RID 2015 Primestrong

Prelude: This set consists of two individual robots, Optimus Prime and Strongarm, who can combine into a larger robot called Primestrong.

Optimus Prime: Here we have an Optimus Prime figure that… yeah, kind of looks like Optimus Prime. It’s red and blue, it has Prime’s characteristic noggin’, and that’s pretty much it. The figure is basically a brick and can’t really do much more than stand there. So anyone who thinks the term “brickbot” only describes G1 figures, think again. Optimus transforms… or rather, lies down on his stomach, which kind of somewhat makes him look like a red truck. And we’re done here.

Strongarm: I could pretty much copy & paste the above paragraph for the Strongarm figure. She has got the look, more or less, but that’s pretty much it. She, too, lies down on her stomach to somewhat look like a car (though she does a better job than that red something Optimus Prime pretends is a truck). Let’s skip to the interesting part of this set because the two single figures certainly aren’t it.

Primestrong: The concept of the Crash Combiners is that you have two cars that crash into each other, which causes them to combine into a larger robot. In this case Optimus Prime forms the upper body and Strongarm the lower. The Crash Combiners are interchangeable, btw, so Optimus can use other legs and Strongarm other upper bodies.

Primestrong’s look is somewhat reminiscent of Armada Supermode Optimus Prime, which isn’t a bad thing. What is a bad thing, though, is that the combined figure is barely any better articulated than the two individual figures that form it. Primestrong can bend his elbows and that’s pretty much it. Add to the fact that he is barely as tall as the Warrior-Class figures from the same toy line, and there is very little to be found here that might interest someone who is older than five or so (interestingly enough according to the package this toy is ages 6 and up. Really?).

Remarks: I haven’t followed the Robots in Disguise cartoon much lately, but I know that both toyline and the third season have gotten the subtitle “Combiner Force”, so I assume a lot of combining will be going on. There was a trailer showing the Stunticons combining into Menasor, as well as Team Bumblebee combining into Ultrabee. I don’t know whether we will actually see Optimus Prime and Strongarm combine.

The Crash Combiners are a fun set for young Transformers fans, but I don’t think any older collectors will find much use for them. The individual figures can’t really do much and even the combined form struggles to do more than combine and stand there. Even compared to the G1 Scramble City combiners the figures are rather limited. So bottom line: buy this set if you are in the single-digit age range or have young kids that could use an introduction into the world of the Transformers. Otherwise your money is better spent elsewhere. For what it is trying to be, a toy for small kids, the Primestrong set is okay.

Rating: C