Review: #883
Name: Optimus Prime
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Autobot
Line: HasLab
Year of Release: 2025
Size Class: HasLab
Mold Status: new
VEHICLE MODE:
The HasLab for 2025 was based upon the Robots in Disguise (2000/2001) incarnation of Optimus Prime, and he faithfully transforms into a Japanese fire truck.
This is a very accurate representation of the fire truck, complete with all the combiner kibble in the middle. Anyway, he looks good in nearly all angles.
In terms of size, he is absolutely huge, he's around Commander sized. He absolutely outsizes Voyagers and Deluxes, as shown in the photo above.
The set comes with a display stand, and in vehicle mode, the two halves can combine to form the Global Space Bridge, which basically means you can display the fire truck on it.
Unlike the original, the wheels are not rubber, they're only plastic, but this is much better for long term durability (as the soft rubber will disintegrate over time).
Somewhat weirdly, while most of the grey is unpainted, the front part of the ladder is in silver, and this makes it stand out (and not in a good way).
You can still see the super mode's head just sticking out in the middle of the truck, and it's the biggest flaw here in this mode. The middle isn't as hollow as the original and the whole thing holds together very well.
Thankfully (and amazingly), Optimus pretty much retains all the gimmicks of the original toy, plus a few more. The ladder hits several (non-functioning) missile launches that you can flip up.
The ladder itself can swivel and lift up, they're on powerful ratchet joints so that it can sustain the weight.
The ladder can also extend to almost double its length.
The the front of the ladder has two hoses that can flip out.
And this is the new addition, the front back can fold down to reveal a seat for a Titan Master, like Cerebros who is included in the set.
There's also a chair at the base of the ladder for Cerebros to sit in too.
A quick comparison photo with Ultra Magnus who is also part of the set.
This is a fantastic update, basically, the original toy was so good that they only needed to slightly update it to modernize it.
TRANSFORMATION (TO BASE ROBOT MODE):
The front of the vehicle, i.e. the cab, splits with the rest of the vehicle. And it is only this cab part which transforms into Optimus.
The cab itself is quite big, it's larger than a Voyager figure on its own. The transformation scheme is basically the same as the original. The front flips to form the legs, while the arms fold out from the back, and then you collapse everything at the waist.
However, this is also where a massive design flaw came into place. The way the waist was designed coupled with incorrect tolerances of the piece inside the abdomen means that immense pressure was placed on the abdomen and it will crack during transformation, or even straight out of packaging. You will need to disassemble the figure to sand down a piece to avoid this happening.
ROBOT MODE:
As mentioned, the smaller robot mode is just from half of the fire truck, and he looks pretty good, although by design, there isn't many recognizable features from the truck in robot mode.
There are some improvements here, such as the addition of heel spurs, as well as reduction in his backpack. This is because he doesn't need the space to carry a speaker and battery anymore.
The head sculpt is nice, and it's great that they kept the reflective chromed eyes.
He's almost Leader class in height, but he is so big, blocky and just so good to feel in hand. We rarely (if ever) get this type of heftiness and blockiness in a Transformer anymore.
There are still some kibble here and there, such as the panels behind his forearms (although they can now slide back to free up the fists), and those huge chunky lower legs which are like half of the cab.
The chest design has slightly changed as well, with smaller chest windows and a bigger gap between them. While subjective, it doesn't feel like it was for the better. The removal of chrome is good though.
There are still some fantastic sculpting detailing throughout, such as the wheel designs on his legs.
Articulation is perfect as you would expect, he has joints for his head, shoulders, elbows, wrists, waist, hips, knees and ankles.
Optimus features a removeable Matrix of Leadership in this mode too, which you can access from the back.
For weaponry, he comes with a small gun. There are red plastic wheels because it acts as a support wheel for the front of the fire truck.
He can hold the gun in either hand. It must be said that they managed to keep the aesthetics consistent, this figures looks very toy-ish, like the original Robots in Disguise line did.
Optimus can use some of the super mode's parts, such as the missile pods that can peg onto his shoulders.
You can use the stand for this mode but it's not really recommended, since the core robot is way too short for it, and he just floats there.
Most of his joints are ratchets or hinged joints, and you have to to be careful not to put pressure on his abdomen when posing him, even if you have done the fix, given that his abdomen piece is just so thin.
Despite the addition of heel spurs, his feet still feels a bit small. Thankfully, they aren't too much of an issue when posing him, it can just be somewhat awkward at times.
He's well painted too, and the plastic coloring is spot on.
A neat upgrade to the core robot from the original toy.
TRANSFORMATION (TO BASE MODE):
While you have the core robot, the rest of the fire truck mode isn't completely useless.
It splits into various pieces for his Super Mode, and you can use it to form a base mode in the mean time. It's basically plugging the shoulder pads to the folded out arms to the torso. Lift up the ladder and fold it out like a radar dish and that's it.
BASE MODE:
Okay, this mode is a stretch, but it's just a way to use up the spare parts.
To be honest, it's not a horrible effort, the worst part are the very obvious super mode hands, that are trying to masquerade as guns.
The central ladder acting like a radar dish is not a bad idea. Anyway, this is a forgettable mode and just a way to use up the remaining parts when not in Super Mode, so it's a good option to have.
TRANSFORMATION (TO SUPER MODE):
Break up the second half of the fire truck (or the base mode if you had it in that mode) into its various pieces. Prep the core robot but extending its waist, then you just attached the pieces. The legs snap onto their extensions. As does the shoulder pads onto his shoulders. The arms are cleverer, as they are basically unfolded and then folded on top of the existing fists. The torso is a little bit trickier since most of the weight it focused on the ladder. The torso piece itself is just a slim piece of plastic that clips onto the front in various places.
SUPER MODE:
While not the star of the set, this is still a fabulous mode and one that adds a ton of play value to the figure. This is a really good update of the original toy.
Yes, he carries the ladder on his back but it's such an iconic design, and a big deal was made how the tip of the ladder doesn't have to fold away in robot mode anymore, the whole length fits.
The head sculpt is great, and he retains the chromed antennae, although the chrome can make it look a bit tacky.
Since those antennae are on 5mm pegs, they easily swivel forward like they did in the cartoon (which was based on the original toy anyway).
Optimus gains a lot of height in this mode, and he towers over the Leader figures now. He's super hefty too.
A comparison shot of the whole set along with Ultra Magnus and Bluebolts.
Looking from the side, the ladder is positioned a little bit away from the main body, so it can look awkward. However, the figure holds together surprisingly well and very solidly. You can pick him up without any risk of pieces dislodging itself.
You can add another piece to the stand for robot mode, where Optimus can rest on it. It's awkward given that Optimus is not tall enough. The stand is really mostly designed for Omega Prime.
Articulation is good, he retains all of the core robot's articulation minus a waist joint.
The Matrix of Leadership now shifts position, but it's still there.
There are some neat details that integrate well with those of the core robot.
The little forearm guns are also very cool.
Of course, the ladder can swing over to form a massive shoulder cannon. His balance is surprisingly good, and he can hold it in that position with little issues.
The missiles hidden within the ladder can flip up in this mode too.
There are a few modern touches, such as how the feet extensions lock slightly differently, allowing Optimus to retain ankle articulation.
You can also see why the core robot has chubbier proportions, it's so that it doesn't look too skinny in Super Mode.
Most of the compromises were made in other modes, so Super Mode is the strongest and near perfect.
OVERALL:
If we were going to get an update for RiD Optimus, then HasLab was the perfect choice, as there would be less of a budget constraint. As a result, we get a really cool figure that retains all of the gimmicks of the original toy (well, ignoring the pointless electronics), giving this figure an absurd amount of play value. The Super Mode in particularly is superb. The figure is something like 80% of the original, but the proportions are touched up, and a few areas of improvements were made. It's really unfortunately with the fatal design flaw where a manual fix is compulsory (if it didn't already break out of packaging that is), which is the only part that leaves a sour taste in your mouth, as this is not a cheap figure.
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