Knock Out's sportscar mode makes it to deluxe mode with pretty darn spot-on proportions. He looks for all intents and purposes like a "real" sportscar, with the hints that he transforms being so few (namely just a seam down the back end and having his hands partially visible inside the clear plastic of the windows). The clear plastic, sadly, doesn't extend to his back window, which isn't painted like a window. However, even considering the drop in the budget/size of deluxe toys in 2012, Knock Out's vehicle mode is TINY. Yes, he is compact, but even considering that... one could be forgiven for thinking this is a Scout class toy in this mode. My other big issue with this mode has to do with Knock Out's color scheme. The red is a bit lighter than on the show model, and although he's got brown in (mostly) appropriate places (not sure why his back window is painted brown), nearly all of the paint colors that make his color scheme pop and look "high-end" on the show are gone. There's a little bit of silver spray paint behind his front wheels, but not much; plus, the gold-yellow highlights that are supposed to really stand out are almost completely absent here, with only two tiny little details on his front hood painted that color. His front grill is a nice metallic black, but his taillights aren't painted at all. This makes Knock Out's vehicle mode look very boring and, because of all the un-accented brown, dirty-- the exact OPPOSITE of what Knock Out's vehicle mode should look like here, and it's a real shame as it would've helped negate the fact that he looks so small in this mode. His mold detailing is typical for a Prime toy-- it's quite sparse, particularly in this mode because of the sleek look it's supposed to have-- but some parts have some pretty extensive mold detailing, like his front bumper and taillights. Knock Out's weapon is a shocker staff, which can be stored on a port on either side of this mode, below the back of each side window. Admittedly it's a bit of an odd way to store the weapon, but at least it's an option.
    Knock Out's transformation is a little more complex than most Prime deluxes', but I still wouldn't call him hard to transform-- it's just a bit difficult now and then to fold together/pull apart all the parts from such a compact little vehicle mode, and the arms may be a little confusing the first few times because of all the hinges and points of rotation on them. Knock Out's robot mode is well done in some aspects, but poorly done in others. What the designers got right, first-- the legs are pretty well-done, with the proportions pretty solid and the waist piece and mold detailing pretty spot-on. He's got the same pointy feet like on his show model, with the only real show-inaccurate part down here being the sections of his back bumper rotating around to form rather blocky heels (at least this keeps him fairly stable, though). His lower arms are also quite well-engineered, with the fists folding out from underneath the car windows and the roof and side doors compressing to form his lower arms in a rather ingenious (and fairly show-accurate) manner. However, his shoulders and upper arms are far too small when compared to the show, and his chest is a bit too simplistic, lacking the yellow-lined design there that he has on the show (these chest-half parts also doesn't lock into the body nearly as well as I'd like). His headsculpt is spot-on Knock Out, complete with a long chin, a slight "goatee" detail, and his characteristic smirk, so no issues there. His front wheels fold behind his back as they do in the show, though I wish they were angled up a bit more so they "hung over" his upper back/shoulders a bit more like in the show. His stomach looks good from the front-- I love that the sides of his front bumper fold out of the way quite nicely-- but it's a bit of a facade. His main body has no back to it; it's just the front bit of the car mode, which looks rather odd from a side or back view. Gray is added as a major color in this mode for Knock Out's "robot bits", and it's a bit darker and semi-metallic, so it doesn't look as boring as most other gray plastic used on TFs; however, without any of the yellow/gold highlights painted on the toy, Knock Out still looks quite dull in this mode. For articulation, Knock Out can move at the neck, shoulders (at three points), elbows, wrists, hips (at two points), knees, and ankles (at two points). Because his shoulders and upper arms are so small, they can clash together with the windows on Knock Out's lower arms rather easily, but other than that he's fairly posable. Knock Out's weapon can be held in either of his hands in this mode (thankfully, his wrists are both ball-jointed, so he can hold it in several poses), but there's also two holes in the middle of his back (such as it is) where you can plug it into for "storage".
    Prime Knock Out has a pretty cool (if small) car mode, but unfortunately the budget crunches hit this design hard. He's missing the yellow, gold, and most of the silver that are supposed to make him visually pop, making him look dirty and boring instead, which is the antithesis of his character. His robot mode also suffers from some proportional issues with the chest, shoulders, and upper arms, and looks a bit hollow from the side as well. I definitely think this is one of the weaker of the 2012 Prime deluxe molds, but unfortunately if you want a "regular-sized" Knock Out with (relatively) show accurate colors, this is pretty much your only option. Still, unless you're a completist or a particular fan of the character, I'd pass this mold by.

Review by Beastbot

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