Optimus Prime [Legacy United/Voyager Class]

Returning to Legacy's updates of Transformers Animated characters is Optimus Prime! The leader of the Autobots had a slightly different role in Animated, being in charge of a crew of misfits in a setting where Prime was a rank without a magic device granting extra abilities. Animated has been in regular rotation on the Transformers channel, so I'm sure the renewed interest is helping sell these cool new toys. Optimus is a solid update to the original toy. Like the other Animated Legacy toys, he can fit in next to your traditional Transformers just fine... but still retains that Animated aesthetic. Unlike the original toy, there isn't a flip up 'battle mask' mouth plate. Instead you have an open faced Optimus, which is how he normally appears onscreen in Animated when not in a fight.

Optimus has his rocket powered battle axe, that can be extended for a two handed weapon. It can also be stored in vehicle mode, which looks totally natural. Transformation from robot to truck isn't very hard. There is a few odd spots where arranging the robot mode arms into truck bits felt odd to me initially until it just suddenly worked. Which probably means I was doing something wrong. There is a spot where you must rotate his hips and it just did not work on mine. Come to find out, many have been poorly trimmed from the mold sprues at the factory. Most folks are dissembling theirs to file down the spot... but somehow my giant hands wore it down after a few twisting attempts.

Once transformed, Optimus looks like he should. It's the 'cab' portion of a firetruck, the rest is not included nor was it with many of the toys during Animated run. Ultimately, it just looks like a standard Optimus Prime cab with a light bar. I liked this toy a lot. It's a good update of a great design. There's plenty of articulation and despite an easily fixable factory error, there's nothing to complain about. Animated homages Mighty Orbots in a few different ways, but it wasn't until this particular figure of Optimus that I noticed his design was pretty similar to Tor. I'm not sure if that was completely intentional or just a coincidence, but I'm not complaining.

BIOS- Shockwave

"Clarity of thought before rashness of action."

Function: Military Ops. Commander

An awesome warrior. Plots the destruction of the Autobots with the same cold, computer-like efficiency as in planning the overthrow of his Decepticon leader, Megatron. Believes that only one as logical as himself can lead the Decepticons to victory. Left arm shoots a wide range of electromagnetic armaments from explosive gamma rays to super-hot infrared particle beams. Paired with Fistfight, a loathsome terror droid who enjoys dissecting late model cars when he's not in his long range, laser-sighted, lightning rifle mode.

Strength: 10 Intelligence: 10 Speed: 7 Endurance: 7
Rank: 9 Courage: 9 Firepower: 9 Skill: 9

Koopa Troopa & Pull Back Racer - Bullet Bike

Sometimes the simplest toys are they best toys. My mother loves to peruse the clearance aisles at stores. Not long ago she was doing so and picked me up this Koopa Troopa figure from the Super Mario Bros movie toy line. Just because I love Super Mario and it was just a few bucks. It turned out to be a great little toy. Those familiar with Mario probably recognize the Bullet Bike. In toy form it's a simple, ride-able vehicle with a pull back engine and a good representation of the Bullet Bike. The Koopa Troopa is a little over two inches and a quarter with 5 points of articulation. He's a charming little guy who looks screen accurate to his (or her) appearance in the movies racing scene. I'm not ashamed to admit that the little bike has raced al over my floor, jumped ramps made from books, and pulled off some death defying stunts.

Bumblebee [AMK Mini Series]

Since 2007, we're all used to Bumblebee being one of the main characters in Transformers. Before that, however, the Autobots little buddy often served a a bridging character so kids watching could relate to the characters on screen. He was often paired with Spike in little wacky adventures. This Yolopark AMK mini model of him really captures the look of Bee from the old cartoon really well. Those screen accurate looks combine with great articulation resulting on one pleasant representation of Bumblebee. Like other Yolopark AMK Minis, he has 3 sets of hands. Open palm, pointing fingers, and closed fists that can hold his laser pistol. These models snap together really easily and it just took a few minutes to get Bee assembled.

I'm really impressed with the proportions of this kit. Bumblebee is a small guy, but those feet are pretty substantial. That's sometimes downplayed in various figures. Not so much here, these feet are satisfyingly large. This is all around a great AMK kit.

New Week Rock- 7/22/24

Thanks for coming back for another week here on Planet Zone! I've had a great weekend and hope you did too! I watched Gobots, Transformers, Halloween videos, and Cobra Kai episodes this weekend while trying to stay out of the heat. Speaking of Halloween, the Mrs and I are about to head out to Bed Bath and Bodyworks for the start of their Halloween season. As far as toys go, my Mom surprised me with a TMNT/Universal Monsters Casey Jones. That was out of left field for sure! I picked up Ghidorah from Playmates Monsterverse figures (battle damage, woo!), and ordered the new Transformers multipack from Target Sunday. Really looking forward to that Squeezeplay. Well, I've got spooky adventures in store and hope you all have a great week. Thanks for continuing to read Zone Base. There's a fun week of robots, monsters, and misadventure waiting for you. Please share the site with your friends and Mutual High Fives everyone!

Target Optimus Prime w/ Autobot Bullseye [Target Exclusive/Leader Class]

As someone who shops regularly at Target, this was something I couldn't pass up. Optimus Prime as a Target truck is a fun and cool idea for a toy exclusive that looks great in the finished product. Adding in Bullseye, Target's mascot who transforms into a bubble mailer! This is a neat set of toys overall, though like most exclusives, is made of prior existing molds. Let's start with Bullseye. Despite being a dog, the toy uses the Siege Ravage mold. Now many an old school Transformer fan has heard someone mistaken Ravage for a dog, so I guess it's about time a Ravage toy IS a dog. This is just coincidence as the Siege Ravage isn't terrible feline looking, so it can pass as a dog just as well. The deco on the cassette mode is some well done creativity that makes him really look like a package and not a tape. 

Bullseye can still work with Soundwave or Blaster if you're curious. I wasn't fond of this mold for Ravage... but I've came around to it for Bullseye. Either it just works better for him or I changed my mind. It happens.

Optimus is made from the Legacy Laser Optimus Prime cab with the Earthrise Optimus Prime trailer. Considering this would be the 4th version of the Laser Optimus Prime toy in 2 years, the different trailer breaks it up some and makes things feel fresh. I have all the other versions of the mold and love them individually... but it would be an odd choice for a tanker trailer. So why not just use the Earthrise Optimus as well? Because the flat nosed truck isn't very modern and by combining the two parts... you get something you'd see driving down the highway. I actually like the Laser Optimus mold quite a lot, so I have no complaints. Optimus transforms fairly easily into a long nosed semi and looks fabulous in the Target colors.

Despite the colors gracing various Optimus toys before, it looks really unique here. Optmus's chest opens up to reveal a removable Matrix of Leadership and his shoulder launchers open as well. There's a series of missile pods located in them to keeps any Decepticons at bay. The trailer is a standard 'G1' style Optimus trailer. It opens up to become a battle platform and features the classic inner robot. The robot features articulated arms and can be removed. You can then put the robot wherever or fold it up to form a weapon that Optimus can hold. It's worth nothing Optimus can also hold Bullseye in mailer mode. Overall this is a really neat set. The box art shows Optimus using one of those giant red balls in front of Target stores to play with Bullseye. Sadly one isn't included, but I think I may stick a red Bakugan in there to serve the purpose. The whole thing is meant to be fun and it really is.