Official solicit:

TRANSFORMERS ANIMATED Voyager Class: OPTIMUS PRIME

When OPTIMUS PRIME crashed to Earth with the rest of the AUTOBOTS, he didn’t really know what it meant to be a hero. He spent most of his time in space dreaming of glory, but it wasn’t until he was first faced with the terrible decisions that inevitably come with leadership that he finally understood. He became a true hero – a being who does what he does not for glory and fame, but because no one else can do it.
Roll this robot-to-vehicle figure across the floor! When it’s time to plan pretend defense against the DECEPTICONS, convert this red, silver and blue figure from futuristic truck mode to robot mode! The truck’s extinguisher cannon becomes a hand weapon in robot mode, while the trailer becomes an Ion Axe. Styled after the animated character, this robot figure also has flip-up face armor!

JUNE 2008
MSRP 19.99USD

As I’ve said in other reviews here, I’ve got a weakness for Transformers toys that are jets, helicopters or other cool flying machines. I also have a weakness for Optimus Prime figures too. And since no new line of Transformers is ever launched without an Optimus Prime, means I have quite a few Optimuses then yeah? (actually I only have like 5 or 6 tops - I am a little more picky than it seems than the crap I do reviews on)

Having sat on this review for a few months, in which time everyone and their uncle Fester have already talked this figure to death, like I always say though until Murdershow reviews a toy, it ain’t done been reviewed.

Too bad nobody else says that though, because when I say it it’s just kinda creepy and snotty sounding. Like “ewww, who does that guy think he is?!”. Shutup.

I’ve already mentioned a few times how much I love the packaging and design on these Animated figures, but I’ll just mention it again. The design on them is smart, fun to look at, and pops on the shelves as compared to other toys, not to mention other Transformers toys. Pop so much in fact, that Hasbro took a cue from themselves and even changed the packaging on their Star Wars figures and made them all white and POPPY! too.

The back of the box features Optimus’ bio and power stats, so we know how strong and fast and smart he is, and all that kind of junk. And for those who aren’t watching the cartoon, this Prime is a little different than other Primes, in that this version is a bit more “year one” and wet behind the ears. In fact, all the Autobots on Earth in the Animated Series are more or less rookies, and not really known for their prowess in fighting and dealing with the Decepticons. It’s actually a fun and interesting take on the whole Transformers world, while still being something guys my age can relate to and see the influence from the G1 series all over it too. In other words, watch the show!

Anyways, out of box, we see Optimus on his card, covered in twisty-wires and held in suspended animation, waiting to be opened and played with. Look how pretty he is!!

Completely out of his packaging, and coming to us in vehicle mode, Optimus is an updated take on the semi of old. Optimus is a futuristic fire engine, complete with a pump-action water gun on his back which actually shoots water! The design of the toy in truck mode is pretty close to the cartoon version, although in the cartoon we do sometimes see Optimus with a full trailer attached to his rear, making him look much more like a fire engine than just a semi with sirens.

The vehicle mode we see here seems to have been designed loose enough as to imply the look of the show, and kind of look like a truck, but as you can see from the two middle pictures above, it doesn’t really actually look like much of anything at all. I guess maybe if you squint it could be a truck.

One thing I do like is that the design of the figure was smart enough to avoid the Go-bots failing of having the robot head and parts all exposed from the bottom. As you can see in the above far right picture, from the bottom Optimus more or less looks like what a toy truck would from the bottom anyways.

Anyways, truck mode isn’t much to write home about, it’d be nice to have gotten the full trailer on the figure, and like I said the vehicle mode is pretty ambiguous which takes away a bit of the charm. Mostly it is just a box with wheels. It is a reasonable size though, being a voyager it’s about in scale with other characters from the cartoon, like Starscream and Bulkhead, so at least there is that.

Robot mode is a bit more impressive though, and where the meat of the figure really is.

Optimus stands a little more than 8 inches tall, and once transformed now comes equipped with his water cannon and battle axe. The axe doesn’t actually look the axe from the cartoon, but the 2 pack Optimus vs Megatron set comes with an axe that is more cartoon accurate, and there is also a custom axe for sale out there on the tubes too.

Striking a stocky figure, Optimus bears far more resemblance to the idea of Optimus here than in his fire engine mode. He’s also exceptionally accurate to the cartoon, which is always a nice touch, since so often toys look nothing like their source material.

There’s been quite a bit of whining from Transfans about the plastic the Animated toys are made from, saying it feels cheap or fragile, and that’s just nuts. Optimus here is as sturdy as can be, and as solid as any other Transformer figure I can think of. Nerds just like to whine about things I think.

Another nice touch with this figure is the faceplate action. Not the first Optimus figure to incorporate this, but it still looks good. From regular to ready for battle with the flip of a switch.

Articulation is great, with a ton of points in all the right places. Head, shoulders, knees and feet, and everything in between. The fun of the Animated aesthetic is that the figures have a little more humanoid form in their robot modes, which means they have a better range of movement too.

A wide range of movement, and plenty of balance too. As you can see third pic from the right, Prime easily passes the Murdershow Karate Kick™ test with no problems at all either.

Optimus is a really fun figure, with great paint apps without much in the terms of sloppiness. My only real gripe is the lack of Autobot symbols on Prime, or most of the Animated figures for that matter. I’m pretty sure I read a reason why Hasbro went against having faction symbols on these guys, but I’m too lazy to remember. Thank god for Reprolabels then, right?

As you can see above, Prime is a little shorter than Starscream, and in fact all the Autobots are shorter and less armed than the Decepticons. Just another layer the cartoon adds to the mythos, so that Optimus and his team have to work that much harder against the opposition to prevail.

And prevail they usually do, because c’mon, they’re the Autobots. And the good guys, as we all know, always win.

So summing up the figure, vehicle mode is pretty weak and doesn’t really look like much of anything but a box on wheels. Robot mode however is a great update to the G1 design of Prime, while still retaining the loose and animated style the cartoon has established. Rich, vibrant colors against the animated design really makes the figure stand out against other versions of Optimus, but clearly you can tell this IS Optimus Prime when you look at him.

This is the Optimus to get from the Animated line period, and a fine addition to my shelf of Optimus figures too.

The end.