The Energon Pub

[LOST Cybertronian]

The Seibertron.com galleries has updated with some of the first Transformers Prime figures to hit the retail market. These are the TF Prime First Edition Voyager Class Hasbro Bulkhead and Takara Tomy Optimus Prime with Deluxe Class Takara Tomy Starscream and Takara Tomy Bumblebee. Some of these figures remain elusive to many collectors and if you don't have these figures in hand, then these galleries are the next best thing. Click on any picture below to see each characters' comprehensive gallery.

Bulkhead (Voyager Class - Hasbro)
Transformers Prime: First Edition






Optimus Prime (Voyager Class - Takara Tomy)
Transformers Prime: First Edition






Starscream (Deluxe Class - Takara Tomy)
Transformers Prime: First Edition






Bumblebee (Deluxe Class - Takara Tomy)
Transformers Prime: First Edition

[mattwhite924]

I absolutely love First Edition Prime, it's too bad he never got a US release. I'd love to get Bulkhead too, but I just can't justify paying that much for him. Maybe one of these days I'll find him for a decent price.

[roBROmanceFTW]

Confused??? What's with the slight variations in color? Is it a region thing...i.e. Canada/Asia???

[Blurrz]

Confused??? What's with the slight variations in color? Is it a region thing...i.e. Canada/Asia???

Bright Finish = Takara
Dull Finish = Hasbro

[Autobot032]

Prime's holding his weapons wrong. To be show accurate (as shown below) they need to be to the side.





Also, for those who have FE Prime: Unscrew and remove his head. You'll notice it is not actually sitting on the ball joint of the neck. Snap it on (requires some force), then put it back together and you'll instantly have full range of motion from the head and neck.

[Megatron Wolf]

voyager prime wouldnt be that bad of a figure if they did some work on the chest, the proportions & the grey just kill it.

[DetoxRetox]

the more I see voyager FE Prime the more disappointed I get with my voyager RID Prime.

[Seibertron]

Confused??? What's with the slight variations in color? Is it a region thing...i.e. Canada/Asia???

I updated the news story to clarify that these were alternate versions of the figures. In the comparison shots in the news story, the Takara Tomy version is on the right hand side, with the exception of the Hasbro Bulkhead gallery where the Takara Tomy version is on the left hand side. I should have flipped the Bulkheads around in the comparison shots but oh well. Close enough!

[Seibertron]

Prime's holding his weapons wrong. To be show accurate (as shown below) they need to be to the side.

...

Also, for those who have FE Prime: Unscrew and remove his head. You'll notice it is not actually sitting on the ball joint of the neck. Snap it on (requires some force), then put it back together and you'll instantly have full range of motion from the head and neck.

Thanks for the tips.

Wish someone had pointed that out with the gallery of Hasbro's FE Prime gallery. Oops. I'll keep the blade tip in mind next time I pull these out. I should have also done a few shots of Prime holding both guns and both blades. Hm ...

I can't believe what a difference the head mod makes. It really is just more or less sitting on the ball joint instead of being snapped on properly. I fixed both heads and took a couple of comparison shots.

[Autobot032]

Thanks for the tips.

No problem. I look back on my post, and to me, it seems like I worded it rather harshly. That was not my intention. My apologies.

Wish someone had pointed that out with the gallery of Hasbro's FE Prime gallery. Oops. I'll keep the blade tip in mind next time I pull these out. I should have also done a few shots of Prime holding both guns and both blades. Hm ...

I'd love to get my hands on doubles of his weapons so he can be more complete. Sounds like a job for Shapeways!

I can't believe what a difference the head mod makes. It really is just more or less sitting on the ball joint instead of being snapped on properly. I fixed both heads and took a couple of comparison shots.

I can't take credit for any of these. They were listed on TFW awhile back and I never got around to sharing them. I'm surprised these tidbits didn't get out to the people before this.

[Seibertron]

I'm updating the gallery right now. The head modification is newsworthy if it hasn't been posted before.

[kirbenvost]

...

Also, for those who have FE Prime: Unscrew and remove his head. You'll notice it is not actually sitting on the ball joint of the neck. Snap it on (requires some force), then put it back together and you'll instantly have full range of motion from the head and neck.

I can't believe what a difference the head mod makes. It really is just more or less sitting on the ball joint instead of being snapped on properly. I fixed both heads and took a couple of comparison shots.

Interesting, I will have to try this out myself.

Anybody else get stress marks on Bulkhead's chest where the hinge connects to the hood piece? I'm finding the green plastic really susceptible to stress marks. I keep hearing about this blow dryer trick but I'm so scared to use it on my Bulkhead.

[Seibertron]

I can't take credit for any of these. They were listed on TFW awhile back and I never got around to sharing them. I'm surprised these tidbits didn't get out to the people before this.

In their forums or in their news section?

[Seibertron]

Thanks to fellow Seibertronian Autobot032, we found out about this fix for First Edition Optimus Prime's head. Apparently, the head is not properly snapped on to the ball joint. Here's how to fix it:

• Unscrew the back of the head
• Separate the front and back halves of the head. Notice the back of the head is on the ball joint, but is not "snapped" on properly.
• Snap the back of the head onto the ball joint. You will need to use a little pressure.
• Reattach the front half of the face.
• Screw the head back together

(As always, you should be careful when modifying your Transformers toys. We are not responsible if you follow these steps and somehow manage to cause damage to your figure.)

This modification will make Optimus' head look a little more proper. His chin is not as close to his neck as it was before plus he gains extra head movement that you would expect from a ball joint. He's now able to look up without his head popping off.

Apparently this fix has been talked about for a while on some forums. If the person who figured this out can step forward, I would be happy to update the news story accordingly to give proper credit for this.

Below are some pictures demonstrating the differences before and after the fix as well as some pictures demonstrating once again how bad ass this figure is. The images below click through to the full Seibertron.com gallery of the Takara Tomy version of Optimus Prime. Enjoy!

[Mr_Wayne]

Lol i just thought that was how the head was suppose to be. Thanks for the help

[ubertenorman]

WOAH. Apparently that fix also makes his colors brighter

Anyway, good to know! I always thought he just had a swivel....

[kirbenvost]

One BAMF.

[mattwhite924]

I just tried this, and it was pretty easy. His head works much better now.

[philtron3030]

Awesome tip thanks! Now I really need to get my hands on double weeps for prime

Weps*

[Doubledealer93]

just that one small thing can make an awesome toy better. thanks man!

[Autobot032]

I can't take credit for any of these. They were listed on TFW awhile back and I never got around to sharing them. I'm surprised these tidbits didn't get out to the people before this.

In their forums or in their news section?

Forums.

http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transform ... ut-90.html

Post #896

Poster name: Ishino

Quoted post:

One thing for anyone with FE Voyager Optimus.

The head isn't correctly assembled. There's a balljoint on the neck, and a socket in the head, but for some reason it's not inserted in there, it's just kind of wedged between the two halves of the head. If you unscrew the head and pop the ball into the socket, you'll find the neck articulation greatly increased. Also, the head will no longer push up the roof in truck mode, meaning you can push the roof down flush and it stays there.

There's all kinds of FE and PRID secrets in that thread. From the page I'm linking, onward.

And one I just found myself. PRID Ratchet's shoulders lock in place. They stop due to resistance, but I noticed a notch and sure enough, they lock in place.

[Evil_the_Nub]

So the awesome figure hasbro screwed us out of just got a little better.

[Autobot Joe]

Brilliant....absolutely brilliant. Who'd have thought such a minute "fix" would make that much of a difference. Now that it's fixed and the roof sits flat in truck mode, I think I can finally appreciate this figure. I am truly impressed with whoever took the time to dissect Prime and figure this out. Thank you.

[Vicalliose]

Now if only I actually had an FE Optimus to fix...

Hey to anyone actually going to BotCon please remember to keep bugging them about this.

[Optimum Supreme]

There was a similar problem to this with Generations Kup. His head was on, but not on right, so it just flopped around loosely until performing this same fix. I don't know how widespread the issue was, but it was common enough that I read about the fix before getting mine, and indeed, it had the issue.