Just a day after its official reveal at MCM Comic Con in London, equally British YouTube reviewer PrimeVsPrime has gotten himself a copy of Transformers Studio Series Voyager-class Apelinq from Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023), his method of figure acquisition withstanding. So, I just wanted to equally share mainly comparison shots between this figure and the mold it’s based on, Studio Series Optimus Primal from the same film.
Apelinq only made a brief appearance in the opening moments of the film before receiving his untimely demise in the hands of Scourge, so only got to see his official appearance in beast mode, to which the figure does replicate to a good extent. Compared to Optimus Primal, Apelinq has a dominantly silver color scheme that are prevalent in his facial features, along with the shoulder and forearm armors, with the latter including the blades deployed before he fought Scourge.
Here’s a good comparison shot between Apelinq and Optimus Primal, further showing the differences between the two, which aren’t much outside of the head and arms. The torso appears to be the same with slightly different color applications here and there. The weathering effect on the arms are also more prominent here, along with the sculpted Maximal insignia on its left shoulder.
In robot mode, the differences between these two boils down to color and paint application outside of the arms and head, with Apelinq getting a full faceplate while Optimus Primal has his mouth between the plated sections. At the moment, seeing the minute differences between these two figures don’t give me enough justification to warrant a purchase. But if you’re a fan of Rise of the Beasts, or at least the Maximal complement, then this is a good get.
Lastly, here’s a comparison between the Studio Series and the AMK Pro versions of Apelinq, with the latter obviously having more details with the more expensive price point. If you’re all for screen accuracy, despite not transforming on-screen, then go with the AMK Pro figure/model kit. Otherwise, the Studio Series version is another viable option.
