Unlike most of the other Cyber Battalion/Commander toys, the Cyber Commander version of Optimus Prime doesn't seem to be heavily based on a previous design-- oddly enough, since Prime's got more than enough designs to borrow from/simplify. Anyways, as usual Prime's a truck, though he's not just a truck cab, but more of a long truck. It's unclear if the back portion is meant to be a trailer or not since... well, it's fairly obviously the top of the back end are his robot arms. That's the main issue I have with this mode; enough of his robot mode is visible that it rather hurts the look. Beyond the obvious arms/shoulders on the upper section of the rear 3/4ths or so of this mode, the feet are just sticking up from the back end (though to be fair, this happens on a LOT of Optimus toys). The biggest visual faux pas, however, is that his upper legs are just RIGHT there right behind the truck front, sticking out without anything to cover them up or make them "mesh" with the overall visual outline of the truck either. They're also painted silver, in case they didn't stand out enough. However, as far as a long truck's general prpoortions, Cyber Commander Optimus Prime does a decent enough job, with no kibble sticking out from the sides or anything. The front also looks quite solid, with a heavy-duty-looking truck bumper and headlights framing an otherwise fairly normal-shaped grill. The smokestacks are thick and obvious, and he's got eight total wheels (they all roll, unlike many simplified/"budget" toys). Even on the back end-- which I already mentioned is rather weak because the feet don't fold in-- he's got molded-in taillights on the BOTTOM of his feet, which was unexpected but a nice little bonus. Like most of the toys in this subline, however, most of his mold detailing is rather simplistic, with some semi-futuristic vents and lines here and there, but not much there beyond the "bare bones" basics, the intricate detailing on his front bumper excepted. His color scheme is pretty much vintage Optimus, with a somewhat dark red, dark blue, and some silver and gray providing pretty much his entire color scheme, along with black tires. No drastic changes here. That said, small changes have been made; there is some nice light sky blue paint on his lower arm pieces, which helps break up the color back there some, and the dark translucent blue used for his windows is quite a nice shade.
    Cyber Commander/Battalion toys are all about simplified transformations, and despite his roughly Leader-class size, Cyber Commander Optimus fits that bill well; really all you do is fold his legs down, rotate his torso 90 degrees, fold out his arms and fists, and then flip up his head. The end result is a fairly beefy, solid, big Optimus Prime-- if you're worried about Hasbro cheapening out on the plastic because of the simplicity of the mold, don't, because this guy is SOLID in that respect. He also looks considerably better in this mode, with no real proportional maladies to speak of beyond his arms being SLIGHTLY too long. The only real "extras" are the front of the truck mode, which may look a bit odd from a side view as it sticks out behind his normal back "spine" a little but otherwise doesn't get in the way of movement at all and is invisible from a front view, so this is a minor downside at best. Prime's robot parts get a bit more sculpting in this mode, with his head excellently done-- it's definitely your typical Optimus head, but it's JUST different enough with his antennae being a bit curved-but-still-angular that it gives him a bit more uniqueness. (The transparent dark blue plastic used for the light piping in his eyes also lights up VERY easily and looks great, too.) The "ab" lines on his... well... abs look pretty nice too. The added amount of silver on the legs and waist keep the color scheme nice and diverse in robot mode, with no one part being too one-tone. (I do hate that Prime's Autobot symbols are mere foil stickers, though.) Really, my only issue has to do with Prime's lack of knee articulation-- at this size, even for a simplified toy, that's inexcusable. It's made all the worse by the fact that he's fairly well-articulated otherwise-- he can rotate at the neck, move up-and-down slightly at the neck (due to transformation), rotate at the mid-chest (due to transformation), and move at the shoulders (at three points), elbows, hips (at two points), and slightly inwards at the ankles.
    Cyber Commander Optimus Prime is a fairly good toy for kids just getting into Transformers, providing a simple transformation but a solid toy in robot mode and a... halfway decent truck mode. He's got a good amount of paint detailing, is big for the (original) price, and has surprisingly good articulation and proportions, despite some really obvious robot parts in vehicle mode. If this was released "normally" in the U.S. this would be an easy recommendation for young'uns, but this was released only in Asia and a few other countries, so the costs of getting in the U.S. make this version only a recommendation for Optimus completists.

Review by Beastbot

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