The Energon Pub

Here's a deep dark secret of mine. I have almost 100 TFs and not a single Optimus Prime toy.

I've decided enough is enough and am planning on getting one shortly. I'm looking for a GREAT toy, so I'm asking for you recommendations. I would like my prime to be Voyager+ size and toon/movie accurate. Price really isn't an issue. Should I go masterpiece? G1? RiD combined with Magnus?

So, if you had to own only one Prime in your collection who would it be?

Pretty much everyone says Masterpiece every time one of these threads pops up, and I have to echo that, he truly is a Masterpiece. If mony is no object, go with the original MP-01 with one of the 3rd party trailers. IIRC MP-04 has some chest door lining up issues, but I could be mistaken.

G2 Laser Optimus Prime is pretty sweet too!

ROTF Leader

Nearly all of the Primes are good figures to a degree. I'm biased though. A few suggestions, Cybetron OP is fantastic, his chest opens and he has a removable Matrix. Classics voyager OP is pretty nice if you don't mind his arm kibble. Lastly MP, you can't really go wrong with him.

G1, course I'm a little biased

Masterpiece is hard to go wrong with as well.

There are really way too many good Primes to choose just one. But right now, in terms of awesomeness and accuracy in proportion to price and availability, I'd say go for ROTF Leader Prime. He really is that good, and you can always buy other Primes later.

I'd say the Voyager Jet Optimus. He's real movie accurate in combined mode. But seriously, no optimus prime?!!?

RID Prime, with or without Magnus is a oft overlooked and hugely underrated figure IMO.

I'd get perusing the gallerys here if I were you!

If you want a very big Prime to display as the majestic centerpiece to your collection, have to say MP is the way to go, if you don't care about price. A bit more affordable is RotF Leader Prime, and you can even readily find both sword and hook variations still in stores.

If you want a Prime that's fun to play with and looks good on your desk, I'd point you towards Generations War for Cybertron Prime. He's just an excellently-detailed, highly poseable and very cool-looking figure.

Looks like the winner will most likely be Masterpiece Prime. I really like the looks of ROTF Prime, but i think for my first I want a more "classic" prime.

DraconicDak wrote:If you want a Prime that's fun to play with and looks good on your desk, I'd point you towards Generations War for Cybertron Prime. He's just an excellently-detailed, highly poseable and very cool-looking figure.

I already have a sport reserved on my desk at work for WFC Prime when he hits retail around here!

Thanks for all the suggestions!

Power master prime is a pretty cool figure, Also I like rid prime as well but them you would need to get rid ultra magnus as well since they make one of coolest combine forms, but you can't go wrong with any of the version of mp prime.

When I want OPTIMUS PRIME, I look at 20th OP / MP Convoy.

When I want a Leader class figure that looks awesome, I look at ROTF Prime.

When I want a Leader class figure that's fun and cool, I look at Cybertron / GF OP. He's even in scale with the Classics/Universe Autobots and UM (with City Commander) without his trailer, and a great PMOP salute WITH his trailer.

When I want to imagine what it was like pre-Earth, I ignore WWI Prime and go to Deluxe WFC Prime.

And when I wanna just fiddle with something while working, it's Legends Cybertron OP.

Only one? MP-04.

But ROTF might be a good one to get while he's able to be had for $30 or less on clearance or from TRU.com. I'd go for the one original over the lame battle hook version, though.

Almost all Primes are good candidates, but if you want one true OP to represent the character, who else can it be but MP OP?

He's the perfected G1 fig. Personally, I don't own him, but he's racked up enough good reviews from reviewers and forum members alike to be a safe bet.

Galaxy Force Convoy is another Prime you can't go wrong with.

Other than these two, I'd personally recommend ROTF Prime as well as Buster Prime. Both are near perfect representations of their movieverse CG models. I suggest you get both, as Buster Prime has extra paint apps, and an open-face sculpt, and a convertible gun. But while ROTF OP lacks the chrome and paint app treatment, he is sculpted with his mouthplate on for a more battle-ready look, and the lack of fragile paint apps lets you transform and display him without worrying too much about scratching something off.

As far as desktop deco goes, you can't go wrong with WFC OP. He's affordable, superbly articulated, and pretty accurate to the game (necessary kibble for "real-world" transformation not withstanding).

Voyager J_O's cool too!

Just do what I did.

GET THEM ALL!

I have a disturbingly large Optimus Prime collection. I think I have more Primes than most people have Transformers!

It really does come down to personal taste but a good starter Prime is the smaller one from Armada called Bendy Optimus Prime. Dude's a little monster of awesomeness!

Wow, it's hard to believe that there's actually a collector with NO Prime. I'm both intrigued and impressed that you've avoided such temptations (almost every Prime mold is a winner). As for my opinion:

MP Prime is definitely THE Prime. I don't own MP Prime, but I do own MP Black Convoy and I can't even explain the awesomeness that oozes from the figure. Seriously, everything about the bot mode is perfect...everything.

If you want a cheaper Leader sized Prime, then I agree with what others have said and think that you should take advantage of the 30 dollar Leader Prime on TRU.com. It's truly an awesome figure.

WFC Prime is really good too, but is a huge pain in the ass to transform. I see it more as a display piece than anything else.

RID Prime is a great figure, but really isn't complete without Ultra Magnus...and getting the two of them for a decent price is really rare.

So yea, I'd say it's a toss up between MP Prime and ROTF Leader Prime. I'm still a little confused about how you own NO Primes though lol. I'm far from an Optimus Prime fan (I'm actually pretty indifferent towards the guy), but I own at least 20 Optimus Prime figures. I'm more of a Nemesis Prime fanboy.

You really should ask UltraConvoy this question, because he has lots of Prime(s) like how you have non-Primes.

Depending on your collection, should determine what Prime(s) you should get.

My favorite right now is Henkei Convoy. I got rid of Classics Prime a few weeks ago. The Henkei version has that subtle difference just enough to remind me of the G1 original. Of course there's Armada Rpime. I have both Micron Legend versions and I use my TRU exclu. as Powered Convoy. Carrobots Fire Convoy to me is a cult classic since so many people who are younger than I see him as how I see the original G1 version.

Galax Force or Cybertron Optimus is another "epic" prime to look at.

It's amazing how they so often get Prime so right, and Megatron so wrong...

Valandar wrote:It's amazing how they so often get Prime so right, and Megatron so wrong...

Tell me about it

JetOptimus23 wrote:Voyager J_O's cool too!

That's not even out yet..

If you want cartoon accuracy then don't even consider G1. MP Prime is the most accurate but then he has a much simpler thing to copy than a movie figure! In terms of playability ROTF Leader and MP are my suggestions. Maybe I'm leaning toward MP for epicness with the size and hefty feel and accessories. The later release of him doesn't have chest panel alignment issues - it's just that one side doesn't stay shut without a little blob of blu-tak inside!

So many factors to consider. You know what, let me tell you my picks from what's to offer.

Standalone
1. G2 Laser Optimus Prime
2. Classics Optimus Prime (or even better, Henkei Convoy)

Combining
1. Cybertron Optimus Prime / Galaxy Convoy
2. RiD Optimus Prime

I would recommend RotF Prime too, but he may be a tad too complicated and even fiddly, especially with the windshield pieces.

I would like to cast a second vote for Henkei Convoy. For a smaller Prime toy he's a near-perfect rendition of an updated G1 look. He just doesn't have any related fiction, is all.

FYI to the OP, you can currently get ROTF leader Prime from BBTS for a mere $23.39! If you have any pre-orders in at BBTS or a POL already going that you could bundle this fig with, you should probably take advantage.

Of all the Prime's I have, my absolute favorite is Masterpiece, but, and this is a big one, I really needed the Japanese version, with the long stacks. I don't even have a trailer for it (well, other than the cardboard one that came in the box) but it's not only my favorite Prime, but quite possibly my favorite robot toy of all time.

RID Prime is great, but he's a firetruck not a semi, which doesn't bother me but might bother some people, and the back half of the truck is kinda parts-formery. I love this one, but can see how some people might not. I'm not that jazzed about his super robot mode, but his normal robot mode is awesome, as is Omega Prime when combined with Ultra Magnus.

The smaller (deluxe) Armada Prime (aka Bendy) is great, and has been redecoed and reissued so much some version should be easy enough to find. The larger (leader) Armada Prime... meh. Super robot mode is very brickish, and the autotransform of the trailer is kinda annoying after the initial novelty wears off. Plus it means you need to keep batteries in the sucker to transform it.Combined with Jetfire and Overload (or in my case Energon Ultra Magnus) he looks like a beast, but is kinda unstable, and if you just want Prime, that's overkill. Regular robot mode is okay, but Bendy's is better, IMO.

Energon Prime, stay away. One of the worst Primes out there. Looks tubby, and the voltron/power ranger supermode drones are not very good. Trailer is just a hunk of plastic used as as "car" carrier for the drones, not really anything you can do with it otherwise. There's also a deluxe Prime, but it only came in a two pack with the smaller version of Megatron. He's still tubby, but kinda neat in that he can powerlinx with any of the regular powerlinx autobots of that line. Still wouldn't recommend him, though.

Cybertron Prime, not really one I'd recommend, but not one I'd say avoid like Energon either. This one's somewhere in the middle. Only reason I'd see to get this one is if you want to combine with whoever it was he combines with (Wingsaber? Never found one when I had cash, so not sure if that's the right name). Also, he's a firetruck again here.

Classics Prime is great, but is lacking any trailer. Not a problem for me, but might be for some. There's another classics Prime that came in a two pack with another version of Megatron (a green tank), but while I think it's cool in robot mode, again, no trailer, it's very small, and the truck mode is pretty bad.

The Primes from the first movie are kinda cool, but I prefer the smaller one (voyager?) to the big leader version. Again, no trailers. Still, if you like movie Prime, either one should satisfy you.

The only Animated Prime I have came in a two pack with some version of Animated Megatron, but I really don't like the line at all so I won't belabor the point too much. But even beyond just the look, he's very floppy. Not completely worthless, though, very poseable, and you can even get him into some poses where he's holding his axe (yeah, no gun, just an axe) with both hands, so it looks kinda neat that way. No trailer, again.

Generations Cybertron Mode Prime is my latest Prime, and I like it, but the alt mode is kinda plain, and it's not easy to transform. Robot mode looks really nice, but not quite as "primeish" as Primes with earth modes. No trailer, but since he's pre-Earth I don't count that as a negative in any way.

I don't have a G2 Prime, but I have RID Scourge which was a redeco of Laser OP, and it's very awesome. The trailer is an oil tank, not a regular trailer, so maybe that makes a difference to some people, not to me though.

There's also a spychanger of RID Scourge, which was later recolored as OP, and I have that OP, and it's nice, but very small (duh) and only articulation is at the elbows.

And of course there's G1. I love G1, but if "toon accurate" matters, like lots of G1 there's quite a lot different between the toy and the character model they came up with for the show. But, for a G1 it's not THAT far off, (not like Ratchet for instance) so I wouldn't stay away just for that. Also, he's got pretty good articulation for G1. Nice shoulder and elbow movements, and even knee joints, though they're kinda futile since the hip joints only move back (and that's really there for transformation) not forward, so you can make him kneel, but not really pose his legs to look more dynamic. Of course, he's also got the trailer that turns into a base, and Roller. Unfortunately, the more recent rereleases have the smokestacks neutered, and that really kinda wrecks the look for me, but some people don't mind.

And then there's Powermaster Prime. I only have the original version as released in the US during G1, so there is a better version around, but I really don't like this one. Regular robot mode looks like a cheap knockoff of OP, I don't like the way it transforms, and the only real articulation is the elbows. I think there's a knee joint in there too (part of the transformation to supermode, actually), but the feet are one solid piece fused together, so there's not really much posing to be done. Super robot mode, brick. Shoulders move, that's it. Arms are too small, head is too big, looks almost goofy though sticking the cannons on the shoulders helps a little. Trailer also has a base mode, but it's pretty lame. HiQ (the powermaster that turns into the engine) is quite nice, probably the least disappointing part of the toy.