Optimus Prime's futuristic truck-and-trailer vehicle mode is replicated fairly well for this larger simplified toy of him, though the cab is perhaps a bit small proportionally in comparison to the trailer-- just a BIT, though. There are a few oddities/extras, though, as you'd expect from a simplified toy; the robot feet are fairly obvious on the front of the trailer, and there's no real back end to the truck-- just the tops of the robot shoulders and nothing really underneath them; no taillights or anything of the sort. The hands are SLIGHTLY obvious, though they're a little hidden on the top underneath little protrusions that become Prime's kneecaps in robot mode. Otherwise this mode looks pretty good overall (though I wish there was some kind of clip to lightly connect the pieces at the back; it's difficult to get the two halves to line up correctly). I love the stylized look of the truck, especially on the cab, which has all kinds of angular lines on the windows and a rather aggressive-looking grill. The mold detailing is otherwise fairly minimal, with the usual RID2015 divots and bare-bones lines here and there-- the tires are surprisingly well-detailed, however, with a good amount of treaded detailing. There's even little side doors molded onto the stylized truck cab, which I did not expect. For the color scheme, it's your typical Optimus red and dark blue, though the shades for each have a bit of a glittery swirl in them, making them look semi-metallic-- a decision I wholeheartedly approve of. What is odd is that there's a bit of darker red, though-- mostly used for some parts in the transformation that aren't easily visible in either mode, EXCEPT for on the top of the cab roof (and parts of the shoulders in robot mode)-- not sure what's up with that, as it clashes with the lighter red surrounding it a bit. For paint apps, there's some red lines along the side of the trailer to help break up all that dark blue, and some really nice light blue "circuitry-style" details near the front sides-- I wish these details had been used on the toy a bit more, honestly. Most of the windows are painted a nice metallic black, with the silver bumper and grill painted silver, and with light blue headlights. As a whole it generally looks pretty good, except for the top of the trailer-- there really isn't any paint there, so there's way too much unbroken dark blue.
    Optimus Prime's transformation is ingenious, and honestly rather fun-- you unpeg the cab portion, rotate it all the way downwards in a semi-circle below the trailer and have it "break through" the top of the back of the trailer, folding down the front of the cab section as you do so. The head reveal, moving of the shoulders outwards, and lengthening and slight spreading of the legs are all automatic as you accomplish this motion. Everything clicks into place quite solidily, and thus this is perfect for younger kids in terms of transformation. In general Optimus looks pretty good in this mode-- at least from the front. If you look at him from the side, you can see all eight of his tires just hanging off the back there, which is a bit unsightly though not an absolutely huge issue. The arms are very nicely proportioned and quite close to the show, with the only real issue being that the middle portions are a bit too short (though they are painted silver). The head is all done marvelously well, with accurate detailing on the face, along with silver on the vents and faceplate and some moderately light blue for the eyes. The faux "truck sides" molded onto the sides of the chest and the way the truck cab folds up make for an excellent chest (particuarly for a more simplistic toy such as this). The skirt is well-detailed, though the legs are bit weaker. Proportionally, they're pretty well-done, though again they're lacking paint detailing and Optimus basically has a "uni-leg"; this is more acceptable on smaller toys, but on a toy this large I don't like this; having the lower legs angle to opposite sides, but with plenty of obvious pieces connecting them down there, doesn't look nearly as good as if they were actually separate. A connector piece also hangs down between his upper legs, which is also unsightly-- same with the sides of the vehicle on the sides of his main body. The upper legs bring a new color into the mix-- a milky gray-- but thankfully it's the same semi-metallic shade as most of the rest of the toy, so I don't mind it when used in such small amounts. The light blue little "divots" on the shoulders are it as far as new paint apps beyond the face and middle of the arms, though. For articulation, Optimus can move back-and-forth at the shoulders-- that's it. Even though articulation isn't the point of these toys, I kinda wish there had been elbow articulation of some sort, as there's nothing in the transformation preventing that.
    RID2015 3-Step Changer Optimus Prime does have a few issues worth noting-- such as the "uni-leg" in robot mode, the obvious wheel kibble on the sides, and to a lesser extent the very obvious feet in vehicle mode-- but overall he's a solid, proportional toy in both modes with a fun transformation that's probably one of the best choices you can make for a young kid who wants a toy of this design.
 

Review by Beastbot

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