Optimus Prime
Under the Transformers: Generations umbrella, a subline exists called Studio Series. It started in 2018 and exclusively focused on characters from the live-action movies. Recently, it expanded into Studio Series 86 (G1 animated movie), and now there’s also Gamer Edition.
Transformers video games have been around since the franchise began in the 80’s. But two in particular made a huge impact and gave fans something to celebrate, War for Cybertron and its sequel, Fall of Cybertron. Another take on the war before the Autobots & Decepticons leave Cybertron and end up on Earth, every character in the games got a redesign.
Obviously, that includes Optimus Prime. Hasbro made a figure of his WfC form and so many others from the games over the years. But two things are different this time around. First, like everything Generations, these figures are being scaled to each other. Second, these figures are based on the actual in-game models. The previous toys were based on concept art. So these will be much closer to what we actually got in the games.
Optimus, as usual, transforms into a red & blue truck. The primary colors are rich, and the silver on the wheels and front end is sharp. Only the exhausts are a little dull, but they fit in.
The backend is the one low point, because the fists are in plain sight. Hopefully one of the 3rd-party groups will make a part to fix this.
Back to the positives, there is storage for both weapons in alt-mode. The gun (they say ion blaster, I still say laser rifle) tabs into the top securely.
And the instructions show how the ax tabs onto the gun.
But I prefer to peg it onto the side. Since the ax is actually two pieces, you could do both at the same time.
For comparison, here’s Action Master Prime & Earthrise Prime (also voyager class).
There’s some twisting & flipping & rotating for this transformation, but the end result is the usual Optimus Prime design. Grey/silver vents on the forelegs, blue forelegs & hands, lights on the waist, mostly red upper body, windows in the chest, Autobot symbols on the shoulders, and the blue helmet with silver crest, on a head with a silver mouthplate and blue eyes.
He’s a beefy bot, and looks nice all around. Nothing overly hollow, no gaping cavities. The back is less ornate than in the game, but that’s fine.
Articulation is impressive. The proportions remind me of Combiner Wars. Kind of gorilla-like. Everything you’d expect for a Generations-era Voyager is present. Most impressive are the elbows with almost 180-degree bend. And the head, which can tilt all around in any direction as well as rotate.
Weapons are really inspired by the games for these figures. And every playable character has a melee weapon. Optimus has his ax, and he can do a lot with it. Between his range of motion, the length of the handle, and being two pieces, he can easily use one or both hands to hold it.
You see two different configurations for the blade in the game, so to match that feature, you can split the larger end to flip back to the other side.
Another signature of the games is that most playable characters actually transform their forearms into whatever guns they’re using. To emulate that, you can remove the right forearm on all SSGE figures and attach the guns directly to the elbow joint. You can actually store the forearm by pegging it in behind too.
Lastly for accessories, you can open Prime’s chest to reveal storage for the Matrix of Leadership.
For comparison, here’s AM Optimus again and WfC Trilogy Nemesis Prime (also voyager class).
Besides trying to capture likeness of the source material, another hallmark of Studio Series is dioramas/backdrops. Every figure comes with one from the specific media they’re plucked from. Optimus comes with a shot taken from stage 7 of WfC, after he’s officially made Autobot leader and launches a rescue mission to free Sentinel Prime.
Besides the gap in vehicle mode that exposes the hands, this Optimus Prime is fantastic. For $30, you can’t go wrong. I’m not sure if I like this more than the Earthrise figure, the most recent mainline G1 Optimus prior to this. But I think that’s a question of preference rather than quality, so it’s a win regardless. Happy to add him to the collection.