Allegiances: Autobot
Set Price: $100 (U.S.)

(NOTE: Because this set is composed of repaints, this is not a full-blown review. This mainly covers any changes made to the set and the color scheme, and merely compares it to the original versions of these molds. For a review on the mass-release AoE deluxe Autobot Drift, go here. For a review on the mass-release AoE voyager Autobot Hound, go here. For a review on the mass-release AoE deluxe Concept Camaro Bumblebee, go here. For a review on the mass-release AoE deluxe Crosshairs, go here. For a review on the mass-release AoE voyager Evasion Mode Optimus Prime, go here.)
 

Autobot Drift

Size: Deluxe
Difficulty of Transformation: Medium
Color Scheme: Dark blue, teal, black, and some silver, light milky gray, metallic gold, dark red, dull dark blue, and transparent dark blue
Individual Rating: 8.7

    The "Autobots United" set isn't much of a themed set-- rather, it's more of a giftset of the same main five AoE Autobots, with largely the same color schemes, as the mass-released versions-- only with "premium" paint apps. For Drift, the differences in vehicle mode are pretty minimal-- the exposed engine behind the windows is now actually painted silver. In addition, the metallic teal from the mass release version is now a more normal, light teal that pops even better against the dark blue, despite the lack of a metallic look. This same teal is also used for the wheel hubs on Drift, as opposed to silver on the mass retail version. The grills on the side of the front are also now painted black. It's in robot mode that Drift really starts to look aces. First, the only downside-- his swords are now that ugly light milky gray, compared to the brownish gold of the mass release. Of course, the general color is more accurate to the movie, but I would've preferred a metallic shade of the color instead. The big improvement here is that the metallic teal-coated "armor" on the upper legs and plates along the sides of his upper arms has been replaced with a REALLY NICE teal outlining of said armor plates, with dark blue plastic showing through in the center of the armor plates. It gives a really nice "weathered" effect, and also just really ups the contrast and eye-appeal of Drift. The gold on Drift is also a more metallic shade this time around and pops more, and has also been added to his lower arms, small bits on his lower legs, and small bits on the sides of his neck. A few more, minor, details have been painted; there's now a small dark blue area near Drift's waist with the Bugatti logo on it, there's an additional teal paint app on his lower legs, and dark blue paint apps on his feet. His hands are also now black plastic, compared to the original's dark blue, added for more color variety.
    No mold changes have been made to this version of Drift.
 

Autobot Hound

Size: Voyager
Difficulty of Transformation: Medium
Color Scheme: Forest green, light gray, black, and some clear plastic, silver, light electric blue, light red, semi-metallic gray, and metallic copper
Rating: 9.0

    Hound is one of biggest changes in the set, with most of the changes relating to his vehicle mode and base plastic color, the latter of which is now a lighter, forest-y green compared to the dull bluish green of the mass release-- this green may be a TOUCH lighter than that on Hound in the movie, but it's considerably closer than the mass-release version. Even better are the added black "military camo" paint apps on the vehicle mode which were very, VERY badly needed to help break up all that green, and which really look nice from any view approaching the side. His guns' base color has also been changed, from a light milky gray to a more straightforward light gray-- so light it's actually approaching white, in fact. This allows for better contrast, but still makes them look rather plain without some sort of gunmetal coloring to them. The bars along the front side of Hound's vehicle mode and the section near the middle are also now black compared to gray, and this change enhances contrast and is another plus, I think. The other changes to Hound have to do with added paint apps that were not on the mass release. The front bumper is now painted black; there's a white, red, and blue "star" emblem along the front side; the Autobot symbols on the side doors are now "inversed" and actually the regular green plastic "picked out" of the black camo spot surrounding them; black side mirrors; painted silver smokestacks; and a bit extra silver paint near the bottom middle of the vehicle mode. As far as differences that are more apparent in robot mode, Hound has some red lining along the sides of his lower arms; extra silver detailing on Hound's helmet and around his "collar"; more silver paint on Hound's upper legs; and black paint on the fake "bar" detailing on Hound's abs, as well as black detaling on Hound's waist, like a belt buckle. All of these paint apps look great, and add visual interest and better screen accuracy to the toy.
    No mold changes have been made to this version of Hound.
 

Bumblebee

Size: Deluxe
Difficulty of Transformation: Medium
Color Scheme: Black, dull pale orangish yellow, moderately light orangish "cheese" yellow, transparent light blue, and some dark metallic silvery blue, light red, silver, and light milky gray
Individual Rating: 8.1

    Bumblebee is probably the one in the set where the changes are the least obvious. Most clear is that in car mode, the details that were missing paint on the mass release version have been filled in; namely, there's now a black bottom rim painted around the entire car, the rear view mirrors are black, the wheel hubs are painted silver, and the taillights are painted red. It makes for a better appearance, but not substantially so; there's still the problems with the mismatched paint-and-plastic when it comes to the yellow, for instance. In robot mode, one really has to have the two versions side-by-side to see the differences. Basically, in robot mode the only differences are two additional little yellow stripes along the sides of Bumblebee's fake "lower car chest" piece, his toes are painted silver, and there's just a titch of silver along the "springs" molded onto his abs. Other than that, he's identical to the mass-release.
    No mold changes have been made to this version of Bumblebee.
 

Crosshairs

Size: Deluxe
Difficulty of Transformation: Medium
Color Scheme: Black, moderately light semi-metallic green, clear plastic, and some silver, metallic gunmetal gray, and light red
Rating: 8.5

    Crosshairs is the most differentiated (and, in my opinion, improved) from the original release, though it's not as apparent in vehicle mode. The most obvious change is that his green plastic and paint has been lightened and made more "glittery", enhancing how metallic it looks-- the green is pretty much spot-on perfect when it comes to movie accuracy now, and just pops a little more as well. Also--- at long last-- BOTH of his sides have the nifty angular stripe detailing, which was missing on one side on the mass release. (The actual patterning of the striping is also slightly different near the rear.) The rear window actually shows through as clear plastic instead of being painted solid black, and the side rims are now painted black, as well. The Chevrolet symbol on the hood is now painted silver. The Autobot symbols on the lower sides are gone, though. The stripe paint apps on the back end have also been changed slightly, and the tallights are painted red, which REALLY improves the look of the back end more than you'd think. In robot mode, the differences beyond plastic color are more obvious, and really make Crosshairs stand out a LOT more than his mass release version. His shoulders are now black plastic with green paint on the front, compared to the original's having green plastic there with a bit of black paint on the top; the clear plastic used for his eyes is now a regular clear color compared to transparent blue (the only negative change, in my opinion); his goggles are painted silver, with less of his face painted silver for a more movie-accurate, "skinner" look there; he's got little red dot paint apps and black stripe paint apps along his lower arms; more of his chest is green compared to the original Crosshairs', but his lower waist and abs are covered in black paint, with a REALLY nice light red popping out against that color on two "piston"-like details there, along with a little Autobot symbol on a small black paint app added to the middle of his chest. There's also a bit of green added to his pelvis which was black on the original, and his upper legs-- compared to being just black on the original-- are now painted a really nice gunmetal gray that just looks superb. The details on his inner lower legs are the same color, and as opposed to being all-black, his feet are now green plastic with silver-painted toes. It's pretty much all considerably more movie-accurate and breaks up Crosshairs' color scheme so much more.
    No mold changes have been made to this version of Crosshairs.
 

Optimus Prime

Size: Voyager
Difficulty of Transformation: Hard
Color Scheme: Dark blue, red, milky light gray, and some black, white, silver, light blue, and clear plastic
Rating: 9.5

    Optimus Prime, like Bumblebee, has changes, but not so much that he's as dramatic a change, as, say Crosshairs. The most obvious changes are that his gray plastic is a tad lighter (a negative, in my opinion), and the stripes along the center of his vehicle mode are considerably smaller and silver as opposed to white, with the Autobot symbol on the upper rear side of his cab, in a more "G1-esque" placement. The headlights are also now painted white, a small change that adds a surprising amount of pop there. The legs in robot mode have some silver added to them-- thankfully stopping there from being far too much blue down there, like on the mass release. His upper arms are now red plastic on the top and silver in the middle, as opposed to solid blue on the original-- this change is definitely more movie-accurate and also adds a bit more color variety. In an effort at mimicking his vehicle mode paint apps, there's also a silver stripe across the center of Optimus' faux truck front-chest, and the same white on the headlights-- again, which pops more than you'd think. His shotgun is now a black color, with a light milky gray projectile and trigger. All this said, given the "screen accuracy" of this whole set, still refusing to give Optimus the very faded, washed-out colors he had in the actual movie is a real head-scratcher and a disappointment for a "premium" set like this.
    Optimus Prime does have one mold change compared to the mass release, and that's that he's got the "faceplate down" sculpt for his head, with some really nice light blue eyes that looks better than the open face, in my opinion.

    The "Autobots United" set-- Crosshairs excluded-- are pretty much the same toys as the releases, but with more paint (in some cases, considerably more). Thus, all of them are superior to at least a minimal extent when compared with the mass releases, and the set is only a little more expensive than purchasing them all individually at mass retail, making this a very good investment if you want to get all the main AoE Autobot characters in one fell swoop and don't have most of the initial releases. That said, if you DO already have all or most of the initial releases, this set is probably not worth picking up because of the sheer amount of similiarities between the versions. (Crosshairs-- and possibly Hound-- excepted, given HOW MUCH better their paint jobs are in this set.)

Reviews by Beastbot

(Pics taken from Brave Fortress.)

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