Review: #33
Name: Jetwing Optimus Prime
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Autobot
Line: Dark of the Moon
Year of Release: 2011
Size Class: Supreme (TakaraTomy Exclusive)
Variations: the base figure is remolded from the ROTF Leader Class Optimus, while the wing pack is completely new.
PACKAGING:
Since this is a Japanese exclusive toy, I MUST cover the packaging as they are simply too good to waste. However, the packaging for Jetwing Optimus Prime is a bit lacking and not as pleasing to the eye as some other Japanese lines. A thing to note is that I got the version that Australia got released in, which means... everything is completely translated into English, pretty awesome.
A better look at what's inside the box as the previous picture had quite a bit of glare. It's packaged really nicely, I really like how it was displayed in the box, Jetwing Optimus is a toy that you can leave to display MISB.
The back is really nice too, and the pose of the stock photo is excellent, no mistranforming or awkward poses there. I think the yellow ruins the aesthetics of the box, if it was replaced by silver or white like the mainline toys, then it would have looked a lot better.
The box is HUGE, when I first saw it I was like, whoa, speechless. That's Generations Warpath in front of the box, you can simply see how massive the box is.
In additional the toy itself, the contents that he comes with are fully translated English instructions and a bio card. Now much in terms of extras but I really like the translated instructions, that is a really nice touch. Overall, the packaging is not bad, but very Western.
VEHICLE MODE:
The base figure (i.e. without the jetpack) transforms into a truck that greatly resembles the onscreen model (which is a customized Peterbilt 379). I still stand that this Leader class mold is the BEST Optimus mold in both modes. There are details all over the place on this guy, but after the Buster version, Jetwing is a sight for sore eyes, lacking in many, many, paint applications.
There are no weird gaps anywhere, this is a very solid truck once you snap everything together. The panel lines are kept to a minimum, I do think the flat grey plastic ruins the look quite a bit. All six wheels roll and the smokestacks are made of soft rubber (somewhat annoying).
Somewhat distracting is the left fueltank which seemed to be like some sort of jigsaw puzzle with those zigzag seams all over it, this is the only thing ruining the realism.
I want to add that Jetwing Optimus Prime DOES NOT come with batteries, however, it has been reported that the electronics are kept, so if you do put some batteries in, and press a well hidden button at the back, you will get some truck engine revving noises.
Being a Leader classed leader, from a previous era no less, there are not as much obvious cost cutting done. He is a decently sized toy, and without batteries, way easier to roll and move around.
The panels can sometimes not peg together as cleanly as one would like. There's also a small painted Autobot symbol at the front of the grill, where the maker's badge would be. A really good and realistic truck overall, that's worthy of being made at such a large scale.
VEHICLE MODE (WITH JET PACK):
Of course you can attach the star of the set onto the truck mode, the jet pack. It connects via the trailer hitch and also four tabs, and it sits there quite securely. It's huge though, and adds substantial weight to Optimus (the jet pack feels heavier than Optimus himself).
This configuration kinda reminds of me Animated Wingblade Optimus Prime, in that that toy too had all the armour bits as some sort of trailer. Anyway, I'm not a huge fan of this mode, primarily because of how wide it is, even without the wings it's a lot wider than the truck.
The two Gatling cannons flanking on either side are too far out to look good. It feels a bit tacked on and unfinished, there isn't really that much to do with this mode, Optimus pretty much just sits there.
The added mass of the jet pack makes Optimus seemingly much larger than he really it. Above, he just dwarfs ROTF Sideswipe in size.
Despite my qualms, the four thrusters you see from the back look really impressive, and gives a sense of power.
The last thing I've got to say about this mode is that you can fold the wings out to make it seem that this can be a flying truck. As ridiculous as it may look, considering that the jet pack pretty much doesn't transform, I think it's okay, it's not like you're going to display Optimus in his vehicle mode for long anyway.
JETWING ARMOUR:
Let's take some time to have a look at this newly molded jet pack. It's referred to as the 'Jetwing' on the packaging. Like I said earlier, it's huge, and it's surprisingly heavy.
The gray prototype-like 'sample' they've used for the stock photos doesn't do this justice. The colours of the jetwing look a whole lot better in real life, the grey is more of a gunmetal, and the wings are completely painted in silver, while the 'engine' intakes are painted red. It's still no Buster Prime but considering that they didn't have to completely paint the wings, I'm glad they did.
It is pretty much just one straight solid piece, except for the two heel pieces that attach on the back, although it has dedicated pegs, the way it is situated, makes to easy to fall off when you handle the thing.
Again, it is huge, the amount of plastic used on this armour alone is enough to make a Deluxe, or even a Voyager classed toy. The set well deserves it's 'Supreme' Class classification.
TRANSFORMATION (BASE ROBOT):
Anyone who had the pleasure of transforming any version of this mold will tell you that it's painful, and frustratingly complex. Transforming this guy again (to test for defects and for this review) reminded me why I had only transformed my Buster Optimus Prime once. This guy is very frustrating, even with the translated instructions and pictures for reference. Going into robot mode is a whole lot better, but battling him into vehicle mode is another story. There are many different parts that move and twist in a specific way that it is a nightmare the first time you do it. The hood is especially annoying when you have to clip it all together. This is definitely not one for the kids, and only do it if you have 30 mins to 1 hour of spare time. I admit that it's brilliantly engineered, just a HUGE pain to transform.
TRANSFORMATION (JETWING ARMOUR):
As I've alluded to earlier, the wing pack doesn't really transform, you just detach it from the back of Optimus, pull out the two heel pieces and unclip the guns and there you have it.
The Gatling guns are secured in two parts, the first is a clipping system that matches up to the underside of Optimus' forearm. The second part is Optimus holding the handle and you flipping the guard back close. It's very secure and does not fall of easily. The guns are (annoyingly) attached via rubber connections, which you have to attach yourself when you first open him as they come packaged separately.
As this wing pack requires the fuel tanks on Optimus removed in order for it to be attached, there are some spaces for them to store on the engines. When I first got him, I was surprised at how simple the 'transformation' (if it can be called that) of the wing pack was, it was definitely disappointing and felt a bit lazy. I was expecting more along the lines of this guy (if only it was released... but we ended up with Jetwing instead, *sigh*).
ROBOT MODE:
Thankfully for this version, they have chosen the best representation of Optimus in any mold yet, retooled from the ROTF version, this still presents an excellent Optimus with all the design changes made to the CG model from the Dark of the Moon movie.
Using a previous mold also means that there is no cost-cutting, or to put it blatantly, no size reduction to save on plastic or whatnot. The only thing against this Optimus with be the abundance of grey and bare plastic, paint would have spiced this up a lot, especially with the premium price this guy is asking.
A lot of good joints that makes poses quite easy to achieve. He does need bigger heelspurs as he is fairly back heavy, since he comes without batteries, it does make him a lot easy to balance and stand. The one thing that's great with this Optimus is you find a lot of tiny things that help improves the overall look of him and making him more accurate to the CG design, to this day, I keep finding something that I have missed pulling out or moving.
Onto the remolded bits, you'll be surprised that there are a fair few changes done to the base robot. The most obvious is that of his chest, not remolded with a set of 'abs' just like in the movie. I like how it is remolded in a darker, gunmetal, grey, this provides a nice contrast. Speaking of grey, I think that the grey plastic used here is darker than the one used on the ROTF version (I cannot compare as I don't have the original, but it just feels that way). Don't think that just coz they remolded the chest that the electronic gimmick has not be made defunct, there is a still a (well hidden) level that when you pull down, flexes his chest and he says "I am Optimus Prime", of course, this assumes you have the batteries in, something which i don't recommend.
The next obvious remolded bit is his forearm, they've removed the blades, for good or bad, I'm not sure. The blades looked cool when deployed and provided Optimus with additional weapons, but when retracted, they were a nuisance, plus, they were always prone to springing out when you didn't want them to. In addition to removing the blades, they've remolded that part into a newly designed 'elbow flare', to reflect the change in the character design once again. Lastly, they've added a MechTech port on top for you to plug in those beloved oversized weapons... yeah right, I'll say, leave it empty, they don't suit Optimus as all.
The last bit of remolding that I can find, and it's a bit hard to see in the photo, is that they molded some grooves at the back of Optimus to allow the wing pack to clip on more securely.
Being a Leader-classed figure (unlike the Ultimate version, where the base level is just larger than a Voyager), Optimus is a decent size. The arms do look a bit weedy and thin, but the main complaint I have would be the tires on his hips, I wished they were properly on the thighs instead. I don't like the 'overlapping' look.
Being the Buster Prime mold, you can take the fuel tanks off the back and transform it to form his Buster Cannon, it looks great... in design. The lack of paint, and the flat grey plastic really ruins the look of this gun.
Optimus' fist holes are rectangular shaped, so only he can hold the gun, looks great though, and I like how it covers his whole fist so it looks like his arm has morphed into the gun instead of him just holding it.
I couldn't resist, you just have to compare him to Buster Prime and you see how lacking in paint apps he is. It is disappointing that this large and detail toy being skimped on paint, when it would have benefited him so well (you do feel a bit cheated since Jetwing Optimus is so expensive, costing as much as the Buster Prime and Jetfire 2pk from ROTF last year).
Jetwing Optimus Prime still stands well without the jet armour, there are enough modifications to make this a different enough looking figure, which is a good thing, so it doesn't seem you're paying just for the wing pack. Granted, it could be a lot better in terms of paint, but for what it's worth, it's still a great robot.
ROBOT MODE (JETWING):
And now, finally, to the meat of the review, the part where Optimus is most glorious, when he is wearing his Jetwing armour. I admit I wasn't thrilled when I first saw pictures of this guy, but let me just say, pictures do not do him any justice, he looks a LOT better in person, much more cooler and more powerful.
Unlike the movie, he has four thrusters instead of only two (at least I think he only had two). With the addition of this upgrade, Optimus appears huge, but it's only an illusion created by the wide wingspan, he has not gained any additional height himself.
As I mentioned before, the Gatling guns attaches via three points, the grip, a clip underneath the forearm and the rubber attachment. The rubber attachment hinders the arm poseability A LOT, and over time, they will deteriorate just due to the nature of the material. I think it was a bad mistake of having those connects, have the cannons as separate, detachable pieces would be so much better.
The tanks peg in nicely into the spaces provided in the engines, and are very secure, there will be no 'rattling' around when you move Optimus.
The heel pieces just clip on, and are held there by friction, that said, they are pretty good and the bigger footprint make Optimus very stable with the now very heavy back.
A major design flaw is that the Jetwing armour sits too close to the shoulders, you cannot clip the shoulders into the sides like you are supposed to, and this also effectively means that the shoulder and upper arm articulation is cut off. This is unforgivable as the armour should be designed around Optimus, especially when the armour was designed about an existing mold.
That said, the jet pack does sit really close to Optimus' body (unlike the Commander version), this is a big plus in my books as it feels more like an integral part of Optimus rather than some awkward add-on.
It's not as obvious in pictures (especially when taken from head on) but the wings really make Optimus a lot more imposing and seemingly much bigger. The two giant under-slung help in that aspect. I didn't know this until much later, but the barrels of each gun can rotate, which is a nice aspect that they didn't need to include. As expected though, the body of the gun is hollow plastic so it feels just a bit cheap.
More obvious about the size when compared to the base robot, he doesn't look as big now. With the addition of the armour, you don't tend to focus too much on the paint apps, and he looks as great as Buster Prime.
The head sculpt is what you would expect of a movie Optimus, very accurate, just lacking in some paint to be completely the same as the on screen counterpart. This guy is significant to me as it's the first movie Optimus Prime toy I have that has a face plate.
One nice aspect that I found is the two flanking shoulder pads on each side of his head bulks up his upper torso when viewed from a three-quarter angle, creating kinda of an aura of his powered up look, and just that bit more impressive.
The packaging boasts a 'flying mode', which is just basically more or less with Optimus looking up like he's in mid flight. I don't have a proper stand for this sort of pose, and frankly, I don't think there are many stands that can support his weight. It's not something I would do too often especially since his neck joint is really tight and more often than not, you start to pull those window pieces off when you try.
As stated, the arm poseability are severely restricted due to the backpack and rubber attachment to the gun but the leg poseability remain the same. Of course, now you have the added difficulty of balancing him in any sort of pose you have. One thing of note is that you cannot put the guns down in a sort of 'resting' position, he always have to aim it out in front otherwise you'll unfold the shoulder joints. The side to side motion of the head is also very limited (it always was so).
As I pointed out earlier, the wings are fully poseable, and with satisfying ratcheting joints too, not only is this a lot more secure and stable than a swivel, but it won't loosen over time as quickly. The above configuration is my preferred one, but only coz it can fit into my shelf like this! The normal configuration (which, again, looks a lot better in real life) has the wings too high up for me to fit it into the shelf. One thing I found in pictures was that it made the backpack seem to sit so low on Optimus but I'm happy to say that this is NOT the case, it's perfect.
He doesn't look as impressive with the wings configured like in the movie but still looks decent. There are a heck of a lot of MechTech ports and C-clip joints all over the place in the wing pack, I think 20+ clip joints and a fair few MechTech ports, I personally haven't counted then and I don't think I'll waste a few mins of my life counting them. It's not like I would attach anything to these wings, they look good enough as it is (and it to look awkward with anything attached).
The different shade of grey plastic complements each other well, and the huge douse of silver on the wings are nice, I don't think I might this lack of colouring as the paint will probably clash aesthetically, since there are so many things happening at the same time.
All in all, all the pros far outweigh the cons (as per usual, I focus too much on the negatives), and the Jetwing armour really complement Optimus well. I would rather buy this over than Ultimate version because it has a better base robot, and it is more movie accurate, however, the Ultimate version is bigger and the armour can transform into a proper trailer. This souped up robot mode is impressive in ANY collection and is just dripping with awesomeness, I'm actually really glad I got this guy now.
OVERALL:
Despite my push for this guy, is he really worth the US$150 (roughly) price tag? I would have to say... no, for that price you can get almost three Leader classed toys, and frankly, the Jetwing armor is NOT even worth ONE leader classed toy, the Buster Prime/Jetfire 2pk last year was a lot more value for money. If this had a brilliant paint job I would be more inclined to recommend this, but as it is, I seriously cannot say you should get this if you are happy with your Optimus or the Ultimate version. Granted, I still like this guy, and I am used to paying higher than US prices for Transformers toys, so it doesn't leave as much pain for me, but the postage is a killer, but I still do not regret getting this guy, I am really happy with him, a lot happier than I had expected.
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Phew, I just realised that despite my best efforts to cut it down and make it as brief as possible (while still providing all the critical details), this review contains 55 pictures, and is my longest review ever. Hopefully, you found it insightful, and not a chore to read through, I've tried to provide as dynamic a picture as I could (but I'm not good with posing) and quite a few of the pictures are blurry, but I hope you can ignore that. Anyway, I have enough pictures to put up another two posts of extra photos here and here, that I couldn't fit into this review, with some additional comments about the figure.
Credit: the pictures and text are all mine, but I've linked a few pages to TFwiki.net
Reviews of other figures can be selected from here.
Final Note: took me four days to write this up, and probably one of my most comprehensive coverage of a figure yet. This is a truly great figure and I had great fun fiddling around with him, so I would definitely recommend this figure if you have the means, and are interested (particularly if you hadn't had any version of the ROTF Prime yet).