Toy Review - Prime Entertainment 2-pack

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

Toy Review - Entertainment 2-pack (Megatron Vs Optimus + Jack, Miko, Raf)
Series - TFPrime
Sub-line - none
Size/class - Entertainment pack (2 x Deluxe + 3 figurines)
Wave - 0 (First Edition)
New/remould/redeco - Redeco (Optimus - SDCC version had grey chest), New (Megatron)
Released here - Maybe not here at all (Released globally Nov/Dec 2011)
Approximate Retail Price - ($50-60?) US$25
Approximate Size - (14cm each)
Allegiance - Autobot (Optimus) & Decepticon (Megatron)
Alt-mode - Truck (Optimus) & Cybertronian spaceship (Megatron)
Main Features/Gimmicks - 3 human figures + DVD of episode 6.
Main Colours - Red, blue, grey (Optimus) & silver, grey, purple (Megatron)
Main Accessories - gun (Optimus), cannon? (Megatron) + 3 human figurines.

http://www.toycollectors.com.au/tftoys/prime04.jpg

http://www.toycollectors.com.au/tftoys/prime04a.jpg

Even though I would like to get this just because I don't have any human figurines (aside from HOC Spike), I simply can't go past Prime's fake looking chest / windows and Megatron's head peeping through the top of his alt mode. I'm waiting for the voyagers.

I'd agree with the sentiment about Prime's chest and Megatron's head. Both didn't pay off at all.

And the stupid thing is that Megatron's head could have been completely hidden easily. The head looks like it has descended into the body of the jet mode, but it is actually a panel with a hole that comes from the back and flips down around the robot head. That panel could have had a dome instead of a hole, to cover the face up... or at the very least, turn the head around. I can't even recall if that was even a feature of the character in the cartoon - to have his face showing, for a reason.

The front of the jet mode looked wrong to me when I first saw pics, but then when I got the toy, it sucked even more. Those left and right bits hanging off the front, just sit loose there. They don't even lock into anything.
The rest of the toy has locking tabs all over it, which act as a nice guide to where the limbs go in jet mode (if not following instructions)... but that front section is noticeably absent of any.

The colours are nice, and despite it not being an earthen mode or vehicle, I was eventually able to work out how to form the jet mode by looking at the box pics and going by all the tabs on the toy.


The Optimus toy I already had from the SDCC version, and the only difference with this one is a few minor colour differences. The Robot mode looks good, with minimal backpack & kibble - the big square chest is the letdown though. The transformation was a little fiddly, but easy enough to figure out.

Having human cast character figurines is good, as it doesn't happen often. It's just a pity that we don't often get good detailed, articulated figurines.

I haven't played the DVD yet... but am a bit disappointed that it is just one episode, and isn't even the first "Premiere" episode as the packaging claims. (it's episode 6)

Probably worth getting, if you don't have the SDCC Optimus, or don't want to wait about 6-8 months for the eventual large-sized Megatron toy (this is the largest one so far announced for Megatron, which would take us until June next year).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by griffin

And the stupid thing is that Megatron's head could have been completely hidden easily. The head looks like it has descended into the body of the jet mode, but it is actually a panel with a hole that comes from the back and flips down around the robot head. That panel could have had a dome instead of a hole, to cover the face up... or at the very least, turn the head around. I can't even recall if that was even a feature of the character in the cartoon - to have his face showing, for a reason.

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That is actually show accurate. If you watch the scene in One Shall Rise (part 2 or 3, I can't remember,) where *spoiler* Megatron is flying around shooting Unicron *spoiler* there is a good close up of this.

On one hand it makes sense. If your vehicle mode isn't for camouflage (and on Cybertron it wouldn't need to be) then your alt mode is just a utility and there's not necessarily a reason to put away your eyes/head.
Then again if you're a war machine like Megs you'd imagine keeping your head shielded would be a high priority! :p

Somebody should make a bluescreen of death sticker for Prime's fake window chest.

I'm actually often a fan of fake window chests , but this just looks bad. it's like Prime has two oldschoool computer monitors stuck to his chest.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lord_Zed

Somebody should make a bluescreen of death sticker for Prime's fake window chest.

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Haha, I like this idea. :D

Megatrons bot mode is the only thing that really grabs me, but I'm not so impatient that I can't wait for the real deal later next year. Next! :p

"Only if..." you desperately want the figurines. The toys blow. Get Voyager Prime and hold out for a better Megs.

Optimus Prime

Pros:
+ Truck mode is pretty solid, robot mode is well articulated offering decent play value.
+ Well sculpted mould - I like the head sculpt and details on the neck and "delts".
+ Truck hitch can hold gun and is also compatible with some other Optimus Prime trailers (see "Pictures" below) :)

Cons
+ No Autobot logo in robot mode. :( Voyager Animated Optimus Prime suffered from this problem too... you'd think Hasbro would learn... there's space for it on the front of his top shoulders. Gah... does reprolabels have silver-coloured Autobot logos?
+ Optimus Prime's faux chest does look tacky (although it honestly doesn't bother me that much - but I can see why it would bother others)
+ Arms are disprotionately long for a humanoid - reaching well below his knees like a gorilla. Trukk not munky?! The forearms also don't seem to lock properly into position, allowing them to deform at times during play.

Megatron

Pros:
+ Nice sculpt - I especially like the head and face.
+ Good colours - the toy actually sports a decent amount of silver and not tacky Hasblo-Grey. The purple accents throughout the toy are a good look as well.
+ Very well articulated - lots of fun! :D

Cons
+ Fantasy-based alt mode might not appeal to some people... he's certainly no robot in disguise. Having said that, he's a lot better executed than TF1 and ROTF Megatrons.
+ Head visible in alt mode. :(
+ The front thingies just sit there with no locking mechanism. I don't care if it's show-like, it's stupid. :mad: (I'd rather have a better designed less show-like toy)
+ Megatron doesn't hold his gun very tightly in either mode - prone to falling off during melee fights.
+ Umm... can the gun actually attach to the forearm like in the stock photo? Cos I haven't been able to get him to do it... maybe I need to much around with it some more...^nevermind, I worked it out. Feeling silly now. :p

Raf, Miko & Jack

Pro: They look screen-like
Con: They offer ZERO play value. :( :( :( Serious suckage.

DVD

Pro: Contains episode "Masters and Students" in DVD quality.
Con: NO menu, NO special features, NO audio options, NO subtitle options... they just slapped the episode on a DVD with a copyright notice and that's it. I guess I shouldn't expect more considering that it's meant to be a freebie that comes with the toys.

Overall: Only if you really want these toys and you can find them at a decent price. Don't pay any more than $50 for this set tops.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22..._shoulders.gif

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Pictures

Optimus Prime attached to Powermaster Optimus Prime's trailer

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22...railer_pm1.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22...railer_pm2.jpg

Optimus Prime attached to G2 Laser Optimus Prime's trailer

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22...iler_g2lr1.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22...iler_g2lr2.jpg

Posted comparison pics between this set's Optimus Prime and FE Voyager Optimus Prime here. Comparison pics between Entertainment set Megatron and Voyager TF-RiD Megatron can be found on this thread.

Will a version of this set be available in Australia? I want it but don't know if I can be bothered trying to track it down online