General Information
Release Date: October 2025
Price Point: $34.99 (depending on retailer)
Retailer: General Release (Amazon, BigBadToyStore, Entertainment Earth, Target, Walmart etc.). Using the preceding links helps to support Ben's World of Transformers.
Accessories: Shield, Quill, Coder Remote, Covenant of Primus
Official images and text in italics are from Amazon.com:
- AGE OF THE PRIMES THE THIRTEEN ALPHA TRION: This Transformers The Thirteen Alpha Trion figure features deco and details inspired by the Transformers universe
- 7-INCH VOYAGER CLASS TRANSFORMERS FIGURE: In robot mode, the Transformers action figure is 7 inches (17.5 cm) tall
- CONVERT BETWEEN ROBOT AND CYBERTRONIAN HOVERCRAFT MODE IN 22 STEPS: This Transformers toy figure converts between modes in 22 steps
- ARTICULATED FOR PLAY AND DISPLAY: Age of the Primes Transformers figures feature articulation for display-worthy poses or action-packed play
- 6 ACCESSORIES THAT ATTACH: Figure comes with 2 shoulder armor pieces, backpack/shield piece, detachable Autobot insignia, covenant book, and quill accessories
- PART OF THE AGE OF THE PRIMES COLLECTION: Everything in the Transformers universe can be traced back to the original bots, the Thirteen Primes. Alpha Trion is the wisest and most noble of the Primes
- GIFT TRANSFORMERS COLLECTIBLES: Transformers action figures make a great gift for boys and girls 8 and up or anyone who collects Transformers toys
Experience the epic universe of Transformers robots with the Transformers The Thirteen Alpha Trion toy! The 7-inch (17.5 cm) figure converts from robot action figure to Cybertronian hovercraft in 22 steps. With intricate poseability and attachable accessories like a covenant book, quill, and Autobot insignia, The Thirteen Alpha Trion action figure makes an awesome addition to any collection. Look for more Transformers collectible toys (sold separately, subject to availability) featuring favorite characters like Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Megatron, and more to create a lineup that is — More Than Meets the Eye. TRANSFORMERS and HASBRO and all related trademarks and logos are trademarks of Hasbro, Inc.
Background:
During the G1 era, fans were introduced to Alpha Trion. Trion served many important roles in Cybertron's history including being a pivotal figure in the war against the Quintessons and rebuilding Orion Pax into Optimus Prime! I remember as a kid I always thought it was a pipe dream for fans to ever get a toy of this character. In time, there would be a Botcon exclusive of the character and other figures including a Titans Return version and an alt-universe version from Transformers One. A few years ago fans were able to purchase a cartoon-based version of the character via the "Hero is Born" two pack. Now in the Age of the Primes line we have a different version of the character, representing his appearance in the G1 episode "War Dawn" when he was younger.
Packaging:
Age of the Primes represents a dramatic shift in Generations packaging. Unlike previous years of the War for Cybertron trilogy or Legacy which went in dramatic directions with packaging shape and artwork, the designers have dialed back the look of the boxes a lot. The Age of the Primes packaging winds up looking a lot more like Studio Series packaging. The boxes are now rectangular. No weird angles or anything. The background is just plain black. The "Transformers" logo is no longer vertical (dropping a trend that began over ten years ago) and is now horizontal in the front of the packaging with the "Age of the Primes" name underneath it. Character art is featured to the right, but it's only partial art showing a bit of the character in robot mode with focus on the vehicle mode underneath. To the left are icons describing how many steps the character takes to convert from one mode to the other (22 in this case) and the age recommendation (8+ in this case).
Alpha Trion is inside the box attached to a cardboard tray. You can see the entire figure in robot mode thanks to the return of plastic windows! Fans will recall that for the last few years Transformers toys have had no plastic windows in an effort to (ostensibly) make more eco-friendly packaging. However, this led to damaged toys with heads being yanked off and sometimes figures being outright stolen. For many fans, the return of the plastic windows is a welcome one.
The back of the box shows the character in both modes calling out a 22 step transformation. Behind the character is a sky background with a wheel showing some of the Thirteen Prime symbols. It also shows him using his various accessories including his shield, "Coder Remote", the Covenant of Primus and his Quill. A box on the lower left shows the Quill and Covenant with text in Ancient Autobot that says "Quill and Covenant Book".
I think the designers were going for a more "adult" and "premium" appearance to the packaging and to that end it works. It looks like something you'd see in a museum shop, but I do feel some of the fun and whimsy of the dramatic Legacy artwork and visual bombast has been lost and I'm a tad sad about that.
Accessories:
Alpha Trion includes some of the more unusual accessories among all Transformers figures:
- Quill: To fulfill his role as the "scribe" among the Primes, Trion uses his Quill, a might pen to write historical events. The quill looks like a mechanical feather with a pen tip at the end. This piece has a 5mm peg in the middle, allowing Alpha Trion to hold it like he is "writing". This piece is made of grey plastic with no paint applications.
- Covenant of Primus: The book included with Alpha Trion is the Covenant of Primus, a sacred Transformers book. This book is made of translucent red plastic and features front and back covers with two pages in between. The pages swing on a central hinge. The first page has a silver picture of Cybertron. The next page has the phrase "Till All Are One" printed in Cybertronian letters in silver. Below that is Alpha Trion's "Prime" symbol which we last saw in Power of the Primes.
- Coder Remote: The "Coder Remote" was a device featured in the G1 episode "Forever is a long time coming". In that episode Alpha Trion's younger self "A3" detaches the Autobot symbol from his body and reveals it is a device that can cause Guardian Robots to malfunction. The Autobot symbol on his mid-section can be removed and held in his hand via a 5mm peg to act as the "Coder Remote". This piece is translucent red plastic with silver outlines painted on the front.
- Shield: Perhaps the most "ordinary" of Alpha Trion's accessories is a shield. This piece resembles parts of his "wings" in robot mode and can attach to the back of his hip area via 5mm peg. This piece is made of purple and blue plastic with no paint applications.
Robot Mode:
Since Hasbro already released a figure of Alpha Trion based on his appearance from the latter part of his life, this design goes backwards in time a bit and is based on his appearance in the classic episode "War Dawn" where he saves Orion Pax's life by rebuilding him into Optimus Prime. Like the animation model he features a very ornate design that reflects the aesthetic of a different time in Transformers history. Here are some of the key features of this figure inspired by the cartoon:
- Head: The head sculpt features a unique design with two large horns on the sides of the "helmet" section that curve towards each other. The middle features a single horn pointing forward while his eyes are overlaid on top of the base of the two horns. Like Trion's appearance in "War Dawn" he has a mustache but no long beard (which he would be seen with in other episodes). It is a beautiful head sculpt and accurately represents how the character looked in the cartoon.
- Torso: Alpha Trion's torso features a "collar" at the top which flanks his head. The collar leads to a vertical, rectangular opening, almost like a shirt. Either side of the chest features a trapezoid shape with a circle in the middle. The circle is a visual allusion to a button that is connecting the armor on his shoulders to the chest (this is much more obvious in the cartoon). His abdominal area has a large Autobot symbol on it (discussed above) and the designers designed the two sides of the torso to curve towards the bottom, giving him the more rounded shape he had in the cartoon.
- Arms: The arms on this figure feature a unique design. The shoulders are covered by curved armor pieces that have cones sticking out on the sides. The biceps feature an oval detail right out of the cartoon and the forearms also look like they have curved armor over them.
- Waist: The waist area features a sculpted circle in the middle. This detail comes right from the animation model.
- Legs: Each leg has knee armor that is shaped like a rectangular piece that sticks out a bit in front. The sides of the lower legs features spikes and some of the details on the sides of the thighs are inspired by the character design in the cartoon.
This sculpt is fantastic. It pays homage to "War Dawn" beautifully and it looks great on its own to boot. I love a lot of the greebles added in to give the figure a more complex look than we saw in the cartoon.
This figure is made of purple, dark red, blue and grey plastic. Paint colors include white, silver, purple and blue. The pattern of the deco follows the animation model pretty well, but he's missing some silver on his biceps. It's not a perfect one to one deco from the cartoon, but it comes close. The colors on this figure are really beautiful and look great together.
There are twenty two points of articulation on this figure. This includes five in each arm and leg. If you want to be generous, you can count the "cape" on his back and the shield on his back to add two more points. This articulation includes the ability for his fingers to swing out and in. Thanks to the way he transforms, his upper body can actually move forward and back, essentially giving him an "ab crunch". The flaps on his waist armor also swing up, so you can move his legs forward. Alpha Trion has eleven 5mm ports in this mode. Two are on the shoulders, but you have to remove the cones on there first. His arms have two other ones on the sides and of course there are the fists. The legs each have two 5mm ports, one on the side and one under the feet. There is also one port for storage on his back. The Quill can only be held in his hands but the other accessories can be attached to other ports.
Transformation to Vehicle Mode:
- Detach the accessories and set them aside for now.
- Straighten out the arms and legs.
- Swing each fist into the forearms.
- Push the heel and foot pieces together and point the feet down.
- Push the head back a bit (it won't completely sink into the chest).
- Swing the "cape" on the back out, then swing the blue piece over the head.
- Rotate the lower legs (with parts of the thighs), then connect them together.
- On each side of the "cape" there is a section on a ball joint. Rotate those around.
- Swing the section with the arms and the sides of the chest back.
- Swing the knee armor on each leg out and up. The rectangular parts should be facing out to the sides.
- Push the cape down, connecting it with the lower legs.
- Swing the arms back so they form part of the vehicles sides and be sure to connect the small grey peg on the wrists to the slot on the knee armor sections.
- Take the shield and swing each of the purple shield halves out, then collapse them on the opposite side while swinging the blue peg back.
- Attach the shield to the bottom of the vehicle.
- The Covenant of Primus can attach to the bottom of the vehicle for storage and the Quill can attach to the bottom of the shield.
Vehicle Mode:
This vehicle mode is based on concept art that was never used in the IDW Publishing comics which you can see here. He never actually transformed in the G1 show, so this mode (kind of?) makes his "hover mode" more official now than it was before!
It would be fair to say that this vehicle is reminiscent of Scourge's hovercraft mode. Indeed, the Scourge sculpt was retooled into Alpha Trion before. Both have the same general oval-ish shape and have a point sticking up in the back. That said, this vehicle mode also gives me some of the same vibes as Devcon's since he too was a Cybertronian ship. Some of my favorite details on this mode include the rounded details on the panels towards the front that seem to be calling back to his shoulder armor and the cockpit window in the middle.
This mode shows off a lot more metallic purple paint and red paint than the robot mode and it's beautiful. Also gorgeous is the translucent cockpit cover with what appears to be silver painted underneath. Alpha Trion looks wonderfully ornate in this mode just as he does in robot mode.
Aside from his accessory storage on the bottom, you have access to two 5mm ports on either side of the figure. You do have to remove the "cones" on the shoulder armor to reveal two of them but it's nice to have the option. Finally there is one more port on the top behind the cockpit cover. Adding a bit of play value to this figure, the designers didn't just give us a cockpit cover, they made an actual cockpit! Lift up the cockpit cover and you can seat a Titan or Prime Master figure inside. This means you can take the Alpha Trion Prime Master figure and have him sit inside the cockpit for some meta fun! I found you cannot close the cockpit if the Prime Master (or Titan Master) is sitting up, but you can lay it down and close the cover.
Final Thoughts:
Alpha Trion is a fantastic figure. "War Dawn" is one of my favorite G1 episodes and even as a kid I thought it was special getting to see Alpha Trion from another era. Decades later it amazes me we finally have an action figure representing the character from that one appearance. The figure looks great, has fun accessories and a solid transformation. Highly recommended!
Pros:
- Excellent new sculpt representing a special appearance of the character in G1 history.
- Beautiful deco in both modes.
- Intuitive and fun transformation.
- Plenty of articulation and connection points for accessories.
- Unusual and fun accessories.
Cons:
- I do wish the "Coder Remote" accessory was a bit easier to remove.
