Dave's Artifact Rant

     Energon Optimus Prime Pen

     Found this at Target down in the bottom row of pegs in the pen section,
after looking for it for a couple of weeks.


CAPSULE

     Surprisingly close to the real thing, all things considered, although if
compared to a Basic it's an iffy value.  Mildly recommended.  $3.99 at
Target. 


RANT

     Packaging: On a blister card 8.25" (21cm) tall and 3.25" (8cm) wide,
black at the top and a mix of white, yellow and green in a burst pattern
elsewhere.  The pen is in vehicle mode, making the package 2" (5cm) thick.
The instructions on the back only show how to make the pen tip click in and
out (press in on one of the gas tanks).
     Manufactured and distributed by Stylus.  They also have a few different
GIJoe pen sets.

     Vehicle Mode: Not counting the pen tip sticking out the back, it's 3.25"
(8cm) long, a bit under 2" (5cm) wide, and 2.25" (5.5cm) tall.  The pen tip
adds about a centimeter to the length.
     It looks very much like the cab mode of E.Prime, although most of the
plastic is gray (replacing most of the dark blue plastic and the white
plastic on the front).  The blue of the "radar dish" and various arm joints
is a bright blue.  The red parts are about the same as on the "real" toy.
The wheels are black with white hubcaps, each free-rolls on its own with no
axles.  The windows are painted light blue.  The spark crystal housing is
present, but there's no paint or crystal or anything else there.

     Transformation: The arms transform pretty much the same as on E.Prime.
The head has to be pried up and clicked into place.  Lifting up the rear four
wheel chunk frees the legs to slide down.  The feet do not unfold.
     A super mode is also possible, by opening up the chest and folding the
radar dish over the head.  It's one solid piece, though, so the antennae do
not move.

     Robot Mode: From the bottom of the feet to the top of the head, it's 4"
(10cm) tall, with the pen tip adding half an inch.  Again, the gray plastic
changes the look of the toy somewhat.  The lower legs are painted blue, with
white on the parts that would fold down as toes.  The head, upper arms, fists
and groin are also bright blue.  The eyes are sloppily painted on yellow
dots, the faceplate is gray.
     Arms have full poseability.  The fists have 3mm peg holes, I suppose
they could hold toothpicks or G1 Stunticon guns or something.  The head does
not turn, and the legs are a solid block containing the pen (which writes in
black ink, by the way).  The figure cannot stand due to the pen tip sticking
out below its feet, although I suppose you could stick it in a pen rack.
     Super Mode looks kinda goofy, since the sides of the helmet don't fold
down.  The matrix chamber has some yellow paint splashes on either side of
the core, but none on the core itself.
     The pen tip is gray, and 8mm in diameter, in case anyone wants to
prepare a Unicron.com-ish base for it.

     Overall: A nice bit of merchandise.  A bit cheaply made, but once you
get below $5 a toy's cost is almost all in distribution anyway.  Worth
picking up if you can find it.

     Dave Van Domelen, also snagged Dreadwing today....