Posted October 12, 2012 at 11:51 pm

So this new MP Prime is smaller, but not dinky by any rate. He's got some die-cast in him, so he's got a good heft -- but not so much heft that he's constantly in danger of falling over, like the old one was. The ankles on this guy don't have to support nearly as much. And New MP Prime has a different transformation and some retooled proportions. He makes the Old MP Prime look like My Buddy and/or Kid Sister.

New MP Prime does some of the things the old one did, but not all. His chest doors still open up to reveal the Matrix, of course, and you can still pry it out of there. He doesn't have some of the smaller things, though. There's no more wrist communicators in his arms, his mouthplate doesn't do the talky-talky thing, nor do the flaps on the fronts of his legs flare when he steps. However, his transformation does make room for Spike Witwicky (who's included) to sit inside while Prime's in truck mode. And, oh my lord, his truck mode actually has side-view mirrors. They managed a way to get those to exist. It makes me happy.

TakaraTomy also decided that his legs should awkwardly conceal his leg-wheels, since those disappeared during transformation in the cartoon. Well, their execution looks dippy, and I like seeing his wheels there, so I've been leaving the concealing flap folded back against the rear of his legs.
Since this Prime is smaller, it's not nearly as incredible an ordeal to give him a trailer. The Old MP Prime got a trailer (eventually) in Japan, and I bet that thing is stupidly huge. This one is just small enough to survive the transition to American toy shelves. Even so, the packaging is still pretty huge. Grabbing it off the shelf and carrying it to the check-out counter is like toting a giant stereo boombox. Also, hey, you're going to have to completely tear apart the packaging to get the instructions out. They buried that sucker deep in the bowels of this thing. Like the tell-tale heart, the instructions are hidden under the floorboards.

If you like Optimus Prime, he's a pretty good thing to have. He's exclusive to Toys"R"Us, though. Hopefully his $100 price tag ('cuz of the huge trailer, you see) will mean he won't disappear off the shelves quicker-than-the-eye.
I have some additional photos on my Tumblr.
Tags: optimus prime, masterpiece
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