Toy Review - First Edition TF4 Optimus Prime

[crankcase76]

Ordered mine yesterday from Chimungmung, US $69.00 + shipping. Totalled to $100 AU, cant wait to see it in hand too.

[GoktimusPrime]

I ordered mine from Amazon for the same reason that griffin cited; it seems to be the cheapest option around, so if this toy turns out to be a dud, at least I paid below AU RRP.

Mine's been "initiating customs clearance" since Monday. (freakin' wait...)
It's expected to arrive this Friday, but I got a feeling that it won't arrive by then. Although one good thing about Amazon is that if the product doesn't arrive on time, they refund the cost of shipping. But I'd much rather just have the toy arrive on time.

IMHO DotM Leader Class Optimus Prime was the best of the Movie Leaders. It retained the same awesome mods from Buster Optimus Prime (i.e. removable tanks that combine to form the gun), and the absence of the flip out swords free up arm movement. But I really like the reduced "ribs" which makes that part of the transformation a lot easier than it was on ROTF Leader OP (which I found was the most frustrating/challenging part of the transformation). But yeah, the movie Leader OPs have always been excellent and each release has been better than the last. I hope that AOE Leader OP will continue the same trend, but judging from pics (and especially griffin's pics), I'm not hopeful.

P.S.: For those of you who already received this toy, did you use a faster form of shipping? I just used the regular cheaper no-frills option. Ordered on Feb 5.
<impatiently.drums.fingers.on.desk>

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

Wow, $130 for this thing locally? Good luck with that Hasbro AU...

[GoktimusPrime]

My thoughts...

PROS
+ Silver and coloured chrome looks nice
+ Head is beautifully sculpted; a lot better than Buster Optimus Prime's IMHO. Eyes are also light-piped.
+ Reasonably decent (though not spectacular) robot and truck modes
+ Sword stowage on the undercarriage is a nice nod to G2 Laser Optimus Prime (who was also a Western Star truck like AoE OP).
+ Rubber tyres are a nice touch

CONS
- Very much a panelformer, carrying a rather ungainly backpack
- Backpack blocks the arms from moving backwards.
- I would've preferred to see more chrome on the vehicle mode, even if it meant reducing the chrome on the robot mode (which IMO isn't as essential). Things like the smoke stacks and tanks would've looked a lot nicer in chrome.
- Side windows are just unpainted blue plastic.
- Rear of the truck mode looks incredibly cheap. The rear wheel section is a single hollow piece with wheels tacked on the sides... kinda like G1 Roller. There's also an unsightly gap in the rear of the cab itself.
- No wrist articulation!
- The shield doesn't fold up or anything in truck mode (like say DotM Leader Class Sentinel Prime's shield). It's just a single piece that sits on the back because it has nowhere else to go. It doesn't seem to really add anything to the truck mode, and it's certainly not attempting to hide itself in stowage.

OVERALL
It's not a terrible toy and is nicer IRL than in pics. But it's by no means a great toy either. Recommended only if you want a Leader Class AoE Optimus Prime toy and you can get this toy at below RRP. It is NOT worth paying full price for.

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Pictures
Truck mode (front)


Truck mode (rear)


Truck mode (side w/ weapons attached)


Robot mode


Robot mode (armed)


Close up of head demonstrating light piping in eyes


Comparison with previous movie Leader Optimus Primes

[Penetrator]

Comparison with previous movie Leader Optimus Primes
[/QUOTE]



For me, ROTF wins!

[Mythirax]

I do love my ROTF in his alt mode and DOTM in all his glory ready to fly away and cause havoc.

[GoktimusPrime]

DOTM Leader Optimus Prime is my favourite -- he retains some of the nice changes from Buster Optimus Prime (i.e. tanks detach and combine to form the gun) and does away with the cumbersome flip out blades, but for me I really like how they reduced the size of the "ribs" (the two red bits under the windscreen pecs) which was always a more fiddly part of transforming ROTF OP back to truck mode (I often spent more time working on those panels than on transforming the rest of the toy!) But either way, between TF1, ROTF and DOTM we've seen each Leader Optimus Prime toy becoming better than its predecessor. This clearly hasn't been the case w/ AoE.

Looking at images of Generations Leader AOE Optimus Prime and comparing it with First Edition AOE Optimus Prime... I don't know if either one offers a substantial advantage over the other. For each plus that one has over the other, I can see a minus.

I can't tell which toy is inherently better or worse than the other... just take your pick (and maybe go for the cheapest option? )