Toy Review: Transformers Age of the Primes Fugitive Waspinator (Deluxe)

Review:  #893

Name:  Fugitive Waspinator

Brand:  Transformers

Allegiance:  Decepticon

Line:  Age of the Primes

Year of Release:  2025

Size Class:  Deluxe (Wave 1)

Mold Status:  Retool of Legacy United Animated Bumblebee

VEHICLE MODE:

Fugitive Waspinator is the redeco / retool of Animated Bumblebee we never had in the original toyline, so it's nice that it has finally happened.

He transforms into a sporty hatchback, that's predominantly dark green.  Despite the small size, they still couldn't paint all the essentials, the rear window is unpainted.

The biggest negative of this toy is the absolutely tiny size.  He is half the size of a normal  Deluxe, and you can see that he's almost the size of a Core.

Unfortunately, there is a patch of lighter green which clashes with the rest of the vehicle

The robot weapon can attach one of two ways.  The first are at the back as rocket boosters.

The second are at the front as some type of offensive weapon.

While he looks fine, there are some more disappointing aspects of the toy such as the unpainted rear window, and the diminutive size.

TRANSFORMATION:

The small size can be forgive if he has a transformation that's more involved than the average Deluxe, right?  Alas, the figure fails in this area too, and Wasp actually has a really bland and generic transformation.  The front splits to form the legs, the back and the sides are the arms.  Fold the roof down for the chest and reveal the head.

ROBOT MODE:

Wasp's robot mode is pretty good, since this is supposed to represent his Earthen mode, before he got mutated into a mechanical wasp.

The greens work together very well.  He has a bit of a backpack, being various pieces of the car there.

The only retool in this mode is the head, and it looks great.  It perfectly captures the character.

Given the trend for contemporary Transformers being much smaller in vehicle mode and then expanding into a bigger robot (hence why they are all packaged in robot modes now), you might be forgiven that maybe Wasp isn't that much smaller in robot mode.  Unfortunately, that's not the case, he's still almost half the size of a Deluxe, and barely taller than a Core.

A quick comparison against Bumblebee, the original mold, and they look very different thanks to the contrasting color schemes and unique heads.

Articulation is fine, he has joints for his head, shoulders, elbows, waist, hips, knees and ankles.

He comes with two weapons, both are blasters.

Those blasters can attach to his back as a booster jet.  And you can attach the stinger components as well so that it's like the rockets are firing.

Although given his backpack already protrudes quite a bit, adding the boosters made it stick out even more.

Alternatively he has hold them as handheld weapons.

And finally, fold his hands in and you can attach the stinger components for his (well, Bumblebee's) trademark weapon.

Due to the way the pegs are located, using those stingers by themselves doesn't look great, they're angled out too much.

Unfortunately, his feet doesn't use the front of the vehicle anymore, but if you look closely, the sculpting is there.

Despite him being very poseable, his small size makes it hard to actually utilize those joints, which is a shame.

This is not a bad robot mode, the biggest flaw is the tiny size that ends up negatively affecting everything else.

OVERALL:

Fugitive Waspinator doesn't have a bad design, but just the victim of cost-cutting and an attempt as "scale".  The biggest thing holding him back is his tiny size in both modes.  Not only do you feel he is not worth the price point, but it also makes it harder to pose him as he becomes a lot more fiddly as a result.  He's only worthwhile if you're a fan of the character, or you get him heavily discounted.

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Toy Review: Transformers Age of the Primes Onyx Prime (Leader)

Review:  #892

Name:  Onyx Prime

Brand:  Transformers

Allegiance:  Autobot

Line:  Age of the Primes

Year of Release:  2025

Size Class:  Leader (Wave 2)

Mold Status:  new

BEAST MODE (QUADRUPEDAL):

Onyx Prime, one of the original Thirteen Primes, has a mechanical beast mode.  He actually had multiple beast modes, the first of which is a quadrupedal.

He has a bronze color scheme, which is okay... depends if you like this color or not, but it does give the figure an older rustier look to it.

Since he's a Leader classed figure, he is heftier than a Voyager, and many of his limbs are chunky.  He may not be that much bigger than a Voyager like his price point suggests, but he is larger and more complicated.

The head sculpt is decent, and the mouth can open and close.

Articulation is limited in this mode, while his limbs doubles as the robot arms, they're jointed in a way that it doesn't work too well in beast mode.

The robot weapon can peg onto his back but the peg is not great, so it's not as secure as you would like.  One of this acts as the tail.

A beast mode that's good to look at, but can't really handle play.

TRANSFORMATION (TO SIX-LEGGED MODE):

It's really simple to get Onyx Prime into the next mode, as you need to fold the front legs forward, while unwinding the second pair of hooved legs onto the side.  Everything else stays the same.

BEAST MODE (SIX-LEGGED):

Onyx Prime's second beast mode is a six-legged thing.

He's super similar to the quadrupedal beast mode, just that you can see his front legs are now jointed right underneath the head, to create space for the second pair of legs, which are hooved.

He doesn't gain any height or width, as it is literally just an extra pair of legs.  His articulation is even more limited in this mode as a result.

This is an extra option that doesn't compromise the figure at all, so even though it's 90% the same as the other mode, it's a nice addition.

TRANSFORMATION (TO CENTAUR):

The rear to pairs of legs basically stays there, but you lift up the front section so that it creates an upright torso.  This is also where you realise that the wings are two big pieces of big plastic that's jointed at the back.  It's actually quite impressive.  Otherwise, you fold the beast mode back, get the robot mode head out, and rearrange the front pair of legs into the arms.

CENTAUR MODE:

This is a super unique mode, and admit it, it was pretty cool and unexpected to see this mode when the figure was first revealed.

This mode is like halfway step to his robot mode, so it's actually fairly clean, the only real kibble is the dragon mode's head hanging off his back.

The other really cool thing is his head in this mode, it's like this demonic / beastly head that looks ferocious.

He actually gains quite a bit of height in this mode, and his wingspan gives him an impressive presence.

Although he's not as bulky as you'd expect.  Look from the side and you can see the wings are attached via a "stem", basically a thinner piece of plastic.  His front hooved legs are also hollow, and as he is so "spread out", he feels lighter than he should.

He has plenty of articulation though, basically the same as his robot mode, so full movement of his head and legs.  Although given his quadrupedal nature, there's more to consider when posing him.

He comes with a weapon that's a combination of his tail (unfolded), and his spear.  Together, they form a bow and arrow weapon.

Onyx Prime can hold it in his open hands, via a tab and corresponding slow inside his fingers.  He has open hands, and this makes it feel like he doesn't hold his weapon properly, even though the tabs security do hold it together.

It's rare that we get such a unique mode, and this is the perfect combination of a creature that's a mix between human, beast, and mechanical.

Even though the transformation is a bit boring, it's makes up for it with its commanding presence.

TRANSFORMATION (TO ROBOT MODE):

You just need to straighten the lower body so that you get the upper and lower torsos aligned.  Straighten the rear legs for the robot legs.  Fold the hooves back over his shoulders, and then pop the face mask for the head up to reveal the robot face.

ROBOT MODE:

After the stunning centaur mode, the robot mode can feel quite normal and underwhelming.

It's not bad, and you can see how much it resembles the other modes.  He still has the huge wingspan that's the defining feature of this toy.

It's amazing at such a difference it makes when you flip up the mask to reveal the robot head, it's not as evil looking anymore.

He is tall and big in this mode, but as mentioned earlier, thanks to some hollow parts, and how "big" he is relatively to the amount of plastic used, he doesn't feel premium or hefty for his size.

Articulation is great, with joints for his head, shoulders, elbows, wrist, waist, hips, knees and ankles.

His main weapon is a spear.

He holds the spear the same way as the bow and arrow weapon from before, via a tab that you peg into his open hand.  The same issue occurs in that he doesn't appear to be properly holding onto it.

The bow is still available here, which you can peg into his other hand.

The figure is plagued with quality control issues though, so you'll have to strike it lucky to get a figure completely free from loose joints, or pieces that pop out at the slightest touch.

There's nothing inherently bad with the robot mode, just that as what is usually the centrepiece of most figures, he's not really that stunning.

OVERALL:

Onyx Prime has a lot of potential, and his centaur mode comes close.  However, the figure overall feels under-engineered.  There's a distinct feel that the designer had a lack of interest and tried to get it out of the way as quickly and lazily as possible.  You can't feel any passion that was put into this figure.  As a result, while he's not bad, he feels underwhelming and generic in most modes, only the centaur mode makes him worth getting, but even then, you might have to think twice.

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