Set Price: $20 (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 original DotM legion Ratchet toy, go here. For a review on the original DotM legion Crankcase toy, go here. For a review on the Optimus Prime w/ Armored Weapons Platform set, go here.)
 

Autobot Ratchet

Allegiance: Autobot
Size: Legion
Difficulty of Transformation: Very Easy
Color Scheme: Dark forest green, white, gray, and some dirty off-white, black, metallic gunmetal gray, dark metallic silvery blue, and pumpkin orange
Individual Rating: 7.5

    Ratchet's whole color scheme isn't changed, though it's a pretty significant "variant", I suppose you could say, when compared to this mold's solo release. Ratchet still has the white plastic up front, and the dull orange "E4" signs on the sides of his vehicle mode, as well as the same metallic gunmetal gray paint apps on some of his robot bits and dark metallic blue for his eyes. The most obvious change to this version is that his light green has been changed to a darker forest green; this, to me, is a positive change, as the forest green really pops against the white better than the lighter shade did. His grill and part of his roof are painted a medium gray, his windows are now black, and his tires and waist are now an off-white shade that looks like it could glow in the dark (but doesn't). All of these changes, when seen together, make this Ratchet redeco look quite a bit like the original color scheme under a moon-lit night sky-- which, given the title of this boxset, is surely what Hasbro was going for. I will say that although I'm a fan of the other color changes (as they help increase the contrast between the colors a bit), I'm not a huge fan of the shade of off-white used for his wheels and waist. It's just an ugly shade of the color, and if it doesn't glow in the dark, I don't see the purpose of it, here.
    No mold changes have been made to this version of Ratchet.

Crankcase

Allegiance: Decepticon
Size: Legion
Difficulty of Transformation: Very Easy
Color Scheme: Moderately light gray, metallic dull orange, and some light gray, silver, pale metallic bronze, dark metallic blue, and red
Individual Rating: 5.2

    You know what this movie line needs? More gray. (Yes, that was sarcastic.) Crankcase's main change here is, obviously, that his black plastic has been replaced with a moderately light shade of gray plastic. By itself, it's an incredibly boring choice, especially since one of his secondary colors (used mostly for his wheels and upper robot legs) is a slightly lighter shade of gray. That means there's waaay too much gray on this guy. That said, Crankcase does have some paint apps that pop a bit against it all-- his metallic orange windows in vehicle mode really help a lot in this respect, along with having his headlights painted both silver and orange and the front of his siren painted a dark metallic blue. There's some other minor paint apps that are more visible in robot mode-- namely some bronze on his waist and some nicely-detailed silver and red on his jaw and eyes. Although these latter paint apps are neat colors, there isn't nearly enough of them to keep away from all the gray-ness that is Crankcase's robot mode. Although I get why this whole scheme was done-- it does, like Ratchet, look sort of like Crankcase's original color scheme under the light of a full moon-- it just looks too boring otherwise, orange windows aside. This is my least favorite release of this mold.
    No mold changes have been made to this version of Crankcase.

Optimus Prime

Allegiance: Autobot
Size: Cyberverse Vehicle Set
Difficulty of Transformation of Robot: Easy
Difficulty of Transformation of Base: Medium
Color Scheme: Dark blue, dull pale red, glittery milky gray, dark bluish gray, dirty off-white, and some silver and dark metallic silvery blue
Figure Rating: 8.9
Base Rating: 4.0

    For the most part, Optimus Prime and his trailer/base have the same general "theme" as the other figures in this set-- it looks like Prime's normal colors under moonlight. The gray used for his trailer is of a considerably darker, bluish shade, with some dull glittery gray used for most of the "inner" parts of the trailer/base, which is actually a fairly good shade of the color as it looks semi-metallic. The dark blue used for parts of both his trailer and his "core" vehicle/robot is a particularly eye-catching shade-- I can't quite put my finger on what it is about this shade, exactly, but it looks b-e-yootiful. Prime's red is a bit of a pale red-- again, tying in with the "moonlight" theme-- and most of his wheels and some of his robot bits are in the same "faux glow-in-the-dark" dirty off-white color that Ratchet also has. Prime's typical "flame" paint apps are done up in a silver paint, like they're "reflecting" the moonlight. The silver goes  particuarly well with the blue, though then again pretty much every color here does. Although the trailer colors are admittedly a bit on the boring side, due to such a large portion of it being various shades of gray, there are some nice "night sky starlight" stickers that are on each side of said trailer, occupying the same diagonal stripe that traditionally is painted on G1 Prime's trailer. It's a really nice little effect that adds to the theme all the more. The only part where this version of Prime DOESN'T go with the "moonlight" theme is on the core figure, where his blue and red plastic is (more or less) switched. This is likely just to make Prime look a bit more different from all the other version of this mold out there without changing his main colors, but it looks really nice, having the center red and the surrounding parts that awesome blue, contrasting so nicely against the off-white parts. I honestly like the way it all comes together more than any other release of this mold.
    No mold changes have been made to this version of Optimus Prime & his Armored Weapons Platform.

    The "Battle in the Moonlight" set is a rather nice "themed" pack, with each character mostly colored like they would be if their regular colors were seen under a full moon at night. It's a pretty neat idea that ties into the title of the movie in an obvious manner, and at only $20 U.S., you're basically getting one of the Legion-class figures free. I think Crankcase is a bit of a stinker (both in terms of the mold and the color scheme), but if you don't have any versions of these molds, this is an easily recommended pick-up. If you DO have previous releases of these molds and don't mind repaints, I'd still consider it based on the price and how cool Ratchet's and Prime's color schemes look.

Reviews by Beastbot

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