The Energon Pub

I'm not disappointed in Op Op, but I do feel he is the weakest of the 3 Leader class figures. And as I said before, at first I was underwhelmed but the more I play the more I like him.

I am having some similar issues as others. His right elbow is loosey goosey and he struggles to hold the scepter at times. And like Emerje stated, little Primal separates very easily from his connection in most modes. I also noticed a huge paint scrape in the grey paint on his left toes. I didn't see it when I first opened him, so it could of happened from something I did, but I kind of think he came that way. Not the sweetest situation for an expensive exclusive if he came that way. I don't see the two tone reds on his knees like Jake, but that could be a case by case thing.
As for quality and durability,I think he feels the same as any of the current Leader toys.

I think ultimately the toy doesn't hold a torch to the original Transmetal toy, but I'm glad they did him. Especially for those who don't have the original.
I did vote for him in the pole, but had I known the gimmick they had in mind, I may have voted differently.

If I were to rank the 3 Leader molds from the line, based on the versions I have, they'ed be:
1. Nemesis Prime - Just kicked ass on cool factor. Fun to play with , and the extras are awesome.
2. Rodimus Prime - Still think he owns the gimmick. Just makes the most sense for the character. Glad to finally have a modern version of Rodimus Prime in the proper scale, and not just Hot Rod named Rodimus. He only looses points for his physical limitations in Evolved mode, but those by no means keep me from playing with and enjoying him.
3. Throne Primal - Not a complete disapointment. Still fun. Growing on me for sure. The accessories are super cool. Just doesn't scratch the itches as well as the other two.

Edit: Some, including Kev, have mentioned the tightness in Op Op's legs. Are you guys talking about the hinges for transformation from bot to gorilla? Because mine were also scary "I don't wanna break this" tight.

o.supreme wrote:

william-james88 wrote:Am I the only one dissapointed by the Optimal Optimus mold now that i have him in hand? I know many of you have the black version, but its the same toy so we can all discuss it. I dont mind having bought him (came out to $15 USD) So what are your thoughts?

A couple of questions...

1. Do you have the regular standard release?
2. If so how'd you get it (I didn't think it was sighted anywhere yet...)
3. how'd you get it for $15??/ That's some extreme couponing right there...

Lastly, My son got his *Throne* today, but is probably not going to be able to have any time with it for a couple days (school, life etc...). This is TRULY his toy, I'm not taking any ownership of it, unlike most of our shared collection. I figure, through the eyes of a 12 year old, might bring a fresh perspective, he's seen all of BW, multiple times, but never handled or seen the original toy except from pictures in books and online.

1. Regular release
2. It has been sighted in Canada (uou guys get novastar first, we get primal first)
3. Extreme couponing: raincheck plus "buy1get2ndhalfoff" plus "20$ off 50$ or more" plus 10% off

Cobotron wrote:Edit: Some, including Kev, have mentioned the tightness in Op Op's legs. Are you guys talking about the hinges for transformation from bot to gorilla? Because mine were also scary "I don't wanna break this" tight.

Yes, that's exactly what I was talking about. I've seen that transformation trope many times in other figures, watched some videos of it, and even looked at the instructions. Still, the first time I transformed my Optimal Optimus figure, it took so much force to get that joint to "loosen" that I thought I must be doing something very wrong! I kept inspecting the area, trying to figure out an alternate way to compress the robot legs, but nothing else made any sense other than the obvious. The instructions didn't exactly help either, being quite vague with what to do at that step other than "make these smaller." After transforming Optimal Optimus back and forth a few times, I think the problem is with how tightly the inner knee tabs in with the surrounding outer shin assembly. The swinging joint itself isn't difficult to move into position either way once you free it from the inner tabbing securing it.

I REALLY need to make it a point to take a picture of my Optimal Optimus' knees tonight, just so everyone knows I'm not crazy.

I don't think you're crazy Wolfie. I believe you see what you see.

And with those leg joints, I pulled so hard I ended up popping his feet right off. Luckily they pop right back on.

I finally got around to examining what was wrong with the shoulder joint of my Optimal Optimus. Turns out the inner joint (the part directly connected to the torso) was spun around 180 degrees. Unscrewing everything, spinning that part, and reassembling everything has completely alleviated the problem. This was one of the easiest fixes I have ever been able to enact, so that was awesome.

Time to go on a Novastar hunt and possibly a Wreck-Gar hunt. I have them preordered on Amazon JP, but I would like to get them in the US if I find them.

I found Novastar in Portland, OR at the Walmart Supercenter!

As promised, the first time I've ever been able to do this with a combiner. G1 and the new toy! Though now I figured out that I have the Prime Abominus too, so now I feel the urge to get him and do a 3 part picture

That's a cool comparison and the modern version looks to do a good job matching the original outside of the leg robots being backwards comparatively (but that happened to basically everybody) Out of curiosity, why do you have PotP Abominus' feet turned around like that?

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:That's a cool comparison and the modern version looks to do a good job matching the original outside of the leg robots being backwards comparatively (but that happened to basically everybody) Out of curiosity, why do you have PotP Abominus' feet turned around like that?

It was an idea of ScottyP's that gave Abominus larger looking toes and a bit of a more imposing footprint, and I think in this case it works great, especially with the spiky feet

Someone finally made the Throne Primal look genuinely heroic and not fascistic to me!

Forgot the Evolution robot mode, here's Mech Suit Mode!

Sabrblade wrote:Someone finally made the Throne Primal look genuinely heroic and not fascistic to me!

Forgot the Evolution robot mode, here's Mech Suit Mode!

Transformers Theatre Presents:
Alien
Starring Optimus Primal as Ripley
Co-Starring Dinobot as the Alien

Cobotron wrote::lol: I don't think you're crazy Wolfie. I believe you see what you see.

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Cobo. Still, I wanted to make good on my intent to bring evidence, so here it is!

So one of the sides is a darker red... But only one

Wolfman Jake wrote:

Cobotron wrote::lol: I don't think you're crazy Wolfie. I believe you see what you see.

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Cobo. Still, I wanted to make good on my intent to bring evidence, so here it is!

You're definitely not making it up. My Primal has the same problem on his legs, just less noticeable. The right halves of the red on mine are lighter than the left.

Crosscheck wrote:

Wolfman Jake wrote:

Cobotron wrote::lol: I don't think you're crazy Wolfie. I believe you see what you see.

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Cobo. Still, I wanted to make good on my intent to bring evidence, so here it is!

You're definitely not making it up. My Primal has the same problem on his legs, just less noticeable. The right halves of the red on mine are lighter than the left.

At least I know I'm not the only one with a copy like this.

ZeroWolf wrote:So one of the sides is a darker red... But only one

Actually, they're both different, but the right knee (the one in the left part of the picture) has a much greater contrast between the reds. It's mirrored in the left knee. The "outsides" of the knees are a darker red, while the "insides" are lighter. The darker tones seem to match one another, but the lighter tones don't. The right inside knee is the lightest shade of red while the left inside knee is darker than the lightest shade, but not as dark as the outer sides of either knee.

Wolfman Jake wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:So one of the sides is a darker red... But only one

Actually, they're both different, but the right knee (the one in the left part of the picture) has a much greater contrast between the reds. It's mirrored in the left knee. The "outsides" of the knees are a darker red, while the "insides" are lighter. The darker tones seem to match one another, but the lighter tones don't. The right inside knee is the lightest shade of red while the left inside knee is darker than the lightest shade, but not as dark as the outer sides of either knee.

I took some time in different lighting to see how mine was. I have the same inside/outside differences you have, but much less pronounced. Also both of my outside part match each other, as do the inside ones.

I suspect that they are all actually the same color paint, but the thickness was inconsistent meaning the parts that appear darker have a thinner layer of paint with more of the grey plastic coming through and the lighter ones have a thicker layer of paint with less or even no grey showing through. That would make more sense to me than multiple shades of red in the paint itself.

TF-fan kev777 wrote:

Wolfman Jake wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:So one of the sides is a darker red... But only one

Actually, they're both different, but the right knee (the one in the left part of the picture) has a much greater contrast between the reds. It's mirrored in the left knee. The "outsides" of the knees are a darker red, while the "insides" are lighter. The darker tones seem to match one another, but the lighter tones don't. The right inside knee is the lightest shade of red while the left inside knee is darker than the lightest shade, but not as dark as the outer sides of either knee.

I took some time in different lighting to see how mine was. I have the same inside/outside differences you have, but much less pronounced. Also both of my outside part match each other, as do the inside ones.

I suspect that they are all actually the same color paint, but the thickness was inconsistent meaning the parts that appear darker have a thinner layer of paint with more of the grey plastic coming through and the lighter ones have a thicker layer of paint with less or even no grey showing through. That would make more sense to me than multiple shades of red in the paint itself.

That sounds plausible and highly likely.

bodrock wrote:I found Novastar in Portland, OR at the Walmart Supercenter!

Thanks WJ88 for the specs on your OpOp release, also thanks bodrock time to go hunting for Novastar!

As it turns out, my son did have time to open and play with his *Throne* last night. I asked him only to *ask for help* if he had any difficulties. Indeed, he did come to me about the knees, fearing he would break them, they were so tight to unhinge. he played with it for most of the evening. I'm hoping to get his opinions later today.

Also speaking of searching, if anyone is curious, check out my youtube page. basically I went to 10 different walmarts in my area in the same day, to show what a wasteland the TF section is, and the poor state of B&M in general.

My Throne Primal also has the tight knee transform thing. Actually every joint and tab on mine is super tight. Lil Primal is kinda hard to separate in bot/animal modes. The forearm shields are really tight as well, like I said, every joint is. Nothing moves when I shake him vigorously. There must be a quite noticeable difference in plastic quality from Throne Primal and retail Optimal. Oh also mines red knee paint is diff like others, but u have to hold it in the right light to see it. It feels great voting for Primal then reaping the rewards of the figure.

TF-fan kev777 wrote:

Wolfman Jake wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:So one of the sides is a darker red... But only one

Actually, they're both different, but the right knee (the one in the left part of the picture) has a much greater contrast between the reds. It's mirrored in the left knee. The "outsides" of the knees are a darker red, while the "insides" are lighter. The darker tones seem to match one another, but the lighter tones don't. The right inside knee is the lightest shade of red while the left inside knee is darker than the lightest shade, but not as dark as the outer sides of either knee.

I took some time in different lighting to see how mine was. I have the same inside/outside differences you have, but much less pronounced. Also both of my outside part match each other, as do the inside ones.

I suspect that they are all actually the same color paint, but the thickness was inconsistent meaning the parts that appear darker have a thinner layer of paint with more of the grey plastic coming through and the lighter ones have a thicker layer of paint with less or even no grey showing through. That would make more sense to me than multiple shades of red in the paint itself.

That's the most plausible explanation so far. My only other guess would be that they switched paints part way through production. If it's indeed a case of how many coats of paint different parts got, it seems that Hasbro happened upon a rare combination of paint and plastic that made for this drastic difference. In all the other Transformers toys I've been collecting, I've never seen color inconsistence quite this pronounced, and usually, it's a matter of different colors or qualities of plastic being painted in the same paint color giving different results.

Dunno if anyone has seen, but Novastar has hit Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Transformers-Generations-Primes-Autobot-Novastar/dp/B0779ZZVM5/ref=pd_cart_vw_2_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B0779ZZVM5&pd_rd_r=3Q19ARCBWQCWX9B6Y3QE&pd_rd_w=IpKoJ&pd_rd_wg=LlbkF&psc=1&refRID=3Q19ARCBWQCWX9B6Y3QE

shajaki wrote:Dunno if anyone has seen, but Novastar has hit Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Transformers-Generations-Primes-Autobot-Novastar/dp/B0779ZZVM5/ref=pd_cart_vw_2_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B0779ZZVM5&pd_rd_r=3Q19ARCBWQCWX9B6Y3QE&pd_rd_w=IpKoJ&pd_rd_wg=LlbkF&psc=1&refRID=3Q19ARCBWQCWX9B6Y3QE

Awesome find! Preordered.

Lore Keeper wrote:

shajaki wrote:Dunno if anyone has seen, but Novastar has hit Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Transformers-Generations-Primes-Autobot-Novastar/dp/B0779ZZVM5/ref=pd_cart_vw_2_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B0779ZZVM5&pd_rd_r=3Q19ARCBWQCWX9B6Y3QE&pd_rd_w=IpKoJ&pd_rd_wg=LlbkF&psc=1&refRID=3Q19ARCBWQCWX9B6Y3QE

Awesome find! Preordered.

Preordered? I saw this yesterday, and only ever saw the $50 third party sellers...

Target is running a 25% off top Hasbro brands - including Transformers.



CODE: HASBRO25, valid through Monday 9/3.