DSC_4409
When Transformers Armada/Micro Dentetsu was released, the show was OK but they toys felt like such a giant ste backwards after the excellent offerings of the Car Robots 2000 lineup. But, there were a few gems in that pile, one of which Optimus Prime, which further refined the combining trailer concept by making them turn into a pair of pants.
The actual toy was fun, but engineering wise it was effectively a giant brick, especially the trailer part.
Now, as luck would have it, the most exciting part of the Legacy Evolution line we're currently living through is the upcoming Commander Class Armada Optimus Prime, which so far looks good, at the very least not being watered down class wise like other recent Primes are.
There was also, a few years ago, a third party Fans Hobby attempt at the Armada Prime toy. I'd never gotten any third party of this size, and was figuring that one day I'd get a nicely priced Power Baser (Powermaster Optimus Prime) at TFCon.
Well, turns out if you snag them at preorder from your friendly neighbourhood online toy store, they're actually not horrendously priced.
I didn't take my original out, but I think this Fans Hobby version (Naval Commander... for Amada, get it?!?!) is slightly bigger than the OG figure. Conceptually it's the same (core figure, trailer, mini-con) but with a few premium tricks and twists.
From a high level, visually things have changed, part due to modernization and partly due to desire not to get hassled by the lawyers. The truck mode seems a bit longer, proportionally, compared to the original figure.
The trailer is probably where you see the greatest difference. Gone is the motoorized transformation gimmick, which was expected and fine with me. Certainly more firepower this time around with the inclusion of two rocket launchers... spring loaded rockets I might add. Prime's hand cannon extends to a much larger size for mounting in trailer mode. The pontoon things on the side of the trailer are now removable and can be mounted on several spots, specifically in robot mode.
Trailer turns into nonsensical alt modes, which is par for the course. There's extended trailer mode, which is basically fancy trailer with ramps, and then there's base mode which is... fancy trailer with ramps AND platforms. Shout out to the Fans Hobby team for including semi functional knee cannons, which was a spring powered missile launcher on the original toy.
the transformation scheme has been drastically changed, which should be expected. The core robot probably has about the same amount of articulation, where as the combined mode certainly has more than before.
In some weird twist of fate, the combined mode actually has more articulation than the core robot, thanks to the ab crunch. However, as you can imagine, the sheer bulk of both modes does get in the way of movement, as does the general design, but with the exception of the tabs that keep combined mode together, joints are well designed, robust, and can take a beating.
Sparkplug is a big gangly looking, but sports some impressive engineering to result in a fairly articulated figure.
As with most third party figures (or at least the well designed ones) transformation involves some twists and turns that wouldn't make it to a mainline figure, and you'd be hard pressed to find them on a MP figure, though it could happen. The fascinating thing is that despite the sheer precision required to make all the tiny parts fit properly, Fans Hobby pulled it off. There's some engineering decisions I disagree with, but the QC on this thing is very impressive.
There's actually far less paint on this figure than I anticipated, but that could be them trying to be realistic on budget. Also, for those interested, the materials used feel like what we get on our modern mainline figures... or at least the Legacy stuff.
Also possible on this figure (which I didn't test) are swap out of the combined mode ears for larger, more OG design ears, the ability to swap out the eyes for clear eyes, and of course, LED lights but I didn't have the battery..
DSC_4409
When Transformers Armada/Micro Dentetsu was released, the show was OK but they toys felt like such a giant ste backwards after the excellent offerings of the Car Robots 2000 lineup. But, there were a few gems in that pile, one of which Optimus Prime, which further refined the combining trailer concept by making them turn into a pair of pants.
The actual toy was fun, but engineering wise it was effectively a giant brick, especially the trailer part.
Now, as luck would have it, the most exciting part of the Legacy Evolution line we're currently living through is the upcoming Commander Class Armada Optimus Prime, which so far looks good, at the very least not being watered down class wise like other recent Primes are.
There was also, a few years ago, a third party Fans Hobby attempt at the Armada Prime toy. I'd never gotten any third party of this size, and was figuring that one day I'd get a nicely priced Power Baser (Powermaster Optimus Prime) at TFCon.
Well, turns out if you snag them at preorder from your friendly neighbourhood online toy store, they're actually not horrendously priced.
I didn't take my original out, but I think this Fans Hobby version (Naval Commander... for Amada, get it?!?!) is slightly bigger than the OG figure. Conceptually it's the same (core figure, trailer, mini-con) but with a few premium tricks and twists.
From a high level, visually things have changed, part due to modernization and partly due to desire not to get hassled by the lawyers. The truck mode seems a bit longer, proportionally, compared to the original figure.
The trailer is probably where you see the greatest difference. Gone is the motoorized transformation gimmick, which was expected and fine with me. Certainly more firepower this time around with the inclusion of two rocket launchers... spring loaded rockets I might add. Prime's hand cannon extends to a much larger size for mounting in trailer mode. The pontoon things on the side of the trailer are now removable and can be mounted on several spots, specifically in robot mode.
Trailer turns into nonsensical alt modes, which is par for the course. There's extended trailer mode, which is basically fancy trailer with ramps, and then there's base mode which is... fancy trailer with ramps AND platforms. Shout out to the Fans Hobby team for including semi functional knee cannons, which was a spring powered missile launcher on the original toy.
the transformation scheme has been drastically changed, which should be expected. The core robot probably has about the same amount of articulation, where as the combined mode certainly has more than before.
In some weird twist of fate, the combined mode actually has more articulation than the core robot, thanks to the ab crunch. However, as you can imagine, the sheer bulk of both modes does get in the way of movement, as does the general design, but with the exception of the tabs that keep combined mode together, joints are well designed, robust, and can take a beating.
Sparkplug is a big gangly looking, but sports some impressive engineering to result in a fairly articulated figure.
As with most third party figures (or at least the well designed ones) transformation involves some twists and turns that wouldn't make it to a mainline figure, and you'd be hard pressed to find them on a MP figure, though it could happen. The fascinating thing is that despite the sheer precision required to make all the tiny parts fit properly, Fans Hobby pulled it off. There's some engineering decisions I disagree with, but the QC on this thing is very impressive.
There's actually far less paint on this figure than I anticipated, but that could be them trying to be realistic on budget. Also, for those interested, the materials used feel like what we get on our modern mainline figures... or at least the Legacy stuff.
Also possible on this figure (which I didn't test) are swap out of the combined mode ears for larger, more OG design ears, the ability to swap out the eyes for clear eyes, and of course, LED lights but I didn't have the battery..