BOB SHARE

When I first started watching the Transformers Animated series, I wasnt too taken in by the style of the art. After all, they gave my favourite Optimus Prime a face, and made him flunk out of Autobot Academy!

But slowly, upon realizing that the story and plot was like nothing Id ever seen in a Transformers series, Animated started to grow on me. The characters were rich and diverse, and the universe made sense. And Opimus Prime also did have a mouth guard like in the original series from the 80s--but only in combat mode. How cool was that?

So now I had to get a toy of Animated Prime. And since I wanted the earth mode version, my choices were between The Battle Begins 2-pack (with DVD and Megatron), the Voyager Class, and the Supreme Rollout Command too-big-and-clunky-but-with-too-cool-features Optimus Primes.
So Supreme was out, and Voyager was too large and had too big of a chest to be show accurate (Hes much slimmer in Animated). And if I were to buy some Voyager Class Decepti-baddies, theyd be in-scale with my deluxe sized Prime. So Battle Begins it was. I found a 2-pack for a good deal at OG, where they had a huge stock.

I was thrilled at the amount of effort put into the engineering of the toy, and the tightness of its vehicle mode. In short, It was better than the G1 Optimus Prime that looked too square in robot mode. The truck looked like a truck, and the robot mode, well, was just too awesome and poseasble!

And then my wonderful gal, seeing how much I love Transformers Animated and especially Prime, goes out and gets me a Cybertron Mode deluxe Prime! Now I could re-enact scenes on Earth and do flashbacks on Cybertron! Woot!
Now despite being from the same mould mostly, there were so many tiny details on them that made them distinct.

In robot mode:

Cybertron Prime is a lighter red and blue and has a clear blue chest.

Earth mode is darker red with a dark blue and has a "truck wind shields" chest

Earth mode has battle armour mouth piece on and has smoke-stacks, while the Cybertron mode doesnt. And of course the battle damage and the little detail paint apps.





In vehicle mode:
Here they differ slightly in their transformation. Cybertron mode uses the shield as a roof (while giving him a taller, more angular vehicle mode), while Earth mode uses the little backpack flap to cover up.

Both roll wonderfully, and have great eye light piping. (Double click on pics for better view! :] )















So while these two figures were the 3rd and 4th Primes I had acquired over the past few months, they were also the beginning of my Transformers Animated collection, which will appear here in later posts (hopefully, I might add, lol.)

Well, I highly recommend these guys. Cybertron mode can be found for S$17 dollars in nice new cylindrical packaging at Toys R Us (Along with Bumblebee and Ratchet, sold separately--I sound like an ad).

Heres how I rate them.















Earth Mode Prime

Show Accuaracy: 8/10 - Hes more a tribute to 80s G1 Prime with smoke stacks and colour. Axe is too big (more suited for Voyager Prime. But its all good. :)

Poseability: 9/10 - these deluxes bend like no Transformers should have a right to bend! :P

Aesthetic: 8/10 - A very great looking truck mode, but robot modes wheels are a bit prominent on shoulders, while his chest almost falls to his belly! :P

Overall: 8.33/10















Cybertron Mode Prime

Show Accuaracy: 10/10 - Slim, sharp, colour is spot on. So is his face and paint apps. Axe is the right size, but what up with the shield?? Ah well, it makes for one more accesory. :)

Poseability: 9/10 - these deluxes bend like no Transformers should have a right to bend! :P

Aesthetic: 8/10 - A very great looking robot mode with great lines and overall form. But vehicle mode is an acquired taste--its Cybertronian, after all. ;)

Overall: 9/10

You just gotta love re-boots. And in this case, the re-booting and re-adaptation of G1 Transformers (and most of the Transformers continuity) into Transformers Animated.

So here he is, the 7th Optimus Prime I own: TFA Voyager Class Prime!


I wasnt initially planning on getting this guy, let alone any other of the Animated line. I had my 2 Deluxe Class Prime figures (from Part 3 below) and I was more than happy. But I had to turn 30 and whaddaya know? My girlfriend, Melissa, surprises me with everyones favourite Autobot leader.

Ok, so I kinda guessed shed gotten it for me--shes not very good at hiding her surprise when I guess her gifts correctly. :P But tell me Im not the luckiest guy on the planet. First the Henkei Prime, now the TFA Voyager! Woohoo!

I have to confess, I didnt think Id like Voyager Prime as much as Deluxe Cybertron mode. But heres the thing: the Voyager Class TFA figures have nice tight alt modes and pretty show accurate robot modes, on top of being pretty darn poseable.

Granted, this guy maybe a little chunkier (in the chest) than how he appears in the show, but we like our Primes buff!

Hes got great paint apps all over, especially the red, and light piping for his eyes. Now he doesnt come with the axe in the pic. That weapon belongs to Battle Begins Deluxe Prime. But it fits his hands perfectly and makes him show accurate.

One of the simple but most fun features he has is his sliding chin guard--Slide up for battle mode, slide down for his face in regular mode. Hes the only TFA Prime so far that can do this. :)





The other feature involves his transformation:



Ok I lied, nothing there but fancy pictures :P However, when he transforms back from truck mode, theres a little switch located on his back that lets Primes legs and waist spin down into place under his upper torso. Thats quite a feature--you sorta get to see your Prime transform at least partly by himself. Awesome. :)

Now the axe that comes with him may seem a little big. It also seems a weird colour for an axe, and completely not show accurate. Also if you remove the water cannon from it, theres a big hole in the weapon.







But the beauty of it is that it transforms to Primes "trailer" and fits nicely on the back in truck mode. And it can also double up as Optimus backpack/jetpack when hes in robot mode--it fits snugly on his back.






His final feature is sort of an Easter Egg. I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered it. Its not on the back of the box or in the instructions.

Primes cannon that can also be held in his hand can shoot water by depressing the nozzle. Just fill er up via the rubber stopper at the bottom of the cannon and then fire away!



And size-wise, this guy fits perfectly with the other TFA Voyagers. Check it out:


So heres how I rate TFA Optimus Prime:

Show Accuaracy: 9/10 - Spot on in robot mode, right down to the moveable chin guard. Less sleek than in the show, but Prime can be as buff as he wants as leader of the Autobots. ;) His axe is way too big, but swapping in with the Battle Begins Primes axe works.

Poseability: 9/10 - His waist and head rotate 360 degrees as do his knees. His shoulders too, but they have 2 more hinge joints there (primarily for transformation) that give him even more flexibility with the arms. Elbows can bend up to 90 degrees but wrists are fixed. His lower body, though, is a little disappointing. Legs bend less than 90 deg at the knees, but hyper extend. His feet can point and "flex." The upper thigh can move forward and back less than 180 deg but they move out to the side pretty much all the way.

But I was still surprised how poseable he was! :)

Aesthetic: 9.5/10 - Great looking robot mode. Nice clear blue windows with circuitry. Vehicle mode is nice and seamless, and pieces snap together to make the truck mode tight. Paint apps are applied realy well, and his red is a smooth matte. He doesnt have an Autobot sign in any mode though!

Overall: 9.2/10 - Its a must have for any TFA or Optimus Prime fan! :) (You can now get him for $29.90 at any of the major department stores--if you can find him. ;])