First difference right off the bat involves alternate hands that easily swap with the stock versions via ball joints. Rather than leave them with C-clip Lego hands that are solely open for the tabs on the sword handle, this figure comes with an articulated index finger and three conjoined fingers below it. The fact that the index finger is poseable on this figure makes me wonder why Earthrise Prime never had that benefit. Of course, I still question why the Laser Prime mold, being of similar quality to the Earthrise mold, had its stock hands without finger articulation of any kind when the trailer is hollow af.
As a result, he could now hold the Matrix of Whateveritscalled with his articulated hands, though he can't pose it over his head since DNA Design hasn't fixed the shoulders.
The legs gets some well-needed gap fillers, which cover up the somewhat redundant 5mm holes on the back area. It also helps hide those cheap snap-on wheels not quite fitting a "Leader Class budget", but I feel like the covers are either slightly misaligned or don't stay in place that well. I also wish the plastic quality could be better since one of the smaller gap covers has developed a stress mark. So these are appreciative as always, but the tolerances could be better. Also, these should still store the sword underneath in vehicle mode but the space is not good enough, making the blade either flex or the smaller gap fillers dislodge.
For some needed firepower, we get some blasters that loosely homage the light-up gun Laser Prime/Scourge came with, only it's much longer and we get two of them (which will be better showcased in another photo). They appear to be painted black, so we'll see how much paint chipping could develop overtime.
We also have a set of double-post handles that are meant to store the combined trailer in the back as if it were sheathed on there. It is also used for the handle or Mode A, an underslung cannon made up from the trailer's base mode tower with the front part tabbed in the back while the twin barrel cannon is replaced with one of the missile pods. While weapon storage is always good, the peg that goes into the axe might have caused it to crack, and considering how frail clear plastic has been in recent figures, that is a big concern; on top of that, the combined weapon looks a bit stupid. As for Mode A, I like it in theory yet was there no place for the handle to tab in? Finish the job, ffs!
As for Mode B, you have to detach the trailer halves from the center portion via the hinges, reattach them onto new hinges meant to integrate with the middle portion, unfold the missile pods into their cuboid forms so the twin rifles can attach underneath, and add the double-post handles for Toxitron to hold. This super mode is very reminiscent of MakeToys' trailer set for the second Laser Prime mold we got, that being the Reveal the Shield line. This mode works perfectly for a design like this, but I hate how you have to remove the trailer halves from the hinges in order to access this mode. Was it difficult for DNA Design to add new hinges that keep the halves connected to the back of the trailer even with the new mode? Like it looks cool as it is, but why not make the integration better again?
And here we have Mode C, which is a much more complete trailer base this time around than the stock version. Adding the missile pods, the twin guns, and the handles on the tower cannon further reduce how cheap and hollow the original trailer is. I feel like this was the mode they came up with first before getting into the other modes since this doesn't require any major disassembly that could otherwise take away the trailer's normal functionality.
In terms of where the accessories go, the missile pods can fold up while the handles can peg near them neatly using the shorter peg at the base. The axe thankfully has enough space to go where the new hinge lies, and the same goes on the other side.
The guns and the missile pods can peg on the back, which is at least convenient depending on whether or not you want the guns to be visible in this mode.
Overall, this set feels like the most conflicted I've ever been with a DNA Design upgrade kit, at least regarding the ones I own. On one hand, I love the new hands, the gap fillers are welcome, and the three configurations are a great way to expand on playability. Sadly, a lot of the improvements would include negatives of their own, from the lack of any port for the Mode A underslung cannon's handle, Mode B having you take away the trailer's ability to revert back to its altmode, and said gap fillers not quite staying that well in place if the sword is stored away. And that's nothing to say about the missed opportunities regarding better shoulder range and the usual trend of giving a better sword. I would say you might want to get the Toxitron kit if you don't care about vanilla Legacy Prime or if you have the original RID Scourge, but keep in mind that this variant is much harder to find given DNA Design's limited production run on this redeco specifically. All I have to say is good luck.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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