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Transformers: Armada
Optimus Prime

By Daniel Lipkowitz, Assistant Editor

Mini-Con

Sparkplug in vehicle mode is a bright yellow sportscar with black tires and dark purple windows. His wheels spin freely, and the small peg hole in the middle of his front windshield doesn’t do much to hurt the sleek little vehicle’s appearance. Although the car has plenty of detailing, its bright color makes it a little hard to make out the patterns clearly. To transform Sparkplug to robot mode, pull out and forward on the rear sides of the car to expose the arms, fold the sides of the hood down and back along with the underside of the car, flip the remaining center strip of the hood around the bottom to expose the head and fold the driver’s compartment down as the chest. Lower the arms and fold the hood halves forward as feet and Sparkplug’s transformation is complete!

Robot-mode Sparkplug is a great little Mini-Con. His arms are fairly poseable, with an up/down swivel shoulder and a ball-jointed elbow. His legs, detailed with what look like exhaust pipes, are stationary (although he can point his toes). His Mini-Con symbol appears on his chest. In what is either an incredible coincidence or a cute homage, his silver face and yellow helmet are very reminiscent of the cartoon version of the Generation 1 character Bumblebee.

Vehicle Mode

A beefed-up, high tech muscle vehicle, Optimus Prime’s vehicle mode still hearkens back to the original’s, from the silver stripes on the truck cab’s nose to the blue lines on the trailer. The cab is primarily a slightly metallic red and medium blue, with silver and gold detailing. A pair of transparent stacks sticks up from either side of the driver’s cabin, and an Autobot symbol decorates the roof on a gold button. The windows are transparent, allowing you to see the circuitboard and transmitter bulb inside the cab. The fists of Prime’s super robot mode are visible at the back of the cab’s towing platform, which also holds its two Powerlinx pegs. The trailer is mostly grey and blue, with a dark blue weapon sticking out of the front, molded black treads at the back and a giant Autobot symbol painted on each side. Some of its colors have been altered since Toy Fair, most notably the box-like protrusions on the front, which have gone from grey with blue details to blue with silver. A peg on the back of the cab section plugs loosely into a hole on the underside of the trailer, so that the two sections hold together on the ground and articulate smoothly during turns, but will detach rather than snap if one is picked up without the other being supported. The phrase "Monster Prime Convoy" appears on each of the cab’s six oversized tires. It’s been theorized that the toy will be called Monster Convoy when released in Japan early next year, or the phrase may simply be a reference to the toy’s monster-truck-inspired design.

Vehicle Mode Features

• In addition to the two Powerlinx pegs on the hauler platform behind the driver’s cabin, four additional pegs allow additional Mini-Cons to be carried on top of the trailer.


• The "boxes" on either side of the trailer open at the front and can be used to store additional Mini-Cons.

Transformation to Robot Mode

Unsnap the grill at the front of the cab and fold it forward. Fold the grey section below the hood back, then fold the grill toward the front and snap it in place to form the robot chest. Fold the super robot’s fists up to expose the feet. Pull the halves of the hood apart and back to form the robot shoulders and expose the head. Straighten the arms and compress the forearms to expose the fists. Pull the feet back to extend the legs, and then separate them.

Robot Mode

Stocky and powerful-looking, Optimus Prime’s robot mode has broad shoulders, huge fists and gold detailing on the head, chest and lower arms. The clear truck stacks on his forearms suggest paired cannons. The robot’s head has the familiar characteristics of an Optimus Prime, but adds its own distinct elements including mustard-gold eyes, a gold forehead crest and large trowel-shaped fins on the sides of the helmet. Although the prototype seen at Toy Fair and on Prime’s packaging had a red chest with a silver grill, the torso of the production toy is solid grey with some gold detailing on the sides. It’s a departure from the look of most Optimus Prime toys (and reminiscent of the Generation 2 Laser Rod version), but it’s nice to have more variety amongst Primes. A number of other color changes have also been made, including the alteration of the fists and feet from silver to blue. Whether you like the changes or not is a matter of personal choice; I, myself, prefer the final color scheme.

Articulation

Prime is articulated at the neck, shoulders, elbows, hips and knees (and arguably ankles, due to the transformation of the large robot mode’s fists), with swivel joints above his knees helping to overcome the restrictions caused by the super-mode shoulders surrounding his upper legs. He’s not wildly poseable (that’s the job of the upcoming Super-Con version of Optimus Prime), but he’s far from a brick.

Robot Mode Features

• The transparent stacks on Prime’s forearms can be removed and clipped together to form a small two-barrelled pistol.


• The grill on Prime’s stomach can be unsnapped and flipped down, revealing a sculpted Matrix of Leadership. It’s not removable, but it’s a great added detail and very appropriate for an Optimus Prime toy. The drawback is that the clips on the grill are placed a little high and tend to slightly dent the plastic above their holes.


• Pressing on the grey button on top of Prime’s head makes his silver mouthplate move up and down as if he were speaking. A fun little bonus, this feature really adds a lot of character to the toy.

Trailer Transformation to Base Mode

Through the magic of infrared technology, Optimus Prime’s trailer is designed to transform itself as you change the cab portion into its various modes. To allow it to transform from trailer to base mode, flip the on/off switch on the underside, swing up the Powerlinx-bearing panels on top and pull out a little on the sides to free them from the pegs that lock them into trailer mode. Make sure the trailer is on a fairly large, flat area, since the entire thing will be unfolding during transformation. As you move Prime’s shoulders into their robot-mode position, a signal is sent from the cab that causes the trailer to automatically convert to base mode, producing a mechanical "whirr-and-clank" sound as it finishes.

Base Mode

The trailer’s base mode is shaped roughly like a plus-sign, or a narrow "Y" with a line through the middle. A three-level tower rises from the center-front, and there’s plenty of space for Optimus and a small legion of Mini-Cons to stand. A clear plastic panel, etched with symbols and readouts like a Cybertronian computer screen, can be flipped up at the base of the tower. Prime’s large rifle, which is stored on the middle tower level when the base is in trailer mode, can be plugged into the top level beside a Mini-Con gunner platform and a tiny rotating communications or radar dish. Although the rifle has what looks like a pair of Powerlinx pegs on one side, these are only used to attach it to the tower platform and cannot hold Mini-Cons.

Base Mode Features

• Prime can be clipped to the floor of the base behind the tower. As his feet snap into place, they activate a firing sound and a flashing red LED that illuminates the viewscreen at his feet.


• A small switch behind the red platform on the top tower level causes it to spring forward on a hinged arm.


• A Mini-Con can be plugged onto the Powerlinx peg on the lower level of the tower. Pushing back on the Mini-Con activates a repeating blaster-firing sound and flashes the red LED under the viewscreen. The light and sound continues for as long as the Mini-Con is pushed back.


• Pressing a small grey button behind the viewscreen produces a very mechanical, drawn-out "Transform!" sound clip and again causes the LED to flash.


• Panels on the side platforms of the base can be flipped up to reveal garage-like chambers for Mini-Con vehicles. The left-side platform has a sliding tab on top that can be pushed to launch a Mini-Con out of the chamber.


• A spring-powered missile launcher on an articulated arm can be raised from one of the rear platforms of the base.


• A Powerlinx on the right platform of the base unlocks a small double-barrelled cannon that can be rotated around. The cannon can be stored in two different positions, one optimized for base mode and the other for super-robot mode.

Transformation to Super Robot Mode

Convert Optimus back to cab mode (this does not appear to trigger a transformation of the base to trailer mode). Fold the parts that become the robot’s forearms straight down, then back to form a staircase shape. Split the back of the cab, swinging the blue halves straight out to the sides. This will trigger the conversion of the base into Super Robot mode, terminating once again with a mechanical "whirr-clank" sound effect. Rotate the super robot’s shoulders to the front, pull on the arms (small robot’s legs) to extend them, and lower them to the sides of the cab/torso, rotating the lower arms to face forward.^* Peg the sides of the super robot’s legs to the front sections and (making sure the base-mode viewscreen panel is still raised) clip the upper body/cab section in place. As it locks down, triggering the "Transform!" sound effect, the super robot’s head will flip up into place. Unfold the pipes on the sides of the head and you’re done!

^* Note: Judging from the instructions, the front of the small robot mode’s upper legs should face inward in super robot mode. On the toy, this is impossible for the right arm, which is restricted by a safety cuff to keep the wire inside from breaking. I’ve transformed it with the leg-fronts facing forward instead, which unfortunately prevents the arms from swinging out to the sides.

Super Robot Mode

Standing nearly a foot tall with glaring red eyes, Super Optimus Prime is a pretty impressive giant chunk of robot. His intricate detailing, gold highlights and the pipes on the sides of his head give him a heavy industrial look, and if his legs had to be locked into one position, at least it’s a fairly dynamic one. He’s not the prettiest sight from the side or the back (there’s a significant gap between his upper torso and the folded base-mode tower behind it), but the cab section locks solidly in place and the whole thing holds together well. Note, though, that the peg holding the left leg panels together seems to be slightly too large for its socket and has a tendency to work its way loose.

Articulation

There’s not a whole lot of it. His shoulders swivel, but only backwards, and while his elbows bend, they can’t quite reach 90 degrees, so Super Prime is always pointing his rifle a bit low. There’s a swivel above each elbow, and the arms should also be able to swing out to the sides, but due to the wire restriction, the right arm cannot be transformed to take advantage of that joint.

Robot Mode Features

• Pressing the Autobot symbol on the super robot’s chest activates a blaster firing sound effect (the same sound that is activated when Prime is clipped into to his base).


• The spring-loaded missile launcher on Prime’s left shin can be lifted and angled to point forward. Although a similar shape is molded on his right leg in solid blue for the sake of symmetry, it does not function.


• When a Mini-Con is attached to the Powerlinx on the side of Prime’s left leg, the base mode’s double-barrelled cannon is unlocked and springs up into firing position.


• Pressing the small grey button on Prime’s right shoulder activates a bright red LED in his fist. If he is holding his rifle or pistol in that hand, the weapon’s transparent plastic glows, an especially strong effect in a dark room. The Star Saber formed from the Air Defense Mini-Con Team lights up similarly, although the glow is not transmitted through the entire blade.

Transformation to Vehicle Mode

Detach the super robot’s upper torso and un-peg the leg panels. Fold the viewscreen down. As the cab section is transformed back to vehicle mode, the "Super Pants" will automatically convert to trailer mode with the usual "whirr-clank" sound effect. Peg the sides of the trailer together, fold down the Powerlinx panels at the top, and Prime’s trailer is back in vehicle mode.

Note that if the trailer is turned off in base or super robot mode, it will automatically revert back to trailer mode when switched back on again. Although the trailer is designed to harmlessly skip gears rather than strip them if something prevents it from fully transforming from one mode to another, it’s a good idea to remember to remove the cab portion before turning the Super Pants back on.

Impressions

A bold and innovative experiment, Optimus Prime does have his weak points. He has surprisingly few Mini-Con-activated features, the "fake" missile launcher is disappointing, and there isn’t a lot of novelty to his various lights and sound effects. The super robot mode also makes some significant sacrifices in appearance and articulation for the sake of the toy’s main gimmick -- but on the flipside, it’s one heck of a gimmick. The automatic transformation of the trailer section is truly amazing to behold and represents an incredible feat of engineering. The designers at Hasbro and Takara deserve some major kudos for what they’ve pulled off.

Overall, despite its flaws, Armada Optimus Prime is a neat and very fun toy. Happily, its play value will only rise as the line continues -- the upcoming Jetfire toy forms a new lower body for the super robot mode, and there are rumors of an additional upcoming toy that provides a third set of legs. A hitch hole at the back of Prime’s trailer indicates that one of the new toys may attach as an additional trailer, and an odd grey bar on Prime’s rifle suggests that even his weaponry may be getting some sort of expansion or upgrade in the future.

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