Optimus
Prime (Leader) [RotF]
Optimus Prime's vehicle
mode is what you'd expect-- a Peterbuilt long-nose truck with flames. The
proportions are pretty darn spot-on in this mode, with some nice flame
paint apps and "rivet" detailing all over the place, and no robot mode
extras whatsoever. A few MINOR things make it slightly inferior to the
first Movie Leader Prime's vehicle mode--
for one, he has plastic tires, not rubber. Also, there's a small hole near
the rear of this mode where you can see right through his vehicle mode
to the floor/desk below. Also, there's some gray hinges sticking out from
behind the main blue body of his truck mode that don't quite mesh with
the surroudnign pieces, and you can see gears inside his clear windows.
All of these as a whole are practically nothing given how spot-on proportionally
the mode is in this mode-- and given how excellent the robot mode is, as
well...
Optimus Prime's robot
mode is just... wow. How they can get something so incredibly accurate
to his movie on-screen model while still having THAT perfect of a vehicle
mode is just mind-boggling. (He does have a VERY complex transformation,
though it's not overtly frustrating-- but be warned, regardless.) Pretty
much all of the details are movie-accurate-- the panels on the sides of
his legs and arms are only where they are on the actual movie model, and
he doesn't have any huge kibble problems. Really the only vehicle pieces
he has in this mode that aren't on the movie model are the rear wheel covers
on his back, which do stick out a bit, but that's a REALLY small quibble
given how perfect just about everything else is. I really like his feet
design-- accurate to the movie and REALLY impressively done, given that
they fold out to become almost half of his underside in vehicle mode! Getting
all the panels and pipes behind his head the way they are also looks great,
as does his window/chest grill assembly which is pretty much spot-on accurate.
His mold detailing is exquisite, particularly in his upper arms, chest,
and feet, where you can see springs and other types of mechanical detailing
EVERYWHERE. His colors are fairly standard for a Prime, with dark blue,
red, and gray being the major colors. It looks decent enough-- and you
aren't really going to mess with Prime's iconic colors-- but I do wish
the dull milky gray was a more metallic sheen (though for budgetary reasons
I understand why it's not all painted silver). His panels all stay out
of the way of his articulation, so he's pretty good in that respect-- he
can move at the neck, shoulders (at two points), elbows (at two points),
wrists, hips (at three points), knees, and ankles. Waist movement and slightly
more movement at the knees are really the only things he's missing. (His
hands also don't have individual finger articulation, but due to all the
other pieces that budget went to, this is more than forgiveable.) As far
as gimmicks go, swords can flip out from both of his lower arms, which
look pretty cool. They do tend to flip out too easily, though, which can
be slightly annoying. Also, if you press down on his lower chest piece,
his eyes light up green and his chest red as he says "I am Optimus Prime"
(and in his Peter Cullen voice, not some imitator's). This same sound effect
will go off several times during transformation, though, which makes it
rather annoying. The classic "transforming" sound effect DOES occur when
you connect/disconnect Prime's waist from his chest, which is a pretty
nice effect.
RotF Leader Optimus
Prime is not just an incredible toy in both modes, but an absolute marvel
of engineering given how it seemed impossible to get such an accurate toy
to the movie model in both modes. The first movie's Leader Prime was already
quite good, and this puts THAT one to shame. It is difficult to transform,
so I wouldn't recommend it to young'ins, but anyone in the "older kid"
age group of 10+ or collectors? Absolutely-- even if you don't like the
movie aesthetic much, this is too much of a marvel not to pick up.
Review by Beastbot