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Thread: Toy Review - Studio Series 61 Sentinel Prime

  1. #1
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    Default Toy Review - Studio Series 61 Sentinel Prime

    Series - Generations
    Sub-line - Studio Series (Dark of the Moon)
    Size/class - Voyager
    New/remould/redeco - New
    Wave - 9
    Released here ? June/July 2020
    Approximate Retail Price - $50
    Approximate Size - 17cm
    Allegiance - Autobot
    Alt-mode ? Rosenbauer Panther fire fighting truck
    Main Features/Gimmicks ? Screen accuracy and licenced hecicle mode
    Main Colours ? Red and charcoal grey
    Main Accessories ? sword that also froms part of alt mode



    Sentinel is just the tiniest bit taller than SS44 Optimus.

    Looking at Sentinel Prime over the last two days, the figure has really grown on me.
    To say this figure has tons of details sounds almost clich?, but it really does.
    I think the body shape that stands out amongst the Studio Series as its very sharp and angular and carry the character of an elder statesman that could kick your butt.
    Everything seems to be in proportion, except the thumbs. The hands are mounded in a typical grasp pose but the thumb wraps over almost all the fingers. It?s not really an issue, just odd.





    I'm pretty sure a lot of folks were not fans of all the panels that needed to line up on Leader Class Sentinel Prime to form the truck mode.

    The studio series Sentinel prime still has a few panels to line up, but I think it does it in a better and more intuitive way. Think along the lines of Evasion Optimus Prime from Age of extinction where panels flip around to show robot parts on the other side.

    The other bug bear people may have with this figure is that the windows on the chest are fake. I really liked the way the front of the truck on leader class figure collapsed and folded on itself to form the chest using the actual truck windows as the chest. I?d say the only reasons we didn?t get a similar transformation was budget, size of the figure and aiming for a more screen accurate chest.


    The Head of the figure is brilliant. I thought I may have had a QC issue as the helmet was asymmetrical until I looked up online and realised its actually battle damage and appears on the movie CG model.

    The truck has some beautiful detail and it a shame more silver paint wasn't used to highlight the details that do get missed the the dark charcoal grey. A good figure for a reprolabels set, if they make one.
    The truck mode rolls quite well and the fires fighting arm rises and lowers. That about it. I do have a slight issue with mine that it seems the tabs on one of the swords is a tad big for the hole it peg into and has caused a small stress lines.


    To transform from truck mode: pull the panels off each side of the truck between the 1st and 2nd second wheel. These form the sword later on.
    The back two third of the truck split horizontally and the lower section forms the legs. Each leg splits in half again and the section with the wheels twists so the wheels are on the inner leg. Some of the panels fold against the leg and others twist to form the heel.
    Aside from the toes tilting up and down there is no movement in the ankles. There are panels that open up at the hips to help give the illusion of more mass.

    The fists unpeg from the top of the truck and swing out. The top of the truck then folds down and splits to form the cape. Fold down the mirrors on the driver cab.
    From here is easier to get a finger nail under the top panel of the cab to unclip it and fold it twice on itself.
    The arm, cape and upper torso assembly need to be rotated 180 degrees.
    The top half of the torso folds down onto the lower half as the folded divers cab now becomes a windscreen butt.
    The head flips up and the divers cab side windows fold in. The panels with the arms now continue to fold around the upper torso and form the chest. Flip up the shoulders and clip the sword together though his fist and your done.

    There?s a lot of dark charcoal grey on the figures with red paint and splashes of silver in a few key places. There is some nice movie accurate detailing behind the chest windows too.


    To top it off Sentinel prime comes with a display background from the battle of Chicago.
    I wish he also came with a shield or at least 'the seed.'

    I really like this figure with its screen accuracy, unique body shape and it's fun transformation which is far more fun than its previous leader class incarnation.

  2. #2
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    Vehicle mode

    A black and red Rosenbauer Panther airport crash tender.







    Next to the original leader class from the Dark of the Moon toy line. The older figure obviously has more fine detail since it's bigger, but its real advantage is having better colour separation, since it has three different colours of plastic making up the body. It also depicts the Panther's High Reach Extendable Turret more accurately than the Studio Series figure, where the turret has two hinged joints for greater reach.

    On the other hand, the Studio Series figure has more detail and parts moulded into the roof and the rear of the truck, and it has a deeper, richer red that is more screen-accurate than the red on the older figure.



    Next to Optimus Prime. Sentinel Prime looks undersized in vehicle mode.



    With Optimus and DotM Megatron.

    Transformation

    Transforming Sentinel Prime into robot mode is fairly straightforward.

    There are two ways to transform the windscreen and front of the roof. Sentinel comes packaged with the roof folded in behind the windscreen, but it is also possible to have the front section of roof unfolded and attached to his upper back. This looks neater when viewed from the side, as well as securing the cape, but the trade-off is the loss of the waist articulation.

    Transforming to vehicle mode, on the other hand, is more of a challenge. Sentinel is one of those figures that needs a bit of pressing and 'massaging' to get everything aligned correctly, as the unfolded leg panels can collapse out of position when connecting them to the top of the truck.

    Robot mode

    Sentinel Prime stands just over 17.5cm tall. He has amazing screen-accuracy, but needs more colour - some more red paint and some applications of white paint would really enhance the look. Also, the use of that charcoal plastic means that he looks very dark, so perhaps having some parts moulded in a lighter grey plastic would have looked better.

    Articulation is fairly good, although other figures have done better. The head is mounted on a ball joint, but movement is limited due to the shape of the head sculpt. The shoulders have the usual two axes of motion, with a rotator above the hinged elbow and a wrist rotator. If you've folded the roof panel down, the waist has limited rotation. The hips have two axes of motion, there is a rotator just above the knee, and the knee itself is hinged. The feet are static, although the toes can angle down if the foot isn't flat against a surface. Even if the feet can't move to sit flat if the legs are angled, the feet themselves are large enough that Sentinel should be stable in a variety of poses.





    As previously mentioned, it is possible to do two different things with the front section of roof - one can either have it folded in behind the windscreen, or have it lie flat against the back, attaching to the upper back below the cape.

    His sole accessory is his double-bladed sword, consisting of two panels that detach from the sides of the vehicle during transformation. This means that he can wield a single-bladed weapon or a double-bladed one. The lack of other accessories does limit play and display options, especially since we saw Sentinel with a shield and a rust gun in the movie.



    I must admit, I like this look, as it looks like Sentinel is dual-wielding machetes or even meat cleavers.



    Next to Optimus Prime and Megatron. While he looks to be a good size next to Optimus, Sentinel is too short next to Megatron. This leads into another gripe I have with Sentinel - I personally would have preferred that Sentinel be a bit bigger, to make him closer in size to Megatron as well as give his vehicle mode a better scale when compared to Optimus. It would have been good if Sentinel was a small leader class figure rather than a voyager class figure, and that to help justify the leader class price point, he would come with a full set of accessories, that is, a separate (non-integrated) sword, his shield, and his rust gun.

    Verdict

    It feels like the old leader and the new Studio Series figure have opposite strengths and weaknesses - the DotM figure is bigger, more detailed, more articulated, has more colour variety, and has more (and better) accessories, but the Studio Series figure is more screen-accurate in its moulding and its red colour, and has a simpler and therefore faster transformation.

    I've typed up quite a few gripes I have with this figure, and it kind of feels like nitpicking, because Sentinel Prime isn't a bad figure and I won't say not to get it. As Silverbolt already typed, Sentinel looks great and the simpler transformation compared to the older figure is more fun. I guess I was hoping for more.
    Last edited by Magnus; 10th July 2020 at 08:02 PM.

  3. #3
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    I had the opportunity to handle this toy last weekend and my thoughts echo Magnus'. I think both the DOTM Leader and SS Sentinel Prime toys have their pros and cons which Magnus covered well. Not really my jam but a nice enough figure if this is the sort of thing that interests you.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime View Post
    Not really my jam
    So naturally I went and bought one.

    (meh, $35 at Big W -- couldn't resist. But upon opening the toy I was really glad that I got it. Okay, the fire engine mode doesn't look as nice as the DOTM Leader Class figure, but the robot mode looks better and isn't back heavy. I like the way that the blades can form either a single or paired weapon, and I really like how it actually forms part of the vehicle (instead of just needing to stored away). The transformation is far more intuitive and less of a laborious chore than the Leader Class figure. Not the biggest fan of the way that the hips are permanently thrusting forwards and a common bane that I have Studio Series... why you no have insignia? Yeah, I know it's probably because the screen model doesn't have any, but I don't care -- I wants faction logos! Okay, on a more serious note, I find that real draw back is that the wheels don't really roll. Not on mine at least. There's not a whole lot of clearance underneath the fire engine mode. But aside from that it's a really neat toy. Incidentally I was watching classic Star Trek when I was photographing and transforming this toy - so I literally had the voice of Leonard Nimoy in the background.












  5. #5
    Jellico is offline Rank 6 - Dedicated Member
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    I found a storage location for his blades. Attach the folded blades on the back side of the fists. The blade runs up the back of the forearm and blends in really well.

  6. #6
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    I used a silver sharpie on his blades edges.


  7. #7
    Jellico is offline Rank 6 - Dedicated Member
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    Quote Originally Posted by Magnus View Post
    Vehicle mode
    Sentinel is one of those figures that needs a bit of pressing and 'massaging' to get everything aligned correctly, as the unfolded leg panels can collapse out of position when connecting them to the top of the truck.
    After spending 15 minutes massaging his right rear I have given up and applied a hair dryer. Much better. I think the upper deck might be suffering some bending in the box.

  8. #8
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    I might have lucked out as I find that my Studio Series Sentinel Prime doesn't require panel massaging - unlike my Leader Class SP which requires copious massaging and parts realigning. :/ I find SS SP to be far less laboriously tedious transformation than the DOTM Leader.

  9. #9
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    Like how the box features the Decepticon logo but once you open it up the instructions are pro-Autobot. A nice touch for those who have seen the movie.

    BTW, Is it true that DOTM leader Sentinel's transformation is second to ROTF leader Optimus for sheer difficulty?

  10. #10
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    I'm not a fan of this toy officially being a Decepticon. Canonically makes no sense. While it's true that DOTM Sentinel Prime did forge an alliance with the Decepticons, he never actually became a Decepticon. He even outright states that he hated the alliance but did it as he felt that it was a necessary evil. We hear this when Sentinel Prime says to Megatron, "I have deigned to work with you so that our planet may survive, but I will never work for you."
    Quote Originally Posted by Silverbolt View Post
    Allegiance - Autobot
    I don't blame Silverbolt for typing this. I didn't even notice the Decepticon logo on the box at first. It's stoopids. I've personally listed him as an Autobot on my collection spreadsheet (but made a note that he's actually a Decepticon). So annoying!

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