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OPTIMUS PRIMAL

Years after G1 ended, Transformers were ready for a comeback in the form of "Beast Wars". The smash hit from Bob Forward and Larry Ditilio introduced new characters in a changed setting. Set some 300 hundred years after the end of G1, Beast Wars showed us the (mis)adventures of the Maximals, the Autobot's ancestors, and the Predacons, the offshoot of the Decepticons. The Maximal leader, Optimus Primal (not to be confused with Optimus PRIME), was one of the largest figures of the line (When it was created; it has since then been dwarfed by others, notably Optimal Optimus) and here is Defcon's review for the Boss Monkey himself.

BLACK GORILLA MODE:

Primal's alt mode is a black Gorilla. Perhaps the most interesting features is the incredible ammount of detail, especially the fur sculpted in the plastic. His chest, hands and face are gray, and he has blue eyes. Behind the toy is a lever hidden in th fur. Pulling and pushing the lever activates a gimmick in the toy: Primal now moves his arms to beat on his chest à la King Kong. The Gorrilla mode has 9 points of articulations.

However, there are some failings in this mode. First and foremost is the fact that some robot modes stick out, namely some of the arm parts and some of the legs. One can see the white parts of both arms and legs, and some red from the robot's legs also show. Also, the head itself could have used more work.

TRANSFORMATION TO ROBOT MODE:

Straighten the legs. Flip the toes. Swivel the waist 180 degrees and flip open the feet. Rotate the shoulder pannels up. Bring down the gorilla head on his chest, and rotate the face to reveal the chest plate. Turn the "mutant head" to reveal Primal's robot head.

ROBOT MODE:

All in all, Primal in robot mode is almost exactly like his television counterpart. The colour carries over from the Gorilla mode, but more white and red is seen on the arms and legs. Also, the head is very much like Optimus Prime (Unlike the show, we cannot see Primal's mouth. The head is like it is seen in "Other Voices 2", when Primal pilots the stasis pod to destroy the Vok planetbuster)

A button on the back of Primal will flip two missile launchers over his shoulders, which will fire blue missiles. Doing so will also reveal two blue plastic swords, similar to the ones used by Primal in the first season of Beast Wars. But he still has more weapons: If the black tab on his left arm is pulled, the left hand swivels backand a twin canon springs up. The missiles for this cannon are stored behind Primal's head. Also, if the right forearm is openned up, a menacing looking mace will be revealed. A skull is molded in the mace, which may render this specific weapon innapropriate for a Maximal, though.

The arm-flipping gimmick in Gorilla mode can also be used in Robot mode. A switch is located on each arm - pressing these switches will change the gimmick from "chest beating action" to "arm rotating action". If Primal has a sword in each hand (Or both swords in one hand and the mace in the other), he becomes a very dangerous robot in close combat.

Perhaps the only negative comment I have for Primal in Robot mode is the "Mutant Head" common to the first series of Beast Wars toys. Spinning the head around will reveal the mutant head, which looks like an insectoid face. Personally, I would have done away with this gimmick for the entire line.

OVERALL:

Average beast mode, but awesome robot mode. Transformation is relatively wasy without being overly simplistic. A nice toy to own. B+

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