Product Line / Transformers Generations – Power of the Primes
Scale & Class / Deluxe Class-Scaled Transformers Figure
Manufacturer / Hasbro & Takara Tomy
Release Date / 2018
Appearances / Transformers: Power of the Primes
For the third entry in the Prime Wars Trilogy, Power of the Primes introduced a new gimmick for its Leader class figures. Tagged with the “Evolution” moniker, you are essentially getting two figures in each set. First is a smaller figure that represents the character you bought pre-evolution, and then there’s a larger unit that you combine to get the final evolution of said character. This is an entirely toy-centric gimmick that has nothing to do with the Power of the Primes story, but it does look good when it works. While I can’t guarantee the same for all “Evolution” sets, it does work for Optimal Optimus, especially with the SDCC 2018-exclusive Throne of the Primes deco that uses the same colors as the original Optimus Primal design.
Optimus Primal is the smaller figure in this set, roughly Deluxe class-sized, and transforms into a futuristic cargo ship meant to represent his Cybertronnian form prior to the Beast Wars. It also doubles as a hover board for the larger Optimal Optimus figure in beast mode, and an homage to Transmetal Optimus Primal’s beast mode. Because of its transformation and inherent function to the larger Optimal Optimus figure, several liberties were taken. Chief is the large backpack that becomes the torso of Optimal Optimus, and it eliminates the waist articulation. Each of the lower legs are also completely hollow single pieces, which not only look bad from behind, but also eliminate any form of foot movement. Fortunately, the other parts have better articulation to compensate, not to mention an excellent paint job. Optimus Primal comes with a pair of blasters that can double as clubs when held in reverse
As a side note, the Throne of the Primes version has minor cosmetic differences when compared to the retail release. All the silver parts in the retail version are now painted gray areas, and both his blasters/clubs have more paint as well. As mentioned, this was originally an SDCC 2018 exclusive set, but Takara Tomy eventually sold it in Japanese retail.
