So this guy is out in the wild now. I found him at a Newberry Comics in Massachusetts. On to (my first review)! Some few "confirmation" shots... bottom of box... receipt... Here is he is! Like most of DoTM, everything is somewhat smaller than before (Recession Transformer?). Here's Sentinel with Laser Prime deluxe and Voyager-Sized Rodimus Prime. He's not even that much bigger than DoTM Sideswipe. More plastic to him? Yep. $8 more? ehhh.... ROBOT MODE The robot mode is really great. You can attach the gun to his back (or put it in his hand) and have it shoot over his shoulder. He really looks the part and has quite a bit of detail. His front chest piece is a "fake". It doesn't transform but completes the robot mode look. Color wise he is red and silver with a little black and purple highlights, so a very limited color pallete like most DotM toys. It's effective for being a general market figure, but I think moders will have a good time with this one. He's very detailed. His eyes are light-piped to this very bright white. It's shocking; I've never seen a transformer with that color piping before. Like DotM Shockwave, it's been done exceptionally. Even a little light makes his eyes REALLY bright. His rear portion is his "cape", which looks substantially different than the CG or Leader class one. It does make him back heavy if you have his gun connected to his back and stowed (he barely stands that way), but without the weapon there, he has no trouble standing at all. Looking at it though, you probably have already guessed how he transforms. Posability wise, he's pretty much DotM standard. His legs, arms, shoulders, knees, wrists, elbows, hips all are on 2-dimensional smooth or ratcheting joints. His head can turn right or left. He has no ball joints. He can do most any pose of a modern transformer really, but the cape easily becomes a tripod for more "expressive" postures. TRANSFORMATION Transforming him is really easy, even for DotM so far. Rotate his legs below the knee 180 degrees so the wheels are on the outside. Unclip the back-arm bracket and move it down, rotating the shoulder/shoulderpads/arms to stretch the length of what the "fire truck" will be. Then unfold the windshiled on the "cape" and push the fake-chest piece downwards. Once all the way down, rotate the chest piece a little so the black corners of the fake wind shield don't stuck out of the sides of the undercarriage. Additionally... (and the only non-obvious part of Sentinel prime), rotate the front wheels down and move them out until they lock on the tab that juts out from prime's red body. Here is a close up of the tab. It's easy, but non-obvious. Lastly, fold down the rest of the "cape" so that it covers the body, and fold the safety railings up on the back (easy to forget). Lock everythin in place via tabs & holes. and hes done! VEHICLE MODE Yup... Sentinel Prime is a Beast Wars Neo-worthy shellformer. The entire transformation scheme is obvious because you've seen it before. You're essentially flattening him into a long box, making sure the wheels are down, then folding the cape over him. Kind of funny the "ancient" Transformer character here harkens back to now ancient-Transformers and how they worked. Does this make Sentinel Prime a bad figure? No not at all. He is what he is... a simple Voyager (really sub-voyager IMO) interpretation of a massive CG character and a larger, somewhat more complicated Leader class. Let's just say, its better than most Movie-verse Voyager primes. But to be clear, he is a shell former. It isn't derisive. It's simply how he works. MECHTECH WEAPON Now the real neat part of Sentinel Prime is his weapon. I have to say, I was more excited by the weapon than I am the robot. Here it is in "basic" mode of a water cannon. When you press the button you get this...a.... something... Oh but it gets better! Observe the tabs at the bottom of the button you push to activate Mechtech. You push the button down and rotate it. The transformation extends further and gets locked in place(!!!!!) and you get this. Wow, how neat's that? Now the gun can be used in his hand or on his back in robot mode, but this is how it looks attached to him in vehicle mode. The black struts connect with the back assembly and you get this... (i transformed it back into water cannon mode). And here it is in anti-star destroyer ion cannon mode. It's soooooooooo big..... Oh wait no it isn't. This is a DoTM voyager >.<. The mechtech weapon is really awesome, probably the best of the entire line so far as far as I've seen. It is the highlight of the figure really and is a great base for connecting other mech-tech weapons together, like so. Stick'em up Shockwave! The cannon has ports on either side and a male-stub on the bottom of it, but these are only useable in massive-gun mode and not water cannon mode. Here's how they connect. And lastly, here is Sentinel Prime and Shockwave... domestic partners for life. They domesticate like no other! CONCLUSIONS Buy Sentinel Prime. Is he a great transformer? No. Of the Voyagers I own (Shockwave, Megatron, Ironhide and of course, him), he's by far the simplest. He's probably the most simple transformer going back a few lines a least. It's hard not to think back to Mixmaster in the RotF line and compare him to this guy, at the same price point. It shows without a doubt the direction Hasbro has taken the line in. I can't help but think three things looking at him. First, the comments that Hasbro has made about the Mechtech weapons "not taking away from the figure itself" is rubbish. The gun of Sentinel Prime overshadows a very simple figure really... like there was more engineering work put into it than Sentinel. Secondly, if the character had been in RotF, with the same amount of plastic, they wouldhave made one heck of a complicated figure, but here they made a shell former. Thirdly, if this had not been Sentinel Prime but instead "Fire Truck Optimus Prime", people would be pretty annoyed by him... almost Ultimate Prime level annoyed. He gets away with his simplicity because he's a new, unknown character. But you should still buy him. As a transforming robot, he harkens back to the bad old days of the worst of Beast Wars like nothing I've seen since in ages. He doesn't transform. he folds up and hides in his cape, more turtle than transformer. But as an action figure, a Transformer character with a gimmick, and individually as a robot or a vehicle, he's very, very good. Getting him between those modes is pretty lame, but in either one, he's very well done. The gun alone is almost worth the price of admission. I got him for $29 at Newberry Comics. I suggest waiting for him at TRU or Target for $19.99 because he isn't worth the premium I paid. But do get him. He'll look great on your shelf and is just a fun figure to have around. But I sincerely hope his Transformation was dictated by necessity and economics and nothing more, because if he had a different and a different fake chest, he could be an Optimus Prime with no other changes.
I was initially quite stoked about this release, but as I viewed Peaugh's video review, searched for a few more pictures and read this review, I am definitely less tempted now to pick him up. I hope that, somewhere down the DOTM-line, a better mold will be released of his character, as we saw with Optimus Prime during ROTF. Anyway, good review!
I seen it today at Taylor Walmart with Fireburst prime.. I agree the mechtek IS sweet as hell...I messed with it in the box for 5 min..I really want that for my leader... As for the figure...Jeesh...NOT impressed at all. Although I DO own the leader version..this one is pretty weak. I seen SOooo many spots that really..REALLY needed paint..and they skipped it..could have made the difference of a purchase for me. BUT....when I see the pic of the truck next to deluxes....NOPE....Im VERY happy with the leader... GREAT review btw...
No shield or sword for this version of Sentinel Prime I see. That's too bad, I'd have considered POSSIBLY picking him up if he'd had those weapons, ah well.
I saw this guy at a Walmart in RI. He definitely seemed like a deluxe figure in robot form. I can't believe how much smaller these guys appear.
The biggest problem for me is how Shellformer he is. Next would be the legs and the feet. He just doesn't look as good as the Leader version at all. I don't want to pay 20 bucks for a voyager just for the Mechtech since I don't give a care at all about the figure itself. I have the Leader and Cyberverse one and that's it for me.
If the rumor turns out to be true and we get a black redeco of him, that black redeco is an instabuy for me.
Thanks for the review. I have the leader version and I think that will be enough for me. What I want is for Hasbro to release a Weapons pack of Mechtech weapons.
This toy is far more logical than the Leader and should take a fraction of the time to transform. The fire-hose-ladder/BFG MechTech weapon is lots of fun and locks in so it can be displayed in either form. There's a nice basic-automorph where the head comes up with the chest panel. It's not 100% perfect - the grey laddery-sides to the top of the fire engine are flimsy, the gun is somewhat unwieldy in robot mode and he doesn't have a shield or sword. Nevertheless - if you haven't already shelled out for the Leader version, I'd suggest you don't. Wait for the Voyager.
Aaaaaaaaaa......NO. logical?....there is no way in hell that this is better than the leader dude. The mechtek weapon is sweet, but ill take the sword and shield any day if I had to pick. But to tell someone " I suggest you don't, wait for the voyager".....dude...your high... The bot mode looks like complete shit up close. All that grey...the face....the truck is the size of a deluxe... No way in hell...I'll fire back, don't waste your cash on this, buy the leader version, one of the best leaders....and wait for the black repaint if you want this one...when u see it in the store...take a real good look at all the spots where paint SHOULD have been, and it will start looking pretty damn shitty..this is one of the big characters in the movie...they should NOT have missed so many obvious paint apps..this one suffers...and is inferior to the leader by leaps and bounds..
Yeah, but he's perfect for working with Deluxes like Ironhide, DotM Ratchet and Voyagers of Prime, Starscream and Megatron. Now the Leader is pretty damn good looking but he's fiddly and huge, not everyone wants the biggest figures.
I don't think he was talking about biggest figures. Sentinel Prime Leader simply has a better transformation and isn't just a shell former.
By "logical" I don't think he meant "better," I think he meant "more intuitive" (easier to transform), since the leader is complex as hell.
I tend to see leader toys as great display pieces and representations of the characters, but usually not even remotely in robot-mode-scale with the other toys (yes, I know there's no such thing as alt-mode-scale, which is why I clarified robot), except for when they have some kinda accessories (RiD and Cybertron Prime are basically voyagers/ultras with armor that turns them into leaders, RiD Scourge is an ultra with a big ass trailer that makes his vehicle mode a leader. On the flipside, ROTF's leader Prime is a really great toy on its own, but really sticks out like a sore thumb in a collection of other character). For that reason, I want to like this toy because I want a Sentinel Prime that will fit in with my other toys in bot mode. But that backpack is -really- offputting... aside from that, I think he doesn't look bad.
I know what your saying...But there is just no way that this one comes close to the leader version. Hasbro should have released THIS one first...THEN the leader...Then I would have been prolly bought this one, AND then bought the leader.. AFter you HAVE the leader...and your used to it...There is just no way in hell this one comes close to cool factor. Some bitch about Leaders feet...in transformation, and standing..Thats a moot point because as many have figures out, the heel has a certain postition, once its IN that position..standing stability is rectified. Once you TF it a few times...its not that hard.. This one...JEEESH...the pics of the truck mode next to ratchet KILLED it...and the mechtek gun on top looks TERRIBLE. Its soppossed to be a bucket to extend fireman up..but it just does not pull that off..and the gun for VSP is soo big for him...it really belongs with the leader Like I said...I try to go out of my way not to bash...but I simply cant believe anyone would say this one is BETTER than the leader..in person...in the box...MAN...it looks BAD. I mean...the chest looks downright horrible in person...compared to leader..where the parts actually make up the chest...is pure WIN..and looks great I would wonder if the OP even HAS the leader to compare it too...If he didnt...it would explain why he would think it was "better"...once it was in his hands...I think that shit would fly out the window..
