Here we have Optimus Prime in his vehicle mode, a Cybertronian truck or some kind that feels more comparable to a Nolanverse Tumbler with sci-fi elements. While making a futuristic version of a familiar vehicle has not been anything new for today, this was the first of its kind where it is meant to be a pre-Earth altmode as we started getting back in 2007 with the first movie and Animated. This and the FOC design as attempts to look as unique as possible while retaining the classic Optimus elements are honestly better than what we ended up with for Siege and TFOne. I always loved the Tron-like rims, and it could be implied that the whole alt mode is shaped like the light cycles commonly used in that franchise; Bumblebee is obviously closer to that shape, but G1 Chromia did go full circle in the IDW comics. I like that the smokestacks are at an angle along with the color separation between red and blue. Sure, it could be easy to joke that he looks like a mouse, but come on, at least he isn't close to resembling something Earthly.
His gun, while folded in half, can peg on top to simulate a bit of a battle mode. Not much else to say but I like the fin on top.
For a size comparison, here he is with the 2023 Gamer Edition Voyager, which is barely bigger either because the old Deluxe was fairly substantial or the newer Voyager was a victim of shrinkflation despite pulling a Beast Hunters Optimus and pretending to look filled in and solid despite being hollow from the inside. Both do a good job at matching the source model, but the Deluxe looks more cohesive at the front. And it never had its fists exposed on the back. While the original one has nice, pinned wheels that rolled smoothly, the Voyager's snap on wheels still roll but have an awful squeaky sound that makes it feel cheap.
Transformation is fairly similar to the Voyager it inspired, though the back kibble transforms differently with the front section and blue piece, the arms are now part of the alt mode rather than being underneath it, and the wheels being on hinges rather than part of a shoulder assembly. The robot mode is pretty close to the CG model, though the proportions are different in some areas; the chest sticks out more from the side yet looks narrow from the front, the shoulder pads are normally boxy and not round at the tops, and the waist is now separate from the hip joints and crotch, which means that the bumper gets in the way of hip articulation. The robot mode still looks good, but at a Deluxe scale, I always felt it was hindered by its own bulk. Granted, we have seen some figures hold up worse than others with similar proportions, but I always wished this figure could have been a Voyager had it not been for Generations restricting themselves for some reason as solely Deluxes at the time.
Head sculpt is accurate to the series, being a stylized take of the G1 design, though the ear length makes him closer to TFP than the FOC head. Yes, the Cybertron games are prequels to Prime, even with the aesthetic clashes. Articulation consists of a ball jointed neck, shoulder rotation, outward arm movement, bicep rotation, single jointed elbows, wrist rotation, ball jointed hips, thigh swivels, hinged knees, and ball/hinge combo ankle movement. Because his gun is spring-loaded to unfold into his Ion Blaster, this all predates the forearm swap gimmick that Gamer Edition figures had. While that was neat in concept, I would rather the cannons go over the forearms so they don't end up looking like they had to use spare parts in place of their robot parts. Plus, I bet many figures will end up with right forearms missing, which makes me somewhat relieved the left arms don't have that feature.
Pulling the back kibble down reveals an Autobot insignia that is meant to be accurate to the game model. It's soft in the etch work department but it is kind of neat.
As far as reuses are concerned, this is the Rage over Cybertron repaint included with Bumblebee and Megatron. The figure not only has translucent plastic for the red bits, but the highlights are yellow along with the EMP-generated effect on the front section, which represents an in-game mechanic. Out of context, it does feel like a vague homage to the flames on Bayverse Prime.
The TakaraTomy version was released in the United line, no not the Legacy subtitles version. Optimus has his red coated in metallic paint, cooler grey parts, and brighter pink highlights. The windows are black to match the game, and they even added the red in the lines. The blues are not changed, though. Of note, the United fiction labels this as a G1 version of Prime, probably because the games never made an official release in Japan. They wouldn't even get anything involving the Aligned continuity until 2012, 2 years after War for Cybertron made its release in the summer of 2010!
Naturally, a Nemesis Prime repaint wouldn't be far away, but this is titled Darkside Optimus Prime. He is not an evil clone but a manifestation of the inner darkness of Prime himself. Yeah, I prefer the idea to make him an evil clone, and it's ironic that he has Decepticon insignias yet still has the Autobot symbol on his back.
And finally, this is the Tribute version that came with an Orion Pax retooled from Titans Return Kup. The blacks and grays have a bluish shade to them, in addition to the highlights now replaced with light blue. We have just about 4 different colors representing the highlights on the mold with pink, then yellow, followed by teal, before we have blue.
For a size comparison, here he is with the Studio Series version so you can get an idea of the difference in engineering and scale. The heights are not that distinct from each other, and it leaves me wondering who is to blame given Deluxes used to be taller and Voyagers today aren't as tall. Ad for which of the two is better, I'm kind of stumped. I think the old Deluxe has better engineering and plastic quality, yet the size made him feel restricted when it comes to articulation and even being in a vanilla pose. Likewise, the Voyager is closer to the CG model and he features both more accessories and slightly better articulation , but his engineering is barely an improvement, and he feels like a 2013 Voyager more than a current day one. While the ROTB characters we got in that price point weren't 100% perfect, they sure did feel more like proper Voyagers than this. I feel you'd get the perfect WFC Prime if you were to mash them together, as I usually say in some of these Transformers reviews where I feel conflicted.
Regardless of which one is better or worse than the other, at least we have options for this design, unlike the FOC counterpart then only had one puny Deluxe. I know the mold is better as Ultra Magnus, but man did it give me flashbacks to the FOC figures being worse than PRID.
And now we have Megatron in his self-propelled gun mode, or a space tank. It's a whole lot less descriptive in terms of shape or detail compared to Optimus, mostly because it's not easy trying to make a G1-centric design while remodeling it so it would fit well with the game aesthetics. That being said, the barrel is huge in comparison to the rest of the altmode, so much so that you can make the rest of the altmode smaller than leaving it on there. On the plus side, Megatron has a spring loaded missile launching gimmick, which is appreciative to see after it was abolished years ago, but one cool thing is that loading it pushes back some inner panels that give the weapon a pulsating glow from within. It was a similar trick Animated Swindle had, and it works here, too.
The tank treads can fold away to give him a hover tank mode, which you may as well given tank bots usually had poor wheels anyhow.
Here he is with his Studio Series counterpart, where I kind of have to admit it's hard to decide which one is more accurate to the game. While Prime's altmode was easy to reimagine in toy form with how simple the design was, Megatron felt like a much harder one to decipher in terms of accuracy and overall shape. The old one, however, leans more towards the size of the cannon taking up most of the altmode mass while the new one tries to make it more tank-like...albeit without a proper tread mode like on the old toy. Both, however, retain that Armada Megatron-esque claw at the front.
Transformation is much simpler than sometimes, due to the figure already being based on a non-descript design we know as the G1 Megatron robot mode. You mostly fold the legs out, have the asymmetrical arms in line with the torso, and relocate the cannon from one part to another. The forearm transformation is cool, though, especially when it comes to the hand halves sandwiching with them. The resulting robot mode is less restricted than Optimus when it comes to his bulk distribution, and we get a very dynamic sculpt. I always loved the design for how much of a gladiator influence it has, especially given this Megatron was once in that role in addition to being an Energon miner. The red on the forearms works as a bit of a G1 toy homage, though the rest of the red on the right shoulder and chest is new for him. The spikey knee pads almost add a sense of a statement to anyone who would dare fight him. This is less of the Megatron with Saturday morning plans and cliches and more of a proper tyrant with fascist ideas far worse than the system he was against earlier in his life. And hey, unlike Prime, at least his back tattoo insignia is present at all times.
Head sculpt is a good reimagining of the G1 design, all without trying to make it a direct copy and paste by giving it a more aggressive look. While most of the figure has light grey all throughout it, at least the face is painted a darker color to distinguish it from the rest. Articulation consists of a ball jointed neck, shoulder rotation with limited outward arm movement, elbow bends with rotation below the joint due to the tank tread gimmick (no bicep rotation), universal hips that stop at certain points, even when leaving him in a vanilla pose where he has an A-stance, rotation at the knees, very deep knee bends, and ankles that hinge as well as pivot somewhat.
As for his reuses, the same Rage over Cybertron 2-pack gives us a Dark Energon-infused Megatron that only makes sense for the Aligned continuity given it never existed in G1, and while AI know some would want to ditch the clear purple cannon and maroon thighs, at least the greys are darker than on the regular version. In case I never get to covering the old Bumblebee figure from the same line, but he was repainted with an overshield mode.
The Takara United version doesn't coat him in silver paint, per se, but he has much darker yet warmer shades of grey that almost have a very light brownish tint. Far from a premium version that the United line usually goes with metallic decoes as we saw with Optimus.
Despite already being evil, Darkside Megatron self explanatory like with Optimus. Would be cool to see a version of this mold in heroic colors like a pseudo Shattered Glass tribute and call him Lightside Megatron. I dunno, something that contrasts the Nemesis recolor because this is closer to his FOC colors. And yes, you can swap the cannon on either arm via the square knob instead of 5mm ports.
And finally, the most random reuse of them all in the form of Knights of Unicron Megatron. This punk rock/heavy metal band motif adds a deco far less subtle than the G2 paint schemes and it doesn't help that he has optional wig and scarf accessories that further make this set worthy of a thumbnail from some modern TF-tuber's HECKIN' WEIRD TFs video. The same FOC Prime shown above was included with the set along with repaints of Soundwave and Jazz. I kind of feel torn on getting either Deluxe or Voyager Soundwave, especially since the former scales better with the old Deluxes and the latter with Gamer Edition (probably). Jazz sucked then and still sucks now.
For a comparison with his Voyager counterpart, we once again continue the lack of a size difference, but we have radically different approaches to the same design. The Voyager feels more like it's aiming to double as both the regular WFC figure and a possible FOC retool due to the proportions leaning more towards his redesign. Granted, Hasbro has yet to do any proper FOC characters minus Cliffjumper because it's an inevitable retool, but we only did characters from WFC, and yet the cast consists of characters who could be retooled into other robots bar Sideswipe and I guess both leaders if we count Security Officer Orion Pax and Marvel continuity Flame. I know the new version is slightly more poseable and has a better shade of grey that is less white, but the lackluster engineering, weird ass fusion BBCannon, and those stupid lower leg spikes that get in the way of any useful knee articulation severely made it one of the worst 2023 purchases.
Overall, these two manage to make good revisits as the War for Cybertron game turns nearly 16 years old. While there are things the Voyagers do better than the Deluxes, so have to give these two credit for being better engineered or at least less compromised by the corporate higher ups involved with the handling of Gamer Edition. Seriously, you couldn't get any worse with how much the subline fumbled early on compared to the regular Movieverse and 1986 figures. Even if Ratchet and Ironhide turned out better than everyone else, while Sideswipe was mostly good, it didn't save the WFC characters from being shoved aside by the equally mediocre representation of Devastation figures. Other than the Decepticon repaint 2-pack that was actually cool and the two Sideswipe and Wheeljack repaints that aren't that different from their past releases, we had a shitty Optimus and a Bumblebee that would have been fine if it weren't for Hasbro pitting it against SS86 and the Retro version of the VW tooling from the Earthrise Cliffjumper mold. These two are at least part of a simpler time when Transformers media wasn't influenced by Geewunners and Steven Universe-type fans, and the Deluxes shall be part of my Optimus Prime/Megatron shrine while the Gamer Edition releases are either going on another shelf or put in a storage bin. Also, the color correction is getting on my nerves...
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (for both)
No comments:
Post a Comment