In vehicle mode, Titanium RiD Prime actually IMPROVES upon the original RiD Prime's vehicle mode-- quite impressive, considering the original cost twice as much and didn't have any diecast metal in it. There's no more blatant robot extras sitting in the middle of this mode like on the original toy-- with the exception of a small part of the middle, everything looks very boxy and fits in with the shape of a fire truck very well. And even then, the small part in the middle is just where the back of his round robot chest meets up with the square front and back halves of the mode, and it doesn't really detract much from the mode. What is my main complaint with this mode is how the front half of the fire truck is actually on an ever-so-slightly lower plane than the back half-- just enough to be noticeable. I'm not sure why it's made that way, but it is, and it doesn't look good at all. The hinges also muddle a bit with the shape of the front part of this mode, though that's a relatively minor drawback and a necessity considering the transformation. Of course, at this scale Optimus doesn't have the same pack of missile launchers on his fire ladder, but he still does have the flip-out cannons on the front of the ladder for some vehicle mode firepower. (The fire ladder can rotate and move up and down, just like on the original toy, though it can't extend.) The mold detailing is very nice all-around, and he has a fair amount of a paint detailing as well, though more of it is visible in the robot mode. I think it's inexcusable that the sirens weren't painted, however-- now they just blend into the same red as almost everything else on the front part of the vehicle. The colors look just as good on this toy as they did on the original, though it is odd that a portion of the back end of the vehicle is dark red as opposed to the moderately light red used for the rest. It's not too jarring of a transition, but it is noticeable.
    Titanium RiD Prime doesn't have a "normal" robot mode, and instead transforms directly into the super robot mode. It looks fantastic-- in many aspects, it's better than the original super mode, due to the fact that he doesn't have parts popping off all the time. His proportions are great, with the sole exception of the forearms being a little larger than they should be. His chest has been "beefed up" a bit, so that the chest is wider than the stomach, instead of it all just being pretty square in its proportions-- it looks nice, especially with the Autobot sash across it. All his paint apps REALLY come out in the open in this mode, making it look even better than it otherwise would have. His ladder-weapon hangs behind his back, just like on the original, though also like the original, it can swing forward over his shoulder to become a massive cannon. He also has pop-out arm cannons, though they're admittedly pretty puny and don't add much to the figure. To accomplish RiD Prime's transformation in a more simplistic manner, the front half of the vehicle mode actually turns itself inside out to become the lower legs-- a very interesting and ambitious undertaking, given that so many quality control issues could have gone wrong with it, but it turned out very nicely. Though it is a little odd seeing that his legs are hollow when looked at from one side, all the parts fit together very well and stay together under a reasonable amount of pressure, so no worries about Prime collapsing into his legs here. Optimus also has fantastic articulation, especially for a Titanium-- he can move at the shoulders (at three points), elbows (at two points), head, waist, hips (at two points), and knees (at two points). He's a tad back-heavy if you've got his ladder assembly behind him, so that can limit the poses he can pull off a little bit, but otherwise he's got quite a few poses in him. Also, in case you're wondering, Titanium RiD Prime has fairly few diecast parts-- his arm-guns, his shoulders, his chest, and his feet are diecast, but that's it.
    Titanium RiD Prime is a fantastic rendition of the character, with a very interesting and unique transformation that actually improves on the original in some respects, especially in the robot mode. The rather fakey-looking front half of the vehicle mode is the only thing keeping him from claiming best 6" Titanium to date at this point. Highly recommended.

Review by Beastbot

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