Optimus
Prime (Beast Blade)
(NOTE: Because this is a repaint, this is not a full-blown review. This mainly covers any changes made to the mold and the color scheme, and merely compares it to the original Prime Beast Hunters commander Optimus Prime. For a review on the mold itself, read the review of the original Prime Beast Hunters commander Optimus Prime figure here.)
"Beast Blade" Prime Beast
Hunters Optimus Prime is a bit of a mouthful. Can they let go of the "Beast"
descriptor for Beast Hunters redecoes? It's awfully redundant. Regardless,
the biggest color change for this redeco is that Optimus Prime's traditional
red has been replaced with a jungle-y shade of green that is intermixed
with black. It's a pretty good shade of the color that really makes this
quite appropriately forest or jungle-themed, and I love the mixed-in black
for extra contrast. I realize not all copies are like mine due to the nature
in which this mixed plastic turns out differently with every copy, but
mine has a wicked-looking "burn slash" mark right down one side of the
chest, which I LOVE. The rest of the color scheme is mostly the same, with
a few minor differences. The dark blue used for the robot legs is just
a tad lighter than the dark blue on the original version of this mold,
but both blues are so similar overall I don't have a preference between
one or the other. The milky gray is the exact same shade, though it's accentuated
a bit more this time around with metallic gunmetal gray paint on the "grill"
above the rear part of the vehicle mode, as well as around the front windows
and on the chest and smokestacks-- I love this shade, given how much it
looks like real metal, and I'm super-glad they didn't leave those aforementioned
rear grill parts unpainted this time around. There's also some really stellar
light green paint on the windows, which both contrasts and complements
excellently against the green plastic. It's such a nice color, I wish it
was used a bit more on the toy. There's also just a touch of metallic gold
on the headlights, which also goes great with the green. The downside to
the extra paint on some of his front and rear grill bars is that his wheels
don't have their hubs painted, but that's a small price to pay, if you
ask me.
One mold change has
been made to Beast Blade Optimus, and that's an extra accessory-- a rather
nifty (relatively) large shield that's a mix of an Autobot symbol and some
Beast Hunters-esque armor spikes. In addition to him being able to hold
it in his fists in robot mode, it can also clip onto the top of the rear
grill part of the vehicle mode, covering up the ugliest part of that mode.
The shield can also partially split down the middle to form wings for vehicle
mode. It can also peg into his butt in robot mode, but this looks a little
awkward, as it's a bit lower than it should be.
Beast Blade Optimus
Prime may not be the most inventive deco-- largely replacing Prime's traditional
red with green and leaving the rest mostly the same-- but it works very
well as a jungle-themed deco, and I particularly like the light green windows
and black mixed in with the jungle green. Having an additional fun accessory
at no extra cost is also a win, as well. Overall I'd rate this release
over the original, but not quite as good as the Target
excluive redeco of the mold.
Review by Beastbot