Toy Review - Generations WFC Optimus

[griffin]

Toy Review - Cybertronian Optimus Prime

Series - Generations
Sub-line - (War For Cybertron)
Size - Deluxe
New/remould/redeco - New
Wave - 1
Released here - June 2010
Approximate Retail Price - $25-30
Approximate Size -
Allegiance - Autobot
Alt-mode - Cybertonian Truck
Main Features/Gimmicks -
Main Colours - Red, blue, grey.
Main Accessories - Gun.

http://www.toycollectors.com.au/tftoys/gen02.jpg

[SharkyMcShark]

Pocked this up today from my Local Toyworld. It comes packaged in robot mode so we'll start there.

It's very complex looking, and that is something that I quite like. I've not been paying enough attention to the whole WFC thing to know if hes screen accurate, but from an objective standpoint he looks really nice. Posability is alright - he's got a codpiece that limits his legs a bit, and his shoulders tend to droop on their transformation joint, but overall quite nice. The head is very anime styled - long antennae etc.

Transformation is insane. NUTS. the legs essentially fold up neatly but the rest of it is insane. The transformation is very movie styled in that all the random bits of armour hanging off the robot mode clip together to form the front end of the vehicle mode. There is a LOT of swivel and twisting things. It's a bit finicky the first few times but once you get the hang of the specific order to do things in it's quite intuitive.

Vehicle mode is very nice. It's essentially an armoured Cybertronian hot rod. It looks appropriately bulky. The front end does have a tendency to come unclipped, but it's not really a major issue.

Overall I didn't know what to expect from this figure. I'm not really a big Optimus Prime fan so I picked it up with some hesitancy, but was pleasantly suprised. It takes all the best bits of the movie advances in engineering and applies them to a very War Within esque design. 9/10.

So yeah, War Within with a dab of movie styling and a helping of insnae movie style transformation.

[Deceptic_Optic]

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m205/de3dz/IMG_3286.jpg

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m205/de3dz/IMG_3287.jpg

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m205/de3dz/IMG_3288.jpg

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m205/de3dz/IMG_3289.jpg

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m205/de3dz/IMG_3290.jpg

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m205/de3dz/IMG_3273.jpg

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m205/de3dz/IMG_3274.jpg

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m205/de3dz/IMG_3276.jpg

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m205/de3dz/IMG_3277.jpg

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m205/de3dz/IMG_3278.jpg

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m205/de3dz/IMG_3279.jpg

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m205/de3dz/IMG_3280.jpg

[GoktimusPrime]

Does anyone else think the alt mode looks like the Batmobile? ;)

[Deceptic_Optic]

Does anyone else think the alt mode looks like the Batmobile? ;)

more lika a lawn mower to me :(

[5FDP]

Interesting how the rear wheels don't seem to touch the ground. Is there any explaination for this e.g. a design flaw or so he can pop a wheelie :confused:

[Deceptic_Optic]

Interesting how the rear wheels don't seem to touch the ground. Is there any explaination for this e.g. a design flaw or so he can pop a wheelie :confused:

lol yeah i was just looking at that maybe its just me or my figure, have to play around with it more

[Stompy]

As a fan of complex conversions. This figure is an absolute winner. Like Sharky, I didn't really know what to expect from these WfC figures.

Examining the bot mode showed a duller opaque-ish red than I would have liked. I wanted a more solid red. The amount of grey is also a little dissapointing. The legs look to "retro" compared to the "futuristic" look of the top half of the bot and it kinda feels like the top torso of Animated Prime was put on top of Classics deluxe Prime. The feet also needed some sort of heel-spurs because they give you a lot of great articulations with the joints for the legs (and arms) but since his feet is a bittoo forward anything but a completely straight standing pose will tip him backwards. Also the curved shoulders soften his look too much for my liking. Prime have always had angular shoulders. But that's just a personal nitpick. The weapon is nice how it folds up and has a spring loaded conversion back to rifle mode. Can also be stored ont he rear of the bot.

The winner here is the conversion though. I thought it may be a simple one but this is close to RotF Leader Prime complexity, especially given its small size. Some bizarre twists and folds and rotation everywhere with double and triple sandwich joints to boot. There are pegs for every part of the "shell" to peg onto to secure its place and not collapse, which is an absolute plus. Giving the conversion nice little signposts of where parts go and help keep everything in place. Giving you a very solid...

Alt mode. Very different. Its Cybertronian design is evident with very "tron-like" curves. The lack of evident windshields is jarring but it is there just a tiny bit just above the grills. The seams are not intrusive and feels natural giving it a very solid feel. The vehicle is obviously meant to be bigger in scale compared to the WfC Bumblebee by at least double the size. The wheels roll and the gun can be mounted on the rear. That's as far as playabitlity goes.

As for the wheels not touching the ground, you just have to adjust the positioning of the legs to have them both touch and match witht he front wheels. It's possible but requires too much work for my liking. Not a big deal.

Another great figure with some posing let downs for bot mode. I'd personally would have liked this figure to be a Voyager personally. As its Alt mode is too small in the deluxe scale. Especially since WfC Bumblebee is way out of scale with this. For those of you who don't like complex conversions, you have been warned.

[STL]

In love with this. Excellent transformation. I spent close to half an hour getting it right and when I did it was more of "why did I know see that" than the why the hell do I have to fiddle around with these panels so they fit (aka. WFC BB). A great example was trying to figure out why the whole chest panel rotates. The panels all belong somewhere, all make sense, and all clip. You really can't ask for much more.

The colours are not too bad to be honest. I like them a lot more than I thought I would. The gray is quite strong rather than the dullish grays that we've seen in the past. Of course, I'd love a chromed up version of this but I'm not about to complain. The only complaint I really have on the colours are the two red dots/holes on Primes shoulders. Yes, while they match his front bumper and his legs splotches, they just seem very off with the red plastic.

Alt mode is okay. I do like it though. It is futuristic and different. So close to a WW Prime too. You can actually see the front windows if but unfortunately because his chest is gray, they don't stand out enough. The wheels I didn't have a problem with at all tbh. They sit very nicely.

The gun I don't mind but I don't like it's asymmetry. I prefer it on the right arm as opposed to the left so that hte flap doesn't sit on the inside of the robot mode.

Balance as Stomps points out can be an issue. I cheat a bit and lower the pipes on his leg to the ground to get support. Holds him well for any pose then. :)

Robot mode is beautiful. Very powerful and very elegant. I always felt from the pics he was a bit too bulky but there's a certain poise to the figure. He is more angular and precise as opposed to being a bit of a cumbersome blob. The blue here is so rich and lovely. In the morning bath of sunlight in my room, it just looks so alive. I also like the front wheels which sit behind him. I angle them to about 30 degrees and it gives him "wings". Adds an extra dimension to his visual aesthetic.

My only other quibble is scale. This toy, would've been amazing as a Voyager and you could've really appreciated hte nuance more. Comparing to WFC BB, it'd be nice if he were taller too. I think with more scale, others who don't like the high level of complexity would like this as I can see navigating through the deluxe version can at times be frustrating. But trust me, it can flow together very nicely

[PascTF]

Looooooooove that toy. The badass alt mode, the plastic quality, the colors, the cool transformation, the equally badass robot mode, the transformable weapon, everything. I've been asking for a real cybertronian line of Transformers for a long time and that's exactly how it should be done.

[5FDP]

Got mine this morning. He looks really impressive through the plastic bubble :p

[kup]

Interesting how the rear wheels don't seem to touch the ground. Is there any explaination for this e.g. a design flaw or so he can pop a wheelie :confused:

The same thing happened to me when I transformed my Prime for the first time. You can adjust the legs so that the wheels are leveled. Its hard to notice when you transform it the first time.

[jaydisc]

Awesome awesome awesome. I had wheels off ground at first, but realized shins firmly click into thighs. Absolutely killer (as in amazing) transformation for a deluxe. An engineering marvel. Great complexity, and not completely devoid of elegance. While it would have rocked as a voyager, it's no where near as cramped as Galvatron. Everything locks into place well. Colors aren't perfect. Pink shits me, but when perceived as neon, it's a bit excusable. Head mold is gorgeous.

[ITZTRU]

^^^ So does this mean that it's more than likely that it will not come out as voyager class then? I ask coz I seriously wouldn't know any better when it comes to different size releases...

[jaydisc]

I don't think so. At Toy Fair, Hasbro stated that Generations was a deluxe-only line.

[ITZTRU]

Shame...voyager would have been pretty nice...

[5FDP]

I don't think so. At Toy Fair, Hasbro stated that Generations was a deluxe-only line.

I'm cool with that. I intend to get the whole line regardless.

[Tiby]

One thing that really, really bugged me about G1 Cybertronian alt modes was that they had cockpits. Why? It did not make any sense. This line is showing a correction to that glaring error and I am loving it!

I know for the cartoon they had to be comparable to their Earth modes for the kiddies, but the vehicle mode should have been a functional purpose, not a "disguise". Well done Hasbro!!

[kup]

One thing that really, really bugged me about G1 Cybertronian alt modes was that they had cockpits. Why? It did not make any sense. This line is showing a correction to that glaring error and I am loving it!

I know for the cartoon they had to be comparable to their Earth modes for the kiddies, but the vehicle mode should have been a functional purpose, not a "disguise". Well done Hasbro!!

I think the WFC designers must have picked up the oddity of having cockpits in Cybertronian alt modes.

However didn't they explain somewhere (I believe that it was in the comics) that Cybertronian alt modes had mysterious but unused cockpits in them because Primus had prophesied the Transformers's eventual alliance with humans and integrated them as a kind of 'subconscious' design feature on them for when the day finally arrives?

[Tiby]

However didn't they explain somewhere (I believe that it was in the comics) that Cybertronian alt modes had mysterious but unused cockpits in them because Primus had prophesied the Transformers's eventual alliance with humans and integrated them as a kind of 'subconscious' design feature on them for when the day finally arrives?

I don't know about that, but if that was done, that is one of the weakest retcons I have ever heard! I have forgiven a lot for this franchise, but some things just need to be what they are: production errors which add some charm to the franchise, like the "parsecs" quote about the Millenium Falcon, and whether Han shot first...

[kup]

I don't know about that, but if that was done, that is one of the weakest retcons I have ever heard! I have forgiven a lot for this franchise, but some things just need to be what they are: production errors which add some charm to the franchise, like the "parsecs" quote about the Millenium Falcon, and whether Han shot first...

When I was a kid I imagined the cockpit windows as the vehicle's optical sensors :)

[Tiby]

When I was a kid I imagined the cockpit windows as the vehicle's optical sensors :)

Me too! But it still bugged me when they used external communicators or spoke into their wrists... I know this was before wireless was mainstream by radio was in existence! (I also know that if they did not talk there would be nothing on screen to show it was happening - again, more of the charm).

[GoktimusPrime]

I agree with what Tiby said - the lack of a pilot's compartment satiates the scifi nerd in me muchly. :) The transformation is indeed rather complex for a Deluxe... but not as complex as I thought it would be. I found the way some people spoke about the "difficulty" of the transformation a bit overrated -- I was expecting this toy to be some kind of Deluxe sized Binalternator... but it's nowhere near that complicated.

And there are more complicated Deluxes out there (e.g. Mach Kick). But I agree that WFC OP does certainly have an above-average degree of difficulty for a Deluxe Transformer's transformation. :)

Overall a nice toy. The robot mode looks kick-arse and the alt mode looks more alien and "truly Cybertronian" than previous Cybertron-moded Transformers, yet still familiar enough to feel like a traditional Transformer and identifiable as Optimus Prime (unlike say the movieverse Protoforms). The red is a bit bright, but it's still red. It does have pink highlights throughout it though (including the Autobot logos) -- but that doesn't bother me. Sure beats day-glo yellow or baby blue highlights any day!

The spring loaded gun bugs me because it keeps flopping each time I play with it in robot mode, and in alt mode it springs out too easily. :( I prefer just old fashioned swing joints (e.g. Classics Prime's guns). I also don't like the blue eyes... blends in too much with the blue head. I've always much preferred good old G1-accurate yellow eyes. Offsets the blue head so much better than blue eyes.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/Laser%20Magnus%20Photocomic/photocomic_lasermagnus02.jpg

[blade prime]

Sweet looking figure, will buy it soon!

[Vector Prime]

I was excited about the look of this from the moment I first saw pics of it and it hasn't disappointed me.

Prime looks totally awesome in bot mode, but like many have said before me, the deluxe size just doesn't do him justice - he should have been Voyager size!

My only gripe is the lack of heel spurs on his feet, making it pretty much impossible to pose him in any sort of dynamic action pose without him toppling over.

The transformation sequence and level of engineering that they've managed to squeeze into this deluxe size is phenomenal... it's quite complex but not to the same level of frustration as say Universe Galvatron.

As for the alt mode, I don't care too much for the look of it which doesn't phase me at all as I don't ever display my TFs in their alt modes anyway.

Overall, I'm very happy with it - he's lived up to my expectations and more.

8.5 out of 10.

[Wheel-J]

Just found out while transforming this figure into alt-mode that the smokestacks can be rotated to keep the pegs inward so that the exhaust pipes may look like more parallel to each other and cylindrically shaped from side view. The instruction manual seems to have missed this bit so might just share it for those who are yet to try it. :cool:

[Lint]

Pretty toy, pink highlights still bother me, transformation very satisfying (compared to BB which is just annoying), possibly the only non-g1 esque gun I like, glad theres no geek-fantasy axe, alt mode kinda bland but snaps together cleanly, this Prime only scales well against scouts :p

[SharkyMcShark]

After having had it for a week I'm digging the proportions less and less.

It looks like a fat man wearing a boofy parka, and I get that enough every time I walk past a mirror that I don't need it in action figures.

[GoktimusPrime]

It looks like a fat man wearing a boofy parka, and I get that enough every time I walk past a mirror that I don't need it in action figures.
lol. I'm gonna post a short photocomic w/ WFC Prime and based on that comment I think you'll like it. :D

[i_amtrunks]

What a fantastic Deluxe figure!

The robot mode is fantastic, the pink highlights might not be everyones cup of tea, but personally I like them (its a similar pink, albeit solid to the turbomasters). The robot mode has fantastic movement at the shoulders, and it only improves when you put the wheels where they are supposed to go.
The feet are on ball joints that seem kind of wasted, due to minimal space around the ankle, the feet cant tilt more than a few degrees.

Transformation is hard for a deluxe, but not as complicated as I had anticipated after reading others reviews. Panels need to be clicked into place, so the transformation has to be don in a particular sequence, but everything clips in nicely, no need to force/squeeze/shove panels together.

Alt mode is different, and different is good, after so many repaints of the movie line toys. We get a Cybertronian wheeled armoured vehicle that is obviously Prime. It is a streamlined alt mode, the way the panels all align works a visual treat. Primes head and legs are obvious when you look at the undercarriage of the alt mode.

Only real negative for me is the gun, which does not want to stay in vehicle blaster mode, but its such a tiny complaint, it doesnt detract from the package (also glad that the paper ties are in use here!).

9.5/10 for me, two solid modes, a nice complex transformation that isn't overly difficult, and no obvious QC issues (yay!)

[Decepticon]

Just hideous! Robot mode looks good but that blob of blue a red on wheels is aweful

[GoktimusPrime]

Afore promised WFC Optimus Prime photocomic can be seen here (http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showpost.php?p=172600&postcount=1088) :)

[kurdt_the_goat]

This has gotta be one of the most rewarding deluxe sized figures around!
It's been designed with so much attention to detail:


He can hold his weapon in his hands, on his arms, over his shoulders and store it on his back! You can even plug it into his groin if you're that way inclined :p
It's in the instructions but i didn't notice until later playing around - you can rotate the smoke stacks so each mode is left with the smooth side showing.
And just found on TFW forums - his feet can slide backwards to give better standing balance!

[blade prime]

Just got WFC prime today, the last unit at Big W =p

Gotta say this is one awesome prime! I like his complex transformation and his his detail is superb. If only they had a voyager version of this =/

[Robzy]

Fantastic figure!!

[Paulbot]

This is a very nice figure and is a lot of fun to transform. It exceeded my expectations.

[Ingram]

So I finally cracked it with how loose his legs were and ripped them off! I put 3 layers of clear nail polish on the ball joins and then put the legs back on. Nice and tight now! I can pose him how I like without the need for blu-tac on his feet to stabilise him.

Pic:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d126/Lord-Ingram/Optimus.jpg

[5FDP]

So I finally cracked it with how loose his legs were and ripped them off! I put 3 layers of clear nail polish on the ball joins and then put the legs back on. Nice and tight now! I can pose him how I like without the need for blu-tac on his feet to stabilise him.

Does anyone know if this is a QC problem or just a once off?

[GoktimusPrime]

I'm able to pose mine without the need for any modification or support assistance.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/misc%20photo%20skits/th_WFCOP_sumo6.jpg http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/misc%20photo%20skits/th_WFCOP_01.jpg http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/misc%20photo%20skits/th_WFCOP_sumo1.jpg http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/misc%20photo%20skits/th_WFCOP_sumo3.jpg

No strings or blu tac or anything, just pure poseability. :)

[liegeprime]

not interested, Prime here looks weird. interesting head mold though

[5FDP]

not interested, Prime here looks weird.

Funny thing is, he said the same thing about you. Joking :D

[liegeprime]

Funny thing is, he said the same thing about you. Joking :D

:eek:IMa gonna knock the mouthpice back in outta that prime!!! let me attem!!!:D:p

[kaiden]

Does anyone know if this is a QC problem or just a once off?

once off. my ball joints are tight.

i really dont like this Optimus. Its too small and the back part sticks out too much. he has child bearing hips and his breasts seem a bit too angled and small.

im trying to compare him to his artwork/in game appearance and it just seems there are too many things off. his weapon is functional but is too weak. he needs his cannon and axe.

just played with him a bit more and it is such a hassle transforming him into his alt mode. its like they forgot how to make the parts interlock during transformation. i was having trouble with keeping the crotch and legs together (especially the feet) while trying to get his arm to line up properly.

it is great for $18.66 though.

[5FDP]

Thanks for the responses Gok and kaiden. Was a little worried cause I got plans to open mine up and display him loose in the cabinet. Yeah that's right... I'm gonna open up a sealed Transformer :eek: It's rare but it does happen :D

[Ingram]

He definitely takes a few attempts before you get the gist of it. Most of my initial problems stemmed from not knowing his legs lock in place and that the plate on his back sides back and forward for his various modes.

Overall I think he looks a bit too simple in truck mode and a bit too complex in bot mode. Can't win :P

Still, he looks bad ass on my bookshelf in his pose holding the gun in kill shot style :D