(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 RID2015 3-step Optimus Prime toy. For a review on the mold itself, read the review of the original RID2015 3-step Optimus Prime here.)

    Like with most of the other "Clash" redecoes of Optimus Prime, this version keeps Prime's red, but replaces most of his blue with a charcoal black, along with some white and more accent colors. That's the cliffnotes version, at least. Going into more detail, the red used on the cab is almost the exact same shade as that on the cab of the original 3-step Optimus Prime toy, but most of the rest of his red is just a titch darker of a shade-- which I actually quite like, as this redeco as a whole is a bit "darker" and it contrasts well with the charcoal black while still "complementing" it a bit better by being darker. Unfortunately on this version there's a pretty good amount of boring light milky gray as well, used on the pieces above the wheels as well as on the upper robot legs and a few minor connector parts. Because of the mold color breakup, these colors come together rather haphazardly on the back end of the truck mode-- they don't clash or anything, but the abrupt transition back there without any mold detailing to really justify the change in colors does look a bit off. My favorite part about the new color scheme is all the white paint used on several charcoal black parts, particularly in Prime's robot mode-- he's got extensive white paint detailing on the lower legs, on the sides of the waist, on the bottom of the shoulders, and on the sides of the lower arms. In every place all that extra contrast really helps to sell Prime as an "upgrade" over the original. There's also a bit of nice light blue on the sides of hte lower arms and on the truck headlights, as well as some silver on the front grill, charcoal black on the truck windows, and some silver and light blue on the robot faceplate and eyes. (Speaking of the head, it's the only part of the toy that is Optimus' "traditional" dark blue.)
    Surprisingly, there are several mold changes made to this version of Optimus Prime; all of them stylistic detail changes to help Optimus look more like his Season 1 finale upgrade. Indeed, this is the only version of "Clash" Optimus Prime that is a redeco with mold changes, but not an entirely new mold. The lower arms have been completely overhauled with rounder details; the shoulder pads with more angular details, including some rather nifty big triangular pieces that poke out of the "core block" of the shoulders; the truck pieces behind the shoulders that form a new upper back end, with some "vent" detailing; a new headsculpt with more side antennae; and a completely new truck cab sculpt, which is curvier overall than the original with larger headlights, a smaller grill, and two front windows as opposed to one long windshield. Optimus also comes with a bright orange Decepticon Hunter sword, which gives the toy a much-needed weapon (and which can also plug into pegs on the side back of the truck mode for storage). I like the original truck cab design slightly more, but other than that all the mold changes I love.
    If you're going to buy one (U.S.-released) version of the Season 1 finale upgrade design of Optimus, make it this one. The mold changes are surprisingly extensive and look awesome, he's got some great paint detailing (especially in robot mode) and a slightly improved color scheme, and has everything that the more-expensive $30 "Mega Prime" toy has, minus the useless Mini-Con ports but with a nifty weapon. Smaller versions of this design just mimic the color scheme (if that) with no mold changes, and thus don't really capture the design effectively.
 

Review by Beastbot

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