"YEAH!"
Aaaaah, yes. I've had a pretty badass birthday since my last post; I got to see almost every single person whose company I cherish at various intervals over the weekend, and some neat birfday schwag, to boot. Oh, and a fantastically rad tattoo by none other than Peter J. Larkin III. But I digress. I ran out on Wednesday, the last day of my vacation, to both my area Toys R' Us stores, looking for this bad boy. Mayfield yielded nothing (save three of the four "Classic Collection" Ninja Turtles, which I had to pass on--$22.99 a pop?! Really, TRU?), but there were three at the Mentor TRU, and I happily snagged this b-day present to myself, from myself.
I've always loved Transformers, specifically Optimus Prime. Until recently, when I started selling my various toys, I'd say a good 1/4 of my hundreds-strong Transformers collection were different incarnations of the big man himself, the John Wayne of Giant Robots, Optimus Fucking Prime. I'm not sure what contributes to Optimus' continued relevance, specifically-- the iconic design, the primary red-and-blue color scheme, the face plate-and-antennae head design... I could go on, but most of you know who OP is, and most of you who are familiar with OP prior to Michael Bay will probably remember his climactic showdown in Tranformers: The Movie, one of the corniest most awesome toy-to-cartoon productions ever made.
Some of you may be asking: "But Swift! Takara/Hasbro already made the ultimate Optimus Prime figure, like, ten years ago!" Well, ten years ago, you woulda been right. And while I no longer have the larger, heavier (and heavier on die-cast metal) version of OP, I'll try to have some comments about their differences.
Packaging: I usually don't comment about packaging, since I play with display my toys, but it's worth mentioning here for the simple reason that Japanese toys have completely spoiled me with their lack of stupid clear rubber bands and accursed twist ties. OP and his various accessories, while not being restrained by the terrible twisties, are held into place by NINE recycled-paper ties, which were quickly and efficiently removed with a small pair of wire cutters, an essential for any toy collector. The trailer was wrapped with a plastic band, which was a little harder to remove. Everything is displayed right up front in the packaging, and OP even has his chest cavity open to show off the Matrix of Leadership, which was "held" open by a clear rubber band looped over the doors and a plastic spacer wedged between them. Ugh, packaging. The Japanese really are more advanced than us.
The Good: OP is a fair size, and is about as tall as the Masterpiece Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime that came before him. Having said that, he towers over most other Transformers, while ending up a few inches shorter than his previous Masterpiece release. Missing from this version is a lot of die cast metal, and to me, this isn't a bad thing. Version 1 OP, while pretty spot-on to his cartoon and TF: The Movie appearance, was a little bit of pain in the ass to stand and balance, thanks to the unwieldy die cast metal used in his construction, mostly his legs. V.2 OP is lighter, less blocky in his construction, and an ease to pose and transform. Everything is made from a sturdy, quality plastic, except the hinge-and-arm assembly in the center of his torso that is pivotal (yuck yuck yuck) to his transformation. There's also some vac-metallized accents on the chest interior over the Matrix of Leadership door, the false truck grille that forms his abs, the smoke stacks on his shoulders, the two fuel tanks (those are fuel tanks, right? I always assumed they were) on his lower legs, and the various tabs and panels that fold around to form the truck's front in vehicle mode. Paint apps are minimal, which is a sticking point with me these days for Transformers, but on OP there's very little to do. What applications are here are done well, with no slop or fuzziness, and most of the figure is molded in the appropriate colors. The yellow on his "belt" is transparent, with nice little tech details molded underneath. In fact, there's very nice, detailed sculpting throughout on OP--nothing seems to be an afterthought, from the details on the Matrix cavity to the spare tire molded into the bottom of the trailer. Did I mention the trailer? Oh, we'll get there.
His accessories are all appropriate for this classic, iconic representation: he comes with his Ion Cannon, his Energon Axe, Roller, the Matrix of Leadership (which my perilously close-cropped fingernails cannot remove) and the trailer. The Trailer/Battle Station/Maintenance Dock is almost painstakingly recreated from the original 1984 toy, with much more intricate detailing and room for tiny little humans to dick around, I guess. And who are these puny humans who might dick around with advanced Cybertronian technology? Why Spike Witwicky, for one. A tiny little Spike figure is included and fits either inside the truck, at two of the stations inside the trailer, inside Roller or inside the Repair Drone, so there's plenty of options for Spike to be displayed. I probably won't, considering that I've always felt humans stink up Transformers in general, but he's a nice bonus.
The Ion Cannon seems a tad on the smallish side, but I think that has a lot to do with the massive (and mis-colored) one that came with V.1. This one, molded in the appropriate black color and highlighted with some silver, if you get past the smallishness, is a thing of beauty. It sits firmly in either hand thanks to a tab on the grip (unlike V.1), and actually transforms (!) to stow away in a central compartment on his back. The tab and lock system to get it to fold up is a little touchy, but once you click it into place, it fits nicely in his back and pops open with the push of a little gray button, ready for battle.
The Energon Axe is pretty much what we've seen before with re-releases of the original mold and in countless other media, and unlike the one that came with V.1, it fits snugly over OP's fist, rather than snapping onto his partially-transformed wrist stump. Again, it's a snug fit, and only fits over his right fist. It's larger than V.1's, and looks pretty menacing on the figure, which I like.
The Trailer holds Roller, who just kind of rattles around inside with no way to secure him. Roller himself is pretty ho-hum at first glance, which you would expect from previous versions of the little drone if you've owned just about any OP that comes with him. However, there are a couple of features that make him stand out, the first being the compartment that opens to accommodate the Ion Cannon. It's little things like this that really make this version shine over the multitudes of Optimus Primes released over the years. The second compartment opens and a whole chunk of Roller's back end flips around to reveal a trailer hitch so he can haul the thing while OP is busy being a badass in robot mode without his trailer. Very cool, and again, more options for display = higher praise from me. The Repair Drone inside is about what you would expect, much like Roller, and has the clamp arm (which is extremely well-articulated) and the little radar "dish" thing that can be raised up and spins. The trailer itself has two legs that swing out, and in doing so, lowers the landing skids automatically, and there are also two legs that swing down from the trailer's front to add more stability. Overall, it's a nice recreation of the original OP toy without being anything too spectacular.
The truck mode is, again, what you would expect from the classic 1984 model OP, but there are little things that make it stand out just a tad more than others-- the first being that OP finally has side mirrors that flip out from the windows, and accurate truck mirrors, at that. This simple feature and the fact that it made me excited probably says more about me than it does the toy, but he's got frickin' mirrors, for once! The trailer hitch is very nicely done-- there's nothing intrusive sticking out of OP's legs (they snap together to form the truck body, naturally) to get the hitch to work, and the two tabs on the trailer that snap onto OP are surprisingly strong.
There are all sorts of ratcheting joints going on with this figure, from the ones in the Repair Drone's support arm to the ones in OP's legs and knees. OP really is fun to pose, and the fact that he can stay posed in most cases is a HUGE plus. Unlike V.1, his arms are much lighter and stay (for the most part) where you put them, despite having no ratcheting joints in them. Everything seems nice and tight thanks to solid construction on Takara's (and Hasbro, too I guess) part.
Transformation: The process to change OP from robot to truck is much, much, MUCH less frustrating and time-consuming than his V.1 predecessor. I know the "difficulty level" American Transformers have been putting on their packaging for the last decade or so is usually a joke (meaning the toys were supposedly more "advanced" in their transformation the higher they were in price point), but to say that OP here is "advanced" is stretching it a bit. I looked at the instructions ONCE and was able to change him to truck and back to robot without consulting them further, which to me is how Transformers should be. Compared to other Masterpiece releases, OP is right up there in the "smooth transformation" category with Grimlock, and Grimmy was the best MP they made, until now. Nothing sticks or has to be forced, although there are some things that can get in the way if you try to get ahead of yourself. There are some panels and such that don't seem to want to "click" into place here and there, but it's minor overall. I mean, this isn't one of the movie TF's or anything where you have to worry about something snapping off or never working properly again unless you take everything in the same ritualistic order every time, but that does bring us to:
The Not So Good: I was going to put "The Bad," but so far I can't find a single thing on here that I honestly think is bad. Let's start with the panels that don't want to stay in place like they should-- the Cannon compartment on his back doesn't want to stay flush with the rest of him, leaving a small gap, which is annoying more than anything. The panels that fold around and become his robot shins, the right one, in particular, seem to need a little coaxing to lay flat against his leg, but that may just be on mine.
There's scratching on the top part of his torso, across the shoulders beside the head, but seeing as how the torso is molded in red (unlike V.1 and his die cast torso coated with red paint), it does very little to detract from or mar his overall look. The Ion Cannon, as mentioned, is a little touchy with its spring-loaded gimmick to fold and unfold, but you can always use the trailer's designated space for the rifle if it really bothers you. The only major complaint I can level at V.2 OP is the Energon Axe-- it's a two-piece assembly, the shaft that has the axe blade and the bulb that fits over his fist, and the shaft keeps popping off of mine and may require gluing. I also would have liked a different method to attach the axe-- having it be only for his right hand is a bummer. A small bummer, but a bummer nonetheless. Why can't he be ambidextrous with his melee-ing?
There are a few minor nits I will level at this figure in truck mode-- the first being that you can clearly see the back of OP's head through the windshield. It doesn't bother me, as I rarely display my TF's in their alternate modes (except Grimmy, but OP might be truckin' along in my display soon), but it does look odd to sit Spike next to Optimus' head inside the truck. If you turn him over in truck mode, the Matrix is clearly visible, which is a little silly, but if I remember correctly, V.1 had this or a similar problem, too. I honestly have nothing else negative to say about this toy, except...
Value: Optimus is going to set you back $99.99, if you manage to find him before the scalpers do at your local Toys R' Us. Now, to many of you (not those of you familiar with Transformers, I think, especially if you get into the 3rd-party figures), that may seem pretty steep. But to me, considering that the price for virtually the same toy, imported from its native Japan, is $299.99-- Optimus Prime here is a bloody good deal, and to my knowledge, this US version includes everything his pricier Japanese counterpart did. So at this price, I would say it's a pretty fair value for a larger, feature- and accessory-laden Transformer. No, he doesn't have the heft of his V.1 predecessor, but I don't think he needs it, or the light-up feature for the Matrix, as a matter of fact. There's no spring-loaded missiles, no electronics, and no annoying auto-transformation features (unless you count the rifle, which I don't). All you get is a good, solid, screen-accurate Optimus Prime toy that looks like the classic character, has tons of display options, won't make you want to throw it at the wall because you can't transform it, and won't fall over because all the die-cast in it makes it too goddamn heavy. Version 2, to me, has set the bar once again for what modern engineering can do for 30-odd year-old designs and has dethroned Version 1 as the ultimate OP toy. At least until they make another one next decade.
-Swift
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