“When I get to the bottom I go back to the top of the slide” (The Beatles, Helter Skelter)
Size: Deluxe
OUT NOW
The last TF I bought was Universe Hotshot, which was sold a few years ago together with my entire TF collection. Five years later, I randomly stumbled in Fall of Cybertron, probably the best TF videogame ever (whether you are a Transfan or not, get yourself a copy, you won’t regret it!). Five minutes later I was drooling looking at pictures of the upcoming FoC toy line. I guess you know what happened next. This series of reviews will cover all main characters of the FoC toyline, including a few particularly cool repaints and 2010 toys from the War for Cybertron toy line.
Fall of Half of Cybertron
Of course, we are starting with Optimus Prime, The Autobot Hero, The Non-Rodimus, The… The smallest deluxe I have ever seen. Oh, crap. What happened? Last time I checked, a Scout figure was 7$ and a Deluxe figure was only a tenner. Apparently nowadays Deluxe is the new Scout. As a sign of respect for the Dear Leader, I will spare you side-by-side comparisons with previous Scout class toys.
Optimus Prime is not only small, but light as well: there’s probably more plastic in its rifle! Despite the notable decrease in size and mass, this deluxe toy is still solid and it doesn’t look like it would break easily. So, kudos to Hasbro for designing a way of producing lighter, shorter deluxes which are 50% more expensive. No, wait…
Optimus Prime has great articulation, and reminds me a lot of Bendy Prime from Armada. Ankles, knees, hips, waist, shoulders, elbows, wrists and neck… Optimus lends itself to some really nice poses, and its design is so good that it will look cool independently on how you arrange its extremities.
The amount of kibble is almost zero, unless you want to consider the tiny halves of the front bumper hanging from the elbows. This really is one of the nicest and cleanest robot modes a Prime had in 30 years of franchise.
Pokemon, roll out!
Optimus’ vehicle mode is a Cybertronian truck derived from its War for Cybertron design. Which came from Dreamwave’s The War Within’s design, which was heavily inspired by Transtech Optimus Primal. In other words, Optimus’ alternate mode is a blue and red 2-eyed brick on wheels.
This is a particularly compact alternate mode, and the combination with the reduced size makes it look less like a war machine and more like a new Pokemon. Still, all 6 wheels roll nicely, and the rifle can be attached on top if you really have to.
Less… Less than meets the eye!
Despite its unexpected cuteness, FoC Optimus Prime is one of the best toys we ever got for an Autobot leader. The lack of gimmicks only makes this a better toy; I only wish it was a little taller. Overall, I give FoC Optimus Prime 8 out of 10 Energon cubes, losing points for being a Scout figure in disguise.
Until next time,
Rikkomba