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! ;)

Someone Up There Must Like Me....

Because I got Revenge of the Fallen Optimus Prime for free!!!



But that's not all. In addition to Prime, I also got...An RoTF Soundbug!













Well, I'm not sure what exactly it is yet, or what it does. But it's supposed to be some sort of speaker. And it has this giant sunction cup at the back that sticks it to any smooth surface. Neat!

As if that weren't enough, I also got a USB port hub--also in Revenge of the Fallen packaging!


And to top it all off, this nifty silver case contains a RoTF Umbrella! Wow!!!


I can only thank my wonderful wife-to-be, Melissa, who secretly entered a newspaper sms contest with the intention of surprising me if she won, and she did! Even she admitted not knowing what the eventual prizes would be.

So thanks, Dear! And thank God for making me a Transformers fan.

I'm doing a little dance of joy everytime I think of the Prime toy and Prime in the movie as well. Woohoo! :)

Transformers Fun Time: Anguish of the Fallen

Well, I saw Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, loved it, and would go watch it a second time.

Yup, it was that good. But just a few things you need to note if you haven't been to see it and are on the fence. I recommend it, for sure. :)

Here's what you need to know:

1. It's not Oscar material stuff, so leave your brain at the door and enjoy the ride. :)

2. When you're waching, don't go: "What? That wasn't in the original cartoon! It's all crap they made up!" Well, I can tell you for sure that there was a lot in the original Transformers mythology and history that was never in the 80s cartoon. It would've been too complicated for kids. It's all in the movie and all true, though. A visit to TFwiki.net will set you straight. It did for me. ;)

3. Enjoy the action, but listen to the dialogue! There's a lot to see in the movie but don't let that distract you from the witty one-liners and the excellent voice acting. I know it's tough to discern who's saying what when one robot is bashing/tearing/blowing apart another. But if you can do this, you'll find the movie makes good sense.

And finally, for those who've already seen Revenge of the Fallen, here's a little of what happens when Sideswipe is telling Henkei (G1) Optimus Prime about his part in the movie, and a shortchanged and disgruntled Sideways overhears them. So SPOILERS ahead. Enjoy!

Sideways!

Yep, that's who he is. How big a part does he play in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen? I have no idea--I haven't caught it yet.

But I will tonight! From what I heard, though, Sideways doesn't feature too prominently. Not that I would object. Given the choice of seeing more of the major characters vs the lesser ones like ol' Sideways here, I'd rather see some big names getting the screen time.

Hey, as long as ther toys are cool, right? :)

Check it out!

So he's a scheming little one. What of his stats, you ask?

A little below average, no?

After a little calculation, the average of all his scores is 4.625/10.

Let's hope the figure doesn't end up with a similar rating ;)








Well check out his articulation:

Backpack wings: hinge joints

Head: ball-jointed

Shoulder wings: ball joints!

Shoulders: ball joints as well.

Biceps: swivels.

Elbows: hinges

No hand articulation--but the right hand has a rotating buzz-saw

Waist: swivel
Hips: ball joints
Knees & Ankles: hinges

So, yes! This guy is super poseasble--but it seems he suffers the same fate as all movie Transformers: they have extraordinarily tiny feet!

For the love of God, Michael Bay! Couldn't you have designed Transformers with bigger feet? Anyone could tell you that a huge ass machine needs large feet to balance its massive, bulky, and surely ultra-heavy metal body!

So despite being able to pose like the he's on America's Next Top Model, Sideways can't balance to save his servos from being eliminated by Tyra. No being On Top for him. Not at all.

Well, the other problem I had was with the hand articulation, or rather, the lack of it. They way the hands were screwed on, you'd think Hasbro coudld've at least given Sideways some thumb movement.

As it is, whatever pose you put him in makes him look like he's unsure about whether to clench or open his fist.

It just makes him look that much less cool.











Hey, but here are some cool poses:

























See? If you can actually get him to stand he's an awesome figure. I mean, Look at the detail of his head (click on 'em, go "ahead". Get it? ;P):













Yeah, he's sure got some sweet light piping. It's actually translucent in the back of his head, but his eyes glow pale red. Cool. :)



















And of course, let's not forget his vehicle mode:


























See the front grille on Sideways in the first pic? Well, it's the key to his transformation.











Hit it once:

HIs chest piece in robot mode flips up!







Hit it a second time:

His wheels fold in to form his spine. The 2 wheels on his elbows (pictured here below the real ones) are actually fake and don't appear in his car mode!



Here's how I rate RoTF Sideways:

Show accuracy: 9/10 - I've not seen the movie, but from the stills and the concept art/designs, it looks pretty close. But why oh why the small feet? Oh why oh why oh why...

Poseability: 8.5/10 - Come on with the small feet already! Don't you guys think about actually putting the toy down after playing with it, Hasbro? Not everyone's a little kid! Some of us do like to pose our toys and take photos of them all day (or night) :P

I'd say the only other problem I might have besides the feet and hands is the shoulders. They're ball jointed but the shoulders wings tend to get in the way. Good thing they gave the wings ball joints too. :) Oh and yay for the waist swivel--those are rare and really make TFs come alive when they have them. 0.5 points ust for that! :)

Aesthetic: 9/10 - Great look, better than I initially thought he would be, what with the plastic looking red torso. It's got so much detail but no paint. The face is also just so finely detailed, but unlike the torso, it's been painted and highlighted way more than you'd expect in a deluxe class figure. Just take Sideswipe--his face has no highlighted detail other than the light piping.

Overall: 8.83/10 - The only reason he doesn't make a 9 is really just his feet. Their not even a feet, they're like, toes. But I love the way Sideways transforms and I just love a sleek looking car with a nice looking robot mode. Him and Sideswipe are the beginning, and the end, of my RoTF collection. They are good enough for me to want to get 'em despite not liking Bayformers at all.

Oh and guess what? Sideways is looking to fit in with the rest of the Transformers after his stint in Hollywood. :)