Optimus
Primal (Beast Machines)
Beast mode is a gorilla.
This mode looks absolutely nothing like its TV counterpart, which is a
shame. Still, though, there are several positive sides to this toy. There
are no extras at all in this mode except for a little hinge on his stomach,
which is nice. A cool feature is that you can spread apart Optimus' arms,
and his transparent chest will partially open, revealing his spark orb
inside. There is also a transparent green "brain" inside the beast mode
head that looks cool. There are, however, a few things that aren't right
with this beast mode that I want to address. First of all, and the most
obvious, is the overusage of transparent blue. While the transparent effect
on the chest is nice, Hasbro also used it on the legs, arms, face, and
practically everywhere except for the back and thighs. This, coupled with
the skull-like face and the green hair coming out of his left shoulder,
makes this toy look more like some gorilla from beyond the grave than a
real live one. Solid colors would have looked better, in my opinion. Also,
there is a large gap between the bottom of the stomach and the thighs,
and it makes it look like there's something missing. The detailing on this
toy is also somewhat lacking when compared with other Beast Machines toys-
especially on the upper appendages.
Robot mode also doesn't
seem to resemble its TV counterpart at all, with the exception of the face.
While I'm sure Hasbro was trying to make this robot seem muscular, they
only succeeded in making him look chunky in this mode. His round stomach
protrudes out a bit farther than it should, and his legs are too thick.
While there is only one extra in this mode, it is an odd-looking one; the
gorilla stomach is clearly visible from behind Optimus' robot head, and
it doesn't really look like anything. Also, the "jet pack" mentioned on
the back of the toy package is nowhere to be seen. His waist doesn't stick
together very well, either. There is a "shuriken-throwing action", as listed
on the toy, but it doesn't really work. This action just moves Optimus'
right arm a little forward, and it doesn't throw the green energy shurikin
at all. The shurikin itself looks neat, though, and is a nice touch. Another
nice touch is the "visor" on Optimus' head; if it wasn't transparent blue,
however, it could give Optimus the expression of being angry if you lowered
it partially over his eyes. The transparent-green brain inside his head
is cool, too.
While the overall construction
of this toy is creative, the color scheme and the detailing make this toy
a bit of a dissapointment. Mildly recommended.
Review by Beastbot