Sunday, January 26, 2020

Toy Review: Transformers Generations War for Cybertron Siege Optimus Prime (Voyager)


Review:  #534
Name:  Optimus Prime
Brand:  Transformers
Allegiance:  Autobot
Line:  Generations - War for Cybertron:  Siege
Year of Release:  2019
Size Class:  Voyager (Wave 1)
Mold Status:  new

VEHICLE MODE:


Once again, as expected, Optimus transforms into a red short nose truck but with a twist.  There are Cybertronian elements such as the partially concealed rear wheels and lights/windows above the windshield.


This is a pretty good truck mode and the back makes a little bit of effort to not make the robot legs and feet look obvious.


In terms of size, Optimus is really compact.  Above is a comparison against Titans Return Optimus.


The two robot weapons can peg onto either the roof (the gun) or the back (the shield/ax).  Apart from rolling him on a flat surface, there's no other play value to speak of.


A good vehicle mode and unique enough from the typical Optimus design that it's interesting.

TRANSFORMATION:

The transformation is familiar to anyone who has had a G1-inspired Optimus figure in the past few years.  However, it is still well done here and incorporates a few neat elements, refining the transformation scheme.  The back naturally folds down to form the legs, while the bottom half of the cab rotates to reveal the faux truck grill.  The arms fold out and there are a few twists in order to get the kibble out of the way.

ROBOT MODE:


Ignoring the significant amounts of silver battle damage paint, this is an excellent robot mode.  The proportions are perfect and he has elements of the Masterpiece figure.


It's not 100% perfect since he has the truck roof as a giant slab of kibble on his back, and the exposed legs from the back doesn't look great (but is a moot point since you'll rarely look at him from the behind).


The headsculpt is also one of the best.  It's able to look up and down in addition to the normal left and right.


As a size comparison, above is Studio Series Optimus (Bumblebee) and you can see the Siege figure is the typical Voyager height.


Articulation is absolutely fantastic.  The Siege line focuses on poseability and Optimus is a prime example of that.


He has swivels joints for his shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, ankles, waist and head.  Since all of the joints are swivels, he feels very solid and robust.


Optimus comes with two weapons, his iconic rifle, and a black and silver shield.


Optimus can hold the gun in either of his hands, as expected.


The shield on the other hand, can peg on the outside of his forearm.


In addition, the shield has fold out pieces to form an ax.


The ax can then also be held in either hand, thus Optimus has a truly versatile set of weapons.


When not in use, both weapons can be stored on his back simultaneously.


This figure is the height of the craziness that is the Siege's line gimmick of battle damage paint.  The silver completely ruins the look.  Thankfully, they are all on unpainted plastic so you can easily remove it if you wish.


Thanks to the ankle tilts, you can pose Optimus with ease.  You might expect the kibble to get in the way but they don't.  While the kibble underneath his forearms are annoying, they're not a deal-breaker.


A wonderful robot mode that doesn't have many flaws.

OVERALL:

Don't let yet another G1 Optimus Prime fool you, this is one of the best toys in the Siege line.  He has two amazing modes, the truck mode is unique while the robot mode is crazy accurate.  The amount of poseability, plus the weaponry options, make this a fun and versatile figure.

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