Generations Optimus Prime

Robot Mode: When you put together a figure that is supposed to represent Optimus Prime, courageous leader of the Autobots, there are certain standards that need to be upheld. He needs to be mostly blue and red. The head has to be the classic Optimus Prime noggin’ with mouth guard, antenna and blue helmet. There should be wheels on his lower legs and an Autobot symbol or two on his shoulders. He usually carries a big rifle of some sort. Generations Optimus Prime (Cybertronian Optimus Prime if you want to get technical) fulfils all these criteria. He’s an Optimus Prime, no doubt about it.

For the most part Optimus here is a pretty lean figure and his posability is pretty good. There is some kibble on his shoulders and arms, plus the roof of his vehicle mode on his back, but neither gets in the way too much. Some heel spurs would have been nice to give him a more stable platform, but he can hold his balance in most poses without problem. Be careful, though, as excessive leg movement tends to pull apart the hip, as the connections here aren’t the strongest in the world.

Two things bug me a bit about his armament. One, the rifle is made to fold in half for the vehicle mode, but the spring that does the unfolding is rather loose (at least on my version), so the rifle wobbles a bit. Not a big thing, but seeing as the folding-in-half thing for the vehicle mode is pretty much superfluous to begin with, I could have done without that. Second, Optimus really could use an axe. We’ve all seen this version of Prime in the trailers for the War for Cybertron game and he has this big axe thing he uses to chop Decepticons in half. For the pics I gave him the axe of Animated Prime and he looks great with it.

Quick note: On his back, usually hidden behind the vehicle roof, Optimus has a sculpted symbol that looks almost, but not quite, like the Autobot symbol. Not sure what that is about, but it’s kinda neat. So all in all a very decent Optimus Prime figure that gives a good showing as the pre-Earth version of the Autobot leader.

Transformation: At first glance you think: Oh, this can’t be too hard. A relatively simple vehicle mold, just fold the figure together a bit and you’re done. Far from it. This Optimus Prime here has one of the most intricate transformations I’ve yet seen in a Deluxe-class figure. The legs aren’t a problem, but the upper body twists around itself no less than three times until you have everything in position. So if you’re transforming him the first time, don’t get frustrated and don’t be too proud to look at the instruction sheet.

Alternate Mode: Seeing as this figure represents Optimus Prime long before he came to Earth, the vehicle mode doesn’t resemble any kind of Earth vehicle. It’s a mode meant to get from A to B fast, camouflage isn’t a consideration. As a result Optimus’ vehicle form looks like a curious mixture between a futuristic truck, some kind of dragster vehicle, and something from a 50s Science Fiction movie. All of his various robot parts fold together nicely into a solid-looking, streamlined form. Detailing is limited, but seeing as there is no cockpit or anything else you’d expect on an Earth vehicle, that was to be expected. So all in all not the most exciting vehicle mode ever, but nice and functional. No complaints.

Remarks: When the first prototype pictures of this figure emerged, many fans thought that maybe we’d finally get some figures from the cancelled Transtech line (which was meant to follow Beast Machines, but was abandoned in favor of Armada). While this figure does take some pointers from the concept arts created for Transtech Optimus Prime, it’s meant to represent the Autobot leader from the War for Cybertron computer game, which apparently doubles as the background story for the upcoming Transformers: Prime TV series.

Now I haven’t played the game yet, only seen the trailers, but the look was captured pretty good and Optimus Prime figures as a rule seldom suck. All of which means that I’m doubly glad that the Generations line continues the Classics / Universe 2.0 series and brings us figures from War for Cybertron. As for this Optimus Prime figure: It does have some minor faults and lacks that little something extra that would make me give it an A rating, but it’s a good, solid figure that every Optimus Prime fan can buy without regrets.

Rating: B+