Toy Review - TFPrime Voyager Optimus Prime

[Paulbot]

Unlike Paul, I would have preferred the non-faceplate version of Prime as I think it matches the fiction's characterization of him more aptly.

I didn't mean "needs faceplate" I meant smaller proportions. The large creast and pointy spikes makes this head look interchangable with any other movieverse Voyager Prime. I've not seen enough TFP to have an opinion about faceplates but did think most Animated Prime toys would have been better without one, so I'd probably agree here.

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

I like it, Transformation is really nice, and aesthetics are good.

I agree with Paulbot on the face. Even though I was thinking he is mucho ugly in the cartoon with no nose (as the crest covers it), I was really looking forward to that ugly coming through on the toy as well. The faceplate is under the crest and points out hinting at a nose. Therefore, I can see PB's point about it being any other movie-verse Prime. He can also only look left and right on mine, probably due to a massively thick neck. That sucks a little bit.

My only other gripe would be his wobbly wobbly sword, which when plugged onto his hand is upside down, yet when plugged into his gun as a bayonet is the right way up. Although not too well on mine. Never seen the bayonet on the show, but always see the sword on his arm.

Aside from those two points, a great toy!

[jaydisc]

I didn't mean "needs faceplate" I meant smaller proportions. The large creast and pointy spikes makes this head look interchangable with any other movieverse Voyager Prime. I've not seen enough TFP to have an opinion about faceplates but did think most Animated Prime toys would have been better without one, so I'd probably agree here.

Sorry, I didn't mean to insinuate you had a faceplate opinion . You said "more traditional" and a lack of a faceplate to me is "less traditional". My bad.

[UltraMarginal]

I think as far as the toys go, a faeplateless face might be more expensive to mold and paint to a satisfactory quality level. my 2c

[GoktimusPrime]

I prefer it with the faceplate - makes him look more "Optimus Prime" to me. Besides, the mouth was really added to help make the character physically/facially emote to the audience, but the faceplate is his battle mode. Even in Beast Wars where the toy originally had a faceplate (because Hasbro originally meant for him to be Optimus Prime), but then Mainframe decided to make him a separate character then gave him a mouth to help make him look less Optimus Prime-like... I have to admit, during Season 1 whenever I'd see his faceplate slide on I was like "Yeah! BRING IT!"

Kids prefer to have an incarnation of their hero in their full action form. Look at the movie Green Lantern toys... even though we see Hal Jordan with his mask off a lot during the movie (he only wears it when he's in action mode) - most toys of movie Hal Jordan GL show him with the mask on. I guess it's like offering kids a choice between say a toy of their hero (e.g. Superman, Batman, Spider Man, He-Man etc.) or a toy of their hero's civilian identity (e.g. Clark Kent, Batman, Peter Parker, Prince Adam etc.). I think the "hero" toy has a wider appeal than the "civilian identity" toy.

If Hasbro made two different variants of this toy - one with a masked head and one with an unmasked head, I'd take the masked head. The other alternative would be to give him a mask that can come on and off like Animated Voyager Optimus Prime, which is a pretty neat feature IMO.

You know what's gonna happen now? Hasbro's gonna release a retool/repaint with an unmasked head.

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

My issue isn't the mask. It's that the head doesn't look all that close to Prime Prime. If you stuck Prime Prime's head on Movie Prime, I probably wouldn't notice the change.

[kurdt_the_goat]

I quite like this guy, i think he's got a clever transformation!
My only problem is that his shins sometimes become dislodged in robot mode.. probably can fix it with some clear nail polish.

[GoktimusPrime]

I got the Japanese version of this toy which has a darker colour scheme than the one in the photo on Post #1 of this thread.

Pics:
http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-...1324536989.jpg
http://tf.takaratomy.co.jp/toy/searc...mg_slide_1.jpg
http://tf.takaratomy.co.jp/toy/searc...mg_slide_2.jpg

The engineering of this toy is really similar to the Deluxe figure - they seem to transform in almost the same/very similar ways. But I must say that the design of this figure just works out better as a Voyager; especially with the faux chest windows. The transformation is also easier at this scale too; the arms on the Deluxe are really fiddly. I also really like how they put an Autobot insignia on the left shoulder! (why the Deluxe figure doesn't have an Autobot logo in robot mode baffles and annoys me)

So I would recommend the Voyager over the Deluxe if you're willing to splash out for the higher price point -- otherwise the Deluxe is fundamentally nearly the same as this toy.

[GoktimusPrime]

After having another fiddle with both Voyager and Deluxe Primes today, the Voyager really is the better figure. I take back what I said before about the transformations being very similar -- there are some similarities, mostly in the legs, but the rest of the transformation scheme is substantially different from the Deluxe.

Between the Deluxe and the Voyager, the Voyager wins hands down. The only nice thing on the Deluxe is the striping on the top roof.

[GoktimusPrime]

I was watching an ep of TF Prime last night (the one where Knockout and Breakdown debut) - and watching the scene where Optimus Prime is fighting cons made me realise just how amazingly show-accurate TakTOM FE Voyager Optimus Prime really is. It was as if I was watching the toy come to life on my TV!