Dave's Transformers Rant Powermaster Optimus Prime with Apex Bomber Reissue This is actually the first time this exact combination has been available in the United States (aside from import dealers, of course). Powermaster Prime, of course, was released here, but the add-on God Bomber character (renamed Apex Bomber here) was not. While PM Prime was not the first character to get "God Armor" by combining with his trailer (Ultra Magnus was, more or less...the inner robot wasn't really an official mode), the Super Ginrai/God Bomber combo was, I believe, the first time a separate character formed power-up armor. This combination was homaged in Car Robots/Robots in Disguise with what was sold here as the Omega Prime combination (or God Fire Convoy in Japan), and continued with the various Prime combinations (with Jetfire, Overload) in Armada. Anyway, this is the biggest entry in the Toys R Us-exclusive reissue line to date (and probably ever, unless they do something like reissue Fortress Maximus). [Later note: There are some mold differences between Apex Prime and God Ginrai, like wheels being held on with screws instead of pins on God Ginrai.] CAPSULE Big. Clunky. About what you'd expect from a major G1 product. Despite changes made to the missiles for safety, this is not a toy for small children, there's too many bits that they'd find frustrating, mainly with Apex Bomber. A nice bit of nostalgia for those of us who never got the toy in the first place, or who always wanted a God Bomber but couldn't afford the exorbitant aftermarket prices. And the Powermaster Prime parts are good solid toys, if odd-looking in combined mode. But this is a collector's piece, make no mistake about it. If you're not already interested in it, don't bother. $49.99 at TRU. RANT The box has three techspec cards on it. One for Optimus Prime (showing original Prime's robot mode, not Powermaster Prime), one for Apex Bomber and one for the fully combined Apex Armor Optimus Prime. The Powermaster has been given the Japanese name Ginrai, rather than the U.S. name Hi-Q. Hm, just noticed that Autobot is a registered trademark, but Decepticon is still only a regular trademark. Huh. Optimus Prime is also a registered trademark. AUTOBOT: OPTIMUS PRIME Function: Autobot Leader Altmode: Tractor-trailer Motto: "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings." OPTIMUS PRIME is the strong, wise and compassionate leader of the AUTOBOTS. Dedicated to protecting all life, he fights unceasingly to defeat the DECEPTICONS. Firmly believes in the ultimate righteousness of his mission, so he will willingly sacrifice himself to save the lives of others. Carries a blaster rifle as well as the AUTOBOT Matrix of Leadership, an honor bestowed millions of years before his journey to Earth. A seasoned veteran and scholar, OPTIMUS PRIME is respected throughout the universe as a champion of peace. Straight 10's on all stats. And he has Firepower, not Fireblast. AUTOBOT: APEX BOMBER Function: AUTOBOT Armored warrior Altmode: Trailer/Roller Drone Motto: None Unites with OPTIMUS PRIME to create POWERMASTER OPTIMUS PRIME APEX ARMOR. The enhanced armor provides superior weapon blast protection in battle. When not united with the AUTOBOT commander, he acts as a non-cognitive drone that responds to the orders of OPTIMUS PRIME. Can be commanded by OPTIMUS PRIME to perform combat functions. Armed with a super rifle and particle beam cannon. STR 9 INT 2 SPD 8 END 8 RNK 2 COUR 6 FRP 10 SKL 7 Avg 6.75 AUTOBOT: POWERMASTER OPTIMUS PRIME APEX ARMOR Function: AUTOBOT Defense Commander Motto: "Fight for the good of all!" POWERMASTER OPTIMUS PRIME is a gentle intellectual and a quiet commander until the DECEPTICONS attack. He then becomes a fierce warrior whose bravery is second to none. Well-versed in various Cybertronian martial arts. Willing to stand fast as the ultimate defender against destruction and invasion. Extremely dexterous [sic] in battle. Brandishes a Super Rifle and particle beam cannon. APEX ARMOR is formed by combining binary-bonded OPTIMUS PRIME with his trailer and armored roller drone. STR 10 INT 10 SPD 9 END 10 RNK 10 COUR 10 FRP 10 SKL 10 Avg 9.875 Yes, this is identical to the Heroes of Cybertron version's techspec, down to not naming Apex Armor in the note. Packaging: Comes in a cardboard box 14"x14"x4" (36cm x 36cm x 11cm) in dimensions, with a velcro'ed down flap in the shape of Apex Armor Prime. Windows in the box show the vehicle modes, and opening the flap reveals Ginrai and the combined mode's head. The inside of the flap has the mirror image of the art on its front, with the shoulder cannon on the wrong shoulder. The colors and fonts are G1 style, with "Commorative Series II" under the main banner, and a holofoil sticker under that declaring it's a "Classic Re-issue". The top panel shows all the various transformations (well, not including the base mode, which is on the right side panel). The left side panel has co-sells for Series I (Prime, Rodimus Major, Ultra Magnus) and Series II (Starscream). The bottom panel is another variation on the transformations depiction. The back of the box has the G1 mural from the Powermasters year, the techspecs, and a picture of Ginrai transforming. All parts rest in a plastic tray inside the box, with numerous twist-ties of various thicknesses. Stickers: Yes, this toy has plenty of stickers to apply, with the original Japanese printing on them. The instructions are pretty clear, and I only once had to pull out the tweezers to apply a sticker that needed to go into a nook (and a child's fingers would probably be small enough to fit in that space). A more durable middle ground between paper stickers and foil stickers, they're a bit thick (therefore obscuring details more), but much easier to apply. Optimus Prime Cab Vehicle Mode: 5.5" (14cm) long, not counting Ginrai on the front. This is the same basic cabover as the original Prime, if a little longer (sleeper-style) because of the new transformation. The windows are clear blue plastic, and the front part is die cast metal...the center of mass of this toy is barely behind the front wheels. The main cab is red, the rear part dark blue, and there's chrome and silver paint details on the bumper, trim and (I hear shortened) smokestacks. Without Ginrai in place, the grille is fairly classic, if mostly gray with only a bit of chrome. Transformation: You need to insert Ginrai in order to unbend the legs, or just press in the white button on the inside of the grille. The transformation is almost a reverse of classic Prime's, with the vehicle front becoming Prime's back. A more stylized truck-front is molded onto the robot chest, and the arms fold out away from it. The head flips up, and a pelvis plate folds not quite far enough down. Robot Mode: 7" (18cm) tall, very much a brick. The arms bend at the elbows, the figure can bend at the waist and sorta at the knees, but the legs are a single unit, they can't separate. He can hold any of the guns that come with the toy, but looks better holding the black rifles. The double-barreled gray cannons are too wide and look doofy in the hands of a smaller figure. It's worth noting, the pegs for the various guns and stuff are about the size of Mini-Con hardpoints, although there's JUST enough difference that you might strain some hands here and there. Optimus Prime Trailer Trailer Mode: Not counting the guns, which can be moved around a bit, the trailer is 9" (23cm) long, with four black plastic wheels at the back. It has no front leg to let it rest separate from the cab. It resembles the classic Prime trailer, albeit with some extra chunky bits showing that are robot mode parts. The rear doors do pull down, although you need reasonably strong fingernails (or a butter knife) to do this. The revealed space is only 2"x2" (5cm x 5cm) in cross-section and about 2.5" (7cm) deep, with a significant slit in the floor. But you can store the combined mode's head in there, and there's even a peg hole or two so it doesn't rattle around. The combined vehicle mode is 12.5" (32cm) long. Transformation To Base: Basically, everything unfolds. The rear half splits apart and lots of panels fold out (although some panels fold in), the robot arms pull out of the front end and become towers, a roof panel folds down and the hitch folds around to become a blaster. Then attach the guns to taste. Most of the area of the sticker sheet for PM Prime involves stuff to put on the base mode. Base Mode: 15.5" (39cm) wide, 7.5" (19cm) from front to back and 6.5" (17cm) tall, this is a mass of ramps and platforms surrounding a central tower. The tower has a place for the cab-only Prime to stand, or you can insert the combined-mode cab-cube (see below) into it now to give the tower some mass. There is no place for the big Prime head to go in this mode. Well, no GOOD place. In this mode, it's clearer that the double-barreled guns on the trailer are meant to seat Nebulans, although the weird bow-legged way the Powermaster Nebulans sit is a bit embarrassing. }-> The ramps are only 2" wide, so they're most suitable for Mini-Cons. They were also good for some of the Pretender-core vehicles of the day. Important note when placing the stickers! The mostly blue stickers that go on the platforms to either side of the tower (insides of the boots) have rectangular holes in them that need to be punched out, or you won't be able to insert the guns on those platforms. And if, like me, you neglect to do this and end up placing the holes not QUITE over the pegholes, well.... Ginrai A fairly standard Powermaster partner 1.75" (4.5cm) tall. White torso and head piece with blue paint for visor and some chest detail. The arms and upper legs are maroon, while the boots are black. The arms move normally at the shoulders, and the legs spread out to the sides. The knees bend sideways for transformation. The backpack is light gray with a chromed engine pattern piece on it. Transformation is trivial, you fold the legs to the sides and turn Ginrai over, now he's an engine to plug into the front of Prime's cab. A block below his crotch presses in a button on Prime that releases part of the transformation. The engine is 1.25" (3cm) wide, in black, light gray and chrome. Powermaster Prime Combination Transformation: You basically fold the cab up into a block and plug the big Prime head onto the top. It's a bit more involved as far as transforming the trailer goes, but fairly clear and without frustrating bits. The cab cube then plugs into the empty chest of the exosuit formed by the trailer. It fits snugly enough that you can lift the toy by the chest and it won't fall apart. Robot Mode: 9.5" (24cm) tall at the head, a tiny bit more if you measure up to the tops of the shoulder cannons. The arms can ratchet at the shoulders and lift up in a sort of flapping motion (resulting from a transformation joint), and the legs can spread apart. The head cannot be turned. It weighs 1 pound 9.5 oz (722g). The colors are classic Prime, in red blue and gray, with some chrome on the bumper and on Ginrai, plus a white waist and black rifles. The head has red eyes, which are the result of a separate piece (I took apart the head to check, I may repaint the eyes blue later). He has a big flat panel on his back, and a cannon that can be ratcheted up, but not all the way to point forward (the head gets in the way). (Pause while I chase down one of the shoulder cannons, which has fallen off AGAIN.) Apex Bomber Vehicle Mode: This is a six-wheeled trailer about 6/25" (16cm) long, not counting the trailer hitch. It has aspects of the classic Prime trailer in its design, but the upper half is a pile of Apex Bomber kibble formed fairly nicely into a battle platform of sorts. It has a control cabin at the front in the chromed piece, and in the Masterforce anime the kids would often drive the trailer from here (it is perhaps a misnomer to call it a trailer, since it can drive under its own power). The wheels are hard plastic, two in front and four in back. The missile launcher is intended to plug into a hole in the piece that becomes Apex Bomber's chest, although like many of the pegs on this toy, it doesn't hold as solidly as I'd like. Perhaps time to take some soap and water to the pegs and holes. The trailer hitch, which never really gets out of the way in any mode, is designed to hook between the halves of Prime's trailer, to give a super-long double trailer tractor that is 19.5" (49.5 cm) long, counting Ginrai on the front. Transformation: Take all the parts apart, reassemble as a robot. Seriously. This is almost pure "reassembler" style transformation, the only rearrangements being folding the toes out of the legs and folding the head up from the chest piece. The torso halves clip together pretty weakly, and threaten to pop apart if you press too hard when attaching the limbs. So it's probably best to attach everything to the chest piece before putting on the back and missile launcher. Robot Mode: 9" (23cm) tall at the head, he's just a shade shorter than Powermaster Prime. Of course, as a bunch of bits pegged together, he's not very substantial or movable. The arms move at the shoulders on their pegs, and that's really about it. The hunchbacked torso is hollow, as are the boots, while the arms are just half-shell armors. As a result, it's only 9.5 oz (270 g). The color scheme is pretty good. Darkish gray chest and inner side of the legs, dark blue arms and outer side of the legs, red "wings" in the shoulder joints and red kneecap stickers. Head is black with silver face, shoulder missile launcher is black with red trigger and dull silver missile. the chrome part that fronts the vehicle mode forms the back, so it's not so obvious. Of course, from any view but straight on, it doesn't look so good, what with the gaps and stuff. Apex Armor Prime Transformation: Start with Powermaster Prime. Apex Bomber's legs fold up and become boots for PM Prime. His torso splits to become front and back armor, but these pieces don't attach very firmly. PM Prime's black guns combine with Apex's wings to form wings on the back armor. Apex Bomber's arms become arm armor, and can grip the gray double-rifles. Apex Bomber's missile launcher plugs onto the shoulder. And that's pretty much it. The trailer hitch just sort of hangs there like a bizarre codpiece. Robot Mode: Stands 11.5" (29cm) tall at the head, a little taller if you count the guns pointing up from his backpack. The legs spread and the arms both ratchet at the shoulders and "flap" thanks to a transformation joint, but that's it for poseability. You really have to be careful handling this mode, because the front and back armor pieces are held on really loosely. The front is just clipped around PM Prime's chest, and the back armor pegs on in two places, but the pegs are a bit loose (probably due to mold release oil). Oh, and the whole thing weighs 2 lbs, 3 oz (992 g). The overall look isn't too bad, especially compared to the stubby Powermaster Prime, but it's really disappointing next to the animation-model Heroes of Cybertron PVC. The wings are too short to really add to the dynamism, and even with the armor extensions the arms are stubby. As a final note, both this mode and several of the others have official variants listed in the instructions, which mostly amount to placing the guns in different places. I have been advised not to put the double-barreled guns on the red Apex Bomber wings, as it can crack the plastic. Dave Van Domelen, now to collapse in a heap to recover from writing this monster (okay, I exaggerate...wrote it in chunks over the course of a few days).