My first encounter with Powermaster Prime was waaaay back in the mid-80s. Then, I was not really a stranger with the concept of Powermaster toys, having received my own Autobot Powermaster Getaway. A cousin of mine got her Powermaster Prime as a gift from her dad from HK.
As a small kid, one would be overwhelmed by the fact that the toy's a big freakin' version of Prime! Sure, the proportions may be way off, sure the fake chest and grill of the cab truck in bot mode may be a bit disturbing, but it's a big freakin' Prime!
This is not to say that I prefer this over the original G1 Prime, though. I'm still a sucker for details and proportions even when i was a kid.
But it's still a big freakin' Prime, right?
A few years later, a rumor would then spread among my schoolmates of the existence of a Transformers The Movie 2, where Prime gets resurrected with big guns - a rumor probably inspired by the toy. I doubt it if any of us knew then that Powermaster Prime was in fact that, a resurrected and improved Prime, as far as i was concerned then, it was just another toy designed to milk Prime's popularity. Besides, the later cartoons weren't airing. And yeah, original G1 Prime still occupied the number 1 spot in my mind.
The desire to have my own Powermaster Prime gradually disappeared. A kid brother, seeing the catalogues from our old toys, would remark that Powermaster Prime looked like he's made out of Duplo. After getting my own G1 Prime, the thought of having the Powermaster Prime gnawed on the fringes of my mind.
Years later, I'd learn that a bootleg version exists. A bootleg that, at least in pictures, looked close to the real thing, minus some paint aps. The hunt for one proved futile, but I finally got one last night, thanks to Rohml.
I can't really remember if the original box looked like this. I think my cousin's had a more rectangular, more compact box.
There definitely wasn't a flip-out cut-out flap of any kind, and the back looked different from this.
Some details of the box.
A manual is included.
And the useless stickers. Yeah, if the stickers can't even hold unto their own backing, how do you think would it stick to plastic?
Pulling the toy from the box, here's what you get. Truck and accessories all neatly laid out in a plastic cradle. The original one used styrofoam instead of plastic - much stable but I prefer the plastic.
Why? The peg that holds the trailer to the cab is fragile. i really can't believe that the designers expected that small peg to connect such bulky and large trailer with the cab.
With my cousin's toy, the peg broke off and got stuck to the cab's connecting hole. A friend of mine also reported the same thing happening to his Powermaster Prime.
the problem is that the connection is tight and snug, just as TF fists and weapons. Now, with small items such as weapons, it's no problem - just pop it in, and pop it out. But when you use the same connection for a bulky trailer and a cab, you're asking for trouble. Try lifting the trailer with the cab connected, for example. The cab's weight would strain the small peg. If they made the peg thicker, it would work better. Besides, compare this with the original G1 Prime, where the peg used to connect the cab to the trailer is not only thicker, but is more loose - allowing more freedom of movement and zero stress to the peg itself.
Going back to the styro vs. plastic "cradle," the styrofoam does not allow you to store the toy with the cab not connected to the trailer. And it's pretty snug, too. Taking out the toy the wrong way can break off the connecting peg. This was how my friend's toy got broken.
The plastic "cradle" is much more loose. I store my bootleg Prime with the cab not connected to the trailer.
The robot head is not painted. HiQ (or Ginrai) does not sport his original colors.
TRUCK MODE
Okay, here are the big guns. Unfortunately, they don't fit. Have to sand down the pegs a bit in the future.
The good news is, HiQ fits 'em!
At first glance, the toy can fool you enough into thinking that it's the real thing!
Well, except of course for the gray wheels that don't align or roll correctly...
But i have to say, it's still a decent-looking truck mode. The red plastic seems pale, though.
The trailer opens!
ROBOT MODE
Back then, this struck me as the most cartoon-accurate Prime toy. Too bad it cheated with the false chest and grill... Articulation is very limited, but G1 is G1 so that's forgiveable. Transforming the cab from truck to robot poses some challenges. The plastic is a bit on the brittle side, and the joints at the feet tend to get stuck. Force should eb applied cautiously.
Look ma, no paint!
Being a Powermaster, HiQ is inserted in the truck's front grill to unlock the rear part of the truck that would from the legs. This lock sucks on this bootleg.
BATTLE STATION MODE
Like the original G1 Prime, Powermaster Prime's trailer turn into a battle station. But this time, it's bigger, badder, and no roller!
The bootleg got this quite nicely. Again, some guns just don't fit.
SUPER ROBOT MODE
After Ultra Magnus's release, the idea of Prime combining with his trailer for a Super Robot mode has been, well, toyed around by kids. Here's the realization of that dream, and probably the "prototype" for the Armada, and Cybertron Primes!
Big head, small limbs, but for some reason, it's cool. Very cool.
Personally, I'd rather see the truck's grill than a Powermaster.
And yes, it passes the kick test!
WHICH MODE?
Super Robot Mode wins! It takes the least space, making it easier to display, and it can also hold alll the parts/accessories that came with the toy. And yeah, if you have a big freakin' Prime, flaunt it!
PROS
- faithful reproduction of the original toy
- sturdy enough to be playable
CONS
- useless stickers
- unpainted sections
- plastic wheels do not work well
- too tight joints in some places tend to get stuck
- guns don't fit
RATING
3 and a half out of 5
My reason then for getting one of this was to repaint it as a sorta Powermaster Nemesis Prime, but I learned that a black repaint of the original already exists. I'm planning on repainting this as OP himself, but not necessarily in the toy's original colors.
That said, this bootleg makes good custom fodder.
BONUS FEATURE!
Classics Prime meets Bootleg Powermaster Prime!
The cab is about the same size as Classics Prime!
Except that Powermaster Prime lacks an extra axel. (What's up with that anyway, Hasbro?)
Wow. Just wow. I had a hunch that the Powermaster trailer would be at scale with Classics Prime, but I never thought it would look this good!
Nice try, Classics Prime...
CP: Bwahahaha! Nice articulation, dude!
BPP: One shall stand and one shall fall! And I don't even need my ill-fitting guns to squash you!
CP: Ulk!
I REALLY don't want to know what a "cumputer" is used for. A little one-handed web surfing, perhaps?
[ Click to attempt signal recovery... ]
