"Year of the Rooster" Optimus Prime isn't really its own toy, but rather a domestic release of the previously Japan-exclusive "Hybrid Style" toy; there isn't a special "Year of the Rooster" deco for this toy or anything like that. As such, it looks very much like the G1 Optimus Prime design-- complete with trailer-- but downsized considerably to a miniature scale, with the core cab being roughly the size of a Legends toy (but considerably more complex, and with diecast on the lower legs). Being essentially a miniature G1 toy, the colors aren't any surprise to Transformers fans, so I won't spend much time on them-- the cab is red on the front with some silver and dark blue on the middle (some of it painted over the diecast), and the trailer is mostly silver, with that iconic white-and-blue angular stripe along each side. The smokestacks have chrome silver on them, as does the front grill, blocks on the side of the cab, and in the middle of the wheels. There's some black on the wheels and some of the trailer undercarriage, while a shade of very dark brownish gray is used for some minor pieces like accessories and connector pieces. It all fits together as one well-painted package, though the trailer doesn't hitch onto the back end of the cab all that tightly, and not everything can fit into the trailer-- you can fit most of the toy's host of accessories in there, but some bits like the jetpack and the repair bay top have to be pegged on outside. (Some accessories, like his stand, just have to be put off to the side.) Before we get too much into the trailer and all the accessories though, let's focus on the individual cab first; it's easily the worst part of this entire toy. I mean, it's just bad. The top front section looks good enough, but the middle section doesn't line up with the bottom; it's too small, as Optimus Prime's slim abs don't expand for this mode, nor are they completely covered up by the arms that form the sides of the truck mode. Meanwhile, the legs that make up the back section don't retract AT ALL, making that back end entirely too long and the pelvis and upper legs just right up there, without even a real attempt at being hidden. The dark blue sections of the back end are decent, though the feet stick out of the end a bit. The pegs that combine the two legs together don't even work that well; whether it's because the lower legs are diecast or what I'm not sure, but it means the back portion can split down the center very easily. That said, as bad as the proportions are, the mold detailing is incredibly intricate, with tiny plates, ridges, panels, headlights, and the like all sculpted in remarkably fine detail-- which is why it's easy to see pics of this toy and think it's larger than it actually is! All the necessary details, like the translucent red-and-orange headlights, transparent blue windows, and the like are all painted here. (Heck, there really isn't ANY gray plastic on the toy; it's all painted silver.)
    Optimus Prime's transformation to robot mode is way more complex than you'd think at this scale-- nearly on the level of a Masterpiece toy, in fact. Tiny little things like turning the little grill piece upside down, sliding the shoulders up slightly, and collapsing the small waist are all necessary to get this guy into robot mode, but when you do, it's quite an impressive little thing. He looks-- more or less-- like a miniaturized MP Optimus. The only thing that doesn't really look right when comparing him to the traditional G1 Prime aesthetics and proportions is that the lower arms are too bulky, especially when compared to the hands. The panels that fold down on the lower arms also easily pop off, making that a particularly annoying aspect since Optimus' hands can be swapped out on their ball joints. Each hand has its standard "fist with a hole in the middle for holding something" version, along with "palms open", "fists completely closed", and "pointing" variations. If you decide to switch them out, the force needed to pop off the ball joints the hands are on is certain to pop off the lower arm flaps, too. Ugh. Still, it's a nice thought. The smokestacks and chrome bits on the sides of the knees can be pointed forward to act as guns, and yes, even at this tiny scale, Optimus' chest can be opened up (both behind the windows and behind another chrome flap) to reveal a teensy Matrix of Leadership that he can indeed hold. (That said, at such a small scale, I'm always afraid I'll lose it, so I leave it in.) Once again, he's got all the necessary paint details, like the yellow faux lights on his waist and gunmetal gray on his lower legs, as well as a very nicely-detailed face with light blue eyes. No problems at all with this toy and its excellent paint and mold detailing. He's also incredibly articulated; he can move at the neck, shoulders (at four points), at the base of each smokestack, at the elbows (at two points), wrist and waist rotation, movement at the hips (at three points), knees, and ankles (at two points). (He can also lean foward or backward slightly at the waist, if you don't mind there being a minor gap there.) I mean, anything you could reasonably ask for at this scale is here, as well as a few points you COULDN'T. It's quite remarkable, at this scale, what they were able to accomplish with this mode.
    Alright, now onto the trailer. You know the deal with G1 Optimus' trailer by now; open up the cab in half, slide out the little ramp at the back end down (it actually pops out by pressing a small button on the sides for this toy), and that's basically the base mode. The back doors of the trailer can flip open, and a neat feature is that when you open up the trailer halves, the little stands below the trailer that keep those big pieces stable automatically swing out (or in if you're closing the trailer). The only real difference is that the top of the little repair emplacement doesn't fold all the way up inside the trailer, but rather sticks out the top in trailer mode, as there's not quite enough room for it to scrunch up in there for alt mode on this version. The repair emplacement has a little clear cockpit, as well as the usual fold-out "satellite dish" on the right side and the articulated claw-arm on the left side (the arm can move at two points, and the claw can open and close). There's also fold-out handles on the sides so Optimus can "man" the emplacement if the trailer is horizontal and not vertical for the "repair bay" configuration, which is a pretty neat addition and helps Optimus actually interact with his trailer-base more. There's a little Roller toy-- complete with a silver paint coating, blue seats, a red light near the back, and yellow headlights-- and he comes with six rollable wheels, the front two and back two being able to swerve to the left or right a bit. There's two holes on the top rear of Roller to house some accessories, like Optimus' handheld blaster, or a long gas nozzle. There's openable cases on the sides of the open base, which house Optimus' spare sets of hands-- a nice feature. He has his orange energy axe accessory which pegs into his hand-hole as well, and this axe an be pegged into the open base near the rear to boot (Optimus' blaster can, as well). The toy also comes with a jetpack accessory, which is stored on the front of the trailer in trailer mode, and which has loops on it that can fold around Optimus' arms and peg into his back and sides; there's also some holes in it to attach accessories. Finally, there's a stand that comes with the toy with a large chrome red Autobot symbol for the base, if you want to have Optimus "flying" with his jetpack on-- or just in a dynamic mid-air pose, really. (The stand, unfortunately, can't store anywhere-- you just have to put it off to the side if you don't want to use it.)
    "Year of the Rooster" Optimus Prime is quite impressive in the number of paint apps, mold detailing, articulation points, and accessories it has for such a small toy, and in just how many different ways you can configure all his various bits and bobs (way more than I'm willing to take pictures of here, that I can tell you!). That said, despite all the cool features he has, it has two significant downsides: 1. The cab mode is just absolutely awful, with the front portion not being square at all and the back portion being too long, since his legs can't retract. Thankfully at least the latter portion can be covered up by the trailer, though even then the connection between the cab & trailer isn't great. 2. The price. Yeah, he's got so much stuff $75 sounds pretty reasonable-- UNTIL you see the toy in person. MAN is it small-- paying that much for something this tiny, no matter how complex, just feels like a bit of a rip-off. Putting it in the $40-50 range would have been preferable. Good if you want a small, good robot Optimus Prime with a lot of accessories, but as far as being a good Transformer or a good bargain-- nah on both of those points.

Review by Beastbot

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