Product Line / Transformers Collaborative
Scale & Class / Leader Class Transformers Figure
Manufacturer / Hasbro & Takara Tomy
Release Date / 2023
Appearances / N/A
In late 2022, Transformers collectors were given a Holiday treat with the surprise announcement and release of Holiday Optimus Prime, a Santa Claus-themed Optimus Prime figure using a mold not seen previously. The vehicle mode is licensed with Volvo and is based on their VNR Series of regional haul trucks. Following this, fans speculated as with the original nature of its release and potential future reuses of the mold. Things became clear when Hasbro announced, via one of their live streams, that they will eventually release the figure in standard Optimus Prime colors. I didn’t get Holiday Optimus Prime obviously because of the colors, but with that figure receiving much praise from the Transformers community, I’ll have no doubts that I will have good opinions of this mold, especially in the colors I much prefer.
When you look at VNR Optimus Prime in robot mode, you will immediately notice how it takes an entirely different transformation approach when compared to the myriad of Optimus Prime figures released recently. Instead of the front of the VNR truck transforming the torso unit in robot mode, it’s the trailer hitch section that becomes the torso. The front of the vehicle then becomes the legs, and I’m not sure if part of the licensing agreement is to preserve much of the VNR truck in robot mode, but this results in a unique silhouette that I really like. Not only that, but they also even found a way to integrate the Matrix of Leadership, and its chamber, in the chest despite the reversed transformation scheme. The rest of the vehicle compacts into a clean backpack unit, with the actual trailer hitch becoming a port for storing the Ion Blaster. And since you can’t have a VNR haul truck without something to haul, the set comes with the same trailer as Earthrise Optimus Prime, but now with an animation-accurate stripe. Oddly enough, the back of the trailer, and the part that becomes a shield, is molded in black plastic. Articulation is what you’d expect for a modern Transformers release, outside of slightly limited knee movement caused by the larger lower legs.
