Transformers: Animated had some of the most original, I might even say daring designs I've ever seen. A complete departure from the standard TF visual language. I regret not getting more of them when they were in stores, and I regret dumping all the ones I had. Also, what a bummer that Devastator never made it onto the show.
Looks quite good to me, for the most part, but I just can't deal with mainline's giant gaps in limbs anymore. The look is really cool (G1-inspired, but its own thing), the transformation is neat, I'm always happy for more combiners of any sort, and then you turn him a little and you see that half his inside calf is missing and my becomes a :bigfrown:
I've still got most of my Animated figures, but there were a few that were harder to get hold of here in the UK - Blurr, Shockwave, a few others. Weirdly I never managed to get an Optimus, though I don't really know why.
Such a good line. The gimmick being "each toy has a cool transformation (and possibly a special feature of their own)" just made it perfect.
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AthenorBattle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered Userregular
It made me so happy after the first movie. Just.. a massive love letter.
In fact, my greatest pain as a toy collector is from there. I had the Voyager Optimus Prime, the big bulky one.. and it disappeared about 10 years ago. Now that I've gone through almost all my old bins, there's a very slim chance of him showing up, but I'm pretty sure he's gone.
Plus I never could get ahold of the Japanese Winged version of Prime, or Blackout.
I think my collection is pretty complete past that. I even have both Shockwaves. Trust me - I'm not getting rid of any of my animated figures (well, except maybe 1), so I'll post a picture of them when I gave things organized.
For the record, if anybody even finds a cool Jetfire available in Canada at a reasonable price please @ me. It's basically my white whale at this point.
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AthenorBattle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered Userregular
For the record, if anybody even finds a cool Jetfire available in Canada at a reasonable price please @ me. It's basically my white whale at this point.
I don't typically ask outright for toy-based gifts. This is due to many years of being ashamed of my collecting, and hiding larger purchases and such. That said, I saw something a few months ago that I really wanted, but I knew was outside of my usual wheel house. So I dropped some hints, linked it on facebook, spoke about how cool it was to friends that I knew my family would ask about gifts...
and nada. Too subtle.
So today I saw a restock and picked it up. I think I'm gonna assemble this at work, over lunch breaks.
It actually moves! So it's a clockwerk model dragon! Squee!
At work, I stopped working for lunch long enough to decide to start working on this...
... and I was immediately stopped.
While no tools are "necessary" for construction, they do highly recommend using candle wax on a LOT of the internal parts to lubricate the gears. And knowing how tightly this thing is gonna be assembled when it is together, I want to make sure I do that before starting. Luckily, birthday candles are not hard to find, so I will get that taken care of by tomorrow.
They did include sandpaper to sand down the cutting burrs, which was nice. There is some string to cut though.
So what's in the box?
5 sheets of pre-cut board, the cloth-ish wings (like a kind of plastic maybe?), the rubber bands and string, and the manual.
Looks like some of the included pieces are actually tools, to aid with assembly. They also include extra pieces, which is nice.
Ooh, just look at how you go in and assemble the rubber bands. Replacing them someday in the future is gonna be an adventure!
AthenorBattle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered Userregular
Oh shit! I stand corrected!
A friend of mine who assembled another of these models pointed out that the wax "candle" is included. I did a bit more looking, and found that it was stuck to one of the wings! It wasn't in its own baggie so I completely missed it.
AthenorBattle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered Userregular
With all my organizing and cleaning and thinking about what I want to keep, I decided.. a couple days ago... to do something I haven't done in years, but I really, REALLY wanted to.
So I just spent literally an hour... doing this.
This is almost every Optimus Prime I own, at current. There are a few caveats:
I couldn't find my Universe 2.0 Orion Pax. I know he's around here somewhere.
I didn't include any variants of Optimus Primal (of which I have 3, I want to say).
I didn't include any Nemesis Prime / Scourge versions (of which I have 3 as well, and 2 of them are among my favorite toys).
I didn't include any vehicles that add-on to Optimus Prime in any format. I really wanted to, especially with Armada Prime, but... I liked the red.
Finally, I didn't include my Voyager Animated Optimus Prime... because it has been lost for about 14 years now, and makes me SUPER sad.
I don't think I could choose just 1. However, if you forced me, I think I could choose 3, though 4 would be better.
So I got around to opening up the studio series Jolt I had gotten as part of my loot.
The robot mode looks pretty good for the Bayformers aesthetic
The car mode looks absolutely great.
It’s the whole “transforming back and forth” that’s the problem. I’ll admit I had to resort to looking up a transformation video to figure out a couple of steps because the paper instructions just weren’t clear enough, and even then I had an issue in a couple of spots because parts didn’t want to slot together properly.
I started feeling old at that point, but there were several comments on the video with similar issues.
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Forever Zefirocloaked in the midnight glory of an event horizonRegistered Userregular
I’m gonna guess MP10, Armada, and Earthrise?
4 would be Cybertron leader?
XBL - Foreverender | 3DS FC - 1418 6696 1012 | Steam ID | LoL
Gonna have to say none, but you are making me question my top 3/4. Maybe I need to make this a top 5.
It would probably help to list what they all were. This is from front to back, left to right, mostly in chronological order except for the small ones.
Cybertron Legends
War for Cybertron
Titanium (Dreamwave / War Within)
Universe 2.0 Legends
Classics Scout (w/ Megatron)
Robots in Disguise
Armada
Energon
Cybertron
20th Anniversary (MP-01)
Classics
Alternators (with Robot Heroes in the bed)
Movie (2007)
Animated Cybertron Version
Animated 2-pack (w/ Megatron)
Revenge of the Fallen
Dark of the Moon (Jetwing)
Combiner Wars
Combiner Wars (Battle Core Ver.)
Titans Return - Laser Prime Ver.
Titans Return - PowerMaster Prime ver.
Power of the Primes
Siege - Classic Animation Prime
Siege - Galaxy Upgrade Prime
Studio Series 44 - DotM Optimus Prime (with DNA Design DK-15 upgrade parts)
Perfect Effect Jetpower Revive Commander (3rd party mix of G1 and Movie)
Masterpiece MP-10
Beast Hunter Optimus Prime
... shame I couldn't find my Orion Pax, because that would make 29. And 29 is a prime number.
Edit: OMG, I forgot Robot Heroes in that count. There ARE 29 Primes in this pic!
I was going to guess MP-01 instead since he was the first to kickoff the whole MP line. Then again, that is the Hasbro version and not the Takara one...
I'm surprised you did not have a G1 version in any form. I broke down and bought the Walmart reissue a few years ago and love him with his parts and all.
I was going to guess MP-01 instead since he was the first to kickoff the whole MP line. Then again, that is the Hasbro version and not the Takara one...
I'm surprised you did not have a G1 version in any form. I broke down and bought the Walmart reissue a few years ago and love him with his parts and all.
I wondered if anyone would notice that.
Back around 2010, I owned the 25th anniversary Optimus Prime from Walmart.. for about 1 day. I eventually returned him, because G1/G2 toys are just.. bricks. No dynamic posing, no real detail save for stickers, and a lot of parts to make him work. That was the last genuine G1 toy I have ever owned.
As for my picks:
MP-10. I love both my Masterpieces and will likely keep both, but MP-10 is just an all-around better figure in every way. Plus MP-01 is one of the heaviest toys I own, and that kind of hurts it.
Jetpower Revive. My first 100% 3rd party toy, and just a BEAST when it is fully assembled. It is a wonderful blend of traditional and movie aesthetics, and blows pretty much any Hasbro version of Jetfire / Jetpack mode out of the water.
War for Cybertron Prime. This is the most unique transforming of all the Primes I own, as it does more than 1 180 degree flip to get everything to line up right. It just feels mobile, while also heavy and imposing. Literally the only knock against it is its size. What I wouldn't give for either This or the Dreamwave/Titanium Prime in a Masterpiece scale. (And yes, I've been eyeing Optus Plexus, why do you ask?)
The fourth slot would probably go to Studio Series Prime. I obviously like this version of Prime, as I own 4 of him, and this is far and away the best. It's also the one I invested in aftermarket parts for.
Close runners up:
- Alternators Prime. I wanna keep all my Alternators, because they are properly scaled cars, but Prime suffers a lot. He's one of a couple that doesn't have a linked steering column, and he just.. looks goofy. But Alternators.
- Animated Prime: Again, I plan on keeping all my Animated toys, but none of these are as good as the Voyager I lost. And age is not treating them well either.
- Armada Prime: My favorite interpretation of Prime.. but just a BRICK of a toy, and I'm not a fan of bricks. Again.. there's a reason I'm eyeing Fans Hobby Naval Commander...
I picked MP01 because while a somewhat inferior toy, it has a much better shelf presence.
I picked Armada because he links up with some other Armada autobots to power up.
I picked Alternators because Alternators is my personal favorite transformers series, and Prime is one of two transformations I don't own (the other being the Jaguar).
Powermaster Prime was my favorite transformer as a kid. My dad still tells me how proud he was that I saved up my allowance over 2 months to buy the toy on my own.
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AthenorBattle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered Userregular
I just remembered, I do own a 30th Prime!
Bondage Prime!
... Okay, in actuality, it's the Generations Selects "Alternate Timeline" Prime -- IE Dead Prime. The box is designed in such a way that it can be opened without taking the toy out of the box, so I've just left it in its packaging for now.
Technically, I guess this does mean I own an Earthrise Prime, because it's based on that version.
Athenor will have to change his name to Prime soon.
Too many others on the forums, not happening.
So the second of the Takara/Tomy MPG trainbots was unveiled yesterday/today.. and it's one that has been released for the Moon Studios version. Which means comparisons.
And...
ARGH. I cannot fucking make up my mind. The train version of the official one is absolutely gorgeous, with clean lines and proper modeling. But it's smaller than the Moon Studios one, which better hides away the panels with all those extra bits and bobs that leave seams in the train mode. I really need to see the final combined modes of both, but I know that isn't gonna happen. And I can't in good conscience be "That guy" who gets both of them.
Yeah, I saw the two train bots and both have their positives. I'm going with the Takara/Hasbro ones since I'm a huge train fan. Although the Moon Studios one is tempting since their design is more cartoon style and neat bot modes.
I also have to say you really should buy the Optus Pexus if you love articulation in your Transformer.
@Athenor Optus Pexus came out a year ago, and was kind of an experimental, sorta-limited release by Mastermind Creations. They said that depending on success, there might be re-colors and re-releases, but if Optus Pexus in Optimus Prime colors is ever re-released, it will likely not be fully-painted (as the original release was), to save money.
I bought from all of these, and can vouch for all of them. A3U is in Canada, and might be most convenient for Canadian shoppers. TCP and BBTS both have "stack" options, so you can buy something and wait to ship it. TCP and ToyDojo both have "free shipping for orders of $150+", and it is incredibly easy to get something to go over that limit; may I recommend NewAge's recent Legends version of Optimus Prime, to add to your collection? (though, it's fairly expensive) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMtiJcLUqbU
Toon version is already available: https://www.thechosenprime.com/nah27david
Soon to be available in
Toy-flavored: https://www.thechosenprime.com/nah27exdavid
"Sleep"-flavored: https://www.thechosenprime.com/nah27ddavid
"Youth"-flavored: https://www.thechosenprime.com/nah27fdavid (a "budget" version that has no trailer, no die-cast, and very limited paint applications)
Actually I take it back, if you're buying NewAge, you're better off buying from ShowZ and saving $15-$20 per figure: https://showzstore.com/c/new-age_0504
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AthenorBattle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered Userregular
This is what I get for just looking at tfsource.com!
Let me know if you come across an OS KO of War for Cybertron Optimus
I’ve been contemplating Optus Nox, I know the articulation is the point, but I kinda wish the vehicle mode looked a bit more like a vehicle
I always forget that he's a transformer and haven't transformed him in a while. I just keep on posing him and now see how people can love just really great jointed figures. Although the original really badly jointed G1 Transformers are still my #1 love, I can appreciate and love the modern toys as well.
AthenorBattle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered Userregular
edited January 2022
Goddamn I forgot how much I hate the stickers from late Titans Return & Power of the Primes. These foil jerks are always broken or damaged, and placed near tranformation features.
I'm not gonna miss these. Especially now that I just pulled out the various versions of Rodimus, and realized just how.. shoddy the PotP ones were.
To be fair, the PotP Rodimus included Hot Rod and Rodimus in both robot and vehicle modes. Kingdom Rodimus is only Rodimus plus a base that form a vehicle. So, it has a $30 higher price point, has one less mode it needs to support, and is newer. It totally should be better in every way.
Posts
Looks quite good to me, for the most part, but I just can't deal with mainline's giant gaps in limbs anymore. The look is really cool (G1-inspired, but its own thing), the transformation is neat, I'm always happy for more combiners of any sort, and then you turn him a little and you see that half his inside calf is missing and my
Such a good line. The gimmick being "each toy has a cool transformation (and possibly a special feature of their own)" just made it perfect.
In fact, my greatest pain as a toy collector is from there. I had the Voyager Optimus Prime, the big bulky one.. and it disappeared about 10 years ago. Now that I've gone through almost all my old bins, there's a very slim chance of him showing up, but I'm pretty sure he's gone.
Plus I never could get ahold of the Japanese Winged version of Prime, or Blackout.
I think my collection is pretty complete past that. I even have both Shockwaves. Trust me - I'm not getting rid of any of my animated figures (well, except maybe 1), so I'll post a picture of them when I gave things organized.
What's your definition of a cool Jetfire?
At work, I stopped working for lunch long enough to decide to start working on this...
... and I was immediately stopped.
While no tools are "necessary" for construction, they do highly recommend using candle wax on a LOT of the internal parts to lubricate the gears. And knowing how tightly this thing is gonna be assembled when it is together, I want to make sure I do that before starting. Luckily, birthday candles are not hard to find, so I will get that taken care of by tomorrow.
They did include sandpaper to sand down the cutting burrs, which was nice. There is some string to cut though.
So what's in the box?
5 sheets of pre-cut board, the cloth-ish wings (like a kind of plastic maybe?), the rubber bands and string, and the manual.
Looks like some of the included pieces are actually tools, to aid with assembly. They also include extra pieces, which is nice.
Ooh, just look at how you go in and assemble the rubber bands. Replacing them someday in the future is gonna be an adventure!
Steam: betsuni7
A friend of mine who assembled another of these models pointed out that the wax "candle" is included. I did a bit more looking, and found that it was stuck to one of the wings! It wasn't in its own baggie so I completely missed it.
So.. yay! They thought ahead!
Yup. Just like any lubricant.
So I just spent literally an hour... doing this.
This is almost every Optimus Prime I own, at current. There are a few caveats:
I don't think I could choose just 1. However, if you forced me, I think I could choose 3, though 4 would be better.
Try to guess which 3.
The robot mode looks pretty good for the Bayformers aesthetic
The car mode looks absolutely great.
It’s the whole “transforming back and forth” that’s the problem. I’ll admit I had to resort to looking up a transformation video to figure out a couple of steps because the paper instructions just weren’t clear enough, and even then I had an issue in a couple of spots because parts didn’t want to slot together properly.
I started feeling old at that point, but there were several comments on the video with similar issues.
4 would be Cybertron leader?
XBL - Foreverender | 3DS FC - 1418 6696 1012 | Steam ID | LoL
You should get the SS Optimus Prime. It has a really good transformation, and a very unique one in the legs.
Guesses:
Forever Zefiro:
It would probably help to list what they all were. This is from front to back, left to right, mostly in chronological order except for the small ones.
Cybertron Legends
War for Cybertron
Titanium (Dreamwave / War Within)
Universe 2.0 Legends
Classics Scout (w/ Megatron)
Robots in Disguise
Armada
Energon
Cybertron
20th Anniversary (MP-01)
Classics
Alternators (with Robot Heroes in the bed)
Movie (2007)
Animated Cybertron Version
Animated 2-pack (w/ Megatron)
Revenge of the Fallen
Dark of the Moon (Jetwing)
Combiner Wars
Combiner Wars (Battle Core Ver.)
Titans Return - Laser Prime Ver.
Titans Return - PowerMaster Prime ver.
Power of the Primes
Siege - Classic Animation Prime
Siege - Galaxy Upgrade Prime
Studio Series 44 - DotM Optimus Prime (with DNA Design DK-15 upgrade parts)
Perfect Effect Jetpower Revive Commander (3rd party mix of G1 and Movie)
Masterpiece MP-10
Beast Hunter Optimus Prime
... shame I couldn't find my Orion Pax, because that would make 29. And 29 is a prime number.
Edit: OMG, I forgot Robot Heroes in that count. There ARE 29 Primes in this pic!
If it’s not, then fair, but I’d be very curious why
With that said, I’ll guess one of the other two is Classics
XBL - Foreverender | 3DS FC - 1418 6696 1012 | Steam ID | LoL
I'm surprised you did not have a G1 version in any form. I broke down and bought the Walmart reissue a few years ago and love him with his parts and all.
Steam: betsuni7
I wondered if anyone would notice that.
Back around 2010, I owned the 25th anniversary Optimus Prime from Walmart.. for about 1 day. I eventually returned him, because G1/G2 toys are just.. bricks. No dynamic posing, no real detail save for stickers, and a lot of parts to make him work. That was the last genuine G1 toy I have ever owned.
As for my picks:
MP-10. I love both my Masterpieces and will likely keep both, but MP-10 is just an all-around better figure in every way. Plus MP-01 is one of the heaviest toys I own, and that kind of hurts it.
Jetpower Revive. My first 100% 3rd party toy, and just a BEAST when it is fully assembled. It is a wonderful blend of traditional and movie aesthetics, and blows pretty much any Hasbro version of Jetfire / Jetpack mode out of the water.
War for Cybertron Prime. This is the most unique transforming of all the Primes I own, as it does more than 1 180 degree flip to get everything to line up right. It just feels mobile, while also heavy and imposing. Literally the only knock against it is its size. What I wouldn't give for either This or the Dreamwave/Titanium Prime in a Masterpiece scale. (And yes, I've been eyeing Optus Plexus, why do you ask?)
The fourth slot would probably go to Studio Series Prime. I obviously like this version of Prime, as I own 4 of him, and this is far and away the best. It's also the one I invested in aftermarket parts for.
Close runners up:
- Alternators Prime. I wanna keep all my Alternators, because they are properly scaled cars, but Prime suffers a lot. He's one of a couple that doesn't have a linked steering column, and he just.. looks goofy. But Alternators.
- Animated Prime: Again, I plan on keeping all my Animated toys, but none of these are as good as the Voyager I lost. And age is not treating them well either.
- Armada Prime: My favorite interpretation of Prime.. but just a BRICK of a toy, and I'm not a fan of bricks. Again.. there's a reason I'm eyeing Fans Hobby Naval Commander...
I also have a soft spot for the Cybertron design.
I picked Armada because he links up with some other Armada autobots to power up.
I picked Alternators because Alternators is my personal favorite transformers series, and Prime is one of two transformations I don't own (the other being the Jaguar).
Powermaster Prime was my favorite transformer as a kid. My dad still tells me how proud he was that I saved up my allowance over 2 months to buy the toy on my own.
Bondage Prime!
... Okay, in actuality, it's the Generations Selects "Alternate Timeline" Prime -- IE Dead Prime. The box is designed in such a way that it can be opened without taking the toy out of the box, so I've just left it in its packaging for now.
Technically, I guess this does mean I own an Earthrise Prime, because it's based on that version.
Steam: betsuni7
Too many others on the forums, not happening.
So the second of the Takara/Tomy MPG trainbots was unveiled yesterday/today.. and it's one that has been released for the Moon Studios version. Which means comparisons.
And...
ARGH. I cannot fucking make up my mind. The train version of the official one is absolutely gorgeous, with clean lines and proper modeling. But it's smaller than the Moon Studios one, which better hides away the panels with all those extra bits and bobs that leave seams in the train mode. I really need to see the final combined modes of both, but I know that isn't gonna happen. And I can't in good conscience be "That guy" who gets both of them.
I also have to say you really should buy the Optus Pexus if you love articulation in your Transformer.
Steam: betsuni7
Just for you. I found my photos of Pexus for you to enjoy and tempt yourself.
Steam: betsuni7
I think I want the Optus Nox version instead...
Oh wait, it's sold out too.
Optus Nox came out a few months ago, and is available at:
The Chosen Prime: https://www.thechosenprime.com/mmcr48noptusnox
Toy Dojo: https://toydojo.com/products/mastermind-creations-reformatted-r-48n-optus-nox
Ages 3 and Up: https://www.agesthreeandup.com/mastermind-creations-reformatted-r-48n-optus-nox/
Big Bad Toy Store: https://www.bigbadtoystore.com/Product/VariationDetails/175694
I bought from all of these, and can vouch for all of them. A3U is in Canada, and might be most convenient for Canadian shoppers. TCP and BBTS both have "stack" options, so you can buy something and wait to ship it. TCP and ToyDojo both have "free shipping for orders of $150+", and it is incredibly easy to get something to go over that limit; may I recommend NewAge's recent Legends version of Optimus Prime, to add to your collection? (though, it's fairly expensive)
Toon version is already available: https://www.thechosenprime.com/nah27david
Soon to be available in
Toy-flavored: https://www.thechosenprime.com/nah27exdavid
"Sleep"-flavored: https://www.thechosenprime.com/nah27ddavid
"Youth"-flavored: https://www.thechosenprime.com/nah27fdavid (a "budget" version that has no trailer, no die-cast, and very limited paint applications)
Actually I take it back, if you're buying NewAge, you're better off buying from ShowZ and saving $15-$20 per figure:
https://showzstore.com/c/new-age_0504
*takes a deep breath*
I’ve been contemplating Optus Nox, I know the articulation is the point, but I kinda wish the vehicle mode looked a bit more like a vehicle
XBL - Foreverender | 3DS FC - 1418 6696 1012 | Steam ID | LoL
I always forget that he's a transformer and haven't transformed him in a while. I just keep on posing him and now see how people can love just really great jointed figures. Although the original really badly jointed G1 Transformers are still my #1 love, I can appreciate and love the modern toys as well.
Steam: betsuni7
I'm not gonna miss these. Especially now that I just pulled out the various versions of Rodimus, and realized just how.. shoddy the PotP ones were.