This toy of Optimus Prime is based loosely on his Generation 2 "Laser" toy, which was a pretty large toy-- this is, obviously, a considerably smaller version of it (and just the cab, mind you). Still, size aside, this mode looks pretty good proportionally, with no obvious robot mode parts whatsoever. The very backs of the heels stick out the back end, but this is VERY minor and easily overlooked. The overall color scheme keeps Prime's traditional color scheme of red/blue/gray and adds in a bit more black than is usual. Most of the colors go together well enough-- particularly the red with either the dark blue or black-- but the light milky gray is a really odd shade. It's actually a tad pinkish, which just does not go very well with his other colors. This is one of the few instances where I feel a duller milky gray would've worked better. The transparent orange windows and silver paint apps do help to distract away from that unsightly color, at least (though the painted-orange side windows clash quite badly with the transparent front windows). In a bit of a "movie-ish" touch, Optimus Prime has a flame deco on the front of his cab, which looks pretty snazzy overall-- that said, the sudden change in color from black for the truck's nose to dark blue at the middle doesn't look too great. The mold detailing on Prime looks pretty good in this mode, with some pretty intricate details on the tires and sides of the toy in particular-- which stands in great contrast to the top of the truck, which is pretty undetailed and smooth (and fairly accurate to this kind of real-life truck, of course). Because this Optimus is in the "Reveal the Shield" subline, he has a rub allegiance symbol in the center of his roof-- rub it to reveal that, obviously, he's an Autobot.
    Optimus Prime's transformation is considerably more involved than it looks. In order to keep his window-chest "real" in this mode instead of just fake molded window details, there's several more steps to the transformation than on the original Generation 2 "Laser" toy, despite this version being a lot smaller. There's several great touches, such as the way the tires slide into the legs partially and panels cover up the holes left by them, but overall the transformation can be a bit annoying, particularly when you're getting him back into vehicle mode-- it's one of those "everything has to be just right" transformations. The proportions for this mode are pretty good, being a bit more rounded than the original Generation 2 "Laser" toy. The hands and upper arms are a bit small, but otherwise he looks great. He's LARGELY kibble-free, but there's two rather unsightly panels that hang off his lower arms, and can get in the way of arm movement a little. The lighter shade of blue in this mode really pops with the red and black a lot more, and I wish it was more visible in vehicle mode. Unfortunately that ugly pinkish gray is also more visible in this mode, too. The mold detailing is interesting, blending in his G2 "Laser" toy details with a movie aesthetic, making things a bit more detailed and fragmented. I think it works, though, and makes him look more individualistic. (He also has a Matrix of Leadership molded onto the the panels inside his chest, which is a pretty ingenious move, given that those panels are folded outwards in vehicle mode and thus "invisible" then.) Prime has a cool transparent sword that unfolds from the back of his vehicle mode, and is a neat accessory-- but be warned, it is a bit of a tight fit for Prime's hands. As far as articulation goes, this Prime has it in spades-- he can move at the neck (at two points), shoulders (at four points), elbows, wrists (at two points), and at the waist, hips (at two points), knees, and ankles (at two points). So you can pull off a LOT of nice moves with him. One last note about this version of Prime-- there's a tab on his right shoulder that can hinder articulation, and will in fact break off if you fold that shoulder back very far. But you know what? Don't worry about it. Do it, break the tab off-- it doesn't interfere with the transformation at all, and the vehicle mode still feels solid enough without it. That way Prime can have full movement range on BOTH of his shoulders.
    The deluxe "Laser" version of Autobot Alliance Optimus Prime is a pretty decent toy in its own right, if a bit overly complex simply for the sake of being complex. Quite frankly, when looked at "from the bigger picture", it's an update to a toy that didn't need updating in the first place-- the original G2 "Laser" toy still stands the test of time, has a simpler transformation, and looks a bit better in both modes as well. Still, if you don't want to pay the prices for the older version, this serves as a decent (if small) substitute. Shame about that ugly pinkish gray, though...

Review by Beastbot

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