Optimus Prime

When threeA undertakes a project, you know that it’s going to be spectacular. When I was offered this sample of the Dark of the Moon Optimus Prime, I immediately jumped at it. I’m not a huge fan of the Movie transformers designs, but I AM a fan of threeA. If I was going to retain any movie version of Prime, this was going to be it.

The version shown here is the Bambaland exclusive version, with the only difference being the large gun. The regular version is the same, minus the gun.

Huge box is HUGE

Prime comes in at about 19 inches tall, so the box has to accommodate that and all of its accessories. It is a very sturdy thick cardboard covered in a matte finish. The front has a nice greyscale image of Optimus Prime, while the back has tech specs!

When you open the box you are greeted by greyscale instructions and a small pointer tool. More on that later.

Inside is layer upon layer of black packing material. Peeling it away is like an archeology dig.

A small amount of assembly is required. The wheels need to be attached to the hips, two small ball jointed flaps go beside the knees, two on the rear, and the doors on either side of the cab.

Huge toy is HUGE

He’s big. Too big for my photo setup so I brought him outside. To see the sunlight glistening on him is stunning. The weathering applied to the figure is a hallmark of Ashley Wood’s style, although I don’t know how much direct involvement in this figure he had.

The head is on a single ball joint and features a removable top that reveals two batteries that control the light up features. The cover is held in place with a magnet.

There are several movable panels on the chest including the doors on either side that need to be applied out of the box. The red panels in the front are also slightly movable.

The entire chest hinges on a single ball joint. There is a decent amount of clearance and the small panel in the center moves to allow for greater range of motion.

Many of the joints in this figure are so tight that they squeak when they move. The shoulders are no exception. They swivel forward and backward and also have a standard swivel and hinge joint. The flaps on the shoulder move as well as the cylindrical canister.

The arms have a bicep swivel as well as clicky elbow joints.

Each hand features fully articulated fingers and attaches to the arm via a tight ball joint. While the fingers have individual joints, they cannot be splayed out. Each hand also has a circular connection point where you can attach the weapon.

The hips are rather tight but it’s fine. They feature tight ball joints that have a swivel joint at the top of the thigh. Positioning the legs can be tricky due to the various panels surrounding the area. The top most wheels on the legs can swivel out of position. In addition, the panels at the top of the legs can swivel to get out of the way for more extreme poses. The small blue panels on the back are especially prone to coming off when posing.

The double jointed knees are somewhat unnecessary as the movement is limited by the armor around it. You get the same amount of movement with just a single joint. Both joints click, and feature front and back movable panels.

Finally, the feet are on very tight ball joints, with multiple pieces of movable armor at this shin. The toes are also movable by a hinge.

The result is a very poseable figure despite its size.

Weaponry

Prime comes with an assortment of weapons but the largest weapon is a web exclusive. This giant cannon is only available with the preorder version from Bambaland. The canon attaches to the hand by the circular peg on the handle. Despite its size it’s pretty light and can be held in a variety of poses. The only problem here is that because the hands have fingers that do not splay it can be difficult to get the fingers around the handle and the trigger.

One small claw attachment is included that can slide over either hand. This claw can be used to shred Decepticons in battle.

Lastly we have two ancient looking swords that have Cybertronian inscriptions. These weapons are made out of a translucent plastic and feature removable hilts. To equip the swords, once you have removed the hilts they can click into spaces above the hands. Don’t be afraid to use a little extra force to make sure they click and all the way.

Lights!

Like most recent high end 3A releases, this toys features light up areas. The two areas that light up are the eyes, and the headlights on the chest. Four watch batteries are required but not included. I find that the light up feature is actually one of the weakest parts of this toy. The eyes do light up, but they are very faint.

The chest lights require batteries to be inserted in one of the silver cylinders on the back. The cover just pops off. To activate these lights you need to use the special pointer tool to push in a panel which activates the lights. I don’t see why they could not just add a button.

The lights are just not that impressive. I would have expected many more points to light up on the figure of this cost. Look at how their Iron Man suits light up.

Overall it’s a beautiful figure and par for the course of what we’ve come to expect from threeA. Yes it is expensive, but most of their products are. You’re too late to order the Internet exclusive version, but the regular version is still out there. You can find out where to get yours here.

This item was provided for review by threeA.