but the size was far too large for the Earthrise figure, scaling better with the Power of the Primes version.
If you really want, you can give the larger rifle to the SS86 version. The scale is a little different from its own blaster, but the taller height of the figure can make that discrepancy less noticeable.
Here we have Optimus Prime in-between Rodimus Prime and Ultra Magnus. Prime scales better with Magnus this time, though Rodimus ends up being somewhat shorter than his predecessor. If I'm honest, that isn't as much of an issue considering it's believable for Rodimus to remain shorter than Optimus while still getting his growth sprout. It's also better done than the scale difference between the original MP Rodimus and Optimus figures. Also, that chip on the chest is from a weird thing that Legacy United Sandstorm's rubber tires have where they'd accidentally strip paint from staying close to another toy's painted areas. Yeah, that pissed me off so I'm going to have to get a Reprolabels set since the paint on my Rodimus feels like it could chip off easily.
Here is our newest Commander Prime between two of his counterparts made in the 2000s. Since we have an Armada Prime also as a Commander, I still hope we get a Movie Prime in the Commander Class line-up for the 15th anniversary of Dark of the Moon, though that is slim given Hasbro's continued G1 pandering with next year's set dedicated to Hook and Long Haul. Brilliant.
For a typical G1 scale, here we have him in between SS86 versions of Bumblebee and Ironhide. While Ironhide should be a head taller than he currently is, this scale is still serviceable overall. I don't have plans to buy another Ironhide after having to buy 3 versions of G1 Prime and 2 versions of Bumblebee (who yes has his windows Reprolabeled).
Here we have the Legacy United version of himself as well as Reactivate Prime. With the former, one can appreciate the way both figures feel like a labor of love as mentioned earlier. These two feel like some of the best offerings of the same damn design we've had in 2024. Meanwhile, the look for Reactivate Prime takes me back to what I was saying with the design reminding me of the CHUG Prime I always wanted back in the early 2010s. Though the aesthetics have a bit of a Cybertronic look with a hint of, dare I say it, AI-generated influence, I do appreciate that the design tries to have some deviations to make it look more in line with older CHUG toys. The heights are comparable overall, and before SS86, I could argue that there would be some influence from Reactivate Prime if it had elements of itself merged with Earthrise before we found out how close the toy actually turned out to resembling MP-44.
And here he is holding his Core Class counterpart, recreating the iconic scene where Goku held his son, Gohan. Next to it is another pic featuring him lighting our darkest hour. That being said, I have to admit I'm surprised by the overall set. Aside from some concerns for a few paint apps, the Matrix chamber looking incomplete, misassembled heels, and the trailer interior missing those seats, there is a huge level of passion put into this set compared to most Studio Series offerings from this year. I remember one of the Hasbro designers who worked on this figure saying that they made this much more mass-produced in hopes that more fans can get their hands on this Prime than with other Commander Class figures in the past. While I have my opinions on G1 oversaturation and the over-hyped reputation of the cartoon and the movie, I know I can't be disappointed with this impressive action figure. Not 100% perfect, but still one I highly recommend...though I will take points away for not giving us that piano he was first leaked with.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Oh and I want to talk about Gamer Edition Devastation Prime because Jesus does it scream "corporate-mandated" compared to the figure we just reviewed. Between the cheap appearance, lackluster engineering for such a simple design, and an alt mode that looks almost as bad as Robot Masters and Classics Deluxe. The overall appearance comes across like Hasbro's engineers either lost interest in doing yet another G1 Prime or were halfway done with the production before Chris Cocks did his layoff crap. In any case, I doubt that I'd get this thing right away considering how done I am with G1 remakes.
Current ranking (until further notice): ⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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