Optimus Primal Robot [Classic Class]

During Christmas last year, the beast mode companion to today’s post played the narrator in our Christmas Carol production. That’s ironic, because the robot mode kit of that same guy was one of the presents the Mrs. got me for Christmas. A neat bit of synchronicity, and a much-appreciated gift. These larger Blokees model kits are an absolute pleasure, and I really like having a small pile of them waiting in my backlog.

Optimus Primal’s robot mode wasn’t seen much in Rise of the Beasts, which honestly makes today’s kit even more fun. It lets us get a better look at the Maximal leader. Frankly, his robot mode isn’t all that dissimilar from his classic gorilla design. It’s a little more techno-organic, a little more live-action movie dark and gritty, but it’s mostly classic Optimus Primal. Really, a simple repaint in classic colors and he’d make a solid, ultra-serious update of the original toy. And yeah, I’m into that.

Building this kit was fun, though slightly more challenging than some of the other larger Blokees kits I’ve put together. There are a few smaller parts that took a moment to get just right — specifically a set of pins that insert into his knees to hold everything together. It’s not hard, exactly… but I’ve got big fingers. It was just awkward enough that my bent tweezers didn’t really help either. The first one took a few tries. The second went right in. I guess my fingers retained a little muscle memory.

His shoulders were a little odd as well. They use the normal jointing you expect from a Blokees kit - actually, like the Megatron we talked about a few weeks ago, he’s got the upper torso of a Shining Version at his core. That said, my Primal’s upper arms didn’t want to stay connected at first. I’d snap them on and they’d pop right back off. After a few cycles of snapping them on, them popping off, me cussing, and putting them back on, they finally stayed put. Weird, but fine. Blokees kits are made from a pleasantly softer material than a lot of other model kits, so I’m guessing the joint stretched just enough after a few tries.

Once assembled, Optimus Primal is a solid robot mode figure loaded with articulation. He shares the mostly inky black color scheme of his beast mode kit, but there’s silver detailing here and there, along with green glowing parts like his eyes and the Maximal symbol on his chest. My copy’s battery was apparently dead, so I’ll swap that out eventually. CVS keeps sending me those $4–$5 off coupons, so I’ll probably score one cheap… maybe even free.

Optimus comes with two alternate faces. One has the mouthplate like the one I’m using in the photos, and the other has the plate open enough to show his mouth, just like in the original cartoon. You can swap them out anytime, and combined with his articulation and the choice between open hands or closed fists, you can get a surprisingly expressive Optimus.

He also comes with the twin scimitars that his first two toys had. In the movie, he mostly wielded them combined as a double blade, so you might have thought he had a spear - but nope, they split apart and can be used individually. I’ve always really liked these swords, so of course this makes me a little giddy. As usual, there’s an included display stand with whooshing energy effects. Those work great in a display case, though they’re a little less practical around the base.

This is a great kit of Optimus Primal, just like the beast mode version was. And really… that’s just Prime.

Megatron (2007 Movie Version) [Classic Class]

Megatron’s movie design was a bit of a departure from his original looks. That goes without saying. To me, there was always some King Walder and Acroyear DNA in his new appearance. Considering the 2000s Microman line and Cool Girl — which had a heavy Diaclone influence — were being produced by Takara around the same time those first movie toys were being designed, I wouldn’t doubt there was some cross-pollination. I’ve also always found him a little similar to the Guyver. Not completely, but just enough to notice. Of course, Megatron got a new design in each movie, but today we’re looking specifically at the 2007 version.

I got this model kit among a mountain of others at Christmas from the Mrs., who absolutely spoils me. Considering how many redesigns Megatron gets throughout the movie series, I was eager to spend some time with the 2007 one, so building it was a real treat. As a Classic Class kit, Megatron is larger than the Galaxy and Defender Versions that are really popular right now. Once assembled, you end up with a pretty premium-looking figure that just looks amazing. It’s easy to forget how neat his 2007 design actually was. There’s a lot of detailed alien design packed into all those sharp points, and I’ve always appreciated the more feral look of the Decepticons in the earlier movies. I’ve felt for a long time that part of the design philosophy was to make them feel like living creatures. Honestly, the live-action designs always felt like a continuation of Beast Machines to me. Part of me likes to think that if things had continued as originally planned, something like the Bayverse designs could’ve ended up on a Saturday morning cartoon.

This kit looked like it would take longer to assemble than it actually did — and that’s not a complaint. With all the intricate pieces that make up Megatron’s armor, I assumed I’d be building tiny sub-assemblies forever. While there are sections like that, especially in the arms and legs, the process flows pretty smoothly: assemble the forearm, attach armor parts, connect it to the upper arm, attach more armor, and so on. I do find it amusing that at the core of Megatron is a standard Blokees Shining Version upper torso piece. The entire much larger figure builds outward from it, which I just find funny. That core also houses the components for Megatron’s light-up features.

Speaking of his upper torso, you get a choice of chest pieces. There’s the standard chest armor like the one shown in the photos, or an alternate piece depicting his death at the end of the movie. There’s even a tiny Allspark Cube included.

Megatron comes with his Fusion Cannon, which can be held in either hand. You can’t quite combine both arms into the exact pose he used in the movie — maybe an approximation, but not a perfect match. It honestly didn’t bother me. When held in one hand, it almost reads more like a rifle, and that works just fine here. His eyes light up a really satisfying red, which surprised me with how much I liked it. It genuinely breathes a little life into the finished kit.

It’s probably been a bit too long since I spent real time with the 2007 design. Building this made me appreciate the layering of silver over bronze parts much more than I ever did back then. A lot of the toys released around the movie glossed over those details, and I haven’t handled a newer take on this design until now. I always thought it looked cool, but its intricacies are standing out more to me this time around.

His head is amusingly a mix of the final movie design and elements from the abandoned earlier look. It’s funny — what we ended up with was considered to be more “G1.” I can kind of see it, but it’s still very much its own thing. At the time, Megatron getting a new design every incarnation was pretty much expected. So it was pretty status quo at the time. Thinking back, that stretch from 2003 — when the movie was first announced — to its release in 2007 was strange. News came and went, things were constantly in flux, and part of me is still surprised it ever actually came out.

I really like his animalistic face. There’s definitely some H.R. Giger influence there, and the part of me that loves bio-horror is all over it. A display stand with whoosh effects is included, but I found Megatron perfectly capable of standing on his own without it. This was a cool build and a great experience overall. The finished product looks fantastic, and it was genuinely fun reflecting on this version of Megatron while assembling it. At this point, I’m convinced Blokees is incapable of making a product I don’t like — and what kind of idiot would complain about that?