Transformers Dark of the Moon Sentinel Prime review

The Dark of the Moon toyline may have been one last mainline hurrah for movie toys, but it has been somewhat of a letdown for the way some characters were missing either in specific size classes that made sense (Topspin and Mudflap), canceled for most countries except Asia (Leadfoot, Que, or both Soundwave), or not being made altogether (the other Dreads and Dino). Going back to the former issue, the only Leader Class figures we got were Sentinel Prime, Bumblebee, and Ironhide; given his height and overall prominence in the movie, it made sense to have ol' Spocktinel be in this size class. Bumblebee was clearly yet another instance of Hasbro selling many versions of the character to the kiddies yet eventually upsetting older fans in the process for going too far and clogging shelves as a result. Ironhide was flawed from my experience of owning him, but at least he was intended to be one last hurrah for the weapon specialist before he was killed halfway through. We could have had a new Megatron for Dark of the Moon that didn't have to be a single unit truck like the Voyager, and Shockwave was only logical so both can be compatible with the already existing Leader figures of ROTF Optimus and HFTD Starscream; Prime at least had larger size classes to attend with given the whole flight tech aspect of his in the film, but you either had the mediocre Ultimate hunk of junk with a hideously inaccurate robot mode or the necessity of importing Takara's Jetwing version yet getting another ROTF Optimus that will only work with it thanks to the retooling (unless you go with Striker for a Leader option). Thankfully, for the 15th anniversary of the best Transformers movie of all time (even including the animated ones), it's time we go back to the time when Spock went nuts in more ways than one for this review!

Here we have Sentinel Prime in his Rosenbauer Panther 6x6 airport fire truck. As many should know, these are massive fire trucks that would easily cast a shadow over the kinds you'd associate with G1 Inferno; this alongside the RID 2001 and Cybertron versions of Optimus are how you do big fire trucks for the kinds of Transformers that nothing but STATEMENTS. This alt mode also fits well for a character who was in a position similar to his successor as former Autobot leader, only he betrays his own faction purely to fulfill his deal with Megatron in saving Cybertron his way. This altmode is 1:1 with how it appeared in the film, from the overall color layout to the shape and proportions you would expect with the real vehicle. I kind of wish the windshield was tinted in a darker color so the head and any innards of his robot mode would be less visible, but I will always appreciate the sculpted details, the mirrors sticking out somewhat with a horizontal L-shape, the 316 and Fire Rescue decals in addition to the logos representing the manufacturer and his faction, we even have an additional water nozzle to go with the one on the top.

Surprisingly, the shield can store under the fire truck while the blade is hidden from the inside. Helps keep the weapon storage intact without anything being in the way or sticking out too much. Still, be sure all 6 tires are touching the ground properly, even if turning him into his vehicle mode is tedious at times.

Like with many Dark of the Moon figures, he has a Stealth Force gimmick of some kind via pressing a button on the shield so it can splay out more, with a cannon on full display to go under the water cannon now serving as added fire power. Also, the back has some cannons that can be revealed for extra firepower, a bit like the hidden guns on Bee's rear windshield kibble. As for the lights and sounds on this mode, the sirens naturally light up while emitting the usual sounds you'd hear whenever there's a fire in need of being put out. With the shield or any 5mm compatible weapon, you can insert it on the port facing the passenger side, and it will play a deployment sound before the same button meant for the sirens plays blasting sounds. Removing the weapon plays the transformation sound.

For a vehicle mode size comparison, here he is next to Striker Optimus Prime (the Asia Premium Series version) since any TF fan who either collected the Movie figures would naturally want to pair up this fan favorite with the then-new mentor toy to go with it. Unfortunately, scale is not something meant for these two; Sentinel Prime is naturally meant to be a larger vehicle than the likes of even Optimus Prime, so this sadly going to look incorrect compared to their on-screen vehicle modes. Also keep in mind that a Peterbilt 379 is a somewhat small long nose truck, a decision mostly done to keep Optimus from being too tall get not feel as small as a flat nose cab for realistic transformation reasons and to keep a fairly athletic robot mode. I guess the closest scale would be to use the Ultimate version of Optimus Prime, but I don't feel confident in using that aforementioned letdown or a toy.

Transformation is pretty involved as one would expect from an older Bayverse toy, but in a generally good way. While getting him into his vehicle mode is tedious, the conversion to robot mode is very clever in using as much of the vehicle mode as possible to integrate these many fire truck parts and panels in most of the robot's mass. While the arms aren't given this treatment compared to the torso and legs, they at least have some of the fire truck kibble to vaguely represent part of his robot cape rather than have them stuck under his forearm. Sentinel Prime's robot mode is generally closer to what will become the standard for AOE-era robot designs compared to the more alien ones we had in the first trilogy; he has a cleaner robot mode, an impossible to replicate cape that all of his toys can loosely pull off with the tops of the fire truck mode, and and less vehicle mode kibble beyond the inclusion of the fire truck tires and I guess his chest (which is shaped differently here than on the CG model). Out of necessity to have Sentinel be in a Cybertronian form for a while until he gets his Earth mode scanned past his resurrection, the robot designers of the movie made sure he would remain mostly the same before adding the needed vehicle components where they would make sense to go and choosing the right altmode for a character such as himself. Kind of reminds me of the way they would do something similar with Bumblebee robot mode for his solo film when they took his Volkswagen Beetle design and retrofitted the Cybertronian elements onto it, but to a more prominent extent since Sentinel looked more alien than Beewun Twenty-Seven. While the toy generally captures the look of Sentinel Prime in the movie, the integration of electronics sadly makes him "fatter" in the torso than the way he appeared in the CG model. Obviously, so much you can do with a toy like this, but between his chest sticking out and his backpack having some extra weight thanks to the internal components, he ends up having a hard time balancing in a vanilla pose.beyons that, this is still a good looking robot mode that screams wise and robust for a character who would sadly betray the Autobots the moment he explained his true intentions.

His head sculpt is pretty good for the most part though the eyes not being as detailed and the beard being much shorter due to the gimmick integration makes it slightly inaccurate and somewhat dead. At least he has more paint than normal ROTF Prime did unless we go Buster Prime. As for the articulation, he has neck rotation, ratchets for the arms moving front and back as well as in and out, the elbows, hips (front and back as well as in and out), and the knees. He has additional swivel joints for the biceps, wrists, and above-knee rotation. His fingers and ankles are on hinges so he can hold his dual bladed sword and shield. The latter swings around a bit so be sure those fingers are wrapped around tightly.

As with every Leader Class figure, press a button and he emits some light and sound ackshun. His mouth quivers while his eyes glow as he says "I am Sentinel Prime!". If you attach a weapon on the same port from earlier, you unlock two new phrases: "What has happened to the Allspark?", and "Good to see you alive, Optimus!". Sadly, he sounds nothing like Leonard Nimoy, the Star Trek dude who voices Sentinel in the movie (and also voiced G1 Galvatron 25 years before DOTM).

Here he is next to Buster Prime, and it is this robot scale that makes me forgive them being incorrect for the altmode sizes. We see them in bot mode far more than in their vehicle modes anyhow, and I am more than fine sticking with this for my display than I am sticking with a toy that's Ultimate in name only.

And here he is next to MPM Ironhide. Sentinel should still be generally twice the size of Ironhide, rather than about one Ironhide and I guess less than half of him. Still, the scale here does generally work well for anyone who has yet to get the third party KO serving as an MPM-stand in. Thankfully, this version of the character does not have his Cosmic Rust cannon, so Ironhide will not be discharged from duty this time. Overall, while Sentinel has some issues for his engineering and occasional inability to balance, I have to comment Hasbro from the late 2000s/early 2010s for doing Leader Class figures the justice they deserve compared to the Voyagers with Benefits we get nowadays. Sure, some will prefer what we get of late for the slightly better engineering and articulation, but I miss when we used to have ratchet joints, lights and sounds, and gimmicks that complimented the figure. Sentinel wasn't perfect but he makes me wish we can get Leaders back to their big ticket status that only Commander Class figures and Titans can get, but not with the same value.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐