General Information
Release Date: March 2024
Price Point: $34.99 (depending on retailer)
Retailer: General Release (Amazon, BigBadToyStore, Entertainment Earth, Target, Walmart etc.)
Accessories: Axe Weapon, Lightbar Panel/Shield
Official images and text in italics are from Amazon.com:
- ANIMATED UNIVERSE OPTIMUS PRIME ACTION FIGURE: This 7-inch (17.5 cm) Animated Universe Optimus Prime toy features deco and detail inspiration from the animated series, Transformers: Animated
- 2-IN-1 CONVERTING TRANSFORMERS TOY: Transformers action figure converts from robot toy to truck toy in 25 steps
- AWESOME ACCESSORIES: This Animated Universe Optimus Prime Transformers figure comes with an Ion Axe accessory and an attachable lightbar piece. Ion Axe accessory features an extendable handle and attaches in both modes
- ARTICULATED FOR PLAY AND DISPLAY: Transformers figures feature articulated heads, arms, and legs for action poses
- CELEBRATE THE LEGACY: Transformers Legacy United honors 40 years of Transformers animated history! Collect other Legacy: United figures to unite your collection (each sold separately, subject to availability)
- GIFT TRANSFORMERS COLLECTIBLES: This Animated Universe Optimus Prime action figure toy makes a great collectible figure gift for any Transformers fan
Unite your favorite characters from across the world of Transformers robots into your collection with the Transformers Legacy United Voyager Class Animated Universe Optimus Prime action figure! This 7-inch Animated Universe Optimus Prime action figure converts between robot and truck modes in 25 steps. Gear up for battle with the included Ion Axe and lightbar accessories that attach in both modes. The Animated Universe Optimus Prime figure is inspired by the character from the animated series, Transformers: Animated, and features articulated head, arms, and legs for awesome action poses. Celebrate the last 40 years of Transformers history with Transformers Legacy action figures. Transformers Legacy opens the portal to a whole new universe of -- More Than Meets the Eye -- bringing together every Transformers generation like you’ve never seen before. Collect and combine different characters to create your ideal Legacy lineup. TRANSFORMERS and HASBRO and all related trademarks and logos are trademarks of Hasbro, Inc. © 2024 Hasbro.
Background:
In 2007 Cartoon Network and Hasbro launched a new animated series called "Transformers Animated". The series featured designs and a tone that were very different than shows that came before like The Unicron Trilogy and Beast Wars. The designs were exaggerated and characters often had more rounded edges and traditionally cartoon-ish facial expressions (staying true to the name of the series). One of the key Autobot characters was Optimus before he gains the title of "Prime" (and him getting that title is one of the threads that ran through the series). Now this version of Optimus joins the multi-universe battle in Legacy.
Packaging:
Optimus Prime is packaged in a box with the standard Legacy box design. The box is roughly rectangular with an angle on the top and side. The front features an open window and there is a cardboard hook on top. The graphics are very similar to previous years of Legacy boxes with blue and purple tones. The tray Optimus sits in features yellow and orange colors, offering nice contrast to the darker outer box. On the left side is a box referencing the "Animated Universe" with Optimus' name under it. The Legacy United logo is under artwork of Optimus in vehicle form. The left side of the box (if you are facing it) features the robot mode art.
The back of the box shows Optimus in both modes calling out an 25 step transformation. Under all that is the new 40th Anniversary Transformers logo. One thing of note with this box: the cardboard is of significantly better quality than the previous two years of Legacy figures. This cardboard feels solid and firm which hopefully means damaged boxes on store shelves and right out of the case will be less likely. This has been the case for a while now but it still surprises me when I pick up a "Legacy United" box and feel how solid it is!
Accessories:
In Transformers Animated the Autobots each had a melee weapon instead of signature blasters. In Optimus' case, he did not carry a version of G1 Optimus' rifle. Instead, Animated Optimus Prime wielded a giant axe weapon! This was a riff on the Energy Axe he used in the G1 cartoon. Instead of coming out of his wrist, this axe is a separate accessory. The axe features a large blade on one side and a rocket booster on the other. The handle is long and designed to telescope, allowing you to collapse the handle for storage in vehicle mode and store on his back in robot mode. The axe has attachment points for Blast Effects on the rocket booster and the bottom of the handle. There are three 5mm pegs on the sides (two on the handle, one on the section behind the axe blade).
Unlike most accessories which are just one piece of plastic, there is a lot happening here. The handle is silver and contains the telescoping mechanism. Meanwhile the part at the top is clear plastic with red and blue paint while the blade itself is translucent blue plastic (making it look like it has energy coursing through it). The blade has silver paint on the sides. This is probably one of the most complex accessories to come with a Transformers figure in a while and I really like it. I'm glad the designers didn't just mold a giant axe out of silver and left it at that. This adds some play value to the figure and it looks great.
Optimus' other accessory is the panel with the siren lights/lightbar on it. This piece attaches to Optimus' back using a 5mm peg/port. This piece can be used as a shield in robot mode. This piece is made of translucent plastic with red and blue paint on it. They did a great job color matching this with the rest of the figure and the lightbar sections look great. This piece has one 5mm peg on it.
Robot Mode:
One of the conceits of the Legacy series is that characters from different continuities come through portals into the same world. As they go through these portals their forms can change. In some cases the characters maintain their original appearance (ex: Bombshell and Pointblank) while others use the original designs as a foundation for a new one (ex: Bulkhead). Optimus Prime represents a fun middle ground where much of his original design is still intact, but his proportions and details go beyond the original Animated action figure designs and animation model, adding in some very nice details.
Transformers Animated characters were known for two key design elements: lots of smooth designs (read: not a ton of mechanical detailing) and exaggerated proportions. Those elements have both been throttled back quite a bit with this figure. This figure is full of small details including some that call back to older Optimus Prime designs. Two of the most notable are his forearms where there are two lines and a triangle and a serie sof horizontal lines on his lower legs. Both these details call back to the original G1 Optimus Prime's design. On the other hand, the designers definitely wanted to pay respect to the original Animated Optimus Prime's design. His proportions are somewhat exaggerated having wide shoudlers, a wide chest leading to a relatively narrow waist and hips. Then from his thighs to his feet his legs widen out, especially at the bottom. Optimus also has some curved shapes worked into the many angles that make up this form including curves on his forearms and feet. The head design comes right out of the animated series. This design starts with the traditional Optimus Prime head design but he has small cylinder designs on either side of the helmet and he has a mouth instead of the traditional Optimus Prime face plate (evoking the look of Optimus Primal). Sadly, he does not have a mouthplate that can swing up over the mouth like he did in the TV show.
This figure is made up of red, blue, silver and black plastic. Paint applications are done in red, black, yellow, blue, silver and light blue. The blue plastic is a lighter shade than you typically see on Optimus Prime figures which is a nice nod to the bright animation model used in the cartoon. The silver is a really rich shade, looking almost like gunmetal grey. The paint applications look great. Among my favorite details are headlights, which use black, yellow and silver to create headlights that evoke Star Convoy in design which is always cool in my book. I do wish the designers had used a dab of yellow paint on each of the feet to match up with Animaed more, but this is a minor quibble. Overall Optimus looks great!
There are twenty seven points of articulation on this figure. This includes two for the neck (one allowing the head to look up and down, the other side to side), six in each arm and leg and waist articulation. There are nine 5mm ports to attach accessories, two on each arm and leg with one on the back. If you pop off the back panel with the lightbars you actually wind up with three 5mm ports. The Axe weapon can be held in both hands or just one and you can use the pegs on the sides of the weapon to attach it to his back for storage. I was very happy to see that Optimus could hold the axe with both hands and look cool while doing it. It is a part of the character's physicality in the show so it's great to see it reflected here.
Transformation to Vehicle Mode:
- Remove the weapon and set it aside for now.
- Straighten out the arms and legs.
- Point the feet down and extend the ankle sections.
- Each lower leg has a section with a wheel on the outside and a hinge at the bottom. Swing each of these pieces out, lining the wheels on the outer part of the lower legs to the ones on the inside of the lower legs.
- Swing the legs up at the knee hinge to the sides.
- Push the thighs together and clip them together.
- Swing the back panel up.
- Swing the wheels in the chest section out to the sides.
- Rotate the lower body around not at the waist joint but at the chest, connected to the upper body via the black abdominal piece in the middle of the robot mode.
- Swing the lower leg sections with the wheels on them up, connecting them to the black abdominal section. There is a blue tab on the lower leg sections that fit into a slot in the black section.
- Swing the robot feet up and down, covering the back of the vehicle.
- On each forearm, swing out the section with the fists, swing the fists back, then swing the blue piece back in place.
- Swing the robot chest panel down.
- Swing each forearm up against the biceps.
- Rotate each arm around.
- Swing each arm up along with the front wheels.
- Swing the chest piece up and push it back against the arms (now the sides of the truck cab).
- Swing the section with the siren lights on them forward and push it down.
- Swing the rear of the vehicle up and tab the legs into the corresponding slots on the front section of the truck cab.
- The axe can be attached to the back of the vehicle for storage.
Vehicle Mode:
Optimus Prime's vehicle mode is the cab of an emergency vehicle. In a way, the vehicle mode is meant to be all purpose depending on what trailer you add (there is no trailer with this figure). In Animated he was a fire engine, but one could easily see an alternate trailer attached to become say, a police vehicle. The DNA of this design of course originates from G1 Optimus Prime so you'll see some callbacks there. The front is (roughly) a boxy shape with his legs forming the back of the vehicle. There is a row of lights above the windshield sections. Meanwhile the windshield windows and headlights evoke Star Convoy's torso design. Where this figure becomes distinctive is its rather angled shapes including windows that angle downward towards the middle. He also has siren lights on the top of the cab. The vehicle looks futuristic and cool while paying homage to the original Optimus Prime.
This mode condenses a lot of the colors seen in robot mode. The blue largely winds up in the back, the red and silver in the front. Black paint is used heavily on the front half of the vehicle along with silver and yellow. The lightbar pieces are translucent blue and red plastic. The only bit of deco that feels "missing" would be some yellow on the raised rectangular strips that look like headlights on the front of the vehicle.
This vehicle rolls on all six wheels. There are three 5mm ports available for attaching accessories on the sides and back of the truck. The axe can store in the back but in all honestly it looks rather awkward. I cannot help but think however that it would be possible for Hasbro to create a Leader Class release of this figure with a trailer that attaches to the two 5mm pegs on the back (similar to what he had on the show).
Final Thoughts:
The Animated aesthetic is a very difficult one to change into the Generations style. With "Animated Universe" Optimus Prime Hasbro has succeeded. The figure looks fantastic in both modes and he's instantly recognizable as a new version of Optimus from the Animated universe. Highly recommended!
Pros:
- Excellent sculpt in both modes.
- Good deco.
- Good articulation which lends itself to excellent poses with the axe.
Cons:
- I would have really liked a mouthplate that could slide up over the mouth.
