Well, here's something a bit different-- an Optimus Prime toy that technically isn't Optimus Prime, but rather (in most continuities) his "pre-Prime" self, Orion Pax. As you'd expect, his vehicle mode is still a truck, though given that he's never visited Earth, it's a Cybertronian truck. The weird windvanes on the back hint at the "trailer to come", but this toy itself is just the truck cab. The proportions are pretty good, and I'm glad they didn't use "futuristic" as a better-sounding name for "unconvincing" in terms of the alt mode. For the most part he also has no robot extras visible in this mode either, though his lower arms are a bit obvious underneath the gray windvaves. From a back view is definitely where this toy's at its weakest-- it doesn't have a convincing back bumper at all, being the folded-in stubs of his lower arms and feet. His upper arms can also be slightly seen behind the main "body" of the cab, before the gray windvanes start. Color scheme-wise, Orion Pax sticks pretty closely to Optimus' color combo. There's a bit more blue mixed in on the front to give some more visual variety, but he's red, dark blue, and gray with some silver and yellow highlights, just like he's always been. You know by now whether you like this scheme or not. That said, a couple of minor connector pieces-- parts of his robot shoulders, for instance-- are oddly cast in a pale red plastic that doesn't quite match the more "normal" red on the rest of the figure, though this is a minor quibble. He has a little bit of tech detailing molded onto him here and thee-- such as in the middle of his vehicle hood and on the sides-- but generally he's a little light in the mold detailing department. His paint detailing is a bit more spread out, with a fat stripe down the center of his hood, ample amounts of silver on his grill-- which all look great- and his headlights are painted yellow, even the tiny ones above his windshield. There's also a bit more silver detailing on the sides and wheel hubs, along with some inside his clear window. Granted, having the silver engine-like detailing inside of his window means that there's no visible drivers' seats, but again, he hasn't been to Earth yet. (That said, I do wish a few bits of this mode were a bit MORE Cybertronian, to capitalize on the fact that this toy takes place pre-Earth-- he's got a pretty realistic front end, it's only the weird windvanes and some details on the backside that aren't realistic.) A few details could still stand to be painted, however, like his gray windvanes and his taillights. For weapons, Orion Pax has both a fairly slim Energon axe that has a nice orangish red transparent blade, and Prime's iconic blaster. They can both peg into 5mm slots on the rear sides of this mode. Granted, this makes them stick out rather blatantly, and isn't anything like storing them underneath this mode somewhere, but it still works, I suppose.
    Orion Pax's transformation is quite intuitive, particularly for a post-2012 toy when budget crunches and the general designer's modus operandi were making toys simpler to transform. He's by no means complicated, but he's got some neat folding and twisting going on-- I particularly enjoy the way the entire side sections of his vehicle mode come apart and fold together to form most of his lower legs. Some people have had issues with his waist connection tab snapping, though this is by no means a universal problem-- it's just common enough I think one should be aware of it. In robot mode, Orion's proportions stay great-- better than his vehicle mode, even. Other than the windvanes on his lower arms, two wheels behind his back, and the panel behind his head, he has no vehicle mode extras in this mode, with everything integrating into his robot mode very effectively. I will say that his lower arms being hollow on the inside is a bit of an eyesore-- if they had to be hollow, I wish it was on the bottom of the arms or something, where they wouldn't be so obvious. His mold sculpting is definitely taken up a notch in this mode, with some pretty nice mold detailing on his chest, waist, upper legs, and arms that hearkens to his classic G1 robot mode details. His face is also well-sculpted, looking very much like a young Optimus Prime without a faceplate. He's got a few paint details unique to this mode, like the yellow on his lower arms and waist to emphasize how similar the detailing is there to his classic body, but otherwise most of the paint apps were used on his truck mode. His shoulders and feet are the only places that have details that could really use paint, though-- even though I don't like light milky gray plastic in general, it does break up the colors more in this mode, and enough of the vehicle mode paint carries over to this mode to keep it from becoming boring. Orion Pax's articulation is fantastic for a deluxe-- he can move at the neck, shoulders (at three points), elbows, wrists (at two points), waist rotation, and movement at the hips (at two points), knees, and ankles (at two points). His shoulder articulation is a tad restricted because of the wheels on his back, but other than that and sideways knee rotation, he's pretty much everything you could ask for in this respect. He's also quite stable, given his ankle movement, and he's well-balanced, making him one of the most poseable "30th Anniversary" Generations deluxes. As expected, his hands can hold his axe and gun quite snugly, though there isn't anywhere to store them other than those points in this mode (his 5mm holes from vehicle mode are covered up in robot mode).
    Orion Pax is a unique spin on the typical Optimus Prime toy, and is just a fantastic toy all around, with a great truck mode (albeit with some minor kibble isues) and one of the most well-proportioned, dynamic, posable robot modes among deluxes that is out there, with some nice weaponry to boot. Highly recommended.

Review by Beastbot

Back to Transformers: Generations Index