Dave's TF Armada Rant:

     Super Optimus Prime

     Decided to head over to Junction City on Saturday because I didn't want
to hang around the apartment all day, but seeing as it was the opening
football game in town, any destination in Manhattan would be blocked by
massive traffic.  Turned out to have been a good idea, since Prime had come
in. 

CAPSULE

     Optimus Prime: The cab part is okay, if lacking in gimmicks.  The
trailer is loaded with gimmicks, but has several problems.  Super Optimus
Prime is a wobbly brick.  Once you fix the minor flaws, it's a decent toy,
but it disappoints initially.  Mildly recommended.  $38.88 at Wal-Mart.


RANT

     Packaging: Biiig version of the rounded boxes that carry the Maxcons and
Gigacon.  16" (40cm) wide, 10" (25cm) tall and from 6" (15cm) to 6.5" (17cm)
deep.  Lots of cardboard reinforcement.  Sparkplug is on a raised tray, held
by one twist-tie and one rubber band.  Two more twist-ties hold Prime's rifle
in place, and a total of 8 ties and 9 or more rubber bands hold the rest of
the toy in place.  Even with wire cutters it took me a while to get the thing
freed.  The box art shows both regular Optimus Prime robot and Super Optimus
Prime robot, plus pictures of the toys in all modes.  I get the feeling it
was intended to come out before the second wave Mini-Cons, since they're not
pictured on the box.  Also, the colors of the toy were changed after the
pictures were taken for the box.
     Like the other boxed toys, it comes with the minicomic, instructions
sheet and a sticker of the box art (regular robot mode, in this case).


AUTOBOT: Optimus Prime
Altmode: Tractor-trailer
Mini-Con partner: Sparkplug - sportscar
Quote: "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings."

OPTIMUS PRIME is the leader of the AUTOBOTS and a powerful force of goodness,
courage and wisdom in the battle against the evil DECEPTICONS.  He comes to
the aid of all living creatures whose freedom is threatened.  He first tries
to find peaceful solutions to conflicts, but when battle lines are drawn, he
becomes a fierce warrior capable of overpowering vast enemy forces to achieve
his goal.  Will OPTIMUS PRIME succeed in his heroic and life-saving mission
to get the MINI-CONS before MEGATRON can capture them? 

STR 10  INT 10  SPD 10  END 10  RNK 10  COUR 10  FRB 10  SKL 10  Avg 10

     I'll start by saying that this toy gave a rotten first impression out of
the box.  Bits kept falling off or not holding together, balky mechanisms,
etc.  I've since fixed most of the problems or figured out ways around them,
but I can certainly see a kid with less repair savvy being really frustrated
by this toy.

     Vehicle Mode (Cab): Just under 8" (20cm) long, this is a longnose
variety cab in red and blue (mostly red front, blue rear half) with some
gray, silver and gold detailing and clear windows.  The sides with the
smokestacks are extra-chunky and the Super mode fists stick out the back
pretty clumsily.  I would have preferred it if the fists/feet rotated further
so that the fists were at least partly concealed in this mode.  The six
wheels have a Lego-like feel, are made of hard plastic, roll freely, and have
"Monster Prime Convoy" molded on them.  The going assumption is that this
will be the toy's Japanese name in a few months.  The smokestacks are clear,
and pegged onto the robot forearms fairly loosely.  You can pretty much count
on one or both falling off during any transformation.
     Inside the driver's compartment you can see a small circuit board with a
clear infrared LED mounted on it.  This is for signalling the trailer to
transform.  There are no light-up gimmicks for this mode (you can activate
the Super mode fist light, but it's not really positioned for this mode or
the regular robot mode) and only three PowerLinx hardpoints, all "dead".  In
fact, the rearmost hardpoint is really the trailer hitch, and it's a bit
shorter than a normal hardpoint.  However, you can mount three Mini-Cons on
the back of the cab, although maybe not any three in any configuration.  
     There's a big button on the top of the cab, but it doesn't do anything
useful in this mode.  It's strictly for pushing a button on the Battlepants,
pushing it causes a peg at the top of the grille to extend a little.  This
gold button has the section's only Autobot symbol painted onto it.

     Transformation to Optimus Prime: Pretty simplistic, very similar to the
transformation of Laser Optimus Prime (aka Scourge).  A button behind the
right shoulder is held down normally, but it is released when you separate
the shoulders for this mode.  This sends an IR signal, a short solid flash
followed by a rapid flicker (yes, I have an IR detector card).  This signal
makes the trailer transform into base mode.  Transforming back to cab mode
sends roughly the same signal (although it's probably different on the
millisecond level), which doesn't seem to do anything on its own to my
trailer.
     The smokestacks can be left on the forearms (assuming they don't fall
off) or removed and combined into a pistol.

     Regular Robot Mode: 7" (18cm) tall and decently chunky, the colors are
pretty close to "classic" ones, except that the forearms are blue instead of
red.  And there's no windows on the chest, since it's basically the grille
unit.  This won't mean much to most of you, but the hips are very much like
those of J-Der from GaoGaiGar.  
     The shoulders have 360 degree rotation and the elbows bend about 80
degrees (more if you let the fists partly retract into the forearms).  The
head turns freely, and pushing a button on top of the head causes the
faceplate to move as if Prime is talking (this button is also part of a
transmission system that releases the Super Prime head, more on that later).
The hips and knees bend, but the legs cannot separate more than a little bit
without completely unpegging the lower body.  There's a little bit of upper
leg swivel, so you can get Prime to stand in a number of action poses.
     The chest panel doesn't really lock down, so you can easily lift it to
reveal what I call Arnim Zola Mode, where his head is in his chest.  The
intentional chest trick is to lower the frontmost panel and reveal a Matrix
molded onto the chest.  It's painted rather than having a clear plastic or
glass piece.
     Prime doesn't really have much room for Mini-Cons in this mode.  A pair
can hang into his butt, but the hitch hardpoint is on his heel and pretty
much unusable.  His heel lights up, but that's about it for gimmicks.  You
can, however, see lots of places where pegs push other pegs to transmit force
for a Super mode gimmick.
     If you look at the sides of the feet, you'll see indentations.  These
fit inside the pegs in the center of the base mode so that the regular robot
stays firmly at battle stations.
     This mode looks good standing next to the MaxCons, and a little shorter
than Megatron.

     Transformation to Super Robot Mode Torso: Before starting, make sure the
regular robot head is pointing straight forward, or you'll prevent the rods
from lining up for a trigger.  And you might as well remove the smokestacks,
because they're coming off this time during transformation, almosts
guaranteed.  Pulling the robot legs all the way apart uncovers a button
behind the robot's left leg, sending another of those "solid, then flicker"
signals.  When the legs are separated, it sends the signal to transform the
trailer to Battlepants mode.  When the legs come back together, it sends the
signal to transform to trailer mode.  This seems to be the only way to get
the trailer to transform to trailer mode using the cab (you can also get to
trailer mode by cycling power, more later).  The shoulders only rotate the 90
degrees necessary to get them to facing forward.  The head pops up
automatically when you plug the torso onto the Battlepants.  Usually.  You
might want to push the button before attaching, just in case.

     Trailer Mode: This can only really be called a trailer because it trails
behind a cab.  It's a 9.5" (24cm) long technobox on treads, held together
loosely if at all by four pegs.  I had to add some postertack (the gummy
stuff used to hang posters and the like) to keep it together.  The trailer is
almost all blue and gray, with black treads and some red and very dark blue
bits of the base mode poking out the front.  There's also a gold-ish
hardpoint on top.  A pair of "wings" on the top can either be folded flat or
raised to vertical.  This is really the only mode in which the flat position
is worthwhile, although I find a 45 degree angle useful for holding flying
Mini-Cons.  Big 1.25" (3cm) tall Autobot symbols are painted on raised bits
on the sides of the trailer.
     Oddly, there's two non-hardpoint pegs on each of the treads.  They seem
to serve no purpose in any mode, perhaps it's like Cyclonus and we'll see
something that attaches to them later.  There are four accessible "dead"
hardpoints in this mode.  Oddly, one of them is gold plastic and seems at
first like it should trigger something, but it doesn't.
     Prime's big gun normally stores inside the trailer, but its screw hole
can be plugged onto one of the hardpoints on the "wings" as well.
     A clear window ahead of the tread on the left (driver's) side is the
receiver for the IR pulses.  If you don't have it aligned with the front of
the cab when you transform the cab, it may not transform.  You need to buy 4
AA batteries and install them in the trailer's bottom to make use of
autotransformation.  There's also an on-off switch, so you can avoid draining
the batteries (or having it autotransform when you just want to muck with the
cab).  If you turn it on while it's in any mode but trailer, it will revert
to trailer mode.  So you can always reset it to trailer from any other mode. 
     When combined with the cab, the entire vehicle is 14" (36cm) long.

     Autotransformation to base mode: When the shoulders of the regular robot
mode are pulled apart, the trailer will unfold into base mode.  It will do
this on any flat surface.  The motorized motion is slow but deliberate.  If
you don't unpeg the sides, it'll strain until you do so (not really an issue
with a from-the-box trailer, since the pegs don't hold anyway!).

     Base Mode: The trailer unfolds into a roughly cross-shaped base
(although the rear part is split into the two legs) 16" (40cm) long and 17"
(43cm) wide, with a central tower 7" (18cm) tall.  The central tower is three
levels and mostly dark blue.  The middle level of mine was assembled upside
down, which was a pain to fix.  If the "wings" from trailer mode aren't
vertical, the leg segments will be flopped down as ramps rather than flat
like the rest of the panels.
     This is where all the Mini-Con action is.  In addition to being able to
lock Prime's feet into the center as previously mentioned, there's three
hardpoints (two of them live), a storage compartment, a ground vehicle
launcher, a STOL aircraft ramp, an extendable platform (which is also fun to
use as a trap to throw any Mini-Con standing on it) and lots of flat surfaces
to just rest or stand Mini-Cons on.  There's a clear "control panel" that
flips up above an LED, and three ways to get the LED to light up with
different sounds.  The live hardpoint at the base of the tower triggers one
firing sound, lighting up the LED.  A round button normally covered by the
clear panel triggers a crashing sound (often heard when the trailer
autotransforms as well), and a T-shaped button activates Super Prime's firing
sound.  The LED lights up in both of these cases as well.  It's worth noting
that when regular Prime stands in the center, he covers the two central
buttons.  
     The other live hardpoint causes a small cannon turret to pop up on the
right side of the base.  This can be rotated and stowed in one of two
positions.  On the left leg part of the base, another cannon turret can be
lifted up and moved around.  This one fires a missile..often when you don't
want it to.  Moving the grips of the cannon to cover the firing button
usually helps prevent this.
     Basically, while there's a surprising lack of hardpoints (all the oens
from trailer mode are inaccesible here), there's plenty of things to do with
Mini-Cons on this base.

     Autotransformation to Battlepants Mode: When the cab is transformed into
torso mode, a signal is sent to make the base rise up into Battlepants mode
(it will also direclty transform to Battlepants from trailer mode if you
transform directly from cab to torso).  However, it has to be on a smooth
flat surface to work, since it rolls on wheels as it draws up together.  Once
it has finished rising into position, you peg the leg fronts onto the sides.
Again, I had to add some postertack to the pegs to get them to hold...and
most surfaces smooth enough to allow autotransformation also mean the legs
will slide apart a bit if not pegged well.

     Super Optimus Prime Combination: Once you've formed the Battlepants,
there's really just one more thing you need to do to attach the torso.  The
control panel clear piece from base mode needs to be vertical, or it will get
in the way of a solid connection (this is not mentioned in the
instructions).  It's a bit hard to get the torso snapped on, but you'll get
the clashing sound effect (and light on his back) when it seats in.  The head
SHOULD automatically pop up at this point as well.  You're supposed to pull
the wings of the head out to the sides, but I find the head looks better with
the wings flat against the head.

     Super Optimus Prime: Standing a full foot (31cm) tall in red, gray and
blue with gold accents, Super Prime is a brick.  The Battlepants are
essentially a truncated A-Frame on tiny wheels, so Super Prime can roll
around even if his legs don't move.  The arms bend about 70 degrees at the
elbows and can swivel a bit at the upper arm.  Prime can't even point his
guns all the way up to horizontal, so it's a good thing everyone is shorter
than he is!  Oh, and the head turns.  King J-Der from GaoGaiGar is more
poseable, and it's very much a G1-style megabrick.
     The top level of the base mode's tower has what seem to be rocket
launcher pods molded into its underside, providing another weapon for Super
Prime.  However, there's a big gap between the torso and the tower, which
enhances the empty-torso look from above or the sides.  And yes, the gap is
big enough that if you fold Hot Shot's feet away he can ride on Super Prime
like Master Blaster or like a baby in a backpack.  It's mildly disturbing.
[Later Note: Others have found that you can put Demolishor or Smokescreen in
this slot, usually with some manipulation of their legs, and give Prime some
shoulder weaponry.] 
     Several Mini-Con gimmicks and hardpoints are accessible in this mode, a
couple more pegs if you fold out the trailer "wings" before autotransforming,
although those pegs will only work for a few Mini-Cons with their connectors
near an edge.  The hardpoints that were on regular Prime's butt are now on
Super Prime's shoulders, and they look very good there.  And while the base
mode's tower is a bit collapsed in this mode, you can still slide Sparkplug
and other slim Mini-Cons in there to activate the sound and light hardpoint
at its base.
     When you push the chest button, it goes through a set of rods to push
the t-shaped button on the Battlepants, giving the firing sound for Prime's
guns.  Pushing the small button on Super Prime's right shoulder lights up the
LED in his right fist, which will light up either his big gun or the small
smokestack gun.  It's not strong enough to light up more than Sonar in the
Star Saber, though.
     The big gun is 4" (10cm) long and has design elements from the original
Prime's gun (mainly the vented cylinder at the back and the raised bit above
it).  It's made of solid clear plastic, but mostly painted dark blue [Later
note: others claim it's a dark blue shell around a clear core, frankly I
don't care enough to check closely at this point.  }->].  A gray piece on the
underside can swing out, mainly useful for connecting it to the base's tower
(it's not long enough to let Super Prime hold it in both hands).  There's two
hardpoints on the right side of the gun, although one of them is too short to
really hold a Mini-Con firmly.  These pegs are also designed to hold the gun
on the middle platform of the base tower, although they don't hold too
firmly.  I tried putting Jetstorm on the gun, and in a totally dark room he
lights up a little bit.


     Sparkplug: A yellow Lamborghini with very dark purple windows, a little
over 2" (6cm) long.  Its connector is on the gray underbody, and the Mini-Con
symbol on its roof.  It's made of the same yellow plastic as Hot Shot, with
the same lack of visible detail (I may do some panel-line filling on it
later).  
     However, while it looks like a standard Micromaster in car mode, the
transformation is very complex for such a small toy.  Many rotations and
pegged bits result in a robot that looks like a Mini-Con version of
Bumblebee.  You can also just deploy the head in car mode for a weird hybrid,
or have it only raised a little for a car that eats things.  When
transforming, don't raise the toes as high as they will go, or the robot will
lean forward.
     Robot mode stands 2" (5cm) tall, adding gray upper arms and legs, plus a
silver face.  I used fine-point pens to add blue eyes to the otherwise
single-color face.  The shoulders rise up and down to the sides, and the
elbows are ball joints.  The connector isn't very accessible in robot mode,
but some hardpoints can get to it.
     Overall, a very cool Mini-Con, its only fault is that its molded details
are all nearly invisible.

     Overall: It's big, has lots of gimmicks, a cool Mini-Con, and very
little poseability.  Plus poor stability.  Super Optimus Prime epitomizes the
Armada line so far, which isn't a uniformly good thing.  Basically, it's hard
to really recommend dropping forty bucks on this toy.

     Dave Van Domelen, off to add shading to Sparkplug....