It's the final day of Mecha March Transformers Animated week here on Toy a Day, and I'm saving the best for last. This is the Japanese version of the Sons of Cybertron, which means it's the clear version of Optimus and Rodimus. Now, this colour variant of Rodimus is my favourite in the line, which is why I got this!
The box is similar to Safeguard's from yesterday, minus the combined mode, of course. It'd be weird if Rodimus and Optimus could combine to form some weird freak 'former. The packaging shows off Optimus' axe and Rodimus bow and arrows through the window. The back of the box is also logically done with one character on each side and both of them in the center.
There's a weird sticker of some Japanese anniversary 2010 on the box. I have no idea what it is and it looks a bit ugly to be honest. I guess it's in commemoration of something... perhaps the 25th anniversary of Transformers in Japan?
There isn't much within the box that isn't shown through the window. I have no idea why I was expecting more, but each figure got his relative accessory and that's that.
Optimus is actually a repaint, or resculpt rather, of his battle-damaged War of Cybertron model. The sculpt is 100% the same. Of course, this version of him had most body parts moulded from clear coloured plastic, which gives it a completely different look. I think it looks brighter and better.
He's still a bit small though, especially when compared to wingblade (who also have the same clear transparent plastic schtick) or characters such as Ratchet. I'm not a fan of the size.
I have no idea why Hasbro and TakaraTomy created this size of Optimus - and I have three of them now, including the Cybertron mode one. That's a pity because most of them will be going back into storage. The robot mode simply can't compare to the awesomeness of Wingblade.
The transformation to truck mode is relatively simple, and he does look a bit better than the War for Cybertron version as well. I like how the Japanese version looks more Japanese somehow thanks to the choice of plastic used.
Rodimus is also cast from a lot of transparent coloured plastic, and is basically a repaint of his normal version. Now the Japanese normal version is pink in colour, and I'm not a fan of that. The Hasbro version looks good, but isn't readily available here, so this was the version I got. The figure is actually top heavy and his legs are really chicken-like. He falls over easily, and that's a disappointment. What he does have in his favour are the multiple ball and socket joints everywhere, and these dont' come off as easily as some of the other figures that I've reviewed this week. He also looks great in robot mode, and I do wish we got the rest of his team from the cartoon besides Ironhide/Armorhide.
The transformation to vehicle mode is slightly complicated, and the spoiler on the back of the vehicle does hinder things somewhat. I'm surprised by the many little studs and the corresponding depressions that cause the vehicle mode to hold together thightly - so tight that they are hard to transform once in place, but that's a good thing as it means that legs and arms don't go flying out during play when Rodimus is in vehicle mode.
The bow is mountable on the roof of the vehicle and it does look rather nice there. The vehicle mode is also very much in scale with the other vehicles and he does look good next to the rest of the animated line. I'm glad I got him, and although I may not like his fellow "son" who he shares a box with, this Rodimus is thankfully my favourite and makes up for the disappointing Optimus.
There's a weird sticker of some Japanese anniversary 2010 on the box. I have no idea what it is and it looks a bit ugly to be honest. I guess it's in commemoration of something... perhaps the 25th anniversary of Transformers in Japan?
There isn't much within the box that isn't shown through the window. I have no idea why I was expecting more, but each figure got his relative accessory and that's that.
Optimus is actually a repaint, or resculpt rather, of his battle-damaged War of Cybertron model. The sculpt is 100% the same. Of course, this version of him had most body parts moulded from clear coloured plastic, which gives it a completely different look. I think it looks brighter and better.
He's still a bit small though, especially when compared to wingblade (who also have the same clear transparent plastic schtick) or characters such as Ratchet. I'm not a fan of the size.
I have no idea why Hasbro and TakaraTomy created this size of Optimus - and I have three of them now, including the Cybertron mode one. That's a pity because most of them will be going back into storage. The robot mode simply can't compare to the awesomeness of Wingblade.
The transformation to truck mode is relatively simple, and he does look a bit better than the War for Cybertron version as well. I like how the Japanese version looks more Japanese somehow thanks to the choice of plastic used.
Rodimus is also cast from a lot of transparent coloured plastic, and is basically a repaint of his normal version. Now the Japanese normal version is pink in colour, and I'm not a fan of that. The Hasbro version looks good, but isn't readily available here, so this was the version I got. The figure is actually top heavy and his legs are really chicken-like. He falls over easily, and that's a disappointment. What he does have in his favour are the multiple ball and socket joints everywhere, and these dont' come off as easily as some of the other figures that I've reviewed this week. He also looks great in robot mode, and I do wish we got the rest of his team from the cartoon besides Ironhide/Armorhide.
The transformation to vehicle mode is slightly complicated, and the spoiler on the back of the vehicle does hinder things somewhat. I'm surprised by the many little studs and the corresponding depressions that cause the vehicle mode to hold together thightly - so tight that they are hard to transform once in place, but that's a good thing as it means that legs and arms don't go flying out during play when Rodimus is in vehicle mode.
The bow is mountable on the roof of the vehicle and it does look rather nice there. The vehicle mode is also very much in scale with the other vehicles and he does look good next to the rest of the animated line. I'm glad I got him, and although I may not like his fellow "son" who he shares a box with, this Rodimus is thankfully my favourite and makes up for the disappointing Optimus.
I suspect very strongly that the different sizes are due to more marketability. I guess 'Bro need to have different Primes at diff price points to make sure all parents can afford a Prime for their kids! (Read: more Primes = more $$, in an oversimplified manner of speaking. Lol) :)
ReplyDeleteAnd nooooooooo...it's the last day of Mech weeks already????
Nope, it's just the last day of TFA week. But bro, 3 primes in the same scale/size just doesn't hold any water, does it?
ReplyDelete