The new theatrical animated Transformers film brings a new scale, slightly smaller than Generations deluxe for a little less moolah, but this Optimus/Orion is still a fun figure.
A sample of this figure was was given free of charge from Hasbro and Paramount to review. Reminder that I haven’t yet seen the movie this is from, so I’m just judging the figure based on the trailer context and the toy itself.
First, a warning that the two shoulder exhaust pipe cannon accessories are only held in place by some sock ties around the arm at a wide angle, so it is possible for these accessories to be removed or fall out with a little effort, make sure your sample still has them.
I’m not a Cyberverse collector, so I’m not really familiar with their design or lower pricing, my opinions are fully conditioned on comparing this figure to Generations figures and their pricing – TFOne Prime Changer OP/OP is MSRP $19.99 at a time when Generations deluxes MSRP for $5 more. Prime Changer Optimus Prime (Orion Pax) if he were a Generations deluxe figure would be on the smaller side of normal size and weight, certainly large enough to fit in as an Orion Pax. His sculpting, waffling (hollow parts) and paint is on the low side of par for Generations deluxe but still in that range, he’s not a stingy figure for $5 less. Articulation is mostly excellent for generations, aside from a total lack of ankle articulation. At 4 separate parts, accessories count is at least the equal to any Generations deluxe, and that 2 of the parts have significant paint is an elevation. For scale, SS86 Jazz:
Some early samples like mine had very loose shoulders and hands to the point of coming off while handling, the right shoulder even developed a stress mark in package. However, soaking both arms in hot water for 10 seconds fixed them up, now the shoulders stay on fine and the hands click into place, the figure can hold the axe without it drooping (the axe is heavy enough that the fist is lightly in place but it stays).
Robot mode pros:
– deco is decent, especially silver on thighs
– articulation it has is excellent, head can look 100% up, even has shrug joints and can lean back from transformation joints (the waist articulation works great, my copy was hanging at the belt buckle until I pushed back to seat the mushroom peg more)
– solid
– looks and moves nicer than Studio Series, axe doesn’t need big tabs to store on back, no phlegmy colored silver, waist and hips work fine
– matrix stores inside the chest, axe can store on the back via a dedicated slot and tab, both accessories have really nice paint
– axe sculpted and painted to look like Prime is palming it like a basketball; axe sculpt also seems to be a gun, even has a 3mm blast effects peg at the end
– shoulder pipes design to be hand-held pistols, end in 3mm pegs for blast effects
– can actually two-hand hold the matrix
– for non-articulated ankles, the feet are flat when a mild A-stance but look fine standing straight or going wider
Robot mode cons:
– no ankle articulation makes some extreme poses harder to balance
– yellow paint hits so small that they get lost
– waffling on arms
– loose arm parts need to be soaked in hot water to fix
– wheels on shoulders don’t look that great
– half the joints are ball joints
– sculpting a little soft, plain
– matrix doesn’t have the underside connecting struts so it’s a 2/3rds matrix
Transformation notes:
– instructions are white with yellow accents to show parts moving, really hard to see what’s being highlighted with yellow over white
– shoulders can pop off before transformation joints move, c’est la vie with ball joints
– there’s some order of operation stuff going on, clearance and alignment get really important fast
– getting the shoulders placed for vehicle mode is a real toughy, lots of internal folding
– instructions save the legs for last but the clearance at that stage is so tight, I suggest doing them first
– going back to robot it’s easy to forget the order and pop the roof off, it’s on a snap peg so no big deal but I feel dumb when that happens
Vehicle mode pros:
– very solid
– pinned wheels so it rolls well
– no real kibble, novel way of handling the legs when feet don’t transform
– not sure if it’s accurate, but the way the feet and forearms sit behind the cab looks like a believable Cybertronian design
– looks much nicer and more whole than Studio Series version
– stores the axe nicely between the legs, or tab the axe to the roof as a gun; not hard to remove without taking figure apart
– matrix remains well-stored and can’t fall out
– side pipes can be rotated around to act as guns
– wheels remain hidden in this mode
Vehicle mode cons:
– small
– probably not screen-accurate at the middle behind the cab, though I think this looks alright regardless
Overall: A- / B+
This turned out to be a much nicer figure than I expected. The sculpting isn’t the sharpest, there’s no translucent window or axe, and he’s a touch small; but he’s got great articulation, good deco, fun accessories, decent detail and a solid vehicle mode. My only real knocks are a fiddly transformation and the shoulder and forearms that need heat treating out of the box to keep in place, without doing that it’s not as good an experience hence the lower score.
