Intro:
The Classics line – released in Japan as part of the Henkei line – was a line dedicated to reimagining some of the classic old school Transformers figures that we had back in the 80’s. This was back in 2006 – 2007.
So far, I’ve only done reviews on 2 figures from this line – the Voyager-class Jetfire and Megatron way back in January 2011. So I reckoned that it’s about time that I delve more into that line and review one of its most iconic figures.
Alternate Mode:
The modernized red-colored truck that Optimus Prime transforms into proved to look way better than the original G1 version. There seemed to be more heft to it and at the same time, definitely has a better aerodynamics compared to the cube-ish truck that was the original G1 figures.
The wheels roll very well and the colors are vibrant. At the back of the truck, there’s a hint of a possible connector to a possible trailer, which didn’t materialize.
Kibbles are minimal and it really adds a lot to the overall look of the truck.
Robot Mode:
The robot mode looks awesome. It looks big and tough, and of course, well-proportioned. To me, he almost looked like a buff body builder.
The colors – predominantly red, blue and grey – blend in quite well with one another and seem very vibrant. The head sculpt is quite nice and has blue-color light piping at the eyes.
Articulation-wise: the head rotates 360°; the shoulders rotate at the shoulder pads, and within the pads, a swivel and another rotation joint for the arms; the elbows ratchets; no wrists movements; upper abs rotate (mostly due to transformations); working waist joint; hips are on universal joints; the knees bend and turns; and the feet can tilt downward and back up.
In this mode, Optimus Prime is initially armed with a double-barrel rifle, formed from his smokestacks in truck mode. But when push comes to shove, he can just take off his backpack/ jetpack (air vent in truck mode), transforms it and have himself an extra blaster to utilize.
It’s a wickedly cool robot mode and definitely worthy of being called Optimus Prime.
Summary:
I just love this bot. Although since the release of the newer Generations line till now, we have been spoilt by the sheer wonderful articulations, the Classics line were the benchmark during its time. The poses, though seemed a bit limited now, were a joy to collectors back then.
If you can still find this figure around, then whack it. This mould has proven to be so popular that the mould was reused twice for the Classics Ultra Magnus and Classics Nemesis Prime.
Highly recommended.
Verdict: 8.5/10
His smokestacks can form a shoulder cannon too.
ReplyDeleteBig Daddy V