Optimus Prime's "mainline" voyager release for the Prime line has a vehicle mode that's a little bit less accurate to his show model than his First Edition voyager version-- in some good ways, and in some bad. For one, the red and blue are a tad lighter in shade than on the First Edition versions, along with a lighter brownish gray that becomes more visible in robot mode. Generally, I think that these lighter colors don't look quite as good as the darker shades on the slightly more accurate voyager First Edition version, though by themselves the red and blue certainly don't look bad, and having the gray being less obviously brown also makes it less obviously "dirty-looking", if also less show-accurate. (The light milky gray plastic, unfortunately, is still here, and still as boring as ever.) The black used primarily for the wheels is also still here, and along with the bits of silver paint and transparent light blue plastic on the windows (which is just a tad TOO light for my taste), gives Optimus a fairly varied color palette in vehicle mode. I wish a few more paint apps would have added to him-- such as painted wheel hubs, for example, or a little something extra on all that red in the front to break it up more-- but otherwise it looks great. The yellow headlights also really pop against the red, though unfortunately due to his transformation Optimus doesn't have a real back end for taillights (and thus, of course, they aren't painted). Other than this minor issue, though, Optimus Prime is largely robot kibble-free in this mode, with a few telltale pieces behind the central section of the cab making it particularly obvious that this is a robot in disguise. The overall proportions of the mode look better than the voyager First Edition version, even if they're less show-accurate-- the more angular, boxier look of the truck fits it a bit better, and the windows and back end of the cab are better sized proportionally this time around. For weapons, Optimus has both a vanilla milky gray sword accessory that could stand to be longer and a "Powerizer" gun, both of which can be stored on top of his back end in this mode. His Powerizer weapon looks like a big clump of nothing when left alone, but by pushing back on the gray lever it rotates out to form a transparent blue rifle, with an ineffectual red light coming on in this mode. The light isn't nearly bright enough to light up the blue plastic, though, and is just generally a failed gimmick, made all the worse by the fact that its recognizable mode-- the gun mode-- automatically snaps back into "incomprehensible junk pile" mode when you let go of it. Sigh.
    This version of Optimus has a noticeably simpler transformation than his complex voyager First Edition version (though I still wouldn't call it easy)-- the result is most definitely Optimus in robot mode but there's definitely a few more caveats this time around. The most obvious and the biggest flaw with this mode are the sections of his truck side hanging off his back-- unlike on his voyager First Edition version, they stick out from behind Optimus' midsection quite obviously, and the smokestacks don't "reorient" themselves to be right behind Prime's head, which makes it more of an obvious backpack and keeps Optimus from looking as streamlined here. I'm also not fond of the slightly less-accurate shoulder panels that are made from the parts of the truck above his windows, and the transparent plastic on his lower arms, which is another failed attempt at using his ineffectual weapon gimmick to "light up" his arms. The lower legs are also considerably more hollow on this version, and the upper legs a bit skinner proportionally than they should be. However, all of this is not to suggest that Optimus' robot mode is bad; far from it. He still has core proportions that are very close to his show model, and the mold detailing is exquisitely well-done where it needs to be, such as on his abs and head. I wish a little more paint had been used on his arms, but otherwise he's good there too, with silver, blue, and yellow helping to break up all the gray in the center of this form. His chest windows are also his ACTUAL truck chest windows this time around, but in a twist are upside-down due to his unique transformation, and look pretty good and not too "barrel-chested" for Optimus. (There's also some nice "tech" detailing on the inside of the windows, which looks fantastic.) For articulation, Optimus can move at the neck, shoulders, elbows (at two points), upwards/downwards slightly at the wrists, and at the hips (at two points), knees, and ankles (at two points). No knee or waist rotation is a bit of a bummer, but those small caveats aside you can still get him into some pretty nice poses, especially considering how well-balanced he generally is and how well-articulated his ankles are.
    Voyager-class Prime "Robots in Disguise" Optimus Prime may not be quite as good as his stellar First Edition voyager toy, but it's still a pretty good mold nonetheless, with his weak weapons and his obvious backpack kibble in robot mode being his only major downsides. His transformation isn't nearly as time-consuming but still innovative, and his vehicle mode actually looks a bit better overall than his voyager First Edition version, in my opinion (though it is less show-accurate). If you want a "regular-sized" Prime Prime toy that isn't difficult to remember how to transform, you can pick up this version without any real reservations. If transformation complexity doesn't matter to you, though, I'd recommend the First Edition voyager more.

Review by Beastbot

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