The Energon Pub

Optimal Optimus repainted as Oilmaster.... That's one something-or-other-exclusive that beg to be made.

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Edit:
My 7777th post! What do I win?

Well damn, now I'm kinda sad knowing that'll definitely never happen (even though the other two Leader molds have black Decepticon repaints). Heck, I'd be happy with the Optimus Prime version, too.

Emerje

Paint Primal white with blue highlights, especially the face, paint Optimal red white and blue with the blast shields instructed to be on the shoulders as the official transformation for shoulder pads, call him Magnificent Magnus, or Magnified Magnus, and take my money.

A Singaporean posted theses on the 4chan /toy/ board in the TFG thread. He knocked out the pin that link Primal's spaceship-backpack in place. This create a separate "yoga pose only" Primal and a separate vehicle. The lone Primal can now interact with a much better looking Optimal Optimus, both in bot and gorilla mode. Also, the spaceship and surfboard modes still work thanks to all the pegs that lock everything in place. This is a BRILLIANT idea that make me want that toy even more!








What do you guys think?

-Kanrabat- wrote:

This is great and we get an 'Actionmaster Optimus Primal' to boot. Who would have thought?

Skritz wrote:This is great and we get an 'Actionmaster Optimus Primal' to boot. Who would have thought?

Well, not me. Ironic because I have a 98% complete G1 Action Master collection.

This make it even better!

-Kanrabat- wrote:A Singaporean posted theses on the 4chan /toy/ board in the TFG thread. He knocked out the pin that link Primal's spaceship-backpack in place. This create a separate "yoga pose only" Primal and a separate vehicle. The lone Primal can now interact with a much better looking Optimal Optimus, both in bot and gorilla mode. Also, the spaceship and surfboard modes still work thanks to all the pegs that lock everything in place. This is a BRILLIANT idea that make me want that toy even more!








What do you guys think?

Awesome. Thats pretty much what I had planned all along. Now time for a 3rd party company to swoop in and do an add-on kit to make Primal an ape alt-mode.

It seems to me that the design team did the least amount of work on the gimmick for it to be take apart just like that. But then again, there is a bias against beast wars so I shouldn't be surprised.

That jet mode without the small Primal kinda works and kinda doesn't. The cockpit piece sits too low for it to look flush with the rest. Everything else looks great without the backpack Primal.

So just give me a way to ditch the small one without messing up the jet mode and I'll be happy. Munkytrukk mode would be a bonus.

ZeroWolf wrote:It seems to me that the design team did the least amount of work on the gimmick for it to be take apart just like that. But then again, there is a bias against beast wars so I shouldn't be surprised.

Then again, even if they had a design team which loved Beast Wars I'm not sure how feasible a Primal-into-Optimal gimmick is, given they both share utterly different color schemes compared to Orion/Optimus and Hot Rod/Rodimus.

As for 'what if' they had made a Primal toy without the gimmick (say, had it been released in a gimmick-less Generations part like T30): it would have probably just ended up the original BW figure done on a modern budget and with modern engineering. Which would have been quite dull given there's the Masterpiece Primal already. However it is worth noting that the classic Optimus Primal figure is an extremely simple transformation all things considered, which was one reason why the original BW figure was so gimmick-laden: it's transformation was ridiculously simplistic, being a gorilla that turned into a humanoid robot. In my opinion a gimmick-less Leader Class Primal would have been both a very solid and very simple and bland figure at the same time.

That said, at the risk of repeating myself: its amazing how (mostly) spot on the robot modes for these figures are. You can tell that, bias or not, they wanted to capture the original looks without feeling the need to 'update' it. These sculpts are pure, 100% Primal.

Moonshot wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:A Singaporean posted theses on the 4chan /toy/ board in the TFG thread. He knocked out the pin that link Primal's spaceship-backpack in place. This create a separate "yoga pose only" Primal and a separate vehicle. The lone Primal can now interact with a much better looking Optimal Optimus, both in bot and gorilla mode. Also, the spaceship and surfboard modes still work thanks to all the pegs that lock everything in place. This is a BRILLIANT idea that make me want that toy even more!








What do you guys think?

Awesome. Thats pretty much what I had planned all along. Now time for a 3rd party company to swoop in and do an add-on kit to make Primal an ape alt-mode.

I may be considering that now as well.

I have a real conundrum when it comes to PotP Optimal Optimus. Or rather should I say, a crises of conscience. You see for me, it's easy. I have no desire to purchase this toy. It doesn't fit in with the aesthetic I've been trying to stick to since I returned to collecting with CW. However...My son really wants this toy. He is saving up his own money to buy it. I just don't want him to drop, $50 (a lot for a 12 year old), on this, and ultimately be disappointed. I've contemplated finding an original Optimal Optimus on eBay, loose, but finding one intact with all its parts, for a decent price can be challenging. We found a Tigerhawk at a flea market a while back for $15. It was missing all its missiles, but the toy itself was in great shape, and he really likes it.

I mean I had probably a comparatively "small" BW collection compared to most, but I only got the characters back then that I really enjoyed based sometimes by their in-show personality, and non-show characters based on designs I enjoyed. I don't want my less than stellar opinion of this toy to influence my son, but at the same time, I don't want him to get something he'll regret soon after. I guess perhaps not knowing the full range of abilities the original Optimal Optimus had may be in his favor, having never seen the toy, but I'm still concerned. I'm sure even before it hits store shelves (if it ever does in my area...) more prominent fan reviews will come out, especially in English (for the benefit of my son), and let him make the final decision.

ZeroWolf wrote:It seems to me that the design team did the least amount of work on the gimmick for it to be take apart just like that. But then again, there is a bias against beast wars so I shouldn't be surprised.

I don't think it's fair to say there's a bias against Beast Wars, the problem is, the original BW figures were already great figures, making it incredibly hard to improve on them.

To me, this is a figure that's been made worse because it's had a gimmick forced onto it.

Burn wrote:I don't think it's fair to say there's a bias against Beast Wars,

Warden's total disinterest in anything Beast Wars is pretty well documented, though. Things like saying there wasn't any need to celebrate its 20th anniversary right after we had just finished Thrilling Thirty, and telling fans if they want Beast Wars figures then go buy them from Takara Tomy (effectively squashing any chance of Hasbro releasing the MPs) among other things.

Emerje

o.supreme wrote:I have a real conundrum when it comes to PotP Optimal Optimus. Or rather should I say, a crises of conscience. You see for me, it's easy. I have no desire to purchase this toy. It doesn't fit in with the aesthetic I've been trying to stick to since I returned to collecting with CW. However...My son really wants this toy. He is saving up his own money to buy it. I just don't want him to drop, $50 (a lot for a 12 year old), on this, and ultimately be disappointed. I've contemplated finding an original Optimal Optimus on eBay, loose, but finding one intact with all its parts, for a decent price can be challenging. We found a Tigerhawk at a flea market a while back for $15. It was missing all its missiles, but the toy itself was in great shape, and he really likes it.

I mean I had probably a comparatively "small" BW collection compared to most, but I only got the characters back then that I really enjoyed based sometimes by their in-show personality, and non-show characters based on designs I enjoyed. I don't want my less than stellar opinion of this toy to influence my son, but at the same time, I don't want him to get something he'll regret soon after. I guess perhaps not knowing the full range of abilities the original Optimal Optimus had may be in his favor, having never seen the toy, but I'm still concerned. I'm sure even before it hits store shelves (if it ever does in my area...) more prominent fan reviews will come out, especially in English (for the benefit of my son), and let him make the final decision.

I would let your son buy PotP Optimal Optimus if he wants it. Yes, you can't let your own biases get in the way of his interests. I can almost assure you that, when your son has that figure in hand, he's going to love it. Adult fans are old, jaded, and supremely picky. We have all sorts of self-induced biases about how things "should be." Children are better able to evaluate and accept things for what they are without prior expectations. I'm sure that most kids are going to appreciate the play value they get out of a Transformer with so many different modes, and especially one as big as a Leader Class toy.

P.S.

Certainly don't tell your son what all of your own misgivings about the toy are. Your values aren't his values. If he doesn't find flaws where you have, just let him enjoy what he has.

Just got the wave 2 prime masters today, and took them apart for paint touch ups. Apparently their symbol-plates are actually two pieces, which really caught me off guard. Are the wave 1 figures like this as well? Since they were pinned together I never fully disassembled them.

So much for Amazon having the Terrorcons today.

Wolfman Jake wrote:

o.supreme wrote:I have a real conundrum when it comes to PotP Optimal Optimus. Or rather should I say, a crises of conscience. You see for me, it's easy. I have no desire to purchase this toy. It doesn't fit in with the aesthetic I've been trying to stick to since I returned to collecting with CW. However...My son really wants this toy. He is saving up his own money to buy it. I just don't want him to drop, $50 (a lot for a 12 year old), on this, and ultimately be disappointed. I've contemplated finding an original Optimal Optimus on eBay, loose, but finding one intact with all its parts, for a decent price can be challenging. We found a Tigerhawk at a flea market a while back for $15. It was missing all its missiles, but the toy itself was in great shape, and he really likes it.

I mean I had probably a comparatively "small" BW collection compared to most, but I only got the characters back then that I really enjoyed based sometimes by their in-show personality, and non-show characters based on designs I enjoyed. I don't want my less than stellar opinion of this toy to influence my son, but at the same time, I don't want him to get something he'll regret soon after. I guess perhaps not knowing the full range of abilities the original Optimal Optimus had may be in his favor, having never seen the toy, but I'm still concerned. I'm sure even before it hits store shelves (if it ever does in my area...) more prominent fan reviews will come out, especially in English (for the benefit of my son), and let him make the final decision.

I would let your son buy PotP Optimal Optimus if he wants it. Yes, you can't let your own biases get in the way of his interests. I can almost assure you that, when your son has that figure in hand, he's going to love it. Adult fans are old, jaded, and supremely picky. We have all sorts of self-induced biases about how things "should be." Children are better able to evaluate and accept things for what they are without prior expectations. I'm sure that most kids are going to appreciate the play value they get out of a Transformer with so many different modes, and especially one as big as a Leader Class toy.

P.S.

Certainly don't tell your son what all of your own misgivings about the toy are. Your values aren't his values. If he doesn't find flaws where you have, just let him enjoy what he has.

Let me add that an original naked Optimal Optimus will still ironically be as expensive as a full price PotP leader. Plus at 12, your son will be smart enough to notice that there's no arms panels, no canons, and an overall ass-looking figure because of it. If his first Optimal Optimus is the PotP leader, I'm sure it will be something that please him. Especially if it's something he bought with his own money that he genuinely worked for. The toy will have much more value this way. Plus, you can find a weaponless original BW Optimus Primal for a reasonable price and the lack of weapons will not screw up the look. Plus your son will see the origins of the smaller bot. I can only see WIN in this scenario.

Also, you may be lucky and come accross a coupon and/or a sale when it's time to buy PotP Optimal Optimus.

Your son looking forward to a figure I expected only mid-20-something neckbeard would EVER find interest in is quite adorable, really. The dominance of G1 in the serie as a whole mean it had never even crossed my mind that a kid could look at something meant to represent a Beast Wars figures and go 'I want that' because I was under the impression they wouldn't 'get it'.

That said, getting an original Optimal Optimus would certainly be something yet allow me to throw in a counter-argument against it in spite of it being a superior figure by all accounts: the figure is old and has a few weaknesses in its design which make it ill-suited to use it as anything but a display piece. The orange and brown plastic has been reported to crack, the chrome can flake and the electronics just might not work anymore.

For collectors getting the original is the better option but if what he want is a toy of a bigass orange robo-gorilla he really should get the new one so it doesn't risk breaking in his hands.

So.... I'm not a patient man



Cutthroat:
I'll get the bad out of the way first... ugh. His bird head, WILL fall off, in multiple pieces, ALL THE TIME. It is incredibly frustrating. Hopefully, it's not a common problem.

Sinnertwin:
Bot mode has monkey arms, otherwise he's pretty great! Beast heads are posable and both have opening mouths.

Blot:
He would be perfect, if his damn beast mouth opened. Aside from that though,

Abominus:
I need some hands/feet upgrades. But he's fantastic. I never had a full team of scramblers as a kid, but I had three Terracons. So it feels great to have this guy all assembled. He looks great, feels great, and honestly I'm fine with there being no UW counterpart. He might be my favorite Generations scrambler besides my Brutici.

I envy your Abominus!

I've heard people complain about this-and-that of the Terrorcons but that combined mode is awesome. As in the awe-inspiring usage of the word.

Cutthroat's beast head is a common problem I'm afraid.

Can you the Prime configuration? Cutthroat as the right arm, Sinnertwin as the left, Rippersnapper as the right leg, Blot as the left?