Review of the Toys R Us Exclusive Masterpiece Optimus Prime

Ok, I know what your thinking, "if this was your number one item for 2012, why the hell did you take so long to get this review on here?!" If you weren't thinking that....well.....I'm going to tell you anyway. I tried doing a video review and that...that went horribly wrong...so bad that I'm considering making a gag reel out of the screw ups and putting that on here. Maybe not. We'll see. Anyway, without further ado, Masterpiece Optimus Prime!

The Basics:
Scale: 11" in Robot Mode, 7" long in truck mode, 20" (approx) with trailer attached
Price: $119.99 at Toys R Us, $179.99 - $220.99 on Amazon.com ....damn...

Character Bio:

For millions of years, noble Optimus Prime has led the Autobots in their war against the tyranny of Megatron and his evil Decepticons. His unwavering courage in the face of centuries of desperate battle is an inspiration to his comrades. He is an unstoppable warrior and a flawless leader, pushing ahead through the darkest times in the history of Cybertron and remaining unbowed, unbroken, and always committed to victory. For more on Optimus Prime, check out:    http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Optimus_Prime_(G1)

Robot Mode:

Ol' Optimus here is based on his G1 appearance, for those not well versed in Transformers mythos, G1 refers to the very first Transformers cartoon and figures that were released. This figure captures every nook and cranny of Prime as best it can and still have it be able to Transform. The sculpt is just outstanding. If you are an Optimus Prime fan such as myself, no matter your age, you will want to get this guy! As for paint, with most Transformers,  there isn't much, which can be considered a blessing in disguise as there is little room for paint slop. Now I personally only say this guy on shelves...once. So if you get lucky and get to choose yours in person, check out the autobot symbol, his face, headlights, and the side of his trailer. I personally went through all of them (as I depressingly window shopped two weeks before Christmas) and they all looked perfect. For articulation, Optimus has a swivel-hinge neck, swivel-hinge shoulders, hinge shoulder blades, swivel biceps, hinge elbows, swivel wrists, hinge knuckles, a hinge at the knuckle and top join of his pointer finger, a waist swivel, swivel-hinge hips, swivel thighs, hinge knees, swivel below the knee hinge, ankle hinge, ankle pivot, and a hinge on his toes and heel. His Robot Mode is also full of little tricks and whatnot that are just so darn cool. The first is that he can show off his Matrix  of Leadership in his chest.

Autobots Gone Wild!!!

 

The process of revealing the Matrix is grueling though. Once you lift the metallic silver flap there is a black flap, and you REALLY have to dig your nails in there to even get it to budge, but once you do, it really is a cool effect. The Matrix itself is beautiful, die-cast metal, hand painted, and a blue jewel center. It is pretty heavy too!
For Optimus' next trick, his gun can be stored in his back!

 



Yes, I myself was geeking out about the fact that he has a transforming gun. It's simple to do as well, it's all spring loaded. Simply bend the very front back in, and push it into the ammo clip, and it will click into place. To open it, there is a little grey tab on the end of the ammo clip. Push that and it springs open! Awesomesauce indeed.

Vehicle Mode:

Optimus is just as jaw-droppingly accurate in vehicle mode as he is in robot mode. It's actually pretty amazing that the engineers at Hasbro managed to make both modes so incredibly accurate and still transform! The trailer looks fantastic with the raised Autobot logo on the side. As I mentioned earlier, the paint job is crisp and perfect. No problems here at all. All I can say is be careful with the ares that have chrome paint apps as they tend to scratch easy during transformation. No problems here, but better to be cautious right? Oh and they gave him real rubber wheels as opposed to plastic wheels like on regular Transformers. The awesomesauce just keeps coming.

 

 Much like his robot mode, Optimus has some little tricks here as well. Open up the back of the trailer and you'll find Roller!

 

 

 

 Roller is painted wonderfully, and the coolest part is his back assembly can be flipped to hold Optimus' gun as well as be hooked to the trailer and drive it around! Spike can also fit in Roller! and speaking of Spike...

 

Spike Witwicky, the basis for the live-action movie's Sam Witwicky is included with 6 hinges, shoulders, hips, and knees, and he can ride in Optimus in vehicle mode!

 

Now for the features of the trailer. The trailer has three modes, trailer mode obviously, as well as battle-station mode:

and Repair Bay mode:

 

In both modes, Spike can fit in the cockpit of the uh...the blue attack thing. I'll call it Bob. Moving on... His weapons can be stored in Repair Bay mode. They are pretty cool display modes but I'll probably just display it in trailer mode. For the younger buyers, this definitely has a LOT of play value.

 

OVERALL:

Optimus has a pretty intricate Transformation. A bit too complex for a five year old, only because I fear parts could break as they try to wiggle and turn bits and pieces. However, this Prime is amazing. He is as screen accurate as I think any Prime will get, he has perfect accessories, including an Energon axe which you will see in later pics, and plenty of articulation. I could have taken so many pics, but I need the memory. That said, If you can 1.)afford him, and 2.) find him, without a shadow of a doubt get him. I opened the gift on Christmas morning and found myself reduced to a little kid again. This is the shining example of a Transformer that will last throughout the ages!

 

10 OUT OF 10!!!!