Optimus Prime's big ol' monster truck mode is certainly a monster for this toy, one of the annual Optimus Prime and/or Bumblebee "big toys". There are parts of this mode that look awesome-- I love the long armored spikes on the front bumper, the transparent green windows with some circuitry lines on them and the nice metallic green windows on the sides, the big and bulky tires, and the "Firebreath Cyclocannons" on the top (which I'll get to in more detail shortly. However, beyond those bits, this is a VERY weak mode, and definitely was third tier in terms of design priority to his robot mode and his gimmicks. There are HUGE, incredibly noticeable gaps in between the front windows and the lower section of his front, only bridged by part of his front bumper. It's also incredibly obvious that the body of his truck mode is just his robot legs and arms on top of each other-- there really isn't even an attempt to make the back part look more square and truck-like. The large gap in between the parts extends to the sides of this mode, which are downright awful if you don't mostly cover them up with Optimus' sword and shield pieces. There's another gap in between the front third and rear two-third sections of this mode, where the upper robot legs are very blatant. The back bumper is also non-existent, simply being Prime's robot feet. As for the color scheme, for the most part it's pretty much Prime's traditional scheme-- gray, red, and dark blue. No major surprises here, though the shade of red is a bit lighter than normal (I would have preferred a bit of a darker shade, myself). There's also a lot of that light milky gray that I just find a rather blah turn-off in terms of colors for me and that should have been semi-metallic (i.e., "glittery") in its shading to make it look more interesting. The addition of green windows and some green projectiles does help to give Optimus at least a new color in terms of accents, however, and the gunmetal gray used for the Cyclocannons is pretty neat. Speaking of the Cyclocannons, they are definitely the highlight of this toy. In this mode, the idea is to start with one of the five different dragon heads (all incredibly well-detailed in terms of the mold, by the way) facing forward. Press down on the trigger on the handle on top of the Cyclocannon to fire a spring-loaded missile from the dragon "mouth". You then turn the handle to the right, which automatically brings forward the next dragon head as you the handle springs back to its normal position which lets you do the same thing all over again. This means you can fire all five dragon head-cannons in quick succession, a VERY neat and addicting gimmick. Even cooler? The heads automatically look forward from behind Prime's back in robot mode, meaning one head will "pop up" at a time from behind Prime's back and shoot, with the auto-rotation gimmick still in check. The missiles can fire surprisingly far, as well. As for the paint detailing, Optimus is a bit sparse in some places, particularly the sides of this mode. His cyclocannons and milky gray parts particularly could have used some more paint-- his huge weapons desperately need some.
    Optimus' robot mode is much better than his vehicle mode, and his transformation is very simple, mostly consisting of just rotating his legs/waist and arms around to the front and them flipping up his head and repositioning his cannons. That said, the way the front two wheels fold up inside the cavities of his lower legs was a nice extra touch. Here Optimus Prime keeps his beefed-up proportions for his Beast Hunters form intact quite well, with everything quite wide and curvy in terms of his appendages. The only exception to this is his head, which is almost laughably small proportionally. I know Optimus Prime is hulked out, but that doesn't make him a pinhead! The head itself is sculpted and painted quite well, with Optimus' mouth in full view, his faceplate "retracted" on this version of him. He also has an oddly congenial look on his face for such a heavily armored 'bot, which is a tad odd. Prime has no vehicle mode extras in this mode at all (which he'd better not have after such an atrocious vehicle mode), so no issues there. Thankfully his paint detailing is a bit more prevalent in this mode, with his lower arms, legs, and waist in particular having a good mix of silver and gunmetal paint. His upper arms could've used a paint app or two, though. The mold detailing is quite striking on his more detailed bits-- I've already talked about the Cyclocannons, but the angled paint and designs on his feet, kneecaps, chest, and shoulders really looks very nice and very in tune with the Prime aesthetic while making it all more "extreme". Optimus comes with two incredibly evil-looking accessories-- a huge ornamental butcher-like knife and a shield that has a very demonic-looking dragon face design on it. Honestly, given the target audience I think these weapons are a bit TOO "edgy" and should have been toned down slightly, but I do have to admit Optimus looks good wielding them. Optimus' Cyclocannons still work in this mode as I explained earlier, but what's even cooler in this mode is that you don't have to do the handle action youself if you don't want to-- simply push down on the spiked fender piece on his stomach and the Cyclocannon will automatically rotate one slot, all while Optimus' eyes and chest light up a light green! (You still have to push the trigger behind his back to fire each missile, however.) For articulation, Optimus can move at the neck (slightly), shoulders (at four points, with one of those being his shoulder "flaps"), elbows. hips, (at two points), and knees (at two points). He also can technically rotate at the waist, but this is for the transformation and is considerably off-center, so anything more than a click either direction and it looks very odd. He really could've used ankle and wrist movement, but otherwise he's pretty good in this respect.
    Beast Hunters "Ultimate" Optimus Prime looks great in robot mode (pinhead aside) and has an absolutely amazing, addictive "Firebreath Cyclocannon" gimmick. That said, given his rather expensive price and the fact that his vehicle mode is so bad it's just embarrassing, unless the Cyclocannon gimmick is really worth that much to you, if you're only to get one version of this design you're much better off picking up the voyager, or even the not-as-great-but-still-okay Cyberverse version of this design.

(Continued from Chapter 16, Voyager Ultra Magnus)
With Ultra Magnus the latest casualty of the Predacon assault, Optimus Prime decides that enough is enough. Whether the new weaponry discovered by Bumblebee is ready or not, the Predacons must be stopped. Donning the heavy Firebreath Cyclocannons, Optimus Prime steps outside into the hot desert air, determined to find Predaking and bring him down one way or another. He doesn't have far to look. The Predacon leader has come looking for him, armed to the teeth and ready to destroy every last Autobot. That's when Optimus Prime receives a transmission from Autobot Ratchet. "Sir," says the scientist, "I've figured out how to activate our new weaponry. Sending the information to you now." Within moments, the Autobot leader feels power flowing through him, and he knows even before it begins that the fight against Predaking can only end in victory.
(Continued in Chapter 18, Fire Breath Predaking)

Firebreath Cyclocannons:
-Charged with the spirits of ancient and noble dragons.
-Launches bolts of fire hotter than any star yet measured.
-Channels energy to sword and shield, enabling blows of incredible force and massive damage resistance.

Strength: 10.0
Intelligence: 8.0
Speed: 7.0
Endurance: 10.0
Rank: 10.0
Courage: 10.0
Fireblast: 9.0
Skill: 8.0

Review by Beastbot

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