Toy Review - JP 2010 Primus

[Sky Shadow]

Worst. Review thread. Ever.

It's hard to review when, as far as I know, nobody actually has one yet - all people have to go on is pictures and the original Cybertron/G1-double-0 release.

If I'm going just on the photos, my review would be:

This recolour is the best representation of Cybertron ever released. And it transforms into God. If one doesn't own the original, surely this should be more of a must have-for people's collections than anything else released this year.

[jaydisc]

It's hard to review when, as far as I know, nobody actually has one yet

Ed Zachary

[Sky Shadow]

Ed Zachary

Ed Zachary rike your @$%!

To be fair, there are some strong hints in G1 that suggests that Primus does have a robot mode. Afterall why would there be a giant head inside of Cybertron?

Also, since Primus is a multiversal singularity, this toy is, by definition, the same dude as G1 Primus.

Sorry to keep harping on about it, but if I do pre-order this from Robot Kingdom (so I can ultimately review it here) with other stuff that's in stock now, will it all ship at the same time as Primus comes in? And when is it charged?

[jaydisc]

Yes. Charged immediately.

[Sky Shadow]

Yes. Charged immediately.

Thanks Jay. Sounds like a plan then...

[kaiden]

Unfortunately i ordered this (and unicron) at the same time as i ordered shadow scyther which will get delivered to me in december -_-

so i cant even think about reviewing this toy any time soon and i dont have the previous version.

Worst. Review thread. Ever.

We were reviewing the price :P

[Lint]

Okay heres my lengthy review, pics pending

I don't own the original Primus figure so I will be drawing little comparison with the original figure and evaluating him as a standalone purchase.

The Skinny
Impressive looking figure! Is grey, not silver like in promo pic. Looks a lot better in person than review photos and videos would have you believe. Unified colour scheme and rustic/metallic paint apps give Creator Primus credibility as an ancient god.

Packaging
Creator Primus comes in a nice collectors-grade box with the blue artwork that can combine with Dominator Unicron's box to complete the blue orange mosaic. The back of the box has the promo artwork most of you would have seen from RK and other sites selling the figure. Opening the box you will find that Primus is held to a cardboard frame in robot mode by our old nemesis the metal twistyties. I was dismayed when I first saw Unicron packaged in such a manner because:
A) twistyties are a pain to undo
B) its way more difficult to replace a figure back into it's packaging when its tied to cardboard backing.
After undoing way too many twistyties (i refuse to cut them) and trying to liberate Primus like King Kong (the liberation was far less graceful and theatrical than I had hoped) I resolved that I would never attempt to tie him back to his original backing and put him back in his box. Why couldn't TakaraTomy put these 2010 figures in bubble form packaging like the Masterpiece line? Huge dissapointment.

Robot Mode
Creator Primus is a handsome boy. I don't have the original cybertron version but I think the 2010 version tops it with shiny metallic paint apps and an abundance of detailing. The grey has a pearly lustre to it (less easy to see now that I have no natural light) and is not a flat colour like I had feared. The gold/sand colour looks a lot better in real life than it does in photographs. While it is not gold as some of the promo pics had us believe, it has the same type of pearly lustre as the aforementioned grey and is not ugly at all. The dark blue is the same kind of subtlely metallic plastic we've seen on figures such as WFC Prime. A lot of the finer details have been accentuated by black detailing.

Creator Primus' has far more poseablility than I would have expected for a figure of his size class. The only articulation limitations I've found so far are his wrists (no articulation whatsoever). Other poseability limitations include his wings and arse kibble which restrict limb movement backwards and his rubbish toes + heavy upper body which limits his balance to one hip click forwards and backwards. That said Primus looks his best standing up straight and being a deity probably shouldn't reduce himself to tacky action poses . One thing I have note is that Primus has five digit articulation in his hands with double knuckle joints on all fingers. This is fantastic except he has no accessory to hold. Also his fingers are disturbingly long.

Gimmicks in robot mode include two firing shoulder launchers. Creepy grabber arm things in the legs and the arm cannons which pop-up and out when the force chip in inserted in the slot. I don't know what the purpose of this is, maybe its so that Primus only accidentally shoots off his fingertips instead of his whole bloody ginormous hand when he's feeling triggerhappy.

Transformation
Primus' transformation is nothing to write home about. It's fairly simplistic but I still get a kick out of it because its fun imagining him unfurl from planet to robot. Transformation "necessitates" the use of the Omega Lock accessory which I find to be quite plain in appearance.

All his electronic gimmicks kick in during transformation. The omega lock accessory lights up whenever it is plugged in to any of the four available sockets. There are electronic sounds when you open the lock to unveil the planetary guns and more sounds when you use the lock to unveil Primus' head in the final stage of transformation. His eyes also flash red for a bit at this stage! The goofy sound effects start to piss you off after a short while. I wish there was some other means to make his eyes light up after he has been transformed.

Planet mode
Creator Primus transforms into a fairly solid planet Cybertron. In planet mode all the pieces lock together reasonably well. I have one hemisphere on my one which is a little loose but it doesn't detract from the spherical appearance of the planet. The unified colour scheme really shines here as Primus really does look like planet Cybertron. The big blue fists and cannons which are showing in this mode are a little distracting but they don't bother me a great deal. The molded details are really impressive and the sandy rubber pieces look good in this mode. The four cities at the top of the planet are painted in metallic gold which is really pretty. At the 'back' of the planet the city which I believe is 'Kaon' is really well sculpted though it looks like a big blue barnacle on the face of the planet. Though the planet looks nice in this mode it is not the bright silver ball of bling as advertised in the promo pics which is disappointing. While it still looks great I would have like a little more paint detailing across the planet aside from the sparse splotches of copper and silver at various points of interest across the planet. Also absent in this mode is the black detailing which made the robot mode look so good.

In planet mode there are a few gimmicks. Firstly are all the minicon ports, you can whack several minicons onto Cybertron. They don't activate anything and it makes the planet look ridiculous so don't do it. Secondly are the side cannons. They work exactly like they do in robot mode and actually make a lot more sense in this mode. I wish the 'turret' could rotate though. Lastly are the planetary guns. By inserting the Omega Lock into the top port and shifting it the two top hemispheres of Cybertron split apart and the planetary guns deploy forwards. Looks somewhat ridiculous but is still cool with some imagination.

Overall
This is an excellent figure. Despite this version not existing in any official canon I think he is a fair and complimentary imagining of the TFverse deity and the planet Cybertron. Compared to what I've seen of the Cybertron version of this mold, the unified colour scheme makes for a much better looking planet and in robot mode Primus definitely has credibility as an ancient god instead of looking like a cheap plastic toy. While i'm not pleased that TT have pulled a Hasbro photoshop con job on us (I will never trust a TT promo pic again) Primus is still a great looking figure. Whether he is worth the money I would say, for me, yes. Previous owners of this mould might not find as much value in it having already played with the toy. Especially since there is no retooling and does not come with any new accessories on top of the planet key, omega lock and missiles. Overall, despite the high cost, I am satisfied with my purchase. He is an impressive looking figure which looks great on display. While I will probably add some custom paint details for the fun of it, I would be otherwise pleased to keep the figure as it is. My absolute biggest gripe with this figure is the packaging.