One of the most mixed figures in recent memory, Studio Series 112 Transformers One Optimus Prime has some great detail but so much clashing and gaps in the upper body, and an underwhelming vehicle mode. So how does he fare overall then? Read on to find out.
Undocumented feature:
- the tabs at the bottom of the vehicle mode bumper guns accessory are 5mm and, in robot mode, can be held confidently one- or two-handed. It doesn’t look great but it’s something
Robot mode positives:
- the sculpted detail that is here looks good, sharp and a nice amount of it
- silver paint is a “titanium” tinge that looks nice, lustrous; metallic red plastic looks pretty lively too
- decent size for a modern deluxe
- neck and lower body has good articulation and range of motion
- axe works, and in either hand
- not too much waffling
- removable matrix has good paint and slots into the hand in a novel way that’s trying to do something unique
- pipes can be held as pistols
- all the accessories can be stored on the figure
(The removable Matrix, comparison is – L to R : Earthrise, Prime Changers, Studio Series)
(The “diaper half” waist piece, locked down, raised up, removed)
Robot mode negatives:
- gappy, waffled top of the torso is very unattractive and looks unfinished
- upper torso mounts to waist articulation with two simple, weak pegs towards the back, and this meeting point isn’t designed flush so it looks misaligned
- vehicle mode weapon add-on has the absolute worst storage system I’ve ever seen on a Transformer, it uses itty bitty tiny little slots to grab onto the tiniest thin tabs inside the back plate, it’s garbage and falls off super easily
- upper arms are incredibly cumbersome to use, the shoulders have the front wheels and extra parts for transformation which run into the chest or the back constantly, awkward shoulder articulation system makes it miserable to move them above 90 degrees or back at all, transformation joints have to come into play to do this and they’re all ugly
- stupid half-diaper is the fun-killer, you can lock it in the down position but it traps the hips completely, or you can use the hips and it rides up to to the chest, it’s meant for looking good in a normal standing position from the front alone and that’s it, it doesn’t cover the sides or back; removing the diaper is easy as it’s just a couple pegs, but removing it looks not so great either
- vehicle mode kibble inside the thighs looks out of place
- high knees
- ankle tilts look odd the further out they go
- the head plate gets pushed back too easily while handling
- removable matrix is teeny tiny, smaller than the Prime Changers’ version; slotting into the outer portion of the hands is awkward to get right
- pipes as pistols don’t use 3mm ends so they can’t mount blast effects, and have super short grips making them hard to put into fists
- the tabs on the axe are inelegant and unattractive
- the axe looks like it has a pair of fingers sculpted in, similar to the Prime Changers version, but they’re left unpainted
- very hollow feet underneath
Robot mode Studio Series does better than Prime Changers Optimus:
- bigger
- articulated ankles and wrists
- sharper sculpting, more detailing
- clear chest window
- back plate stays on better
Robot mode Prime Changers does better than Studio Series Optimus:
- significantly better shoulder articulation
- torso is way more filled in, chest more whole
- pipes as pistols are easier to plug into fists
- axe is lighter colored, no ugly side tabs, and has a nicer sculpt with clever fingers design to make it look like he’s palming it; mounts to the back in the center
Vehicle mode positives:
- rolls well
- axe stores securely
- decent sized truck
- nice painted details like the titanium painted parts and the yellow accents
- some sculpted detail that is trying to emulate the film version from the side
Vehicle mode negatives:
- forearms abandoned as kibble on the side of the truck
- very gappy from a lot of angles, especially the side where it can be seen straight through in multiple places
- grille is obvious facade that doesn’t cover the hollow parts on the sides, looks very last-minute designed
- side pipes are set too far forwards when in proper rear-facing config, looks like to make room for the abandoned forearms
- robot hips and knees don’t lock in for transformation so they just sit at a random angle, tabs on thighs are meant to lock into robot forearms but you can bend the vehicle up or down with all those joints moving together
- hands are a huge pain to get unlocked from the thigh pegs when going back to robot mode
- weaponized bumper accessory feels like a last-minute addition, adding a second set of holes to the grille bumper and being really hard to get on and off
- the titanium-colored plastic parts don’t look nearly as good as the painted ones
Vehicle mode Studio Series does better than Prime Changers Optimus:
- sharper detail
- clear plastic window
Vehicle mode Prime Changers does better than Studio Series Optimus:
- more solid and easier to line up
- more compact and whole, less kibble
- way less gaps
- side pipes are more accurate
Overall: B- / D+
Studio Series 112 Transformers One Optimus Prime has a lot of frustrations, the wide gulf between the split grades will depend on what you’re looking for with this figure:
- If you want a figure with some nice sculpting and paint who you can leave in a fairly neutral pose and never transform, this is that “B-” figure where he’s a pretty big deluxe Optimus figure and a lot is decent to even good looking with cool sculpting and deco, but the upper body still looks pretty bad and the accessories are underwhelming.
- If, however, you like to do a lot of posing or you actually like to transform your figures, this Optimus is wildly underbaked and earns that “D+” score. This figure is an infuriating mess of bad decisions where moving the arms is a chore, where the vehicle mode looks decidedly off-model and has a lot of gaps, where the vehicle mode doesn’t lock in.
Big thanks to Hasbro and Paramount for the review sample.