Toy Review - Legacy Evolution Armada Universe Optimus Prime

[Handsprime]

Armada Universe Optimus Prime
Series - Generations
Sub-line - Legacy Evolution
Size/class - Commander
New/remould/redeco - New
Wave - 2
Released here - June 2023
Approximate Retail Price - $179 ($139 during the Toy Sale)
Approximate Size - 28cm (Super Mode)
Allegiance - Autobot
Alt-mode - Truck Cab
Main Features/Gimmicks - Trailer that can convert to either a base, or his legs for Super Mode
Main Colours - yellow, red, black
Main Accessories - Ion blaster, Matrix, insignia plate, left and right smokestack guns

Robot Mode



For the first time since Armada ended, we have received a new toy based off Armada Optimus Prime! Compared to the original figure, he is better articualted, with his wrists, feet, and even his neck! Under his grill is hit Matrix of Leadership, which is removeable this time as well. The transformation isn't as simple this time around, as you have to move the sides of the front of his truck before you can move everything around. Also you don't need to slide his arms to reveal the hands, as they turn around instead. There are some other differences as well, but it's mostly the same. The smokestacks can't combine to form a small weapon anymore, but they can combine with the Ion Blaster.





What makes Optimus a Commander Class toy is his super mode and my primus what a super mode he is. If you remember the original, it was pretty much a brick with his legs not being able to move at all, and his arms having limited articulation (I think later versions of the mold fixed that issue), but this figure honestly makes the original look like a babys toy. Combine everything I mentioned the smaller robot has, PLUS finger articulation similar to Jetfire. Honestly I can't praise how well done this super mode is. While he might not feature any of the electronics the original figure has, to be honest I don't mind.

Transformation is a little bit more complex this time around, and I don't know where his grill is meant to go, as I'm unable to make it look like the product image, but for the most part I got him right.


While the figure doesn't have any mini-con ports sadly, he does have plenty of 5mm ports, so if you want go put your micromasters from Siege and Earthrise onto him. They don't activate any features though (but to be honest all armada figures in the Legacy toyline have their features manually activated instead)


His base mode is a bit eh. I guess with making the super mode as superior as it is there has to be a few drawbacks. I miss his left leg's turrent. Still better than G2 Laser Optimus' Base mode though.

Vehicle Mode


Not a lot I can really say. It's faithful to the original, that's all I got.

Final thoughts
Commander Class Armada Optimus Prime is an incrediable update of the character. Even if sadly doesn't come with sparkplug, he is still a fantastic figure to play with. He's also the first* Optimus Prime toy to have a CHUG toy that isn't from G1 or War for Cybertron. Defintely recommend picking him up.




*You can make the arguement that Animated Optimus Prime was the first due to his legends toy being released in the Universe (2008) toyline, but seeing as the Animated toyline didn't have that class, and some of the legends toys were also released in multipacks in the Animated toyline, I'm making the arguement he doesn't count. Also Galaxy Upgrade Optimus Prime was based off Cybertron Optimus Prime, but since he wasn't advertised as being from the Cybertron universe, he techincally is still a G1 character. And there were some non-g1 Optimus Prime toys released in the Universe (2008) toyline, but they were either repacks, or that one redeco that was included with a bunch of cybertron repacks. Look he's defintely the first toy DESIGNED for the CHUG toyline, and not just a redeco that's a form of reissuing the figure.

[doublespy]

TRUCK MODE:
Chunky and beefy looking with all the right check points that set the tone for the UT trilogy, the truck mode is very faithful to the original. One can see Shogo Hasui's deliberate decison here to make as little
modern update as possible. This was his baby way back then after all. The tread section was a favorite design element back and here it retains a powerful look to it.




The knee cannons doubling as trailer stands is a neat touch.


The stand alone cab has a fatter but cleaner looking hitch/truck bed and looks more cohesive than the original.




BENDY PRIME MODE:
Again, very faithful to the original, even down to the tactile feeling you get when handling it. That chunky and dense plastic feel to it. It's almost magical.





The Ion blaster is nice but has the same problem like last year's Motormaster: too big for small Prime, too small for Super Prime. So I prefer for small Prime to just use his arm cannons.




The matrix is underwhelming, but being Hasui I get it he would want to throw this in there.


He has all the modern articulation points minus a waist rotation due to combine mode engineering. You get an ab crunch also because of that, but I personally find it not being able to provide meaningful extra range without a proper waist rotation and extra up range in the neck. I also feel the heavy ratchets in the hips and legs affect the fluidity of posing, and there's just a bit too much give in between ratchet positions in the hips for my liking. But all in all, a very well designed articulation package here.



BASE MODE:
Because of the different engineering approach to the Super mode, I feel the base mode here is worse than the original which had a pretty great turret station for Prime to man. I do like the look of the missile/double gun pod here, and the expendability with the 5mm ports all over.



TRANSFORMATION:
Love the brand new Super mode engineering Hasui was able to pack in. Great multi point connection between small Prime and the pants and backpack. The flow to the process is so satisfying - a signature Shogo Hasui design trait now imho.

SUPER MODE:
What a beefy unit this is. Although I doubt it weighs significantly more, it just feels much denser and sturdier than say the skeleton Menasor from last year. It's a perfect recreation of that early 2000's TF toy tactile feel. The aesthetics here like in the other modes are on point too. The metallic highlights compliment the color scheme beautifully. The yellow eyes are definitely a design choice that make you wonder though--Hopefully Hasui will get to do another in-depth interview soon!




Touching on the size of the gun mentioned earlier again, the exhaust cannons can be attached to bulk it up and imho this looks much better for the Super mode.


Initially I thought the automatic 5mm port feature in the hands was taken out because of engineering reason (maybe to allow for better tabbing of super mode hands when stored in the legs). Now that I have him in hand, it looks like they were simply costed out, which is really a shame.



As with last year's Menasor, articulation on this big 'bot is amazing. It kind of "cheats" the waist rotation, but it is there. One complaint I have is that TT have gone into a bad habit of not providing leader class and above figures with in and out direction ratcheted hip joints, only front to back. These here can be tightened via screws at the back, but for a fairly top heavy figure like this, sideways ratchets provide the extra stability when you want to put the figure in more dynamic poses without having to worry about the joint giving way.

Also worth noting, that shoulder ratchet joint is much stronger than the shoulder armor tab where it opens up as small Prime's side skirt piece, so you need to careful and hold onto the shoulder when moving.




Again, a decent size and heft to the figure. Feels very good in hand.


VERDICT:
This is imho the perfect specimen of what can be done and how it should be executed at the Commander price point. Shogo Hasui's passion for this character as the OG designer certainly helped and it really shows. He hits that sweet spot again, of not overcomplicating the design yet delivering hand candy level satisfaction.

Even if you have no connection to the character, who doesn't like a Super mode Optimus Prime?

[Gehirn]

As someone that eyed off the original Armade Prime in the toy aisle in the early 2000's and now finally getting a figure based on it I'm pretty happy with it. A fun figure to transform and pose, and hefty too so i hope to see the combined size of Overload and Jetfire sometime in the future.

The negatives being some very strong ratchet joints as mentioned above getting in the way of posing. No Minicon ofcourse. Base mode as well being pretty boring but I've never had an interest in any base mode. I also took the removable piece on the back skirt and hooked it into the empty space on the backpack, I prefer the look of that compared to it being on the skirt piece.

It also makes me want to get the other legacy armada figures despite not really being interested in what I've seen of them.

[SharkyMcShark]

I agree with the general consensus in this thread.

This is a really fun figure. I never had or wanted the original, though I loved the Bendy Prime smaller cab deluxe figure.

The smaller cab/robot looks super dynamic in a lot of poses. The only compromises it makes for combination are a) no waist swivel and b) the truck 'bed' is kind of elongated. Otherwise, a great standalone figure.

The trailer looks really good. I love the odd proportions (wide front end, tracks at the rear) - the fact that it's not just a grey box with wheels really tickles me.

Transformation for both is intuitive and on the basic side, especially compared to Rodimus Prime and Menasor (which truck with trailer are we getting for next year's Commander? (Ultra Magnus rumours intensify)

Combined mode is solid and fun to mess around with.

Only with only a few minor foibles

1. No minicons included, or backward compatibility it seems. Given the way that the updates to Starscream, Hotshot and Megatron have been handled, Minicons seem to have been left behind.
2. The 'base' mode is trash pure.
3. I share long term concerns about the health of the leg joints, given the lack of side to side hip ratcheting.
4. The mono-skirt hip flap makes dynamic poses difficult. It really ought to have been a split hip flap so the whole thing doesn't have to move as one.


As an aside, it's been a great year for Voyager-ish sized Optimus Primes, between the smaller cab figure here, ROTB and the Gamer Edition Prime.

[GoktimusPrime]

Thanks to Bladestorm for loaning me TL Armada Optimus Prime

Box front


Box back


Truck cab. Note that this is the only photo I've taken with the truck cab transformed correctly. I forgot to slide the roof panel back in the other photos, which does make it look more accurate to the original toy; but this here is the official configuration.

Length: 18.5cm, Width: 9cm, Height: 6cm

Truck with trailer

Length: 31cm, Width: 14cm, 10.5cm

From above


Side view


Rear view


Comparison with Super-Con (Deluxe Class) Armada Optimus Prime


Comparison with Super Base (Leader Class) Armada Optimus Prime's cab


Comparison with Super Base Armada Prime w/ trailer


View from above


Comparison with Super-Con Armada Prime w/ Super Base trailer

Note that while both Super-Con and Super Base Armada Prime can hook up with the Armada trailer, Legacy Armada Prime cannot; there is no backwards compatibility here.

All 3 Armada Primes, truck cabs


TL Armada Prime, basic robot mode

Height: 17cm, Width: 11cm, Depth: 6.5cm

Basic robot with gun


Basic robot mode with combined gun

The muffler guns cannot combine with each other to form a pistol

Matrix chamber open


Matrix


Comparison with Super Base Armada Prime, basic robot


Comparison with Super-Con Armada Prime


Comparison with both Armada Primes and their Mini-Cons


Trailer with both stands deployed


Trailer in base mode

Width: 38cm, Length: 23.5cm, Height: 11.5cm (without gun)

Front view


Comparison with original Armada Prime's trailer base

The original trailer has several gimmicks, such as pop up gun, missile launcher and Mini-Con car launchers etc. which are all absent on the Legacy trailer base

Armada Prime's trailer base, close up


TL Armada Prime's trailer base, close up


Armada and TL Armada Prime, super robot mode comparison


TL Armada Optimus Prime, super robot mode

Height: 26cm, Width: 17.5cm, Depth: 11.5cm



Super Mode Armada Primes, side view

TL Armada Prime is a far more compact and space-saving figure. The original Armada Super Base Optimus Prime toy has a big gap in the back, which is part of the gimmick that allows this toy to combine with Armada Jetfire or Overload.

PROS

• Trailer is unburdened by having to house Mini-Con gimmicks and play features. This importantly allows it to form the articulated lower half of the super robot.

• Not having to make space for Jetfire or Overload also makes the toy far more space efficient and compact.

• Metallic silver smoke stacks look so much better than the clear ones on the original Super Base OP or the greyish silver on Super-Con OP.

• Metallic silver grill/chest also looks better than either Armada OPs.

• Grey fists look better than the blue fists on original Super Base Armada OP and are more cartoon-like

• For people who are into cartoon-likeness on toys, this figure aims to please

CONS

• No Mini-Con and no Mini-Con ports (not even 'dead' ports for existing Mini-Cons to attach to)

• The waist section on the basic robot mode is prone to coming apart too easily

• No waist articulation on either basic or super robot mode

• Yellow eyes on super robot mode head blends in a bit too much with the golden mouthplate, crest and side antennae on super robot head. Also not as Armada-accurate as having red eyes

• For people who enjoy the gimmicks on the original toy, including the automorphing trailer activated by infrared control from the truck cab; these features are all gone

• Head sits kinda low; doesn't look as nice as the higher set head on the original. Also lessens cartoon-likeness.

Overall
This toy has sacrificed gimmicks in order to be a superior action figure and is, on the whole, pretty cartoon-like. This personally isn't my cup of tea, but a welcome update over the original Super Base figure which, even 20 years ago, was a limited Transformers action figure. Recommended if you're after an upgraded proper action figure of Armada Optimus Prime.

[Deano85]

You can attach mini-cons to his 5mm shoulder ports

[SharkyMcShark]

You can attach mini-cons to his 5mm shoulder ports

The WFC era Minicons, sure.

Not the Armada era Minicons unfortunately.

[Tha_Phantom]

I grew up with Armada and this lack of minicon compatibility really doesn't bother me at all. I'm just happy these are attempting to be functional Transformers now instead of a toy built around a gimmick.

On that note, absolutely am loving this new take on Prime. He might just be figure of the year.

[KELPIE]

I grew up with Armada and this lack of minicon compatibility really doesn't bother me at all. I'm just happy these are attempting to be functional Transformers now instead of a toy built around a gimmick.

Exactly my opinion on things like Powermaster characters, heck even Targetmasters. I'd much rather a higher quality figure than one hampered by limitations, be that physical or budgetary a-la Pointblank.

[Tha_Phantom]

I'd much rather a higher quality figure than one hampered by limitations, be that physical or budgetary a-la Pointblank.

Yep. One thing I will say I feel is missing here are the retractable 5mm ports in the fists like what Siege Jetfire had. If they can't do those, then I definitely don't want them further compromising the figure to include a minicon that will probably be terrible anyway (remember WFC Micromasters).

In an ideal world, this would come with the minicon and everything else possible thrown at it, but budgets and price points are a thing.