Review: #56
Name: Optimus Prime
Brand: Kre-O Transformers
Allegiance: Autobot
Line: N/A
Year of Release: 2011
Size Class: Basic
Variations: none
PACKAGING AND CONTENTS:
This time we have the second smallest set, Basic Optimus Prime. He comes in the same box as all the other Kre-O sets.
As per usual, you get the standard pieces, sticker sheet and an instructions booklet. Since this is at the lowest price point, there are no Kreons.
There are 90 pieces in this set (more than the other Basic set, which only contain 75 pieces, yet they are priced the same) and four primarily colours, grey, red, blue and black.
VEHICLE:
As per usual, Optimus Prime's vehicle mode is a cab over truck, and for the most part, it is okay. It looks a bit thin and long, however, so the proportions aren't that great.
It's fairly clean truck, but the blue bit on his back feels a bit awkward, and looks like it doesn't belong there (if you take it off, the truck looks much cleaner and better). All six wheels roll, very very well.
Any sort of details are stickers, such as the Autobot symbol and the side windows, over time, I'd expect them to peel off very easily.
Unlike the Bumblebee set, Optimus here has very few extra pieces on both modes. In vehicle, he only has three, which is a great achievement, particularly how all the ball joints are stored here.
Optimus feels bigger than Bumblebee, but is still just a tad bit smaller than a standard Deluxe toy. Everything here pegs on solidly, so he's in no danger of falling apart.
It's very easy to put in the remaining extra parts, and there are many many places to put them, above is just one way that I prefer.
Although this truck might have looked awkward in photos, it's actually a lot better in person and not as bad.
PROCESS OF ASSEMBLY:
I will compare the process of assembling Optimus against the other Kre-O I currently own, Bumblebee. Assembling vehicle mode, hands down, Optimus is the more innovative one. They way it has incorporated the ball joints into it, is a step up from Bumblebee, which had far too many extra pieces left over. It's pretty cool to see how many of the pieces fit into the mode.
Going into robot mode, however, I got less of a pleasant surprise than Bumblebee. It is still good, but not as fun or intuitive. Again, the worse part of the whole process if disassembling the pieces. In Optimus' case, you need to pull the wheels off whenever you want to go to the other mode. This is extremely annoying since they are so hard to pull out, and you have to do it six times, at least with Bumblebee, they can stay on their 'axes'.
Overall, the assembly process is fun, and if you hadn't tried it before, it's worth a shot. It will take you around fifteen mins to half an hour, with around a third to a half of that time just breaking the pieces apart. I hate to think how long it would take for one of the bigger Kre-O sets.
ROBOT MODE:
The first thing you notice about Kre-O Optimus is that he's tall, and skinny. In other words, disproportionate. It looks a lot worse on the packaging and pictures, but once you have him in hand, it's not terrible and I can live with it. I think the biggest thing that's against him is the long legs.
The pieces are integrated really nicely, the only thing in danger of falling off when you handle him is the wheels on his back since they just out. I really like the placement of a lot of the parts, the wheels behind his legs, the chest and the arms.
There's only two extra pieces that doesn't go anywhere in robot mode, that's a mightily impressive take.
Optimus even looks thin from the side, which doesn't do him any favours. Most of the elements are classic Optimus elements, such as the smokestacks behind his shoulders, window for his chest, and wheels on his blue legs.
The head sculpt on this one is amazing, it captured the classic Optimus look really well, and is one of my favourites so far. Again, this is the only piece that's made of a soft-ish plastic. It sits on a ball joint but vertical motion is a bit restricted.
There are millions of ways to deal with the extra pieces, you can let him hold the pieces like a sword (or a plank of wood), hold the square piece as a throwing star of sort. Even rearrange the parts in a way that looks like the sword comes out of his hand.
I think that's the whole appeal of these construction sets, the instructions are only the beginning, and there is so much you can do yourself with the pieces, stuff that's only limited by your imagination and creativity.
Optimus is very tall, taller than a deluxe, and he has the same amount of bulk.
Articulation is restricted, shoulders swing out, elbows bend, and ball joints for head, hips and ankles. The thing that makes Optimus look the worse is that his two hips are too close together, which doesn't work well with his long legs, and makes it hard to pose him.
This Optimus has a really heroic posture, and again he makes a really good display figure, or even as something to play with, I have no doubt that it's plenty of fun for the target market.
OVERALL:
A great set, if you like the idea, then Optimus won't disappoint. He's simple, and looks great, while taking the least time to make out of all the sets. If you only want one to try out, I would still recommend Bumblebee, but this is still a worthy figure to have.
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