The Energon Pub

[-Kanrabat-]

I'm not really a 3P guy usually. But how could I resist Civil Warrior General Grant?



Inspired by the Dreamwave comic series from the early 2000's Transformers War Within, here's Civil Warrior's first entry in the wild world of non-official "Transformers" figures with their version of War Within Optimus Prime.

And oh boy, what a start!



The vehicle is big, massive, shiny, and intimidating. The cab section is also mostly made out of diecast metal like the old classic Titanium figure.




The underside is also perfectly clean. No bots saying "hello" here.



Here's WW Optimus, comparing himself to his future Earth mode self (Transformers Masterpiece Optimus Prime MP-10 by Hasbro) Not as long if we count trailers, but definitely way more massive.




The trailer tab into the cab by four points. One must use caution when uncliping.



The cab portion can stand on his own easily. It's also so full of metal that handling him give me cold fingers!






Comparison between other official Transformers figures.
The MP-10, the old tiny and flawed Titanium, and the G1 original from the 1980's.




Transforming Civil Warrior General Grant is super easy peasy. It's almost like transforming a simple toy from the 1980's! No rocket science required.



Only flaw to get him in bot mode, I had to pry up the from under a gap in the torso with a butter knife because it was a bit stuck.



He even have the Matrix of Leadership! I would light up if I had batteries.



His posability is absolutely NUT. He have individual fingers, an ab crunch, shoulders, knees, the whole shebang.



Because of the spidly fingers, it's a bit troublesome to transform the hands back into the arms to install the axe.



His joints are mostly hard ratchets meaning he can pose how he want despite being made of heavy metal.



Comparison with MP-10 welding his (overcompensating) gun. The gun could light up if I had batteries.



And with the small ones.



The trailer is made out of 7 parts. They are the most fiddly to deal with in the whole set.



The parts combine with Grant to give him a SUPER MODE!



The wings can be adjusted and he remain ridiculously posable.



Goddamn my pictures suck...





One last comparison.



Overall, way worth the asking price. This "Optimus" feel and play like a giant Gobots for his simplicity and all his METAL.
I love it!

[Rodimus Prime]

Wow...that is amazing! War Within is 1 of my favorite stories, and I like that small Titanium figure very much! This looks like a larger version of that, and as of now he's on my list to get. After I get Scorponok, he's next!

[-Kanrabat-]

Wow...that is amazing! War Within is 1 of my favorite stories, and I like that small Titanium figure very much! This looks like a larger version of that, and as of now he's on my list to get. After I get Scorponok, he's next!

WAUGH! SOMEONE IS HERE!
But seriously, this forum is so buried, not many know it exist. Especially the 3P Haul thread.

Anyway, after playing with him a bit, I found 3 issues worth noting.

First is that you must use a butter knife to pry out the head from underneath. Lift up the torso and you'll see a space to put the knife in. That's the easiest way to take out his head.

Second, the hands are troublesome to put back into the arms. the panels on the back of the hands pop off easily but it pop back in easily too. I find the easiest way to put the hands back into the arms is to put them with the fingers of the fist facing you. Once you close down the panel, the place where you plug in the axe is not really straight because of the new way the hand is inside. It's a bit crooked but it's not bad looking when wielding the axe and it doesn't bother the vehicle mode.

Finally, be very careful with the black gun's handle. The way it's made, it easy to break if you force the handle. I ham-handed it and it broke. It was an easy fix with super glue but it's still a bummer.

Despite those annoyances, I still think he's worth the price. For how big, heavy and full of metal this guy is, the price is very, very cheap. For me, the super mode is nice, but it's mostly a bonus. The normal bot mode is the main draw here with it's insane posability. But strangely enough, the most bad-ass and cool mode is his vehicle mode with the trailer. Man, now THAT'S what a Cybertronian Optimus Prime should look like. No Earth truck with a baseball cap here!

[Rodimus Prime]

Is his transformation similar to the Titanium figure's? I plan on having him mainly in robot mode, probably super mode, so the hands will be out mostly. I don't like MP-10 so I never got him, but I have the original MP-01, and I think they will display well together. Does the super mode use all the parts of the trailer?

[-Kanrabat-]

Is his transformation similar to the Titanium figure's? I plan on having him mainly in robot mode, probably super mode, so the hands will be out mostly. I don't like MP-10 so I never got him, but I have the original MP-01, and I think they will display well together. Does the super mode use all the parts of the trailer?

The transformation is pretty similar to the Titanium. Only the "ultra complicated" backpack transformation is added and liftin up the kneecaps. The legs, there is no buttons. You simply pull or push. And contrary to the titanium original, the thing dosent fall appart when you transform him and he's rock solid when holding a pose.

As for the trailer, it use everything. Unfortunately his regular weapons are left aside... that is, if you don't cheat. You can leave the super guns handle folded in and just have him wear it on his forearms. Then you can add the regular bot weapons for a "I don't give a fok" overkill look!

Grant will look great beside MP-01 I think. In fact, he may work better than with MP-10 simply because both are FULL METAL and MP-01 is slightly bigger, making him a "true evolution" from his Cybertronian form.

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

That's a damned fine review, Kanrabat! I'll admit I'm about 90% out of the third-party game nowadays. Room/money considerations. But this thing... I always did like the War Within design of Optimus.

[-Kanrabat-]

That's a damned fine review, Kanrabat! I'll admit I'm about 90% out of the third-party game nowadays. Room/money considerations. But this thing... I always did like the War Within design of Optimus.

For the amount of bot you're getting, the price is amazing. Especially compared to Takara.

This Cybertronian Optimus is my favorite, with the WFC version being second.

[Rodimus Prime]

Do you think Civil Warrior will make a WW Megatron to go with him?

[-Kanrabat-]

Do you think Civil Warrior will make a WW Megatron to go with him?

Well, I'll say the business answer: If Grant sell well (and I hope it will) they will make Megatron as well. Then, if he sell well, they may make some other War Within character.

Civil Warrior is a new company and Grant is their first. Let's hope Corona Chan will not kill them.

[Rodimus Prime]

I hope they succeed, this figure looks like a great first try. If there will be more, we definitely need the Dinobots. And I know everyone will say Starscream, but I thought the WW Protectobots looked great, they should have had figures.

[-Kanrabat-]

Going back to General Grant, I made some comparison pictures with the very first Transformers Masterpiece Optimus Prime ( MP-01 ). What I have here is the Last Shot of MP-01 equipped with the MP-04 knock-off trailer. (For those who don't know, MP-04 was just MP-01 but with a trailer included. It's worth the same price as MP-44, the latest Optimus even today.)

In vehicle mode, Grant and MP-01 are just PERFECT together. Even more so than with MP-10.









As for robot modes, Grant is a middle ground between MP-01 and MP-10. In bot mode, both have the same weight due to all that metal. Grant also pose 1000X better than MP-01 because Grant's ankles are tight pivot joints instead of the stupid loose ball joints that MP-01 have. Also, MP-01's huge head don't really help to make them look like they are of the same scale. In bot mode, they look nice together but I think Grant in bot mode look best with MP-10.





Only in "super overkill mode" does Grant get around the same size as MP-01 in bot mode.



Conclusion, Grant look best with MP-01 in vehicle modes, but look best with MP-10 in robot modes.

[Rodimus Prime]

I think he looks best with MP-01 in robot mode as well, WW represents Optimus before he became Prime, so he should be a bit smaller.

[-Kanrabat-]

I think he looks best with MP-01 in robot mode as well, WW represents Optimus before he became Prime, so he should be a bit smaller.

Oh, that's true.
I'm reading the comics right now and maybe I shouldn't have. That Optimus was chosen to be a Prime because... all he want is to be an office worker and won't give a fok about the civil war. He's so not giving a fok that he even refuse to wear the even though he's supposed to be the Autobots leader.

I'm only at issue 2 of volume one though. Hope he'll get his sh!t together.

[-Kanrabat-]

Well, that was fast.
Already sold out at Age 3 and Up!