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Thread: Toy review - Studio Series 44 Optimus Prime (Dark of the Moon leader class)

  1. #1
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    Default Toy review - Studio Series 44 Optimus Prime (Dark of the Moon leader class)

    Series - Generations
    Sub-line - Studio Series
    Size/class - Leader
    New/remould/redeco - Remould of Studio Series 32 Optimus Prime with new parts
    Wave - 3
    Released here - N/A
    Approximate Retail Price - N/A
    Approximate Size - 17cm
    Allegiance - Autobot
    Alt-mode - Peterbilt 379 tractor with refrigerator box trailer
    Main Features/Gimmicks - trailer transforms into armoury and jetwing flight tech pack
    Main Colours - red, blue, grey
    Main Accessories - trailer, gun, sword, axe, shield, jetwing guns

    Vehicle mode







    Optimus Prime transforms into the familiar Peterbilt 379 truck. Several parts were remoulded to create Studio Series 32 Optimus, and among the changes was a brighter red plastic compared to the darker red of SS05. For some strange reason, when the roof panel that rotates to expose Optimus's head was remade, the running lights were omitted from the mould.

    Rather annoyingly, there doesn't seem to be any ground clearance at the front of the truck, so the six wheels can't catch and roll. Optimus therefore slides along surfaces when pushed.

    Optimus himself features different paint applications to the SS32 version of the mould; the windows are painted silver over blue plastic where they were previously blue paint over transparent plastic, and the bonnet now has the screen-accurate yellow paint gradient in addition to the blue flames.

    The big draw for the vehicle, of course, is the fact that it has a trailer. It's suitably large and boxy, making Optimus more imposing when attached. Sadly, the trailer is largely devoid of paint, the only paint being the blue on the refrigeration unit and black on the tyres.

    While the base figure is a voyager class figure, the leader class price point is justified by the amount of plastic parts in the trailer, which feels like there is probably another voyager class figure's worth of plastic in there.



    Next to Dark of the Moon Megatron.

    Transformation

    Surprisingly complex for a figure of this size. The way the nose of the truck folds to become the arms and sides of the torso is particularly involved.

    Unfortunately, the rectangular peg that holds the front bumper together snapped after a few transformations. Hopefully this is a one-off as opposed to an inherent weakness in the mould and I was just placing too much stress on the joint. It may be best if owners connect the bumper at an angle and then straighten the two halves, as opposed to connecting them straight-on.

    Robot mode









    The SS32 version of the mould is substantially modified from the original Studio Series Optimus, with a more screen-accurate chest, abdomen, forearms, and thighs, a more compact back, and different lower legs. The end result is, save for the legs, better-looking than SS05.

    Articulation is what you would expect - ball-jointed neck, rotation in two axes for the shoulders, rotator in the upper arm, hinged elbow, rotating wrist, rotating waist, rotation in two axes at the hips, a thigh rotator, a hinged knee, and movement in two axes at the ankle. The waist rotation, rearward leg movement at the hip, and thigh rotation can be hindered somewhat by the wheels on the thighs, but Optimus can accommodate most poses one might want.

    The faux chest windscreen is painted red and silver over blue plastic, where these parts were red and blue painted over transparent plastic on SS32.

    The one mould change from SS32 is the abdomen, which is accurate to the modified abdomen from Dark of the Moon. This part can be switched out for the abdomen piece from Studio Series Jetfire, which will allow this figure to combine with Jetfire.





    The gun comes from SS32, but the sword, axe, and shield are new.

    Trailer

    The trailer splits into two large components: the circular armoury with mounting points for Optimus's weapons, and the Jetwing flight pack.







    The armoury stands 21cm tall, and has numerous 5mm ports along its interior, as well as tabs moulded specifically for the sword and axe.





    The Jetwing has a wingspan of 37cm, making for an imposing silhouette, although the wings can be folded in to take up less room on a shelf. Annoyingly, the Jetwing's engine nacelles are only moulded on one side, and are visibly hollowed out when viewed from the front.





    The included display backdrop is a shot of the Driller in Chicago.

    Verdict

    I was reluctant to get Studio Series Optimus at first, because I already owned some very good moulds of movieverse Optimus; I was driven more by a sense of 'completionism' to see and experience for myself the 'powered-up' forms of Optimus as well as the trailer. As you would expect, the larger figures like RotF leader Optimus and MPM-4 look more screen-accurate in both modes, so this is far from a 'definitive' movieverse Optimus, but the figure has nonetheless grown on me.

    If you don't already have a Studio Series Optimus Prime, this is the one to get, being the most complete and screen-accurate version of the mould; however, its lack of domestic availability is the biggest point against it. The lack of paint for the trailer and weapons, the inability to roll freely, and the hollow engine nacelles for the Jetwing are also downsides, but the play and display options this figure has help to compensate for these shortcomings.
    Last edited by Magnus; 10th July 2020 at 08:05 PM.

  2. #2
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    Thanks for the review! Seems like I'm in a similar situation to you. I also own MPM4 and RotF Optimus plus multiple others so I wasn't originally going to get any SS ones but acquiring Jetfire has made me want one. It's good to know that I'll at least be getting value for money if I get this one, if I can get it for relatively cheap of course.

  3. #3
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    Looks like they fixed up the issue of that extremely hard to transform chest section featured on the ROTF leader OP. They would have received a ton of complaints back in the day.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by shockNwave View Post
    Looks like they fixed up the issue of that extremely hard to transform chest section featured on the ROTF leader OP. They would have received a ton of complaints back in the day.
    As much as I love that mold, I can see why that particular bit of engineering didn't stick. Finnicky, not easy to get lined up and it felt as if you were breaking the figure.
    I'm really just here for the free food and open bar.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by nalops View Post
    Thanks for the review! Seems like I'm in a similar situation to you. I also own MPM4 and RotF Optimus plus multiple others so I wasn't originally going to get any SS ones but acquiring Jetfire has made me want one. It's good to know that I'll at least be getting value for money if I get this one, if I can get it for relatively cheap of course.
    I got mine from Oh My Primus for SGD90 including postage, and ended up paying a little over AUD100, but it took quite a while to get here because of delays with the postal service. This was a month ago; no idea if it would be any different now.

    Quote Originally Posted by shockNwave View Post
    Looks like they fixed up the issue of that extremely hard to transform chest section featured on the ROTF leader OP. They would have received a ton of complaints back in the day.
    Quote Originally Posted by SharkyMcShark View Post
    As much as I love that mold, I can see why that particular bit of engineering didn't stick. Finnicky, not easy to get lined up and it felt as if you were breaking the figure.
    The catch with this figure is that it's a faux pair of windscreens. Larger figures like RotF leader and MPM-4 have the actual windscreens on the chest. Being smaller, it seems that the designers decided to use a faux pair of windscreens for both versions of Studio Series Optimus.

    If it helps, MPM-4 doesn't have the same alignment issues as the RotF leader where you have to slide a prong into a slot for the Mech-Alive gimmick to work.

  6. #6
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    Hi, anyone know where to get this now? I was hoping to order through OMP but guess I waited too long that now they're apparently sold out .

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by nalops View Post
    Hi, anyone know where to get this now? I was hoping to order through OMP but guess I waited too long that now they're apparently sold out .
    Sorry - I snapped that one up.

    I wasn't finding many places that had it going for a decent price. My remaining hope was that Hasbro had some sitting in the storehouse like the Megatron and Jetfire wave that someone would pick up.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Seraphim Prime View Post
    Sorry - I snapped that one up.

    I wasn't finding many places that had it going for a decent price. My remaining hope was that Hasbro had some sitting in the storehouse like the Megatron and Jetfire wave that someone would pick up.
    That's ok. I really should've bought it sooner so completely my fault. Hope you enjoy it.

    I bought one from eBay because it was relatively cheap but the seller seems to have disappeared and the tracking number isn't showing anything yet. I'll give it a week or 2 maybe but will probably have to claim for my money back and try to find another one.

  9. #9
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    I got the Buzzworthy Bumblebee version. AFAIK it's the same toy, just different box and variant tray insert.
























  10. #10
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    For anyone who plans to pick this one up, that big rectangular tab for the bumper is prone to breaking, as I typed in my review; it's a known point of failure for this figure. Some people on Reddit have typed that they shave or file it down a bit - that might be worth investigating.

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