So I finally decided to buy the SDCC exclusive Throne of the Primes. It cost me around 160$CAN including taxes and shipping from Amazon.jp. But thinking about it, he's basically a "commander" if I count the extra stuff so I can cope with the overall price. I never bought the leader POTP Optimal Optimus so it's my first time with the mold.
Here's my impressions.
Right out of the box, it feels good to handle a BIG leader for once, even if he's a bit hollow in places. I won't use the Throne but I'll certainly will not throw it away along the box.
The big bot is impressive and he command POWER. I didn't expect him to come with 4 prime-masters. I'm glad that he can have his full staff. Despite the fact that his crown can't be used in other modes, I'm glad it's there. This Optimal Optimus looks glorious like a king!
I know he can do the shoulder canon thing but in this mode, he looks way better with "fuller" legs.
I looked up the Reprolabels stickers for him and IMO, the "upgrade" is unjustified. The default stickers on him looks good and enhance the right details with no oversaturation.
The surfing ape mode is cool! For this mode, I "transformed" his shoulder pilons instead of swapping them to his forearms. It looks great.
I really love the mini primal. A Primal that can only change into some cargo ship. Am I crazy to wish for more BW characters who'll gets vehicle modes?
Speaking of vehicle, the "vehicle" is just Optimal doing the "Superman" as it should be. It still look stupid but eh, it's there.
Despite some hollow bits and some parts popping off (and back on) too easily like the thumbs and the leg wings, I think that set is worth the money. He's special, looks amazing in his "G1 BW" colors (I skipped on the regular version because I don't like the original's colors), and he's GLORIOUSLY ROYAL. He's also easy and fun to mess with.