Beast Wars: optimal optimus

[Autocon]

Series - Beast Wars
Sub-line - Transmetal 2
Size/class - Ultra
New/remould/redeco - New
Released here - Yes
Approximate Retail Price - $100
Approximate Size -
Allegiance - Maximal
Alt-mode - Ape
Main Features/Gimmicks - Blast sheilds fall off,
Main Colours - orange blue grey brown
Main Accessories - six blast shields, big gun, 4 clear missiles,

This guy is the best bw figure. Has bot mode, ape mode, car mode and a flying mode. Show accurate. Comes with lights and sounds. Can fire the missiles from a cool shoulder pack. Transformation in nice but simple for both car and fly modes.

If buying second hand make sure accessories and both heads are present.

100/10

[klystron]

Didn't like this one. Waaaay too big, and proportions look terrible. All modes are quite ordinary. Not a fan.

[i_amtrunks]

Not the best Beast Wars figure, but incredibly show accurate in all modes, transformation can be painful and fiddly due to the blast shields, and really the only two above average modes are the robot mode and car/assault tank modes.

Certainly worth hunting down (and a must own if you loved the BW show) but be careful that all blast shields are present in the figure you are looking for.

I bought mine MISB at the Milton toy store on the NSW south coast for $90 about 3 years ago. A steal at that price, and now wish I had've bought the other one at the same time!

[GoktimusPrime]

I quite like this toy. The blast shields are fiddly and I enjoy the robot, beast and terrain vehicle mode. The jet mode is kinda disappointing (like Animated Shockwave's alt mode, it's the character lying down)... although the cartoon made it look cool. I find aligning the front wheel of the ground vehicle mode can be a bit tricky.

But the Transmetals in general had poor vehicle modes -- they were designed more to be "intermediate" modes rather than full alt modes (the main alt mode was still the beast mode). As far as intermediate modes are concerned, I think they're all right. Better than RtS/United Tracks' flight mode (sorry, I'm not a big fan of that -- I don't dislike it but it doesn't impress me either).

Optimal Optimus is possibly the first (or at least one of the first) Transformer toys that had some level of finger articulation and opposable thumb!

Urban Legend: Apparently before this toy came out, at a BotCon some fan sarcastically said something to Hasbro reps about the kinds of TF names they were churning out and remarked something like, "What's next, Fortress Optimus?!" only to have the reps awkwardly look at each other and not reply. The legend goes that this is why the word "Optimal" is written in a different font from "Optimus" on his chest - a last minute alteration after Hasbro realised how lame the name "Fortress Optimus" may sound.

[doublespy]

this is a must own in BW series IMO. people always say the monkey facing down is the alter modes --where vehicle modes are not distinguishably differrent from bot mode. I don't have that problem at all. first he is fairly show accurate aside from the guns on his chest being retractable in the show. secondly the designer have really put some thought into the engineering of this toy, not only the gimmicks but the transformation as well. People rarely notice the double-rotating joints on the knees can be arranged to a certain angle where they are stable and help to make all six wheels touching ground in trukk mode. they also help to create the height difference between monkey mode and bot mode.

Another matter needs to be pointed out. Although OPOP is the arch rival of Transmetal 2 Megratron in the cartoon, I believe the package says Transmetal not Transmetal 2, which makes sense as he doesn't have the cyber-organic detailing as the other TM2 toys do.