7 Faces of Optimus Prime (Part 2)

What's better than getting that Optimus Prime you always wanted?

Well, having your girlfriend surprise you by buying it for you, that's what. :)

Funny story: We were about to catch a movie at Orchard Cineleisure. It was after dinner and we had time so we were window shopping (Or at least so I thought. ;P). So we wandered into the toy shop on the 2nd floor and I gushed at all the Transformers they had there, ranging from Binaltechs to G1 to Masterpieces.

And there it was, the Holy Grail of all Optimus Prime fans: Masterpiece Optimus Prime.

This is how the conversation went:

Me: OK that's like got to be the coolest Optimus Prime figure ever.

Gf: Wow.

Me: Yeah--it's got like his gatling gun, of course, and the energy battle ax from the cartoon, and a mini Megatron in gun form. And The Matrix!

Gf: Er...Matrix?...

Me: Ya! (...blah blah, explaining away The Matrix)

Gf: How much is it?

Me: (laugh) I dunno, $300?

Gf: No lah, where got so expensive? Lemme check...

Yup, turns out I was wrong--it was priced at $299. I can still remember the girlfriend's look of shock as I explained to her that it is pretty much THE Transformer that everyone wants, and that it was released some time back (2 yrs?), so it was harder to find in Singapore these days.

So she pointed to the one othe Prime that I was raving about as well--the Henkei Voyager Class Optimus--and asked how much that one was. It was $42. But I said I didn't want to get it 'cos I didn't want to spend so much on a toy, having already been really happy with my 1st Prime acquisition in 18 years (see previous entry ;P).

We left the shop and I think I had to visit the Gent's (I think). And lo and behold, when I returned, there it was in a bag in her hands. All for me. Mwahahahahaha. Drool. Slurp! You can understand why I forgot where the heck I went.

So besides the awesome way I got this guy making him fantabulous, I have to say that he's totally fantastic as far as Transformers or any range of figures, for that matter, go.

He's highly poseable. Bends at the knee and ankles, rotates 360 just above the knees, legs can be raised forwards and to the sides as far as his hip will let him. Waist and head rotate 360, arms as well, at the shoulder and elbow, which also bend forward and back. Yup, the arms are really flexible.

One thing I just love about the these new Transformers toys--their weapons are also part of their transformation. No more removing of fists to keep in the chest compartment, or dumping of the blaster cannon in the trailer etc. This guy's gun becomes his smoke stacks. Brilliant. He also comes with another cannon that becomes the spoiler/roof in vehicle mode. Or you can leave it on his back like a jetpack/shield as in the pics of him in robot mode.

And unlike the Universe 2.0 deluxe Prime, you couldn't tell that this guy was a Transformer if you saw it first in truck mode.

I also have to add that his light piping for his eyes are magnificent.

As far as size goes, he's your standard Voyager Class size, so he's about 6" inches tall. Just the right size for a Prime, I feel. Especially if you want to pose him next to the rest of the Henkei range. :)

So thanks for this wonderful gift, Dear. It's tied for my favourite with one of the other 7 Faces of Prime. (You'll see which one soon. ;P)

And thanks to my cousin, who if you read the previous post, you'd know was the one who was so enthusiastic about recommending this Prime figure to me. (pun intended ;])

7 Faces of Optimus Prime (Part 1)

It's been a while since I've been so enthusiastic about buying and collecting toys. I have to say the new Transformers Animated series has gotten me all excited about the brand again.

It's been so long, in fact, I think I probably bought my last Transformer 18 years ago (when I was 12) before I got this guy about a year or so back.

He was only going for $16 and change when I saw him on the shelves of Toys 'R' Us while browsing with my cousin.

Now we'd always talked about how cool this Transformer was, and how they now have re-done some that Transformer so they really up to scratch or even better than what we used to play with. And the original Generation 1 Optimus Prime was my absolute favouite Transformer. So 16 bucks for a beter looking G1 Optimus? Heck Yeah!

I have to be honest, my cousin wasn't so much against the idea that I get the toy, but rather he was more for pointing me towards the Henkei Voyager class Optimus that was around $45. Now I didn't want to spend that much on something that i felt at the time would be mainly for aesthetic purposes, so I just went ahead and got this deluxe 2.0 version.

And I was happy with it. I am happy with it, for what little I spent. Highly poseable, head rotates 360, arms as well (a given, even the G1 could do that. Lol). Elbows and knees bend well, as do his feet. The one thing he has that G1 never did was 360 rotation of the legs at the thighs. Now that made this guy waaaay poseasble when it came to macho stances:

But there were a few things that aren't spectacular about Universe Deluxe Prime. First of all was his vehicle mode: His arms didn't fit flush against his waist under his chest. Now that made him look rather half transformed. Add to that that you could still his his legs in truck mode, and his head was totally visible from the top--hard to avoid a face full of bird poop while rolling out.

But there are some really nice details on this toy though. First of all his paint apps are done really nicely. I especially love the white on his knees, and the circuitry on his shin. Also, his gatling gun is a nice black, and can transfrom to be mounted in vehicle mode. But the best of all is how his the light piping for his eyes catches the light really easily. It's a light purple, and there are definitely better coloured eyes on other versions of Optimus, but this one lights up the easiest and the brightest.

For example the SE-01 version (same mold, slightly diff paint apps) which comes in a black box has better coloured eyes (deeper blue I think), but the paint apps in robot mode are not quite as neat as this version. Also that version has a dark blue gun, which looks funny on Prime.

Oh and also, his chest tends to swivel (it goes 360 deg as well) when you pose him. It's part of his transformation and this punch feature, which makes him spin round and round.

So overall, I give Universe 2.0 deluxe version Prime a 6.5 outta 10. He's defenitely worth his S$ 16, but I wouldn't pay more than that. You'd wanna get him for his nice, G1 cartoon accurate robot mode and prob not see him in truck mode. :)

Big, Green, 3 3/4" Action!

For my first post ever, I present to you...The one and only Marvel Universe Incredible Hulk! (In 3 3/4" size.)

I got him off a local seller who brought a bunch of these Marvel Universe green and grey Hulk figures in, which is a good thing 'cuz they're rather hard to find here in Singapore.

The fan favourites of this line were snapped up fast from local Toy R Us's--Spidey, Captain America, and of course Iron Man.

But I never saw the Hulk on local shelves. So I got this baby (and the grey variant) from Singtoys off ebay.sg. Props to you, man, for being a nice guy and giving me a great deal.

Funny thing is, the grey hulk is a variant, but I've seen more of him here than the green version. And Hulks cost more than the usual 3 3/4" dudes cuz of his weight, making his shipping higher than your Iron Man, Human Torch or Punisher.

I'd actually thought that he'd be a lot less flexible than he is, being Hulk and all with all those huge (plastic) muscles in the way. But I was pleasantly surprised at not only his flexibility but also his poseability. His hands both rotate 360 degrees, as does his head and torso (which also bends forward and back) as you can see from the first pic. His thighs rotate at the hip as well. He's got good knee-bend for a Hulk figure, and his ankles can make him pivot or point his feet. And he balances well too.

But what takes the cake is his paint apps. Boy, just look at those eyes: black pupils with green irises!!! Check out the detailing on his back in this pic:

Yup, and that's right. He poses real well with the X-Men Wolverine Origins brown and yellow variant figure!

I found Wolvie and his buddies at Robinsons for $15 and change. So if you're looking for Gambit, Sabertooth, and all the other versions of Wolverine, you know where to find 'em. :) I picked myself up a comic version Deadpool as well. But he'll feature in another entry with some other friends. ;)

But for now, I'm having fun re-enacting the 1st Hulk vs Wolverine meeting in the comics. So ok, Hulk was grey when the two first went toe to toe, but green somehow works better with the yellow on Wolvie. And who doesn't just love the Big Green Goliath? Just gotta love it when the Savage Hulk sics it on his fellow super heroes!

Hulk Smash!!!