Movie Softimus Prime & Slumblebee

Robot Mode (Softimus): Softimus strongly resembles G1 Optimus Prime, not the Movie version, a fact that pleases the old-school fan inside me. As a plush figure he doesn't have anything resembling joints or such, but the looks are pretty good, so he gets points for nice detailing. Due to the nature of his transformation his upper body is a bit hollow inside, making his chest sink in a bit in most poses, but that's just a minor thing. The legs are solid and Optimus can stand on his own. Not bad at all.

Robot Mode (Slumblebee): Slumblebee is modelled after G1 Bumblebee, not the Movie version, making him a very friendly-looking plush fellow. He manages to closely resemble his inspiration. Slumblebee has two minor problems to deal with. One, his torso is pretty much hollow inside, making it hard to stand up straight, and his feet are rather round, so he has difficulty standing on his own. Still, a very nice-looking plushy.

Alternate Mode (Softimus): Softimus is more or less a shell-former. He extracts a wrap-around truck shell that wraps around his upper body, turning it into the front of the truck. The legs make up the back. This truck mode looks pretty good, but with the arms and upper body of the robot mode stuffed inside it's almost impossible to produce something approaching a geometric cube. So the truck appears a little rumpled. Doesn't take anything away from it, though. A nice truck mode.

Alternate Mode (Slumblebee): Slumblebee follows the same principle as Softimus, but takes it all the way. His entire vehicle mode is a wrap-around fabric-shell that comes out the back of his torso and you then stuff his arms and legs inside. It works, but just like with Softimus it's pretty hard to 'fill-out' everything properly, giving the resulting VW Beetle a somewhat flattened look. Still, a plush figure that transforms into a VW Beetle. What more do you want?

Remarks: For the younger members among the Transformers audience (and for some older ones, too, but we are not the main focus group, I imagine) Hasbro released plush versions of Autobot favorites Optimus Prime and Bumblebee. Interestingly enough they chose the G1 incarnations of these iconic figures instead of the Movie versions, probably because they look friendlier and less war-like (especially Bumblebee). As figures these two are so sweet they're almost giving me cavities, but ever since my wife bought them for me they've been sitting on the headboard of my bed. They're not necessarily what a toy collector is looking for, but they are damn cute and a very nice find for an all-around Transformers-fan such as myself. Recommended to everyone who's not feeling too adult to buy a plushy. And if you want to buy just one, I'd recommend Softimus as his truck mode looks better than BB's car mode and he is more stable when in robot mode.

Rating (Softimus): A-

Rating (Slumblebee): B+

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