Review #19: Classics Deluxe Class Optimus Prime
My very first review for this website was, of course, for Classics Optimus Prime. That was for the Voyager Class version, however. There was also a Deluxe Class Optimus released in the original Classics line-up, and I think it is about time that we take a look at him!
We'll start, as usual, with his vehicle mode. In this case, I am definitely saving the best for last, as I fear his vehicle mode is somewhat lacking. The big blue patch on top of the cab isn't what bothers me so much, although it would certainly be nice if his head was better hidden in vehicle mode. But there are two big problems in this mode that are rather bothersome. The first is that the front of the cab has, for lack of a better term, a bad case of overbite. The windows hang out to far over the grill and headlights to be in any way aesthetically pleasing. I don't think it would have detracted from the robot mode (which we will see shortly) to have made his arms a little longer and have his grill a little more forward, and that would have done a lot to help the vehicle mode's appearance. |
The second big problem is with the rear end of the vehicle. It looks entirely too much like a pair of legs just stuck together, which to be fair is what they are. But most Optimus Primes do a much better job of using these legs to form the rear of the truck. What could have helped a great deal here would have been if they had designed the legs to be collapsible, shortening up the truck's rear end and hiding the grey portion of the legs.
I will commend some of the detail on this vehicle. Most notably, if you look in through the front windows you can see a few molded-in seats. But I would have gladly forgone such detail if they had addressed some of the issues discussed above that I have with this toy's vehicle mode. From a side view especially, the flaws really become visible. All in all, a somewhat lazy vehicle mode, which is especially disappointing for such an iconic character.
Before we move onto the robot mode, I do wish to take a moment to talk about the gun. It is very nice looking, and has its own transformation! From the pivoting vehicle mounted gun, it changes into this hand held weapon with nice detailing, including a vaguely Tommy-gunish looking round bit. Quite nice.
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And one last thing before we get to robot mode: a note on the transformation. I don't usually discuss the transformations too much, as that is one area where I think video reviews are a bit better... but when there is something of particular note or concern, I should of course address it. With this figure, it must be said that his head is a bit of a bitch to get out. It may help if you have something thin to help you pry it out of the cavity it sits in for vehicle mode.
Anyway, all of that aside, onto robot mode! A very G1-inspired Optimus Prime! Unlike the vehicle mode, the robot mode looks pretty good, and does so from almost any angle.
He is well articulated. He has a 360 degree swivel in his head, and with the joint that his head moves on for transformation you can cheat a bit of "looking upwards" action. His arms are ball jointed at the shoulder, have a 360 degree swivel between the shoulder and the elbow, and can bend about 90 degrees at the elbow. Similarly, the legs are ball jointed at the hips, have a 360 degree swivel between the hips and the knees, and can bend about 90 degrees at the knee. He has no waist articulation, nor does he have anything in the wrists ankles other then what is required for transformation. But such things are, by me, usually seen more as a bonus then an expectation when it comes to figures of this scale. He is nicely detailed, with red, grey, or blue plastic in all of the right places and grey, silver or yellow paint accents where necessary. He also has some white paint on his knees which at first may seem a bit odd, but my guess is that they were using white anyways for the paint applications around his faction symbols, so wanted somewhere else to put some as well. I suppose it does stand out a bit better then if they were silver. Some silver would have been nice, however, on his grill and smokestacks. But again, he's only a Deluxe class figure, so it isn't the end of the world. On the subject of faction symbols, normally Optimus would have one on his left shoulder (or on both shoulders). In fact, you might notice that while his right shoulder has some molded on detail, his left one is perfectly flat. Perfect, you'd think, for planting a faction symbol on! So why, prey tell, is it left blank? |
My guess is that the toy's designers did, in fact, intend for there to be a faction symbol on his shoulder. But when the toy was actually produced, his shoulders (and some of his other red parts) were made using what is known as, "unpaintable plastic." As the name not so subtly implies, this is plastic that will not hold paint. Thus, rather then on his shoulder, this Optimus Prime sports faction symbols on the side of each forearm.
This figure does feature an action gimmick. He has a little black button on his back that, when pressed, will cause his entire upper body to rapidly spin around. I suppose this is supposed to be used for some sort of "punching" action, and not so that Optimus can just hold both of his arms fully extended out to his sides and pretend he is a helicopter.
When you don't wish to use this gimmick, if you have his upper body facing forward and press the black button on his back all of the way in, it will lock his upper body into place. Otherwise, his upper body will be very loose on the joint that the gimmick causes it to spin around on. If you wish to use the gimmick, pulling out on the black button on his back will make it accessible once more. |
Here is a size comparison of him with a DVD case.
So, to sum it up, he has a crap vehicle mode, a very nice robot mode, a cool gun, and a cute but somewhat useless spinning gimmick. If you are looking for a Classics Optimus Prime... well, while this one may be more "G1" looking, if I had to recommend one over the other I'd say go for the previously reviewed Voyager version. That being said, despite its problems, this isn't a bad figure, and if you aren't limiting yourself to just one Classics Prime, by all means get both! This one probably has an advantage of being less sought after, and thus likely more affordable on the secondary market. And if you demand new, then this mold has been reissued a few times, often with improved paint jobs. (The reissues are often by Takara, however, so expect import prices.) This mold when originally released (which is the version I have), came in a two-pack with a Deluxe class Megatron toy. I do have that toy, but I fear one of his arms vanished somehow and I cannot find it! If nothing else, I am hoping it will turn up when I am moving in a few months, and once he does have his arm you can expect a review of him as well. |
Well, that should wrap things up here for March. Funny, after my first two reviews, I mentioned that I had toyed with the idea of doing an Optimus Prime themed month, but decided not to as I had a few non-Optimus toys I felt like tackling. Yet here I am, back with an Optimus to close things out with. In a thread on a forum I frequent someone expressed some love for this guy, which many others are quick to malign, and that inspired me to take a closer look at him myself and come up with my 2¢.
Next month, however, I think I shall try to stick with a theme. So I shall see you in April... with Hot Rod month!
Review posted on 27 March 2012 by Yotsuya. Please comment!
Next month, however, I think I shall try to stick with a theme. So I shall see you in April... with Hot Rod month!
Review posted on 27 March 2012 by Yotsuya. Please comment!