Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap)

Sunday, December 31st, 2017 9:29AM CST

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Fellow Seibertronian ebo716 found a YouTube video review of the upcoming Power of the Primes Legends Class Battleslash and Roadtrap figures. Both individual figures combine to form Battletrap. The video was posted by xcorpeo on YouTube.

The Battletrap character was originally a Decepticon Duocon released in 1987 (the year of the Headmasters). He was comprised of two separate vehicles. In Battletrap's case, his separate vehicle modes were a helicopter and a blue SUV (or truck). However, his original form didn't have individual robot modes for his separate vehicle forms, so the new Power of the Primes take on him with Battleslash becoming the helicopter and Roadtrap becoming the truck is a new concept for the character.

Battletrap's last incarnation was from the BotCon 2015 "Cybertron's Most Wanted" set. That version of him was a recolor of Generations Voyager Class Autobot Springer, with a new head specific for Battletrap.

It is unknown if Battletrap's Duocon brother Flywheels will get the same treatment. Flywheels was also released as a Duocon in 1987, but was last seen under the previous series as a Titans Return Titan Master.

Battleslash and Roadtrap will be part of the Power of the Primes Legends Class Wave 2 assortment. Both figures will be joined by Tailgate in this assortment, which we have previously reported on. Wave 2 is expected to arrive in stores around March or April along with other Easter/Spring stock shipments.

Credit(s): xcorpeo

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Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929026)
Posted by Etseterrestrial on December 31st, 2017 @ 11:10am CST

Love it, love it, love it, LOVE IT

EDIT: Also, just noticed. Anyone else see a potential Swift repaint coming out of Battleslash?

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929027)
Posted by AFTRHR on December 31st, 2017 @ 11:15am CST

Finally, TFwiki can get rid of the comment at the bottom of his G1 toy!

It does look really well done. I do like that they decided to go for two separate characters because I know there'll be some kids who just want a full character. Battleslash has funny looking hips but they're both really nice!

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929087)
Posted by Skritz on December 31st, 2017 @ 9:12pm CST

Got my hands on Wave 1 Prime Masters: fun little gizmos but I really wish they had better stability as a head (and a screw) but I have to remind myself that this was certainly not their intended function. I kinda wish they had elbows too but at this size they would have probably been too floppy anyway. They're cute and fun little bite-sized pretender shells, which I'm just glad were given a new life at long last.

Still got a Quake whose body has been hijacked by Skullgrin and once I put some paint on that body it will make for one cool figure, a pretender whose pretender shell is actually smaller than the giant robot mode. I might even display him with that Liege Maximo 'face' rather than go through the length of removing Quake's TM head and repainting all of it. That and Liege Maximo/Skullgrin has one of the best Prime Master 'head' mode, looking like some fierce (but abstract) snarling face.

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929094)
Posted by Qwan on December 31st, 2017 @ 10:28pm CST

From the Facebook page of Marcelo Matere, the artist behind the package-art pencils for Combiner Wars' fan-built 'bot Victorion, we have a look at a similar piece of art for a much more recent combiner - Power of the Primes Volcanicus (comprised of the Dinobots being released in Waves 1 and 2 of the line).

Much like his work for Victorion and Combiner Wars Bruticus, this art of Volcanicus displays a somewhat 'rounded' and filled-out style, eliminating gaps and small engineering compromises found on the actual toys in order to present an incredibly intimidating-looking robot! Given that Volcanicus also has no fully-consistent "proper" limb configuration yet, which many of the G1-based updates from Combiner Wars and Power of the Primes do possess, it's also interesting to note the positioning of each Dinobot in this depiction - Swoop and Slug form arms, while Sludge and Snarl take on the heavy lifting as the legs.

Check out the pencil work below and on Matere's Facebook page, and share any thoughts you may have on this piece or the figure itself in the Energon Pub Forums!

Dinobots Combiner Volcanicus package art pencils from Transformers : Power of the Primes toy line -2017. #dinobots #combinerwars #poweroftheprimes #art #artist #marcelomatere #hasbro #transformers #toys #pencils #pencilsketch #volcanicus

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929095)
Posted by Qwan on December 31st, 2017 @ 10:35pm CST

For curious minds, the above news article's "fun substitutions" are: VolcanyoubelieveI'mstilldoingthisicus, Volcaknightswhosaynicus, VolcaNEWYEARicus. I know that got really old a long time ago (especially by internet standards), but it's my thing and I'm gonna keep doing it anyway.

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929096)
Posted by Jelze Bunnycat on December 31st, 2017 @ 10:42pm CST

Here's the actual toy for comparison:

And differences there are, but not many noteworthy ones:

- Sludge and Snarl have switched positions, though the art is in line with his Earth Wars depiction.
- Snarl has his tail treated like Sludge's and Slag's, even tho the toy has it split, like the G1 one.
- Sludge has his back feet flip inward, something not possible with the toy. Also, the front feet seem to be twisted 180.

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929119)
Posted by Rated X on January 1st, 2018 @ 6:56am CST

I got Grimlock last week and im sorry but Volcanicus is the ultimate floppy piece of s**t. Besides looking all retarded with the offical shoulder configuration, the damn thing doesnt even stay tabbed together. The fan mod version with the shoulders pulled in doesnt hold any better. They sacraficed so much to make them a combiner in the first place and the damn combiner was still a total fail. And then theres scale. Does anyone else think they should have done Predaking in deluxe/voyager format and saved the dino-combiner to be the titan class release?

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929121)
Posted by Munkky on January 1st, 2018 @ 7:34am CST

I got Leader Optimus yesterday, the main robot mode is great, and I love how involved the transformation from robot to trailer is. The truck cab is a horrible kibbly mess when viewed from any angle other than the front, it could do with a couple of extra panels on the sides to cover Orion's folded up arms at the back, though Orion's robot mode is a nice fun figure on his own.

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929123)
Posted by YoungPrime on January 1st, 2018 @ 8:36am CST

Rated X wrote:I got Grimlock last week and im sorry but Volcanicus is the ultimate floppy piece of s**t. Besides looking all retarded with the offical shoulder configuration, the damn thing doesnt even stay tabbed together. The fan mod version with the shoulders pulled in doesnt hold any better. They sacraficed so much to make them a combiner in the first place and the damn combiner was still a total fail. And then theres scale. Does anyone else think they should have done Predaking in deluxe/voyager format and saved the dino-combiner to be the titan class release?

I'm not Shocked and I'm not sorry for saying the obvious. We all seen this crap during various toy conventions last year. Prior to the CW line we've begged Hasbro for combiners and now they've gone overboard the the gimmick!

No one asked for combiner Starscream and I'm confident and saying that each Dinobot would've had better quality IF they weren't combiners either! I'm not even buying that Grimlock (FOC version will remain my placeholder).

Deluxe and Legends are the only standout in this line so far.

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929127)
Posted by Randomhero on January 1st, 2018 @ 10:01am CST

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:Here's the actual toy for comparison:

And differences there are, but not many noteworthy ones:

- Sludge and Snarl have switched positions, though the art is in line with his Earth Wars depiction.
- Snarl has his tail treated like Sludge's and Slag's, even tho the toy has it split, like the G1 one.
- Sludge has his back feet flip inward, something not possible with the toy. Also, the front feet seem to be twisted 180.

Don’t forget about the biggest difference , that’s a drawing

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929130)
Posted by angtre on January 1st, 2018 @ 10:55am CST

Rated X wrote:I got Grimlock last week and im sorry but Volcanicus is the ultimate floppy piece of s**t. Besides looking all retarded with the offical shoulder configuration, the damn thing doesnt even stay tabbed together. The fan mod version with the shoulders pulled in doesnt hold any better. They sacraficed so much to make them a combiner in the first place and the damn combiner was still a total fail. And then theres scale. Does anyone else think they should have done Predaking in deluxe/voyager format and saved the dino-combiner to be the titan class release?

Having a Titan class Dinobot Combiner would have been reeeeally nice. Since Predaking will lack a similar sized opponent (in the original cartoon he got Sky Lynx, but its most recent version is way too small, even in its Sky Reign combined form), this new Combiner would have been perfect for the role.
Also a shame that Slash doesn't get involved in any way.

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929138)
Posted by Jelze Bunnycat on January 1st, 2018 @ 12:15pm CST

Randomhero wrote:Don’t forget about the biggest difference , that’s a drawing

And your point is?

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929140)
Posted by Skritz on January 1st, 2018 @ 12:34pm CST

I get the impression Volcaniconiconiicus Volcanicus is a bit more poorly received because he's an 'unwanted' combiner, since the majority of the fanbase did not want/expect a combining Dinobot. I mean, from what I can gather, the CW torso weren't received anywhere as poorly as the PotP ones but was it really due to better engineering or just because the G1 Combiners got new toys?

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929143)
Posted by Jelze Bunnycat on January 1st, 2018 @ 1:07pm CST

Skritz wrote:I get the impression Volcaniconiconiicus Volcanicus is a bit more poorly received because he's an 'unwanted' combiner, since the majority of the fanbase did not want/expect a combining Dinobot. I mean, from what I can gather, the CW torso weren't received anywhere as poorly as the PotP ones but was it really due to better engineering or just because the G1 Combiners got new toys?

I think it's more the Combiner gimmick is "too intrusive" on them? Swoop, Slag, Sludge and Snarl all seem to be perfectly made as limbs from the get-go, but Grimlock as a torso not so much. At this point we have Combiner fatigue, plus where's Piranacon?!

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929144)
Posted by william-james88 on January 1st, 2018 @ 1:11pm CST

Skritz wrote:I get the impression Volcaniconiconiicus Volcanicus is a bit more poorly received because he's an 'unwanted' combiner, since the majority of the fanbase did not want/expect a combining Dinobot. I mean, from what I can gather, the CW torso weren't received anywhere as poorly as the PotP ones but was it really due to better engineering or just because the G1 Combiners got new toys?

The Menaspr torso was hated just as much.

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929146)
Posted by Skritz on January 1st, 2018 @ 1:35pm CST

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:I think it's more the Combiner gimmick is "too intrusive" on them? Swoop, Slag, Sludge and Snarl all seem to be perfectly made as limbs from the get-go, but Grimlock as a torso not so much. At this point we have Combiner fatigue, plus where's Piranacon?!

Maybe its because I got back into collecting with Titans Return and only got a few CW figures after the line ended. To me this isn't as 'tired' or 'played out'. As for Piranacon, I speculated waaay back that he's entirely doable within the PotP lineup as a late-wave combiner. In fact, looking at Grimlock I wonder if he couldn't be re-engineered into Snaptrap. Sure, it would be a heavy retool but not an impossible one. Well, either him or Hun-Grr. The rest of the Seacons' seafood-with-limbs-design is entirely doable with pre-existing and/or upcoming molds, such as:

Rippernsapper into Overbite and Scalor
Swoop or Cutthroat as Seawing
Blot heavily retooled to Tentakill
Nautilator as a new legends-class figure who turn into a gun

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929155)
Posted by Twitchythe3rd on January 1st, 2018 @ 4:12pm CST

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:
Skritz wrote:I get the impression Volcaniconiconiicus Volcanicus is a bit more poorly received because he's an 'unwanted' combiner, since the majority of the fanbase did not want/expect a combining Dinobot. I mean, from what I can gather, the CW torso weren't received anywhere as poorly as the PotP ones but was it really due to better engineering or just because the G1 Combiners got new toys?

I think it's more the Combiner gimmick is "too intrusive" on them? Swoop, Slag, Sludge and Snarl all seem to be perfectly made as limbs from the get-go, but Grimlock as a torso not so much. At this point we have Combiner fatigue, plus where's Piranacon?!

Maybe it's both? Forced combiners for the sake of gimmickry plus the looming threat of CW levels of mold reuse?

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929157)
Posted by Jelze Bunnycat on January 1st, 2018 @ 4:28pm CST

Twitchythe3rd wrote:Maybe it's both? Forced combiners for the sake of gimmickry plus the looming threat of CW levels of mold reuse?

Could very well be. Though mold reuse has been less obvious, less numerous by Wave 3, and it's more Titans Return-style part sharing:

Metalhawk into Alpha Trion

Sludge shares with Slug
Cutthroat shares with Swoop

Starscream into Elita-1
Hot Spot into Inferno with redecos of Hun-Gurr's Engima and Combiner feet.

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929158)
Posted by Skritz on January 1st, 2018 @ 4:46pm CST

One gets the impression Hasbro did indeed drop the ball for the end of the Prime Wars trilogy and I suspect this is probably the result of poor planning/not knowing what the main gimmick of the last one should be, resulting in them mashing everything together in hope it works. That said, the fact we're at least getting (at least) two more pre-existing Combiners who didn't show up in CW is still a plus: Abominus and Predaking are 100% confirmed with Monstructor somewhat hinted by an odd Cutthroat-with-Wildfly-head and Piranacon as pure speculation right now.

Honestly, if they wanted to make Combiner Wars 2.0 they should just have done so, given that people complain about characters whose nature as a combiner torso make them weaker figures. Granted, Dinobot combiner is exactly where I'd go if I was Hasbro and realized most named combiners left are Decepticons. So, really, even in the hypothetical scenario I do think we'd have ended with a Dinobot combiner. Predaking as a regular CW combiner could have certainly filled waves and they could have potentially used him as a basis for a new combiner to fill the Autobots rank which brings me to the frankly wasted potential of a CW 2.0: we could have had entirely new stuff and saved all the bitching from 'waah they ruined a Starscream/Jazz' because at least it would have been a line upfront about doing unfinished or new combiner teams rather than use existing characters as combiner components, which was something which had already sat poorly with fans during Combiner Wars.

Of course this lead to the problem of Leader class figures not integrating with the gimmick when all you do are combiners, which is why I think they wanted to keep the TR elements with the Prime Masters, Enigma and Matrices. Which I do not one bit hate. But! But, one get the impression the planning was certainly poor and that PotP was the rushed finale since the leader evolution+not!powermaster gimmicks make one seriously wonder why the fuck a Powermaster Optimus remake wasn't in this line. Had it been planned properly from the get go, he would have made more sense: that way a PM Optimus could have a proper Powermaster, same with Overlord and we'd have been spared the wonkyness that is Orion-Optimus Evolution.

But is there nonetheless a positive to PotP? Can it be salvaged or is it a doomed last dying grasp of a 'trilogy' which overtook the Generations line for years? Well, I do think so. Sure there is some mold reuse but so far it has been decent, with the Aerialbot reuse that are the Dreadwing and Darkwing duo. Whose still have their original gimmick relatively present (the Prime Masters doubling as Power Masters) and they combine with each others. Meaning these guys are perfectly valid as a duo to play with without needing them to be assigned to a torso. Their limb mode is a bonus, really. Abominus still looks promising and there are still chances we may see some unfinished combiners in the last waves, with early waves being a bit of a 'filler' aside from Dinobots and Terrocons. Oh and we got new Pretenders. Yay?

Seriously, my take out from all this is: PotP is not all doom and gloom or the worst toyline yet. There is good stuff in between the bad, even if its less solid than CW or TR.

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929192)
Posted by Wolfman Jake on January 1st, 2018 @ 10:42pm CST

Happy New Year, Seibertronians! Power of the Primes has FINALLY come to the Twin Cities area in full force. I was able to pick up almost everything from the first wave between New Year's Eve and New Year's Day between Target and Toys 'R' Us. I've opened up everything except for the Prime Masters (because Target wouldn't sell them to me, more on that later) and the Leader Class figures, as I'll get to those after work tomorrow evening.

First, with the Prime Masters, I ask if anyone else in the U.S. has bought them from Target? The ones I found on the pegs last night were marked with a street date of 04/20/2018! I had no idea until they tried to ring them up at the register. I was able to purchase the Legends and Deluxe figures without problem. In fact, one of the employees stocking the shelves was kind enough to open up a fresh case of Legends figures from the back so I could pick out the best paint jobs available. Ultimately, the management of the store decided to give me a discount of $5.00 off each of the Legends figures instead of just selling the Prime Masters, so it's not a total loss, but still, I want my Prime Masters! I wasn't able to find them at all today. No other stores I checked even had them yet, and they were completely removed from the shelves at that same Target when I checked again today. A clerk at the store looked into it for me and discovered they were put back away in the stock room because of the "04/20/2018 street date." Again, they refused to sell them because of such. Luckily, I found Leaders Optimus Prime and Rodimus Prime had been put out on the shelves of that same Target today, so I grabbed them up too. The trip wasn't a total loss. There were only one of each.

Now, with that rant out of the way, here are my musings on what I've gotten my paws on so far. First, the Legends figures are all excellent. Windcharger looks fantastic in person. He's deliciously G1. The face sculpt doesn't bother me at all, and the coloring is pretty much spot on. He's way better than his Combiner Wars version from a few years ago, especially in terms of proportion (no skinny legs or tiny pin head). Beachcomber is pretty much perfect. Again, very G1 with a simple and effective transformation. Slash is pretty fun too. She's got no G1 equivalent, of course, but does seem to fit right in with the rest of the Dinobot crew. I like her transformation, which turns out to be a lot easier than you might think at first blush, looking at her robot mode. I didn't pick up the reissue Shrapnel. I've got the Takara version for my "Classics" shelf and three of the Thrilling 30 release as his clone swarm.

Next, the Deluxes. Jazz is a neat little toy. There's nothing egregiously wrong with him, if you need a Classics Jazz for your collection, but the Reveal the Shield/Transformers United version is a superior figure in every way, honestly. The only thing that might make PotP Jazz more appealing for some would be a more cartoon accurate silhouette, what with the front tires moved behind the shoulders and the door wings missing in robot mode. This Jazz will eventually serve as a combiner limb in my collection, as RtS/United Jazz will remain my defacto Classics version. Dreadwind was a nice little surprise too. The retooling from his original Arialbot form is extensive and well done. It's a satisfying little transformation, despite being pretty played out for half of the steps. I definitely look forward to getting Darkwing and combining the two together in alt mode. The paint work on Dreadwind is great too. Very nice for a Hasbro release.

For that matter, Jazz has great paint work too, though it's a bit sad that, given they went to the trouble of making him form accurate to the cartoon, they didn't get some of the finer coloring details right on robot mode, like black hands, unpainted kneecaps, blue highlights on his pelvis, silver abs, etc. Again, the RtS/United version of Jazz does the coloring details far better and looks perfectly fine in form compared to the original G1 toy. The sad part about PotP Jazz is that Takara won't be touching up Hasbro's paint job at all, so there is no hope of a "perfect" cartoon Jazz figure, at least not any time soon.

The two deluxe Dinobots, Slag and Swoop, are good figures. They don't really blow me away, per se, but there's nothing very "wrong" with them, as far as I can tell. The combining gimmick is not obtrusive in either. It would be nice if they were a little bit bigger, but honesly, what are you gonna do? It was going to be deluxe or nothing for everyone but Grimlock. The paint work is good, and I like the effect of painting the clear plastic underneath the surface to give each that "glassy shell" look of the G1 toys.

Now for Grimlock. The Target I got most of my figures from had no Voyagers on the shelf. Grimlock was the only figure I had to get from Toys 'R' Us instead (for $29.99 at that). Grimlock is a good figure, but does have a bit of a flaw in that he doesn't tab together as tightly as I would like. You can eventually get everything to sit in the right place in robot and in dino mode, but you can't really fiddle or play with him lest something pop out of place. The flaw, I think, is in the plastic used. The tolerances for the pegs are off, so they don't really "snap" in tightly. Grimlock looks great posed on my Classics shelf, though, along side Slag and Swoop. Again, it would be nice if he were just a bit bigger, but he sure looks the part of G1 Grimlock, despite only slightly edging out Classics Voyager Optimus Prime in height. I gave PotP Grimlock the sword from Fall of Cybertron Grimlock and Titan Master "Clobber" as his blaster. Sadly, I can't find a good way to attach the shield accessory from FoC Grimlock to his PotP counterpart. TRU didn't have Starscream, so I've got no opinion on him yet.

Like I said earlier, I haven't opened up Optimus Prime or Rodimus Prime yet, so I'll give me thoughts on those another time. With any luck, I'll be able to track down the Prime Masters again before too long.

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929196)
Posted by bodrock on January 1st, 2018 @ 11:34pm CST

I already must have Abominus, but I would have to buy an update for Piranacon and Monstructor -- here's hoping.

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929205)
Posted by ebo716 on January 2nd, 2018 @ 12:44am CST

bodrock wrote:I already must have Abominus, but I would have to buy an update for Piranacon and Monstructor -- here's hoping.

At nycc, when they showed off Cuttroat, he had a head based off of Wildfly from the Pretender Monsters, so we are most likely getting Monstructor in some form.

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929207)
Posted by Jelze Bunnycat on January 2nd, 2018 @ 1:41am CST

ebo716 wrote:
bodrock wrote:I already must have Abominus, but I would have to buy an update for Piranacon and Monstructor -- here's hoping.

At nycc, when they showed off Cuttroat, he had a head based off of Wildfly from the Pretender Monsters, so we are most likely getting Monstructor in some form.

At the very least he was considered in the design, that's something.

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929241)
Posted by Munkky on January 2nd, 2018 @ 11:10am CST

Skritz wrote:One gets the impression Hasbro did indeed drop the ball for the end of the Prime Wars trilogy and I suspect this is probably the result of poor planning/not knowing what the main gimmick of the last one should be, resulting in them mashing everything together in hope it works. That said, the fact we're at least getting (at least) two more pre-existing Combiners who didn't show up in CW is still a plus: Abominus and Predaking are 100% confirmed with Monstructor somewhat hinted by an odd Cutthroat-with-Wildfly-head and Piranacon as pure speculation right now.

Honestly, if they wanted to make Combiner Wars 2.0 they should just have done so, given that people complain about characters whose nature as a combiner torso make them weaker figures. Granted, Dinobot combiner is exactly where I'd go if I was Hasbro and realized most named combiners left are Decepticons. So, really, even in the hypothetical scenario I do think we'd have ended with a Dinobot combiner. Predaking as a regular CW combiner could have certainly filled waves and they could have potentially used him as a basis for a new combiner to fill the Autobots rank which brings me to the frankly wasted potential of a CW 2.0: we could have had entirely new stuff and saved all the bitching from 'waah they ruined a Starscream/Jazz' because at least it would have been a line upfront about doing unfinished or new combiner teams rather than use existing characters as combiner components, which was something which had already sat poorly with fans during Combiner Wars.

Of course this lead to the problem of Leader class figures not integrating with the gimmick when all you do are combiners, which is why I think they wanted to keep the TR elements with the Prime Masters, Enigma and Matrices. Which I do not one bit hate. But! But, one get the impression the planning was certainly poor and that PotP was the rushed finale since the leader evolution+not!powermaster gimmicks make one seriously wonder why the **** a Powermaster Optimus remake wasn't in this line. Had it been planned properly from the get go, he would have made more sense: that way a PM Optimus could have a proper Powermaster, same with Overlord and we'd have been spared the wonkyness that is Orion-Optimus Evolution.

The way I see it, Power of the Primes has been okay so far, but I'd prefer if the Prime Masters did something other than just clipping into things, if they were more like Mini-Cons or Cyber Planet Keys where plugging them in to somewhere unlocks a hidden feature on the main toy. Personally I'm tired of Combiners, so when I do get every PotP Dinobot I don't intend to display them as Volcanicus, or even combine them at all, but that's just me.

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929243)
Posted by bodrock on January 2nd, 2018 @ 11:23am CST

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:
ebo716 wrote:
bodrock wrote:I already must have Abominus, but I would have to buy an update for Piranacon and Monstructor -- here's hoping.

At nycc, when they showed off Cuttroat, he had a head based off of Wildfly from the Pretender Monsters, so we are most likely getting Monstructor in some form.

At the very least he was considered in the design, that's something.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed on this!

As for Prime Masters, I'm surprised Target imposed a street date on them, making them unavailable for sale. Sounds like a data entry error to me. My TRU actually got them first and no issues buying from them.

I'll hunt for Leader Op, today!

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929248)
Posted by Rodimus Knight on January 2nd, 2018 @ 12:07pm CST

So this whole thing with Battle Trap, gives me hope that they might do the Multiforce from Transformers Victory. It would be really cool, especially if they can work them into the combiner mode as well.

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929253)
Posted by Wolfman Jake on January 2nd, 2018 @ 12:13pm CST

bodrock wrote:As for Prime Masters, I'm surprised Target imposed a street date on them, making them unavailable for sale. Sounds like a data entry error to me. My TRU actually got them first and no issues buying from them.

Undoubtedly, someone derpped on that. It's frustrating that Target can't seem to figure out how to undo it, at least not in a timely manner.

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929260)
Posted by bodrock on January 2nd, 2018 @ 1:25pm CST

No Leader love in Oregon. No traces of Prime Masters, Deluxes or Legends, either. Only Voyager Starscreams.

IMG_9645.JPG

Perhaps later this week or next, Op and Roddy will make it out to the West Coast....

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929264)
Posted by william-james88 on January 2nd, 2018 @ 1:58pm CST

Wolfman Jake wrote:
bodrock wrote:As for Prime Masters, I'm surprised Target imposed a street date on them, making them unavailable for sale. Sounds like a data entry error to me. My TRU actually got them first and no issues buying from them.

Undoubtedly, someone derpped on that. It's frustrating that Target can't seem to figure out how to undo it, at least not in a timely manner.

It is definitely an error on their part. No one else has a street date like that on these. Maybe they got confused with Wave 2 or something.

Munkky wrote:The way I see it, Power of the Primes has been okay so far, but I'd prefer if the Prime Masters did something other than just clipping into things, if they were more like Mini-Cons or Cyber Planet Keys where plugging them in to somewhere unlocks a hidden feature on the main toy. .

This is my main problem with this line. Their over arching gimmick is just aesthetic and doesnt really contribute to anything (and I dont think it looks any good when used, like on the Prime Armour :SICK:

). The Titan master were heads, thats a pretty big deal. But these prime masters dont add anything significant. They end up actually being better used on Titans return Overlord than any other toy in POTP so far.

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929278)
Posted by Burn on January 2nd, 2018 @ 2:46pm CST

171 pages, everyone enjoying their first wave ... and still no sign of them in Australia.

Any day now ...

If you live in a capital city, or not too far from one.
Which isn't me. May as well just wait for TT.

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929282)
Posted by o.supreme on January 2nd, 2018 @ 2:53pm CST

Burn wrote:171 pages, everyone enjoying their first wave ... and still no sign of them in Australia.

Well I've only seen the smaller ones if that makes you feel any better, no voyagers or leaders in my area.....

So, is it too early to start talking about Toy Fair? Just 46 days away! - We'll probably get full blown PotP wave 2 and 3 reveals and packaging, and hopefully a look at Predaking. I'm hoping for some news in early January from :TAKARATOMY:

regarding their plans for any possible Voyager or combiner team packaging...but I guess we'll see.

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929286)
Posted by william-james88 on January 2nd, 2018 @ 3:04pm CST

So now that people have the leaders, what are your thoughts on them. I personally find them both underwhelming so I am curious if I am maybe not seeing something or if people agree.

Also, currently writing a top 5 list for best Hot Rod/ Rodimus toys and I dont know if 5th place should go to Leader Rodimus or Energon Hot Rod. I am wondering which is a better toy, and I am not sure. probably the leader but he has so many flaws that I dont know if they are a bigger issue than Energon Rodimus' lack or articulation.

Same with Voyager Starscream. Lots of feedback on Grimlock, but little on his wave mate.

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929287)
Posted by Burn on January 2nd, 2018 @ 3:10pm CST

o.supreme wrote:
Burn wrote:171 pages, everyone enjoying their first wave ... and still no sign of them in Australia.

Well I've only seen the smaller ones if that makes you feel any better, no voyagers or leaders in my area.....

But you've seen SOME. So no, that does not make me feel better. [-(

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929291)
Posted by Wolfman Jake on January 2nd, 2018 @ 3:28pm CST

william-james88 wrote:This is my main problem with this line. Their over arching gimmick is just aesthetic and doesnt really contribute to anything (and I dont think it looks any good when used, like on the Prime Armour ). The Titan master were heads, thats a pretty big deal. But these prime masters dont add anything significant. They end up actually being better used on Titans return Overlord than any other toy in POTP so far.

To be fair, though, even Headmasters (Titan Masters) are really just an aesthetic gimmick for Transformers toys. It seems like a bigger deal to us now because it was a big deal for a couple of years during the G1 line. Adding a Head/Titan Master doesn't do anything but make part of the transformation process "partsforming." Swapping heads around doesn't usually look right on figures they don't originally belong to, just as strange as the "Prime Armor" accessories look slapped on Deluxe Class figures' bellies. Transformers toys haven't really had any kind of compelling "action" gimmick line-wide since Transformers: Cybertron with the Cyber Planet Keys. A return to that wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, but adding in worthwhile "action features" to figures is going to mean compromise when it comes to things like sculpting, articulation, and poseablity.

The Power of the Primes line feels very disjointed, that's for sure. Every size class seems to be doing something radically different, where as with Titans Return, all Deluxes, Voyagers, and Leaders had Titan Master partners. The Titan Master Class were extra heads with added accessories for the bigger sized classes. The only odd ones out were the Legends figures, which were simply a larger means of conveyance for Titan Masters than their transforming weapons. Compare this to Combiner Wars, where the only two size classes that really mandatorily interacted were the Deluxes and Voyagers. Only a small handful for Legends figures served as weapons or armor for the Combiners. The Leader figures had nothing to do with combination whatsoever, except maybe Ultra Magnus with a little Minimus Ambus figure inside. There wasn't even a $5.00 price point size class yet.

I think Power of the Primes is somewhere in between the uniformity of the Titans Return line and the barebones minimum thematic relationship of Combiner Wars in terms of cross size class interaction and playability. Every size class in PotP directly interacts with at LEAST one other size class. The Prime Masters can "accessorize" any Deluxe, Voyager, or Leader figure, whether that be as an ornament on armor, on gauntlets, in an Enigma Chamber, or in a Matrix of Leadership. Their accompanying Pretender shells can become weapons for any larger size class, Legends through Leader. The Legends figures again can be personal transportation for the smallest size class, the Prime Masters, just like in Titans Return. Deluxes and Voyagers obviously interact again in terms of combining with each other in Scramble City fashion to create combiners, both classic, new, and anything you can imagine. The Leaders now have a new thematic gimmick that puts them in the spotlight as "evolved" forms due to interaction with the Matrix of Leadership. That's the most interesting they've been, unless you were really in love with the "base modes" from Titans Return.

The Prime Wars Trilogy peaked with Titans Return. Power of the Primes as a follow up doesn't quite hold a candle to that, but it's definitely far better thought out and implemented than Combiner Wars was overall.

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929297)
Posted by no-one on January 2nd, 2018 @ 3:55pm CST

william-james88 wrote:
Wolfman Jake wrote:
bodrock wrote:As for Prime Masters, I'm surprised Target imposed a street date on them, making them unavailable for sale. Sounds like a data entry error to me. My TRU actually got them first and no issues buying from them.

Undoubtedly, someone derpped on that. It's frustrating that Target can't seem to figure out how to undo it, at least not in a timely manner.

It is definitely an error on their part. No one else has a street date like that on these. Maybe they got confused with Wave 2 or something.

Yes, no, maybe? When I picked up some wave 1 legend class figures, they had a stock date (three days from the day I got them) and I had to have them get them out of the warehouse. Their system did allow me to buy them though. Could be a thing they are doing :-?

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929309)
Posted by Rated X on January 2nd, 2018 @ 6:58pm CST

william-james88 wrote:
Wolfman Jake wrote:
bodrock wrote:As for Prime Masters, I'm surprised Target imposed a street date on them, making them unavailable for sale. Sounds like a data entry error to me. My TRU actually got them first and no issues buying from them.

Undoubtedly, someone derpped on that. It's frustrating that Target can't seem to figure out how to undo it, at least not in a timely manner.

It is definitely an error on their part. No one else has a street date like that on these. Maybe they got confused with Wave 2 or something.

Munkky wrote:The way I see it, Power of the Primes has been okay so far, but I'd prefer if the Prime Masters did something other than just clipping into things, if they were more like Mini-Cons or Cyber Planet Keys where plugging them in to somewhere unlocks a hidden feature on the main toy. .

This is my main problem with this line. Their over arching gimmick is just aesthetic and doesnt really contribute to anything (and I dont think it looks any good when used, like on the Prime Armour ). The Titan master were heads, thats a pretty big deal. But these prime masters dont add anything significant. They end up actually being better used on Titans return Overlord than any other toy in POTP so far.

Am I the only one thats glad this years kiddie gimmick can easily be tossed in the parts bin? Im cool with no "playability". These figures homage 1980s characters and are mostly bought by adult collectors in their 40s. Kids dont play with action figures, they play with video games and cell phone apps. Let the Generations line stay gimmick free please.

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929310)
Posted by steals_your_goats on January 2nd, 2018 @ 7:12pm CST

Rated X wrote:Am I the only one thats glad this years kiddie gimmick can easily be tossed in the parts bin? Im cool with no "playability". These figures homage 1980s characters and are mostly bought by adult collectors in their 40s. Kids dont play with action figures, they play with video games and cell phone apps. Let the Generations line stay gimmick free please.

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929311)
Posted by Sigma Magnus on January 2nd, 2018 @ 7:12pm CST

Rated X wrote:Kids dont play with action figures, they play with video games and cell phone apps.

I'm a kid. I play with action figures. My ten-year-old cousin does too (including Transformers). We also play video games. They aren't mutually exclusive...

As for the Prime Master gimmick...I do feel like it was a good concept. But it really should have been a Cyber Key/Mini-Con sort of thing.

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929317)
Posted by Ultra Markus on January 2nd, 2018 @ 8:21pm CST

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:Here's the actual toy for comparison:

And differences there are, but not many noteworthy ones:

- Sludge and Snarl have switched positions, though the art is in line with his Earth Wars depiction.
- Snarl has his tail treated like Sludge's and Slag's, even tho the toy has it split, like the G1 one.
- Sludge has his back feet flip inward, something not possible with the toy. Also, the front feet seem to be twisted 180.

its like a case of cartoon vs toy like we had with G1 were the toy barely resembles the cartoon
and in some ways converting a drawing from artwork to a toy doesn't always get best results
but its definently a closer adaptation to the drawing than what a G1 adaptation would have been

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929324)
Posted by Skritz on January 2nd, 2018 @ 9:01pm CST

Rated X wrote:Am I the only one thats glad this years kiddie gimmick can easily be tossed in the parts bin? Im cool with no "playability". These figures homage 1980s characters and are mostly bought by adult collectors in their 40s. Kids dont play with action figures, they play with video games and cell phone apps. Let the Generations line stay gimmick free please.

Yeah, see, I'd almost be tempted to agree with this notion buuuuut...
1) Anything past the first few years of Transformers was nothing but line-wide gimmicks, like headmasters, targetmasters or pretenders.
2) You're so absolutely wrong, we barely account for less than half of their sales.
So yeah, quite the butthurt you got there. Look, 'adult retro collectors in their forties' aren't even the majority in this fanbase anymore. Hell I'm getting in my thirties and am about to be thrown into the 'old foogey' category. It's a decade-old fanbase, it's not 'owned' by geewunners.

Beside, you want stuff for collectors? Buy masterpieces. They're made for people like you and I hear they are amazing. Never got to buy one yet, sadly. Oh and lastly? Please, if you're going to whine about a toyline being essentially a waste of plastic you are barking at the wrong Transformers toyline, buddy or you've only been buying online because if you want to see absolute garbage go look at anything not a Generations toy. Like, say, the entire RiD line which has stuff on par with a bad chinese KO.

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929326)
Posted by kurthy on January 2nd, 2018 @ 9:56pm CST

Skritz wrote:Beside, you want stuff for collectors? Buy masterpieces. They're made for people like you and I hear they are amazing. Never got to buy one yet, sadly. Oh and lastly? Please, if you're going to whine about a toyline being essentially a waste of plastic you are barking at the wrong Transformers toyline, buddy or you've only been buying online because if you want to see absolute garbage go look at anything not a Generations toy. Like, say, the entire RiD line which has stuff on par with a bad chinese KO.

X does say a bunch of bad stuff. But don't throw shade at the RiD line. :evil:

The RiD warrior class is one of the best size classes to come out in a long time, especially the decepticons, and has *gasp* actually created totally new characters without trying to shoehorn them into G1. All you have to do is look at the last top 5 where RiD warrior Drift beats out Generations Deluxe Drift. That said, anything involving 1 or 3 steps and the larger figures is crap. [-(

The problem with MP is quantity. It's a little under 50 characters right now and only a handful of new characters a year. Also, you find out just how much shelf space you have very quickly with MP.

Anyway, if you want to throw shade at plastic, throw towards the power rangers movie line. :HEADHURTS:

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929327)
Posted by Burn on January 2nd, 2018 @ 9:59pm CST

Sigma Magnus wrote:As for the Prime Master gimmick...I do feel like it was a good concept. But it really should have been a Cyber Key/Mini-Con sort of thing.

Please don't say that. Those gimmicks hindered what could have been fantastic figures if they didn't have to engineer around the gimmick.

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929329)
Posted by Sabrblade on January 2nd, 2018 @ 10:03pm CST

Burn wrote:
Sigma Magnus wrote:As for the Prime Master gimmick...I do feel like it was a good concept. But it really should have been a Cyber Key/Mini-Con sort of thing.

Please don't say that. Those gimmicks hindered what could have been fantastic figures if they didn't have to engineer around the gimmick.

I agree about the Mini-Con activation gimmick hindering most of the Armada figures, but the Cyber Key gimmick was mostly non-intrusive for the much better articulated Cybertron figures.

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929330)
Posted by william-james88 on January 2nd, 2018 @ 10:05pm CST

Rated X wrote:These figures homage 1980s characters and are mostly bought by adult collectors in their 40s.

You saying these stock images from Hasbro are meant to attract adult collectors in their 40s ?

kurthy wrote: All you have to do is look at the last top 5 where RiD warrior Drift beats out Generations Deluxe Drift.

You know, I was wondering if anyone would contest that, but no one did

That said, anything involving 1 or 3 steps and the larger figures is crap.

The problem with MP is quantity. It's a little under 50 characters right now and only a handful of new characters a year. Also, you find out just how much shelf space you have very quickly with MP.

Anyway, if you want to throw shade at plastic, throw towards the power rangers movie line.

Just an FYI about the first 2 three step figures (BB and Grimlock). Those were actually made by Hasui, the guy who designed the Masterpiece toys. He was interviewed and was just as happy making those and providing fun transformations (for the intended age audience) as he was doing the same with MP figures.

Also, yes, that Power Rangers movie line was awful. I have no clue what they were thinking. Who would have thought that the worst zords ever would come from the film trying to bring new life to the franchise. With no exageration, the imaginext zords are far better than any movie zord.

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929334)
Posted by bodrock on January 2nd, 2018 @ 10:29pm CST

Burn wrote:
Sigma Magnus wrote:As for the Prime Master gimmick...I do feel like it was a good concept. But it really should have been a Cyber Key/Mini-Con sort of thing.

Please don't say that. Those gimmicks hindered what could have been fantastic figures if they didn't have to engineer around the gimmick.

I'm with Burn on this.

The only character I've enjoyed that required a Transformation gimmick is G1 Doubledealer. Of course, if I lost either engine block, I'd probably hate it.

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929337)
Posted by william-james88 on January 2nd, 2018 @ 10:42pm CST

Wolfman Jake wrote:
william-james88 wrote:This is my main problem with this line. Their over arching gimmick is just aesthetic and doesnt really contribute to anything (and I dont think it looks any good when used, like on the Prime Armour ). The Titan master were heads, thats a pretty big deal. But these prime masters dont add anything significant. They end up actually being better used on Titans return Overlord than any other toy in POTP so far.

To be fair, though, even Headmasters (Titan Masters) are really just an aesthetic gimmick for Transformers toys. It seems like a bigger deal to us now because it was a big deal for a couple of years during the G1 line. Adding a Head/Titan Master doesn't do anything but make part of the transformation process "partsforming." Swapping heads around doesn't usually look right on figures they don't originally belong to, just as strange as the "Prime Armor" accessories look slapped on Deluxe Class figures' bellies.

I agree on the point that the face swapping gimick doesnt really work well since the faces do seem to go only with the ones they come with. But I wouldnt say they are purely aesthetic. meaning that you can choose to never have the Prime Master integrate with your deluxe and voyager toys, but the Titan master is a must for any deluxe or voyager figure in robot mode. So I do see a pretty huge difference there. Plus the face swapping does work when using the Japanese continuity of having different bots pilot different bodies, or to simulate possession like with Starscream's ghost and Octane. Plus, they add a whole new layer to the transformation possibilities. By not having to hide a head in alt mode, this frees up for new methods. The best example would be with Blurr which is a transformation we couldnt have seen exactly if he had a head there. It helps to clear out a cockpit area which can then be used for the small transformed robot to pilot. It adds a lot of playability in alt mode.

So I definitely see the headmaster units as more effective and plyable and cruciual than the prime masters and it has nothing to do with my G1 nostalgia, (which doesnt exist, since I was born in 88).

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929338)
Posted by Madeus Prime on January 2nd, 2018 @ 10:44pm CST

I know I'm a bit late to the party, but OMG Battletrap/2 is gorgeous. They somehow perfected the Powerlinx/RID formula of combining 2 bots top/pants style.

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929344)
Posted by Wolfman Jake on January 3rd, 2018 @ 12:26am CST

william-james88 wrote:So now that people have the leaders, what are your thoughts on them. I personally find them both underwhelming so I am curious if I am maybe not seeing something or if people agree.

Also, currently writing a top 5 list for best Hot Rod/ Rodimus toys and I dont know if 5th place should go to Leader Rodimus or Energon Hot Rod. I am wondering which is a better toy, and I am not sure. probably the leader but he has so many flaws that I dont know if they are a bigger issue than Energon Rodimus' lack or articulation.

Same with Voyager Starscream. Lots of feedback on Grimlock, but little on his wave mate.

You are in luck, WJ88! I opened up and transformed Evolution Optimus Prime and Evolution Rodimus Prime earlier this evening!

I'll start with Evolution Optimus Prime. It's strongest mode, by far, is as Optimus Prime. He's not perfect, mind you, but he's really good enough that any improvements would be fairly small by comparison to his other modes. The sculpting is great. He looks the part, and there is a extensive amount of paint involved, despite the use of stickers for some details. Hasbro used a good gray color plastic this time, eschewing the weird "beige-gray" they were so fond of with Powermaster Optimus Prime in Titans Return. Next, I'll tackle Orion Pax. He looks really good...from the front. His back is just so obviously Optimus Prime's chest, but it's hard to think of a way that could have been hidden without having a mess of cosmetic panels to unfold like a plastic origami project to hide it all. He looks like he stepped right out of the G1 cartoon, so the sculpting is really spot on. The blue should be a little lighter, and he's missing a few tiny details from the animation model, but he's mostly correct. Honestly, I can understand the blue being darker as it's ultimately a better match to Optimus Prime's color palette. The trailer for truck mode is pretty well done, all things considered. Yeah, a lot of red plastic/paint peeks through, especially on the top and front of the trailer, but it doesn't look bad. The sticker stripes on the sides are fairly well aligned and have reasonable sculpted recesses in which they fit and don't cover up any obvious sculpting detail. It would have seemed easy to paint the back doors gray, as those would just be the bottom of Optimus' feet, but maybe it's unpaintable plastic? Regardless of those color details, the trailer gets the job done. The glaring problem with this toy overall is definitely the truck cab. There's just no way to explain away the mess that is the back half of the cab. The front looks perfect, but halfway back, it just turns into a jumbled mess of robot kibble. Here is where it would have been worth it for Hasbro designers and Takara engineers to use some "plastic origami magic" to hide that unsightly mess. Orion Pax doesn't look so great from the back, and even Optimus Prime obviously has Orion's legs folded up on his back, but at least the robot modes look good from most forward facing angles, which is how they'll be displayed. The truck cab only looks "right" from head on. Sideways, it's very bad, and that's exactly how most people would display it, because of the trailer component that completes the look. Overall, though, I like Evolution Optimus Prime as a fun Transformers toy that commemorates an old storyline from the second season of the original cartoon in an interactive, tangible form.

Next up is Evolution Rodimus Prime. His strongest mode, I believe is the "Space Winnebago" alternate mode. It's nice to finally have that form of Rodimus Prime in a big, chunky toy for the first time in the "Classics" era of Transformers. It looks pretty good, all told. The stickers aren't intrusive and work well with the sculpt, much like with Optimus Prime's trailer mode as mentioned above. There are a few little issues, like some gaps on the sides where the "Suepr Car" spoiler pokes out, or the obvious Rodimus Prime fists sticking out on the front of the trailer portion, just above the car's cabin. The next best mode, in my opinion, is actually Rodimus Prime's robot mode. He's sufficiently chunky and imposing. He really looks like a viable Autobot leader, especially standing next to Optimus Prime. I love the face sculpt, which conveys the increase in experience, wisdom, and confidence that Rodimus Prime cultivated during his tenure as "Prime." Much of the "super armor" to form Rodimus Prime is in a darker, more maroon leaning shade of red, contrasting the brighter "cherry red" that dominates more of his "unevolved" self in both robot and alternate modes. Again, this gives a nice sense of maturity in the evolution of the character and calls back to details from the original cartoon as well. It's a little bit disappointing that the Rodimus Prime arms require "partsforming," but it's understandable. Some downsides include, of course, the backpack. I'm usually pretty lenient on robot backpacks, as I understand them to be a necessity of engineering transforming toys and probably the best choice for compromise on where to stash that "extra mass" from alternate mode that the robot doesn't need. In this case, though, it does make the trademark yellow spoiler look a little strange when viewing Rodimus Prime from the back or side. There's some "gappiness" in a few areas around Rodimus Prime's torso too, and yeah, you can see the Hot Rod arms on the sides, but they also blend rather well too. They just don't seem to bother me like they do some people. I think the biggest disappointment, though, is that gap between Rodimus' neck and collar. Next up, the Super Car mode. There isn't a lot to really say here. It's Hot Rod's classic alternate mode, though and through. Nothing about it is really that special. It's been done many times before now in the "Classics" era. I might dare say, though, that this rendition is the least interesting. It's a bit blocky and the proportions are a little bit off. He's kind of "flat" top to bottom and a little wide too. Finally, that brings us to Hot Rod's robot mode. This is the weakest mode, but not really terrible. He definitely looks the part to a "T." The transformation is VERY simplistic, though. Almost the entire robot hides as the car's undercarriage. You basically just stand him up and stretch him out a bit. The robot chest is a faux piece too, which is kind of sad, as I believe all previous Hot Rods have been able to legitimately integrate the car hood into his robot mode. I do like the robot head reveal, though! Hot Rod also suffers from a rather obvious "butt flap." It does call back to the original G1 toy, but come on! It was silly then too! The butt flap is painfully obvious from ALL angles, even the front! It's not something that, from an engineering stand point, would have been that hard to fold up onto his back either. It's just a shame. I also don't like how far his "sleeves" reach over his robot mode fists. I know this has been a trend with "simplified" transformations for Transformers toys for several years now, but this is an extreme. The side panels reach out far beyond the end of the fists. You can't even see his hands from certain side angles. This would be a great update to the 2006 "Classics" Hot Rod toy, if it weren't for the fact that the Tians Return/Transformers Legend version came out in the past year or so. THAT is my definitive Hot Rod on my "Classics" display shelf now. Again, though, Evolution Rodimus Prime is a great toy and commemorates another classic story line from the original Transformers series in plastic form, letting you recreate the magic of that moment from the 1986 movie.

In a way, it is still a little sad that Takara will be releasing these figures completely unaltered from Hasbro's production versions in their own markets, meaning that some of those small little details that would make these figures even "better" (e.g., more animation accurate), won't happen. However, even Takara's knack for paint application improvements will only make the best modes of these two toys just slightly better at best and won't do anything to help some of the inherent flaws, which are mostly a matter of design and engineering budget limitations.

So, overall, my assessment of the first two Leader Class figures for Power of the Primes is thus:
They are first and foremost great toys with a lot of playability options. Secondarily, they can be good display pieces and offer a lot of different display options, though some are better than others in each individual case. These are definitely NOT Masterpieces, in any sense of the term, but they aren't "bad" figures, and they're certainly not "bad" toys. If you love Transformers at all, Evolution Optimus Prime and Evolution Rodimus Prime are not a waste of your money or time, in my honest opinion.

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929350)
Posted by bodrock on January 3rd, 2018 @ 1:16am CST

I always intended on picking up Optimus, but it may be hard to resist Rodimus now -- thanks for the details and thoughts, Wolfman Jake!

Re: Video review of Power of the Primes Battleslash and Roadtrap (Battletrap) (1929367)
Posted by Sigma Magnus on January 3rd, 2018 @ 6:00am CST

Sabrblade wrote:
Burn wrote:
Sigma Magnus wrote:As for the Prime Master gimmick...I do feel like it was a good concept. But it really should have been a Cyber Key/Mini-Con sort of thing.

Please don't say that. Those gimmicks hindered what could have been fantastic figures if they didn't have to engineer around the gimmick.
I agree about the Mini-Con activation gimmick hindering most of the Armada figures, but the Cyber Key gimmick was mostly non-intrusive for the much better articulated Cybertron figures.

Exactly. And I'm sure it could be done even better with modern engineering. It wouldn't have to be anything huge, just some pop-out guns or something small that would (hopefully) not inhibit the figure too much.

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