ACCESSORIES – Alright, Optimus Prime comes with several accessories, some of which almost require their own section to full talk about, so I’m going to break them down here.

Ion Cannon: Of course Prime comes with his signature blaster. This rendition is a great update to the vintage blaster. It’s solid black with some silver accenting in the back. It fits great in either of Optimus’ hands. The really cool part about this is that it fold up and can be stored in a compartment on Prime’s back! It fits very snug in this compartment, and is easy to remove. To unfold the blaster, you just press a button on the back, and it springs open automatically. Gotta love it when they incorporate cool play features into a collector figure.

Energy Axe: The energy axe comes in two pieces, both cast in translucent orange. The blade just plugs into the energy burst. It slides over his fist. No hiding or removing his hand, unlike the first MP Prime figure. Unfortunately, it only really fits over his right hand. If you wanted to, you could sort of force it to fit over his left hand, but it doesn’t look like it’s meant to. I suppose this matches the cartoon, becuase if memory serves Prime only ever had it on his right hand, however if you wanted to have Prime wielding his axe and cannon at the same time, your Prime is going to have to wield his gun south paw style.

Spike: Yes, Optimus Prime comes with a tiny Spike Witwicky figure. It’s in correct scale with Prime, standing at just over 1.5″ tall. There’s not much detail in the sculpt, which is forgiveable considering its small stature. It’s still recognizable as Spike from the cartoon though, down to the hairstyle, the white shirt and blue pants, and of course those ridiculous yellow rain boots.

What makes the figure really cool is you can open up Prime’s cockpit and sit Spike inside to look like he’s driving. It’s that level of detail that I appreciate in this set. Spike is a neat addition to the set, and actually has a lot of cool interactive features as well (more on that later!).

Matrix of Leadership: What Optimus Prime figure would be complete without the Matrix of Leadership, right? The Matrix that this Prime comes with is almost entirely diecast, except for the jewel in the center. The frame is left the chrome color, but the jewel enclosement is painted a gold color over the diecast metal. There are two sides to it, one side with the jewel bigger than the other side to simulate the Matrix in its opened position. It’s hard to get to, because there are two compartments you have to open to access it. The first one isn’t that hard, but unless you practically have a crowbar to pry open the second compartment, it’s going to be really hard.

Alright, I might be writing hyperbolically there, but it is pretty tough to open it. But once you do, the Matrix is very cool, and hefty to boot. It’s a little tough to get Prime to hold it in both hands as well, but if you can position his fingers in the right way, it can be done. Definitely an essential accessory to any Optimus Prime figure.

Trailer and Roller: Optimus Prime’s trailer is another great piece to get with his action figure. Most might not consider it completely essential, but I think any time we get something as awesome as this it’s definitely essential. It’s completely an homage to the vintage figure. It has almost all of the same features as the original, and then some. It opens up completely vertically down the top, revealing everything inside. I will say I was a bit surprised at the lack of paint on the inside. The sculpt is incredibly intricate, with lots of pipes and rotors and gears and all sorts of crazy robotic looking things. I can only imagine how amazing it would look if all of that was detailed, or at the very least if there was a wash applied. Regardless, there’s still lots of cool things with this trailer.

Towards the front we have two stations that Spike can sit in, as well as two sections that Prime’s Ion Cannon and Energy Axe can be stored in. In the center we have the same repair drone that the vintage trailer had, complete with articulated servo arm and radar dish.

The cockpit opens up and Spike can sit in here as well. The whole thing sits on a jointed arm that allows you to pose it, and can be positioned in such a way that the trailer can be closed around it and it can be propped up and posed even when the trailer is closed.

The entire trailer can be stood up as well, with Prime standing inside and it suddenly becomes a repair station. When the trailer is closed up, the two back doors can be opened and a ramp can be brought down so that Roller can go in and out.

Speaking of Roller, they really amped him up in this set. The body is colored blue, like the vintage and much like his namesake, he does in fact roll, quite well. Spike can be placed in the driver’s seat, which is something I really dig. Spike is Prime’s biggest human helper, so I like the notion that he would be the one driving Roller around.

What else is really awesome about this is that Hasbro has finally managed to answer the question every Transformers fan has been asking since the G1 cartoon: Where does Optimus Prime’s trailer go when he transforms? Well, if you open Roller’s back compartment, you can flip up a connector that attaches to Prime’s trailer! So I guess that settles it. It doesn’t disappear when Prime transforms, spike just hops in Roller and drives it off.

QUALITY CONTROL/THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR – Unfortunately not everything is perfect about the figure. In bot mode there’s a noticeable gap in the back between his torso and pelvis. This is because you have to push his torso forward a bit in order for his chest compartment to stay closed. This creates the gap. If you try to close the gap, the inner chest assembly causes Prime’s chest compartment to be pushed open. To me, that’s a bigger pet peeve, so I live with the gap.

The other problem I’ve had is that in alt mode, his legs don’t stay connected as they should. You try to push them together and they’ll pop right back apart. You have to push very hard to get them to stay, and even then it’s a crap shoot. If you connect the trailer to his legs, it does get them to stay though. That’s about the only surefire way to do this. Both of these problems don’t really ruin the figure, but they’re definitely something worth mentioning about a $100 toy.

OVERALL – Despite the small problems this figure has, it’s still pretty amazing. The sculpt is impeccible and works great with the transformation without detracting from the design aesthetics. The articulation works really well and allows for a great number of realistic looking poses, and the accessories are all incredible. The level of thought and detail that went into them really shows, from the little Spike figure you can sit in Prime’s cab and have him interact with the trailer and Roller, to Roller being able to attach and carry the trailer, it’s amazing.

The absence of paint detail in the trailer detracts for sure, but it doesn’t eclipse all the greatness in this set. There’s so much nostalgia factor in this figure it makes me feel like a kid again when I’m playing with it. And it’s not just the perfect capture of the G1 cartoon design, but it’s the great transformation, the awesome play features, and all the accessories and articulation that really makes a perfect blend of an incredibly fun toy. And to me, that’s the most important factor.

If the toy is truly fun, it’s easier to forgive the flaws it may have. Because of the few problems this has, it’s not a perfect toy, but I think it is definitely the best Optimus Prime figure ever made. If there’s only one Transformers figure you need to own, it’s this one.

 

 

FINAL SCORE: 4 / 5

 

 

Where to buy: If you get lucky, you can find this at your local Toys “R” Us, since it is an exclusive there. But you can also find it at the following online retailers:

• Amazon has it in stock.