Optimus Prime: Revenge of the Fallen

Lots of kids who'll be in their 20s about 10-15 years from now are going to look back and say, "Yeah! I loved Transformers, especially Optimus Prime!" And the scary thing is for those of us who grew up in the 80s, it won't be G1 Prime.

It'll be this guy:


Now before we go around screaming blasphemy and condemning these new age fans as heathens, would it really be that bad if this guy was the OPtimus Prime that new fans remember instead of the G1 version?

Well no, if this Leader Class ROTF Leader class toy is anything to go by.


I wasn't going to buy any of the movie line toys but this one just had to fall into my lap. And all thanks to my thoughtful Mel. Seriously guys, if your girlfriend thinks of entering a longshot contest where the chances of winning are just about as close to Bumblebee's chances in a fight against Unicron, and she wins it for you, MARRY HER. Only then should you get back to playing with your toys. :P

ROTF Optimus Prime doesn't come cheap--he retails for about S$110 (US$ 60) here in Singapore. While it's a little expensive for my taste, it's not so for many kids/their parents/collectors. Go to any store, and there'll be rows upon rows of Megatrons left on the shelf but no Prime. This bot sells like hot cakes.

And after opening him up and posing/playing around with him, it's easy to see why:













First, a seamless alt mode--you wouldn't be able to tell this Prime was anything other than an ordinary toy truck. If you didn't already know he was a Transformer. ;)











But then check out his robot mode!




















Impressive, no?

All Transformers can and should transform, but those that pose well are just simply brilliant.

In terms of articulation, this Prime's got:

Head: swivel, can rotate 360 degrees but for his 2 chest plates.

Shoulders: Double-Ratcheted. Can rotate 360 deg and move up and down. Another hinge joint toward the side of his chest allows the arms to also swing forward so he can slouch/hunch/do the Hulk Hogan pec squeeze pose.

Elbows: Ratcheted but arm kibble and folded blades get in the way of full range of motion. Arm rotates 360 deg at the top of the elbow too. :)

Hands: 360 deg rotation, has slots so he'll be able to hold weapons from other bots that fit.

No waist articulation, but has double ratcheted thighs, that have a full range of motion forward, back, and out to the sides. Has thigh cut joints as well bu these rotate only slightly and are probably just to facilitate his truck mode better.

Knees: Ratcheted, bend 90 degrees.

Ankles: Ball-jointed, can rotate 360 deg and also point straight (part of his transformation). This area, coupled with his big ol' feet, allow him to stand in almost any stance you can put him in. And this is the key feature that makes this toy so poseable. ;)

Oh, and his eyes and chest light up when you press down on the foldable lever in his chest!


And as his chest plates move up with his head, he'll say "I am Optimus Prime," at the same time.

He'll also make the transformation sound when you unhinge his legs from his torso for truck mode. And in vehicle mode he'll make truck engine sounds when you hit a small button on his back.

I can't say enough good things about ROTF Leader Prime. Check out the detailing of his head:


And here's a whole bunch of other cool poses Prime can pull off:


Here's how I rate him:

Movie Accuracy: 9.7 - If not for the plastic grey colour that they chose for him (that's meant to be metal/silver), he would have gotten full marks here. They even went ahead to do the blades gimmick--fold them in and flip em out at the flick of a switch (on the inside of his forearm). Neat.

Poseability: 9.7 - For such a large toy and for being a Transformer, he scores high for being able to do the things he does. And if you've gotten this far in the review without looking at the pictures, shame on you! ;P

Aesthetic: 9.7 - The attention to detail for his flame paint job is already awesome. Give him intricate detailing for his head, face, gears in his chest, and a damn good-looking alt mode and he's near perfect. Except for the greyish plastic that's supposed to be metallic on Prime. Even then, those parts have little bits of circuitry and alien-like details molded into them. Gotta give 'em points for all that.

Overall: 9.8 - Yes! A whole 0.1 bonus points just for the fun factor when playing with ROTF Leader Prime. He's fast becoming my not just my fave Transformer or even Optimus Prime, but my favourite toy overall! ;)