Transformers Power of the Primes Primal Prime Artwork Found in 'Transformers - A Visual History'

Posted by D-Maximal_Primal Nov 21, 2019 at 8:12pm CST 53,156 views

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We have something a bit out of left field for you today in terms of news. Thanks to Jesse Wittenrich on Twitter, we have news that within the newest Transformers artbook, titled 'Transformers - A Visual History' by Jim Sorenson, there might be evidence of a scrapped Power of the Primes redeco.

The artwork in question focuses in on Power of the Primes Optimal Optimus mold, with the artwork showing the packaging art done up in Primal Prime colors. For those who might not know, Primal Prime was an exclusive repaint of the original Beast Wars Optimus Optimus figure back in Beast Machines, done up in some darker reds with some blue and white.

While Optimal Optimus did get a repaint in the original Optimus Primal colors for San Diego Comic Con, it looks as though a 2nd repaint was considered, and it would have been something cool to see happen, if this is indeed proof that it was a consideration.

Check out the artwork below, and let us know what you think in the comments section below!

Transformers News: Transformers Power of the Primes Primal Prime Artwork Found in 'Transformers - A Visual History'

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Re: Transformers Power of the Primes Primal Prime Artwork Found in 'Transformers - A Visual History' (view post)

Comment by Skritz Nov 21, 2019

Aw man I would have loved to see Primal Prime but, then again, I'm a total sucker for Optimus Primal and repaint potential (and Beast-era Botcon). It would have been nice to see it retooled to have a full mouthplate on the super mode and a Transmetal 1 Optimus Primal retool for the smaller bot in Apelinq colors.

Re: Transformers Power of the Primes Primal Prime Artwork Found in 'Transformers - A Visual History' (view post)

Comment by Sabrblade Nov 21, 2019

I have a different theory about this art, in that it may have been less of a proposed redeco and more Hasbro's original idea for the normal retail figure's deco to make Optimal Optimus look more like what a "real Prime" would look like (as in, being colored like Optimus Prime) instead of using the 1998 figure's primarily orange deco that the retail POTP toy ultimately went with.

Re: Transformers Power of the Primes Primal Prime Artwork Found in 'Transformers - A Visual History' (view post)

Comment by Skritz Nov 21, 2019

Sabrblade wrote:I have a different theory about this art, in that it may have been less of a proposed redeco and more Hasbro's original idea for the normal retail figure's deco to make Optimal Optimus look more like what a "real Prime" would look like (as in, being colored like Optimus Prime) instead of using the 1998 figure's primarily orange deco that the retail POTP toy ultimately went with.

I disagree. While we love to mock Warden's team for their anti-BW stance generally toys in the Prime Wars trilogy always used something approximating the original deco for their mass release, meaning odds are POTP Optimal Optimus likely was always intended to be orange. It would make no sense to release a single figure in that entire trilogy with a non toy/show-based color scheme.

Re: Transformers Power of the Primes Primal Prime Artwork Found in 'Transformers - A Visual History' (view post)

Comment by Sabrblade Nov 21, 2019

Skritz wrote:
Sabrblade wrote:I have a different theory about this art, in that it may have been less of a proposed redeco and more Hasbro's original idea for the normal retail figure's deco to make Optimal Optimus look more like what a "real Prime" would look like (as in, being colored like Optimus Prime) instead of using the 1998 figure's primarily orange deco that the retail POTP toy ultimately went with.

I disagree. While we love to mock Warden's team for their anti-BW stance generally toys in the Prime Wars trilogy always used something approximating the original deco for their mass release, meaning odds are POTP Optimal Optimus likely was always intended to be orange. It would make no sense to release a single figure in that entire trilogy with a non toy/show-based color scheme.

Unless it was a special unique figure voted into the line from the outside.

Re: Transformers Power of the Primes Primal Prime Artwork Found in 'Transformers - A Visual History' (view post)

Comment by Skritz Nov 21, 2019

Sabrblade wrote:
Skritz wrote:
Sabrblade wrote:I have a different theory about this art, in that it may have been less of a proposed redeco and more Hasbro's original idea for the normal retail figure's deco to make Optimal Optimus look more like what a "real Prime" would look like (as in, being colored like Optimus Prime) instead of using the 1998 figure's primarily orange deco that the retail POTP toy ultimately went with.

I disagree. While we love to mock Warden's team for their anti-BW stance generally toys in the Prime Wars trilogy always used something approximating the original deco for their mass release, meaning odds are POTP Optimal Optimus likely was always intended to be orange. It would make no sense to release a single figure in that entire trilogy with a non toy/show-based color scheme.
Unless it was a special unique figure voted into the line from the outside.

We have no way to prove or disprove your theory so I'll stick with my gut feeling that there isn't really any sense for this to have been the original, intended color scheme. Too much attention to detail went into POTP Optimal Optimus that I simply have no reason to believe it. If the figure had been such a 'hackjob' due to Warden's dislike of BW it could have gone wrong in so many ways. Instead the team went by the vote and produced a shockingly BW-accurate sculpt which retained most of the key elements and the original color scheme.

Its more logical to assume this was a scrapped exclusive.

Re: Transformers Power of the Primes Primal Prime Artwork Found in 'Transformers - A Visual History' (view post)

Comment by Nemesis Primal Nov 21, 2019

Shame we didn't get this guy. I don't know if I would have picked him up or not, but it would have been cool to see him, and I appreciate knowing that they even thought of him.

To me this art presents four possible options of what happened:
-Primal Prime was going to be the SDCC exclusive instead of a weird repaint of a Season 3 design in Season 1 colors, but they decided to make the exclusive still the same character so they could fully theme it after the vote instead.
-Primal Prime was intended to be in the main line had it not been shortened to 4 waves, along with the Prime Masters that were SDCC-exclusive and possibly Snaptrap (at least), the other two Orthia limbs (the heavy mentions of Solus Prime in the Orthia lore from Pulse to me screams that it was meant to be for PotP), and a Battleslash/Roadtrap-styled tooling of Flywheels that was then altered before release in Siege to remove the bot modes.
-This art is from the early phase of planning Selects, and the figure wasn't made because they thought it safer to test the line with Deluxe figures first rather than release a Leader repaint right out the gate (remember that we got a few Deluxes and a Voyager in Selects first before they went in on Shackwave).
-This art is nothing but a concept of a possible repaint that never made it further than that concept stage, and no figure was planned of this deco to begin with.

Re: Transformers Power of the Primes Primal Prime Artwork Found in 'Transformers - A Visual History' (view post)

Comment by Wireless_Phantom Nov 21, 2019

Ah yes, the one I would actually have bought.

Re: Transformers Power of the Primes Primal Prime Artwork Found in 'Transformers - A Visual History' (view post)

Comment by blackeyedprime Nov 22, 2019

Interesting, it would still have been a pass for me with the orig toy having all its alt modes and it could still turn up at some point.

Re: Transformers Power of the Primes Primal Prime Artwork Found in 'Transformers - A Visual History' (view post)

Comment by Rainmaker Nov 23, 2019

Skritz wrote:
Sabrblade wrote:It would make no sense to release a single figure in that entire trilogy with a non toy/show-based color scheme.

Maybe that doesn't but retail FOC Bruticus apparently did

:MAXIMAL:

Re: Transformers Power of the Primes Primal Prime Artwork Found in 'Transformers - A Visual History' (view post)

Comment by Jelze Bunnycat Jan 7, 2020

OK, very quick silly question here: what are those tabs on either side of Blackwing's cockpit for? :???:

Re: Transformers Power of the Primes Primal Prime Artwork Found in 'Transformers - A Visual History' (view post)

Comment by D-Maximal_Primal Jan 7, 2020

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:OK, very quick silly question here: what are those tabs on either side of Blackwing's cockpit for?

What tabs?

Re: Transformers Power of the Primes Primal Prime Artwork Found in 'Transformers - A Visual History' (view post)

Comment by Jelze Bunnycat Jan 7, 2020

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:
JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:OK, very quick silly question here: what are those tabs on either side of Blackwing's cockpit for?

What tabs?

On the sides of the intakes.

Re: Transformers Power of the Primes Primal Prime Artwork Found in 'Transformers - A Visual History' (view post)

Comment by D-Maximal_Primal Jan 7, 2020

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:
D-Maximal_Primal wrote:
JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:OK, very quick silly question here: what are those tabs on either side of Blackwing's cockpit for?

What tabs?

On the sides of the intakes.

Hmm, he's in combined form, need to investigate

Re: Transformers Power of the Primes Primal Prime Artwork Found in 'Transformers - A Visual History' (view post)

Comment by no-one Jan 7, 2020

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:
JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:
D-Maximal_Primal wrote:
JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:OK, very quick silly question here: what are those tabs on either side of Blackwing's cockpit for?
What tabs?
On the sides of the intakes.
Hmm, he's in combined form, need to investigate

Your talking about he ones that stick out horizontally from the sides of the intake?

I've never noticed them before. Pulled him down and transformed him into jet, arm, leg and combined mode and I'm pretty sure they do nothing. Couldn't clip the combiner hand to them, nor the weapons or any random robot parts. They do appear to have a purpose though.

Unused pretool?

EDIT: well this is a dumb option and I'm just as confused as Blackwing 8-}

Re: Transformers Power of the Primes Primal Prime Artwork Found in 'Transformers - A Visual History' (view post)

Comment by TF-fan kev777 Jan 7, 2020

carytheone wrote:
D-Maximal_Primal wrote:
JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:
D-Maximal_Primal wrote:
JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:OK, very quick silly question here: what are those tabs on either side of Blackwing's cockpit for?
What tabs?
On the sides of the intakes.
Hmm, he's in combined form, need to investigate
Your talking about he ones that stick out horizontally from the sides of the intake?

I've never noticed them before. Pulled him down and transformed him into jet, arm, leg and combined mode and I'm pretty sure they do nothing. Couldn't clip the combiner hand to them, nor the weapons or any random robot parts. They do appear to have a purpose though.

Unused pretool?

EDIT: well this is a dumb option and I'm just as confused as Blackwing

Did the same think myself, got the same results. No clue what they could be for.

Re: Transformers Power of the Primes Primal Prime Artwork Found in 'Transformers - A Visual History' (view post)

Comment by D-Maximal_Primal Jan 7, 2020

Someone needs to find the instructions, that might be the official transformation. The brothers were weird as limbs officially

Re: Transformers Power of the Primes Primal Prime Artwork Found in 'Transformers - A Visual History' (view post)

Comment by no-one Jan 7, 2020

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:Someone needs to find the instructions, that might be the official transformation. The brothers were weird as limbs officially

Fortunately all my instructions are organized in folders in my desk. Best I can tell they show the arms pegging into the wings in arm mode and just tucked straight down in leg mode, just like the pics in Ben's review.

I did try and fold them up and over in arm mode, but the pegs and slots don't line up or even reach.

Re: Transformers Power of the Primes Primal Prime Artwork Found in 'Transformers - A Visual History' (view post)

Comment by Sabrblade Jan 9, 2020

You know what's funny? I think I finally realized why none of the POTP Combiners had any large weapons of their own like the CW Combiners did. I think Hasbro wanted us to use the Prime Masters' Decoy Armor in their weapon modes to serve as the POTP Combiners' weapons.

And now I've got myself thinking of which Combiners I'd want to give which Decoy Armor weapon. However, there are three Autobot Combiners and two Decepticon Combiners, while the Decoy Armors come in three Autobot and five Decepticon flavors. This makes it easier for the Autobots, while the Decepticons get more to pick from.

Right off the bat, I'd give Cloudburst to Inferno since they're both red. Volcanicus I could see wielding Metalhawk since I'd imagine Grimlock would want the leader of the Pretenders. And that would leave Orthia with Landmine, which works out since Landmine's armor came with Alpha Trion, whom Elita is closely associated with.

As for the Cons, I think it would be cool to see them dual-wielding Decoy Armor weapons, so I'd give both Bomb-Burst and Skullgrin to Abominus since they each turn into claw weapons, which leaves Starscream with Submarauder and Bludgeon. Octopunch, meanwhile, is the odd one out, but since his suit came with Solus Prime, and since there's only one female Decepticon Combiner in all of CW/UW/POTP/etc., I'd probably give that weapon over to Megatronia, who'd hold it in one hand and wield her sword in the other.

Re: Transformers Power of the Primes Primal Prime Artwork Found in 'Transformers - A Visual History' (view post)

Comment by D-Maximal_Primal Jan 9, 2020

Interesting notion, they are pretty well sized for combiner hands.

I personally just like leaving them as armors themselves, though all the shells are empty. all my Primes went to the Throne/Scepter. The 12 vanilla Primes are in the wheel, while 13 and the 3 clear ones are in the scepter

Re: Transformers Power of the Primes Primal Prime Artwork Found in 'Transformers - A Visual History' (view post)

Comment by no-one Jan 9, 2020

Not to mention you can also shove the PMs in the enigma slots as well. Seems like a logical play pattern. Good call ;)^