List of things Optimus Prime transforms into

[GoktimusPrime]

Shall we list all the real-life things that Optimus Prime has transformed into?

Off the top of my mind...
* Freightliner FL86 cab over semi trailer truck - Generation 1
* Kenworth missile truck - Generation 2, Combat Hero
* Western Star 4964EX long nose tanker truck - Generation 2, Laser
* Lamborghini Diablo sports car - Generation 2, Go-Bot
* bat - Beast Wars
* gorilla - Beast Wars
* Dodge Ram SRT-10 ute - Alternators
* Nike Free 7.0 jogger - Sports Label
* Peterbilt 379 long nose truck - Bayformers 1-3
* Nissan GT-R sports car - Alternity
* Toyota FJ Cruiser SUV - FJ Cruisers x Transformers
* Western Star 5700XE long nose truck - Bayformers 4-5
* au INFOBAR mobile phone - au x Transformers

[BigTransformerTrev]

Shall we list all the real-life things that Optimus Prime has transformed into?

* bat - Beast Wars
* gorilla - Beast Wars

That’s Optimus Primal - different character

[Autocon]

That’s Optimus Primal - different character

The bat is g1 optimus prime.

[BigTransformerTrev]

The bat is g1 optimus prime.

Eh? ok, I’m confused, can you or Gok provide links to when Prime was a bat and/or gorilla? because I thought that was Primal.

[GoktimusPrime]

Cast your minds back to 1996 before the Beast Wars cartoon came out. Back when Beast Wars was originally supposed to be a direct continuation of G1/G2 and not a sequel/prequel... thing. Optimus Primal was originally meant to be Optimus Prime, both the bat and the gorilla. It was only later that the cartoon introduced their own twist on the continuity and decided to make the BWTFs the descendants of the Autobots and Decepticons and not the Autobots and Decepticons themselves as originally intended.

This was also the year that OTCA started and was still called "AusTrans," and Outback was the club mascot.

[SharkyMcShark]

Eh? ok, I’m confused, can you or Gok provide links to when Prime was a bat and/or gorilla? because I thought that was Primal.

The bat released right at the start of Beast Wars has canonically ended up as G1 Prime. The monkey however is not

[GoktimusPrime]

The bat released right at the start of Beast Wars has canonically ended up as G1 Prime. The monkey however is not

Yeah, but when the toys first came out - before the cartoon existed - they were all G1 Transformers biogenetically re-engineered with beast modes. The toy canon explicitly stated this. How else did you play with your Ultra gorilla Optimus Primal before the cartoon came out? I don't know about you, but he was Optimus Prime to me.

I never once thought about the Maximals and Predacons being distant descendants of the Autobots and Decepticons who'd travelled back in time and were fighting on pre-historic Earth until the cartoon came out. Heck, even after the cartoon came out I never knew that they were on pre-historic Earth until Season 2! Even the idea of them being future descendants wasn't immediately explained in episode 1. I remember being simultaneously excited but also confused after watching that pilot ep. Things started making more sense when later episodes explained what was happening.

Yes, yes, yes, the cartoon portrayed gorilla Primal (but never bat Primal) as a different character from Optimus Prime, but this happened way later. TFwiki lists both Bat and Gorilla Primal on their G1 Optimus Prime toys page, and explains:
Note: Very early in the life of the Beast Wars toyline (before the debut of the Beast Wars cartoon), Hasbro treated the series as an extension of the Autobot/Decepticon war, and so Optimus Primal was presented as being the same character as Optimus Prime.

I can't be the only one old enough to remember 1996-97 here!

↑Me in 1997 after doing some TF shopping. Inside that blue bag is my Rhinox vs Shadow Panther VS set.

[GoktimusPrime]

Back on topic, more real-thing alt modes:

Hino Branbilar fire engine (Fire Convoy/RID OP)
New Era baseball cap (Captimus Prime)

[BigTransformerTrev]

Yeah, well to be honest if the toy boxes always said ‘Optimus Primal’ and in two different cartoons and a bunch of comics they have been portrayed as completely different characters, then I reckon those original toys belong to the Primal character, not Prime.

However I ain’t the canon police so if my opinion goes against the general consensus then who am I to argue eh.

How else did you play with your Ultra gorilla Optimus Primal before the cartoon came out? I don't know about you, but he was Optimus Prime to me.

I can't be the only one to remember 1996-97 here!

Yeah, I was a teenager off at Uni in those years. Partying and girls were the order of the day, not monkey toys

[Magnus]

There was an Optimus toy that transformed into a power bank external battery. It was a 2017 HasCon exclusive.