Review: #766
Name: Leo Prime
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Maximal
Line: Generations - Legacy: Evolution
Year of Release: 2023
Size Class: Voyager (Wave 1)
Mold Status: new
BEAST MODE:
Leo Prime is based upon his appearance in the Japanese exclusive Beast Wars II anime, and transforms into a lion.
Despite looking somewhat off at first, this is actually a really good beast mode. The only parts that break up the white are the robot legs that you can see when looking at him from the back.
Leo Prime is a nice decent size, he's compact but that gives him a hefty feel.
The mouth can open to give him a little bit more expression in this mode.
Perhaps most impressive is how well everything fits and snaps together, particularly the torso. It's a great feat of engineering.
The only gimmick here is that you can flip out the guns. He doesn't have much articulation in this mode, mainly in the hindlegs because the front are pegged into place due to transformation.
A fantastic beast mode that looks and feels great.
TRANSFORMATION:
This is a clever figure and the transformation will probably exceed your expectations since it's more complex, but remains intuitive, than most other recent Voyager (and even Leader) figures. The hindlegs become the robot legs, and the front legs become the robot arms. What makes the figure so impressive is how the torso basically flips out to create the robot torso. It's just very neat and perfect. The lion head and the back are on one piece that rotates to form the shoulder pads.
ROBOT MODE:
The robot mode is actually pretty good, and similar to beast mode, something that will grow on you despite appearing a tiny bit off at first glance.
He carries a decent chunk of kibble, something that is quite common in beast Transformers, but Leo Prime does a good job to utilizing most of it as shoulder armor. The only disappointing part are the beast legs awkwardly hanging off his arms.
The head sculpt is good, and very obvious as Optimus.
In terms of size, despite appearing bulky and big, he is actually a bit shorter than your typical Voyager. He tries to make up for it with the wide shoulder pads.
The first gimmick here is that there is a panel you can flip out to reveal the Matrix.
Articulation is fine, he has joints for his head, shoulders, elbows, wrists, waist, hips, knees and ankles.
He comes with four guns, of two different molded types.
First off, you can attach all four onto the lion's mane.
Secondly, he can hold the guns in his hands, as you typically would.
Finally, you can add the second pair of guns to his forearms (by flipping over a piece and revealing a port) and rotating the beast legs, while also flipping out the claws. It's a bit messy but still looks rather good.
One of the best parts about this figure is that he doesn't have the usual hollow feel, rather, he feels much more solid.
This is a strong robot mode that's about pretty near perfect as you can get as an update for this character.
OVERALL:
Despite not being a familiar or popular character outside of Japan, Leo Prime is an awesome figure that deserves a chance. He's one of the best Voyager figures we've had and is well worth the money.
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