Review #38: THS-02 Convoy
(Hybrid Style Optimus Prime)
We come at last to the end of this series of reviews... at least until Toys R Us decides to actually ship the new Masterpiece Prime to people who pre-ordered it online... which is getting a bit annoying as it was theoretically supposed to be released around the middle of this past month, and has in fact been showing up in brick and morter stores... But I digress! This is not about that figure, this is about the Hybrid Style G1 Optimus Prime!
What exactly is it a hybrid of? No one knows! But this figure, released in 2006, attempts to take the complex nature of a Masterpiece figure and shrink it down to a tiny, tiny size. Not quite "Smallest" size, but pretty darn small for what it does. Let us take a look at it, shall we? |
Truck mode. Sigh, truck mode. I cannot tell a lie. The trailer is pretty darn nice. Shiny, lots of molded on details, vibrant paint on the stripe. But, as much as I am a professed slut for an Optimus with a trailer, a good Optimus is not made by a trailer alone. And when we look at the cab... well, things are less fantastic looking.
I've talked before about how I sort of have three grades for G1-styled Optimus Prime vehicle modes... There's the "truck" grade, as exemplified by the original G1 or the Smallest Primes. This is obviously the best. Following that we have the "red box on wheels" grade, as seen in my last review of the original Masterpiece Optimus Prime mold. Not the best, but not bad. Just not quite the best proportions and/or detailing on the vehicle mode, but still pretty passable.
Then there is the "obvious folded up robot" grade, as last seen with the Classics Deluxe Class Prime. Sadly, this figure falls into that grade as well. I mean, look at it! The grill and bumper are practically floating in front of the rest of him rather then actually being an integrated part of the piece. The waist is extremely obvious (and majorly interferes with the trailer's turn radius). Joints are also rather obvious, especially the shoulder area, which for some reason was done in a rather ill-fitting brown plastic rather then a matching red. And if that isn't enough brown, it can also be found on the roof on the panel upon which swings out Optimus's head.
Still... it isn't completely horrible. You stick this thing on a shelf to display it, and then look at it from across the room, and it can be a decent-ish smaller Optimus Prime. But when you get close, the details on it all fall apart and it just doesn't become a cohesive whole while in vehicle mode.
Then there is the "obvious folded up robot" grade, as last seen with the Classics Deluxe Class Prime. Sadly, this figure falls into that grade as well. I mean, look at it! The grill and bumper are practically floating in front of the rest of him rather then actually being an integrated part of the piece. The waist is extremely obvious (and majorly interferes with the trailer's turn radius). Joints are also rather obvious, especially the shoulder area, which for some reason was done in a rather ill-fitting brown plastic rather then a matching red. And if that isn't enough brown, it can also be found on the roof on the panel upon which swings out Optimus's head.
Still... it isn't completely horrible. You stick this thing on a shelf to display it, and then look at it from across the room, and it can be a decent-ish smaller Optimus Prime. But when you get close, the details on it all fall apart and it just doesn't become a cohesive whole while in vehicle mode.
When it comes to robot mode, however, that is where this figure shines. While it isn't identical, the transformation seems similar in perception to that of the original Masterpiece Optimus Prime mold, and the result is a figure with a definitely similar feel to it.
Articulation is impressive in a figure this size. The head is on a ball joint with a very good range of movement, even allowing the figure to look up. The shoulders likewise have ball joints with exceptional range, as well as a pivioting joint for outward motion. The elbows each have a 360 degree swivel, and then a joint that bends forward 90 degrees. The wrists have ball joints. The waist has a ball joint in it that provides for a 360 degree swivel, plus a little wiggle room around that. The hips have a pair of pivoting joints that between them provide some decent movement, although the range is a bit hampered by the waist skirt. (Although the skirt does itself have some movement in it to help compensate for this... slightly...) Just below that is a swivel that provides about 270 degrees of motion. Then the knees... The knees bend so far on their two pivoting joints that the legs practically fold back onto themselves. Finally, the ankles each have yet another pair of pivot joints to allow for a flat to the ground foot in most any position. Details on the figure are nice and crisp. Good paint. Nice molded on detail. Chrome in all of the right places. Good proportions to the figure. All around, a very good Optimus Prime robot. |
The figure has the standard weapon options of Optimus's blaster and his energy axe. The axe attaches by popping off the hand on its ball joint, then popping the axe in in its place. Both weapons are finely detailed.
Speaking of popping off the hands on their ball joints, the figure comes with three additional pairs of hands as options. There is a pair of closed fists, a pair of open hands, and finally one hand that has a pointy finger and a second hand that is a gun holding hand that is at a slight angle.
Speaking of popping off the hands on their ball joints, the figure comes with three additional pairs of hands as options. There is a pair of closed fists, a pair of open hands, and finally one hand that has a pointy finger and a second hand that is a gun holding hand that is at a slight angle.
The open hands, very nice. The pointy finger hand, very nice. The angled gun hand... um, okay. Not bad looking by any means, but it doesn't really seem to offer anything exceptionally above what the standard hands had to offer. The closed fists? They look a little funny, don't you think? What is with those off slots in them? Well, we'll get to that in a moment, as we look at another accessory.
Yes, this small guy manages to fit in a Matrix chamber, and yes it has a removable Matrix of Leadership!
The Matrix fits well in Optimus's chest and is held in place well when everything is closed up, but when the Matrix chamber is opened the Matrix itself is a bit loose inside and tends to slip out if you aren't careful. Things like this, however, it is difficult to tell if it is a universal issue or just a flaw with my figure, so your results may vary. The slots on the closed fists are because the hands are designed to hold the Matrix. The Matrix doesn't open, which at this scale isn't a huge loss. |
There's a gimmick to the figure which is a bit odd... but a nice touch to give this Optimus some extra, unexpected fire power. The smokestacks and the gas tanks can all be rotated forward to turn them into additional guns! And one more accessory to talk about... Remember the third party accessory set for G1 Optimus, and the jetpack it included? Well, this figure is the one example of an official release of such an accessory. It attaches very well, and looks somewhat sleek on Optimus's back. And this Optimus also includes a stand, allowing you to display him in a dynamic flying pose.
Much like with G1 Prime's third party version, this jetpack has vehicle mode stroage on the front of the trailer, but in this case it actually works. It probably helps that this toy was actually designed to do this, but it is certainly nice to have a jetpack on the front of the trailer that isn't a floppy mess that falls off if you look at it funny. I suppose you can pretend that in this mode it is a cooling unit for a refrigerated trailer or something... but all things considered, even though it looks good and attaches well, I still prefer just to throw it inside the trailer for storage in vehicle mode.
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Roller! This Optimus Prime comes with a very good representation of his little six-wheeled buddy. The wheels actually feature some stearing ability to them, and in a connected way. When you move the forward pair of wheels, the rear pair will move with them in the opposite direction. For an accessory, Roller has the gas pump that, as far as I am aware, other then this was only available with the original G1 Prime's Roller. A nice touch here, however, is that unlike the G1 Prime's rubber gas hose, here the hose is a metal wire. This allows the hose to hold whatever position you may choose to put it in. This is very nice, although I do wonder if excessive bending of it may eventually lead to the metal weakening and snapping, so I'd suggest finding a pose you like and just leaving it. Repositioning it for a few of the photos in this review was the first time I'd moved it at all since when I'd innitially gotten the figure, and moving it back to the default positioning I like when I was done is likely the last time I shall be bending it. And, of course, if you want to have something back there other then the gas pump, you can also attach Optimus's blaster back there for a Roller with a bit more firepower.
After the three previous reviews, it should come as no surprise that Optimus's trailer opens up to provide his Combat Deck, complete with the artillary robot on the articulated boom arm. As usual the artillary robot has the rotating radar dish and articulated claw arm, as well as an opening canopy.
The shiny silver paint on the exterior of the trailer continues to the trailer's interior, and it really helps make the molded detail in the Combat Deck pop. A box on the floor on either side of the deck opens up to provide storage for the extra fists. As I often pose him with his axe, it might have been nice if there was also storage for one additional fist. But I suppose that would have presented a problem for symmetricality, so I can live with that omission. |
It is also worth mentioning that the Combat Deck has some automatically deploying aspects to its transformation. When you open up the closed trailer, the support arms that go under either side of it fold out on their own, and the ramp at the open end automatically pops out. (The ramp's automatic deployment is actually a slight issue for the trailer mode, as if you want to have the trailer with its back open and the ramp out, it can be difficult to do so without resorting to quickly popping the trailer open to get the ramp to deploy and then closing it again. As said, a slight issue... but worth mentioning.)
An addidional feature to this version of the Combat Deck is the artillary robot has a pair of handles that can fold out from under it that would allow Optimus to operate it manually, should he choose to do so.
An addidional feature to this version of the Combat Deck is the artillary robot has a pair of handles that can fold out from under it that would allow Optimus to operate it manually, should he choose to do so.
If you close the trailer again, you find a hole in the top for vehicle mode deployment of the artillary robot. Unlike past Optimi with this feature, however, there is only the hole on the top and no additional hole in the trailer's front. Still, as I have indicated in prior reviews, this is not a feature I ever had much use for, the lack of the second option does not keep me up at night. But it is a curious omission of what had previously been a rather standard feature of the avarage G1-styled Optimus trailer.
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The gun and the axe can plug into the floor of the trailer, which also provides somewhat secure storage for the weapons in vehicle mode. (Rather then just throwing them loose inside the trailer where they can rattle around.) You can see this feature in these photos of the final mode... you guessed it, the repair bay!
Interestingly, Optimus himself can also plug into the floor of the trailer! A curious feature, but one that makes for a very secure display of this mode. Many other trailers can be a bit wobbly in repair bay mode, but not this one. It's a rock! And while it may be a bit silly, Optimus's connection to his trailer is so secure that you can pick the whole thing up by the trailer, and Optimus will go along with it with no problems. He's in there firm, until you decide otherwise! Only poor Roller is left behind, sitting forlornly on the table, only able to watch as some mysterious giant hand carries it's master away. |
Well, as another review draws to a close, time for a few comparison photos followed by a few last thoughts to summerize things and wrap it all up. To the left, Optimus, his combat deck, an Roller all shown with a Kids in the Hall DVD set for a size comparison. To the right, this Optimus with this month's three previously looked at figures. (This one is the second smallest in the photo.)
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So... Hybrid Style Optimus Prime... This is certainly a tough figure to decide one's feelings on. If you're a rabid Optimus collector, well then it is somewhat of a no brainer. Heck, you probably already have this guy. If you're a slightly less rabid fan, however, who may be interested in this, then you really have to ask what you're looking for. If both modes are equally important to you, or if you tend more towards liking how Transformers look as vehicles, then you will likely find some disapointment here. Because, frankly, the vehicle mode is a bit crap. Well, maybe not total crap. You at least know what it is you're supposed to be looking at. But while looking at it it is also quite clear that it is a mish mash of slightly ill fitting parts of a robot all crunched together to make a truck.
As a robot, however, this guy is actually somewhat outstanding. He's a little guy, but he packs quite a punch. He looks good, has a lot of posability, and has pretty much any accessory you could reasoably want to go with an Optimus Prime. And frankly, while I definitely prefer my Transformers to look equally good in both modes, the robot mode is so good that I have no problems happily recomending this guy to my readers... as long, of course, as they know what they're getting into with the vehicle mode.
Well, be back soon(ish) hopefully with my review of the newer MP-10 Masterpiece Optimus Prime mold! But unless I get a shipping notice very soon, I may actually start taking a look at that other, greener guy(s) I've been teasing a bit lately... I suppose we shall see what happens!
Review added 29 October 2012 by Yotsuya. Please comment!
As a robot, however, this guy is actually somewhat outstanding. He's a little guy, but he packs quite a punch. He looks good, has a lot of posability, and has pretty much any accessory you could reasoably want to go with an Optimus Prime. And frankly, while I definitely prefer my Transformers to look equally good in both modes, the robot mode is so good that I have no problems happily recomending this guy to my readers... as long, of course, as they know what they're getting into with the vehicle mode.
Well, be back soon(ish) hopefully with my review of the newer MP-10 Masterpiece Optimus Prime mold! But unless I get a shipping notice very soon, I may actually start taking a look at that other, greener guy(s) I've been teasing a bit lately... I suppose we shall see what happens!
Review added 29 October 2012 by Yotsuya. Please comment!