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A Quintesson-Maker inside a Pretender? Double Ruined Forever!!!

with Bludgeon Decoy Armor

Series: Power of the Primes
Year: 2018
Allegiance: Neutral
Category: Prime Master 

Prelude: In the upcoming Age of the Primes line, all of the thirteen original Primes will receive a figure… for the second time. Time to go back to the 2018 Power of the Primes line, where we got the full line-up of the Transformers pantheon for the very first time. Pay no attention to the armor that looks like Bludgeon and prepare to meet the Prime who made the Quintessons, Quintus Prime. Let’s say go!

Robot Mode: The actual Quintus Prime figure is a Prime Master, meaning a very small robot. The figure is yellow and purple, can turn its head, has ball-jointed shoulders, and has hip and knee joints, but fused-together lower legs. So articulation, while present, is not exactly spectacular. The figure’s rucksack features his Prime sigil and what little face sculpting he has shows a visor over his eyes.

The smaller robot can be put inside a larger suit of armor, a so-called Decoy Armor, which is designed to look like G1 Pretender Bludgeon. Now don’t ask me why the Prime of Life hides inside a skeleton samurai armor, maybe because no one would think to look for him there. The Decoy Armor is as well-articulated as the old Pretenders, meaning it can swivel its arms at the shoulders and that’s it. Look-wise it’s a great match for Bludgeon, almost better-detailed than the much larger original. The Armor can hold the gun barrel from its back as a hand weapon.

So bottom line, the Decoy Armor is great to look at, but not much for playing with. The little robot is mostly there for its alternate mode.

Alternate Mode: Quintus Prime, like all the Prime Masters, transforms into… an engine? A Matrix core? A cube? Take your own pick. In this mode he is meant to be inserted into the chest armor or Matrix holder of just about any given Power of the Primes figure, bestowing his ability of Creation to any of them in different ways (see this TFWiki page if you wish to know more). He can also attach to the scepter or throne of Optimus Primal, of course.

The Decoy Armor can also transform, kind of, which technically makes this toy here a Mega Pretender, I guess. It’s not much of a transformation, of course, as Bludgeon just unfolds the gun barrel from his back, unfolds a 5mm pin from between his feet, and then you’ve got a Targetmaster-style weapon ready to be used by bigger figures. And in true Mega-Pretender fashion, the alternate mode of the inner robot can combine with the alternate mode of the shell, too. The Prime engine/core/whatever attaches to the top of the weapon, no doubt enhancing its deadliness with Quintus’ life-giving power or something.

Bottom line: it’s fun, I admit that much, but mostly for its interactivity with other figures, not by itself.

Remarks: Quintus Prime was first named as one of the Thirteen Primes in the Covenant of Primus book, part of the Aligned continuity. In this and several other continuities he is called the Seeder of Life and is responsible for the creation of the Quintessons. He played a crucial role in the Earthspark cartoon, where his artefact, the Ember Stone, fulfilled the role of the central McGuffin. He was also among the Primes who were killed by Sentinel Prime’s treachery in the Transformers One movie.

The Power of the Primes Prime Masters were a weird idea, really, but it was fun to collect them all and combined with the Throne of the Primes they look pretty good. So while I assume that the upcoming Age of the Primes Quintus Prime figure will be a bit bigger and offer a bit more than a nostalgia-driven Decoy Armor, I do not regret buying this little chap here. Recommended to fans of Bludgeon, Primes, and Targetmasters.

Rating: B

 
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