TRANSFORMERS TOYS AND MERCHANDISE SECTION

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ravimus prime's review of: Primal Prime

Name: Primal Prime
Allegiance: Maximal
Function: Prime of Justice
Sub-Group: Wreckers
"Freedom is the right of all sentient beings."

Forged from the remnants of a control suit used to manipulate Optimal Optimus during the Beast Wars, Primal Prime is a hybrid of Maximal and Autobot spark-replication technology. Undeniably noble and instilled with a patchwork of convictions from leaders past, he inspires Transformers throughout the galaxy with tales of Cybertron's glorious history. Deflector shields and laser guided incendiary missiles are accessible in each of his four modes: techno-organic beast, Cybertron air guardian jet, armored convoy and heroic robot. The inability to comprehend his own origin is the source of a chronic processing glitch in his laser core and his only weakness.

Primal Prime is a slight remould/repaint of Optimal Optimus from Beast Wars. He was released in the Beast Machines line, and was a main character in the BotCon comics. Primal Prime pays homage to G1 Optimus Prime, and is often chosen over Optimal Optimus by fans for just that reason. Now let's review...

Beast Mode:
Primal Prime, being a slight remould/repaint of Optimal Optimus, has all the same modes as him, one of which is his techno-organic beast mode. Let's start with that. The main colours here are blue, white and red, with some silver and black. His basic structure resembles that of a gorilla, which he is supposed to be. Flip a switch on his back, and his cannons flip down over his shoulders. Press a button on his back, and his eyes glow. Pull a tab on his shoulder cannons, and his missiles fire. In the Optimal Optimus toy, you would have to pull on the missile firing mechanism in order to activate the light up feature. That proved a bit odd since the same mechanism launched the missiles into people's faces if they were looking at the light up feature dead on. Thankfully this was fixed. Flip a switch on each of his arms, and the blast panels on his arms come flying off. Good poseability, but because the legs are hunkered down, poseability here is limited.

Convoy:
This is Primal Prime's armored convoy mode. This thing looks like nothing on Earth. I suppose it's a cross between a tank, a car, a jet and a motorbike. The same colours carry over from Beast Mode, with a blue cockpit. Overall, this mode is a bit clunky. It can fall apart as you're rolling him along. And even rolling him along is a challenge. The front of the vehicle is supported by one big wheel. If the pins in the arms aren't fitted into the big wheel properly, he will just collapse. The battery pack acts as a turret in this mode. You can rotate it around a bit, and activate the same gimmicks as in Beast Mode, except the cannons flipping down. Instead, you can pull a tab at the end of the battery pack, and the missiles fire. Turbine like detailing can be seen on the underside of the feet, which are now perpendicular to the main body.

Jet Mode:
This is Primal's Cybertron air guardian jet mode. The long name is a bit unneccesary, but this is Hasbro... Now, this mode is almost the same as the convoy mode, except the arms are put out straight, the wheels are tucked in and the wings are put out straight. Now this mode really can't be compared into anything on Earth. You can still rotate the turret and blast off the panels on his arms. No fear of this colllapsing though. It suppots it's self on the main body, arms, and feet. All the same details can be seen here, like the turbines on the feet, which suit this mode more than the latter.

Robot Mode:
Ah, Primal Prime's robot mode. No need to call it heroic robot mode here. Primal Prime closely resembles G1 Optimus Prime. White upper legs, blue feet, calves and hands. Red is used for the main body and arms. His head is red and blue with silver detailing. The battery pack, which includes the robot head, now rests on his chest and cannot rotate. The blast panel gimmick still works here though. You can fire the missiles the same way as in Convoy or Jet mode. Press a white button on the battery pack, and his eyes and cannons light up. Articulation is good, with movement in the legs, knees, hips, hands, thumbs, head, arms, elbows among other places. Primal Prime also has a gun, which he can hold or attatch to his battery pack. Finally, you can attatch the blast panels to his shoulders, but I think it looks stupid.

Transformation: 4. Simple.
Durability: 9. Only fear is that of losing the six blast panels, four missiles and his gun included with Primal Prime.
Fun: 10. Fun gimmicks, and fun in general.
Price: 4. A very rare figure, but I got for very cheap. On eBay however, the prices can go up to $100. It is also much sought after by the fanboys of the Wreckers storyline. You will have to get past those ruthless fanboys first.
Overall: 8. I have both Optimal Optimus and Primal Prime, both of which I got as Christmas presents. I actually prefer Optimal Optimus since the homage colours make no difference to me. You could get either one. But if you don't like Optimal Optimus' colours, and are willing to pay twice the price, get Primal Prime.