Review: #853
Name: Optimus Prime
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Autobot
Line: Generations - Studio Series
Year of Release: 2024
Size Class: Voyager (Wave 27)
Mold Status: rerelease of Buzzworthy Bumblebee Optimus Prime
ALTERNATE MODE:
Optimus, based upon his appearance in the Rise of the Beasts film, transforms into an approximation of the truck from the film.
The truck looks fine from the front, but from the back and side, it is messy thanks to the mess of parts (part of the robot's legs) right behind the cab. Quite disappointing in the modern era of Transformers engineering.
Size-wise, he's fine for a Voyager. Like with most Voyagers, he's quite compact in vehicle mode. The huge grey piece of plastic for the cab roof isn't too flash either though.
The robot weapons can peg onto the back.
To be honest, the front isn't bad, it's just the back which really ruins this mode. It's like the designer ran out of budget and just had to shove the pieces where they are as a result.
An average vehicle mode at best. At least he holds together well even if he doesn't look that flash.
TRANSFORMATION:
This is where the figure starts to redeem itself. The transformation is surprisingly different and more fun than you'd expect. You'd think with the mess left in vehicle mode, the leg transformation will be overly simple and disappointing but it has a lot of interesting manipulation of parts. Similarly, unfold the arms and torso from the cab isn't as simple as you'd expect. This leads to an interesting and engaging transformation scheme and easily one of the best parts of the figure. It's also very different to the previous Studio Series Optimus which this mold was only marginally based on.
ROBOT MODE:
Okay, this is another area where the figure redeems itself as the robot mode looks pretty good.
He's quite solid, and has a limited amount of kibble. He looks slim as a result.
The head sculpt can be a bit messy, like with a lot of complex movie head designs in toy form.
He's a typical Voyager size, and despite being very similar in design to the Bumblebee version, here, you can see how different he is, and the proportions overall being better.
He's one of the last releases of the Studio Series line to have a cardboard stand.
Articulation is good, with joints for his head, shoulders, elbows, wrist, waist, hips, knees and ankles.
He comes with two weapons, a sword and the tip of his gun.
His fist rotates back into the forearm so you can attach the gun, to make it seem as if his arm transformed into the weapon. While the idea is good, it does make the gun seem a bit small.
The sword attaches above his wrist on his forearm, and looks great there, even if it makes his wrist fold down slightly.
Both weapons can peg onto his back for storage.
While his shoulders can lift up and down, due to how they are jointed, they do look very weird if lifted up too high.
Otherwise, he has a great range of articulation, and he can pull off many great poses.
If you don't like the sword coming out of his forearm, he can hold it as a handheld weapon. It doesn't look as wicket but still passable.
A fantastic robot mode that looks and plays great.
OVERALL:
Optimus Prime was a pleasant surprise. You might write him off at first, but reconsider. The vehicle mode isn't great, but the fun transformation and excellent robot mode redeems the figure. This is actually a strong release in the Studio Series line, which has been floundering recently due to the constant cost cutting.
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