Vault Review:
WFC Optimus Prime

Vault

In Transformers: War for Cybertron, you get to play as your favorite Transformer and fight the battle that started it all. But, if you’re old school like me, you’re probably looking to reenact that battle on your shelves too. Hasbro knows this and we’ve already got for first WFC figure: Optimus Prime.

I’m a little behind on my video gaming, so I haven’t played War for Cybertron yet. I want to, but I just haven’t had gotten around to it. One of the things I loved about seeing the previews were the new designs of all the old characters. With a nice mix of G1 and Movie Universe designs, all in the style of pre-human influenced Cybertronian designs, what’s not to love? That’s why I was stoked when Hasbro announced they were releasing figures. I was also surprised. You don’t normally see video game toys so close to the release date of the actual game.

Usually, my least favorite part of a Transformer is its vehicle mode. That probably sounds sacrilegious to some, but I’ve just always been more interested in the robot form. Optimus’ alt mode doesn’t really appeal to me. I’m not sure what it’s supposed to be. It gives off the impression that it’s some sort of Cybertronian truck I suppose. To me, it looks like a supped up antique Cadillac with the rear of a tow truck.

Aside from not really caring about the design, there is something that does annoy me a little. When compared to the Bumblebee from the same line, there are clearly little details lacking. The Cybertronian look has these really nice light piping details and lines throughout the robots. It’s like all of Cybertron is waiting to street race with Vin Deisel. The light piping on Bumblebee is created by using clear red plastic, this gives him that luminous look. Optimus just received this light reddish orange paint on those areas. Not quite as impressive.

Quick, let’s transform him and never speak of his vehicle mode again! Just give me a sec… or maybe a minute. Where did I put those instructions? OK, here they are… How many times am I supposed to turn his chest? The arms are stuck! Hold on, I think I’ve got it.

You know how some Transformers are easy and others are so frustrating that you want to rip the parts off and rearrange them they way YOU feel they should go? Optimus is more like that. He’s not the hardest Transformer I’ve ever dealt with, but he is one of the more frustrating ones. He might be even more frustrating than RotF Bludgeon. I’m not exactly sure on that though, because I still refuse to put Bludgeon back into his tank form. Continue to Robot Mode….

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16 thoughts on “Vault Review:
WFC Optimus Prime”

  1. Reading your review, I get the feeling that being a casual TF collector limits you. I don’t mean that to come across negatively, but if you had more deluxe TFs you would no doubt be better able to see what this Prime “is” instead of isn’t.

    Once you get him into robot mode, he’s much better than the deluxe figures offered in the last few years. His articulation is way above par. And truthfully he’s not too short. In terms of deluxes, it’s more that Bumblebee is simply too big.

    And did you notice the Cybertronian markings on him in mid-transformation? I thought that was a nice touch.

    1. You’re probably right. Since I only collect Transformers sporadically, I don’t get the overall feel of an entire line the way that I would with MOTU or DC Classics. You hard core TF fans have way different standards than us casual fans do.

      I do like his robot mode, except for the hands. And his range of movement is great. I wonder why they didn’t make Bumblebee a smaller class?

      And I didn’t even notice those Cybertronian markings, thanks for pointing them out!

      1. The generations line is only deluxe class- which is also why Seaspray ended up in the movie line. Plus do you think Bumblebee would work very well as a scout class figure? Those figures are neat, but the last figure in that class based off an existing show/movie/game design was Scalpel/the doctor from ROTF. And he sucked.

        I disagree with you on the drilled fists though. while open hands with just enough of a curve in the palm to hold 5mm pegs like Bumblebee’s hands would have been nice, the closed design is more secure.

  4. It pains me to see that Vault’s Transformer reviews don’t get as much love.

    I’m in the group that prefers WFC Prime and isn’t quite as impressed with WFC Bumblebee. Bumbles is a decent figure, he’s just lanky and looks more beer-gutted than he should – the character in the game is more stocky and powerful looking.

    I do feel you on the “Fast and Furious” point though – I too would have preferred more translucent plastic. Oddly enough, I am in the pathetic crowd of Transformer fans that usually needs the instructions (and am infuriated with how regularly crappy modern instructions are). But with this guy, I don’t think he’s that bad. I like that in both modes it seems like everything has a place to go.

    Also, the little panels behind Prime’s shoulders hung fully up against the rear shoulder. I don’t know if you left them down as a personal preference, but they can fold up to look more streamlined.

    1. Yeah, I left those shoulders that way because I like the angled look.

      I do like Optimus’ transformation way better than Bee’s. It’s almost impossible to get Bee to transform properly. I don’t have that problem with Optimus. My biggest beef with the figure is that he should be bigger. Other than that, he’s grown on me quite a bit.

  5. I loved Prime. I agree that it’s Bumblebee that’s too big too. I can’t wait for Wave two of these!!

  6. Yeah, I don’t get the Prime hate I’m seeing. Bumblebee is fat and on stilts. Prime should always be voyager class or larger, but I love the robot and alt modes.

    1. I don’t mean to come off as hating. I think I was just expecting too much maybe. A bigger version would have made me a lot happier I think.

  8. I hope they go beyond the two waves for the War for Cybertron line. There are alot of ingame models that would make neat figures.

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