Phil's
Movie Voyager, Robo Vision, First Strike & Screen Battles Optimus Prime
and
Revenge of the Fallen Voyager Optimus Prime
Review


Movie Voyager Optimus Prime

The other half of the Argos Exclusive 2 pack contains the Voyager size Optimus Prime. I'd been looking forward to this as it was a chance to own the Movie deco of Op (which you'll know I'm not keen on if you've read my Nightwatch Optimus Review) at a more affordable price. Again - like 08 Concept Bumblebee - he comes packaged in robot mode showing off both of his big guns - exhaust pipes transformed with the exhaust pipe forming a gun barrel and the fuel tanks a missile launcher. Both guns have a handle to be placed through Op's hand but he can't hold them - they're supported by a peg sticking up from the wrist. There's a little forwards swing in the ankles, but not much, a bendable knee with a swivel above it, a universal joint at the hip, fore and aft and to the side at the shoulders, a bicep swivel, single jointed elbow, a ball jointed wrist that swings in and a rotating neck. Head is lightpiped in blue. Actually a comment on the head: I hadn't realised how close to the standard Op design the head is on Nightwatch Prime. This looks quite different,. more elongated with 2 huge eyes. As with several other toys Prime looks quite skeletal in places especially his arms, and this effect is emphasised by him having very long stretched out limbs. He's got a lot of backpack kibble - basically the front half of the truck. Given a choice I prefer the Leader Prime robot - it's chunkier and better proportioned for my liking even when you take the size difference into count.

Take what I said about the instructions reading from vehicle to robot in the BB review as read again. Only not so bad this time.

TF: Remove weapons. Fold the backpack down.90 degrees and then origami it into position with the truck cab which is revealed. Fold the head into the bonnet. Pull the outer grey half of the shoulder mechanism up at the shoulder joint, and then fold the inner blue half round 180 degree to extend the cab backwards. The grey bits should be above the robot chest windows now with the arms running under the front of the cab and shoulder pads folded out at the back. Rotate the wrist guards 90 degrees, peg the wrists together and attach under the cab. Stretch the legs out behind the cab and unfold the mudguards. Fold in the heel spurs. Pull forward on the knee unlocking the lower legs, push the leg into the space in the leg revealed and then lock all the blue leg parts together - this falls into the "it's more obvious when you see it" category - to form the back of the cab - the knee becomes the roof, side of the leg the side of the cab and an extended flap the back of the cab. Fix the back of the cab to the front. Fold back 180 degrees the panels beside the top of the bonnet to become the running boards. Take each gun, swing the gun barrel 90 degrees to the side and fold over the missile launcher. Peg into place under the running boards with the gun barrels pointing up forming the exhaust pipes.

Resulting truck is obviously smaller than the Leader class version but it somehow seem more fragile - in particular the rear mud guards flap about a bit, and the exhaust pipes aren't secured. The front of the vehicle is red with blue flames round the grill whereas the cab back is blue with some red flames on the sides. Of note is it's action feature - there's a driver in the driver's seat - open the door on that side and he folds back. Nice. There's also an armed vehicle mode: swing the exhaust pipes out to the sides, fold the fuel tanks forward so that the missiles they contain point forward along the top of the front of the truck, and the fold the exhaust pipes in as guns in the same direction. The guns can be folded down and to the sides a bit as well.

Overall: Just feels a lesser toy to some extent. Sometimes smaller is better - Night Slash Cheetor, Supercon Prime, many Legends of Cybertron (Starscream and Thundercracker particularly). In this case I feel the larger Prime is a far better toy money for money. This one puts me once again in the mind of the Zombie TFs in the UK comic with it's long skeletal limbs. Don't really matter what I say though as you'll all buy the 2 pack to get the 08 Bumblebee. But I wouldn't go out of my way to get this by itself.

As well as being available in a Voyager box, which was also sold in Japan as MA-13 Twin Blaster Optimus Prime, this toy was packaged with Concept Camaro Bumblebee in a 2-pack, which was how I got the toy, and, with some additional battle damage, in a 3-pack with a battle damaged Arcee & Voyager Starscream.


Robo Vision Optimus Prime


First Strike Optimus Prime


Screen Battles Optimus Prime


Revenge of the Fallen Voyager Optimus Prime


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