Toy Review - DotM Optimus (Preview Vers)

(Please post comments, photos or even a fully comprehensive review - these are just brief details to start you off)

Toy Review - Optimus Prime

Series - Dark of the Moon
Sub-line - N/A (preview promo pack)
Size - Commander (was Scout)
New/remould/redeco - New (will be re-released in the general Movie line)
Wave - N/A (preview pack)
Released here - Not here (released US TRU March)
Approximate Retail Price - (US$10)
Approximate Size - 8cm
Allegiance - Autobot
Alt-mode - Truck w/ weapons/jet pack
Main Features/Gimmicks - none
Main Colours - Red, blue, grey
Main Accessories - 2 guns, jetpack

PLUS - 3D glasses for a website promotion

http://www.toycollectors.com.au/tftoys/excl2011a01.jpg

Thin and spindly, Movie Legends have been very unimpressive compared to Cybertron and Univerese toys. Now the trend seems to have spread to the Scout class. ROTF scouts were all around pretty impressive but if this is a sign of things to come in DOTM then we are all in for disappointment.

I was tempted to buy this but sitting next to it, for half the price, was Legends Scavenger. The two are about the same size! Prime has a bit more bulk because of the backpack but not enough. The robot looks scrawny and cheap and not worth paying twice or more the price of a legend for.

Having seen Powerglide in vehicle mode next to Legends Cosmos and Rodimus (and it being only a little if any bigger), I don't have much faith in this new size class at all. :(

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Paulbot

Thin and spindly, Movie Legends have been very unimpressive compared to Cybertron and Univerese toys. Now the trend seems to have spread to the Scout class. ROTF scouts were all around pretty impressive but if this is a sign of things to come in DOTM then we are all in for disappointment.

I was tempted to buy this but sitting next to it, for half the price, was Legends Scavenger. The two are about the same size! Prime has a bit more bulk because of the backpack but not enough. The robot looks scrawny and cheap and not worth paying twice or more the price of a legend for.

Having seen Powerglide in vehicle mode next to Legends Cosmos and Rodimus (and it being only a little if any bigger), I don't have much faith in this new size class at all. :(

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Well technically this is a Preview Class figure though isn't it? Not a commander/scout class? But I do agree on the lack of faith in the size classes, but DOTM Crankcase is a very posable and fun figure to play with believe it or not.

The toy looks like a Legends at the size and price of a Scout. :( If really cheap... maaaybe. :/ I didn't notice the 3D glasses though.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Paulbot

Thin and spindly, Movie Legends have been very unimpressive compared to Cybertron and Univerese toys. Now the trend seems to have spread to the Scout class. ROTF scouts were all around pretty impressive but if this is a sign of things to come in DOTM then we are all in for disappointment.

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It's an uneven equation due to where the designs come from. Most Legends toys are simplified versions of already simple toy designs (Cybertron), or new designs made with the limitations in parts numbers of the Legends class in mind. Movie Legends have the difficult task of trying to replicate very complex designs with a very limited number of parts.

Cyberverse Commanders are sort of like the old Basic price point, above regular Legends (or Legion, in this case), but below Scouts. The intent of the Cyberverse branding is to have a new play pattern where all similarly-sized are in relative scale to each other (with playsets!), rather than just have a price point of small, cheap toys. Also, encourages collecting with series numbering.

The Human Alliance basics are basically the Scouts of this line in terms of complexity.

As for why the Scout price was moved up, larger Legends (essentially) were moved to the Scout price, and why Deluxe and Voyager class toys are smaller than usual, it's probably due to plastic price rises. The MechTech weapons aren't so large that they steal that much space on a sprue away from the toys.

I'm gutted that Scout class is gone - ROTF gave us the best Scout class lineup of any transformers line ever.

This is a scout class toy? No way!

Well from what I can gather FFN has the right idea, the Cyberverse line appears to be it's own spin-off line and calling the old Legend sized "Legion". I think they wanted to pay a little more attention to size and scaling in this line so they have larger "legends" with engineering and complexity of a legend class but on a larger toy so that Optimus Prime isn't dwarfed by Bumblebee. Hence calling them Commander Class. Giving this line a little more playability and "respect" so to speak. I don't think they intended to make them Scout class at all, hence the Human Alliance scouts are the true scouts.

I adore the little buggers and look forward to getting more of these size classes. At least it doesn't take longer than 2 minute to transform any of these.

EDIT:
So I opened up the non preview version that comes with the Jetpack and I have to say that the legs and arms aren't skinny at all. It is proportioned just right. The conversion is a lot more complex than a legends class and is easily comparable to scouts and some deluxes. It's an impressive toy in my honest opinion. With no fake kibble and no hasbro grey. It is gunmetal light blue on Prime and a gunmetal grey on the jetpack and weapons.

Can't wait for the playset that comes with his trailer. This thing is gonna be sweet. Having played with Powerglide and Blackout, this is one excellent line.

After putting together the checklist, I realised why the Commander/Scout Optimus and Megatron have removeable accessories (the jetpack on Optimus and the Tank on the back of Megatron) - it's so that when they are removed, they are closer in size/bulk/mass to Legion/Legends figures for the Action Sets. Bumblebee and Starscream are Legion/Legends figures (and Roller probably is as well), but I seeing Optimus and Megatron included in wave 2 had me thinking they were all Commander/Scout figures. But later noticing that the Bumblebee was just a redeco of the Legion/Legends wave 1 Bumblebee, it made me look at it from the opposite angle... how was the Commander/Scout figures being included where it looked to be 'Legion + playset' as the makeup of this size-class.

So I decided to add this note on the Checklist:
Bumblebee & Starscream are Legion/Legends size, while Optimus & Megatron are Commander/Scout size but stripped of their accessories, making them closer to Legion/Legends size when on their own.