Ever since March when we realized that a Walmart exclusive bundle of Comettor and the retooled Battle Blades Optimus Prime would be released, I've been anticipating its release in the US. I loved Battle Blades Optimus Prime from Hunt For The Decepticons, and Landmine was one of the best(in my opinion) deluxe figures in the Transformers Movie line. With a repaint of the Japanese release of Battle Blades Prime(with hook swords in lieu of regular swords, and the unmasked head sculpt), and a repaint of one of the best Allspark Battles figures, how did this set turn out? Read on..

 

Comettor

Comettor is a repaint of Landmine from the Allspark Battles subline of the 1st Transformers live-action movie line. Landmine made some noise back then, as he resembled an AWE Striker from GI Joe.

The alt mode features functional spring suspension. This adds a realistic touch, and one that's unexpected, as most Transformer figures with ground alt modes lack such a thing, especially main-line figures. It has not become standard since then.

The deco evokes space vehicles, molded in copper and white with a hint of purple. It also has tampro printed details, like the Autobot symbol in black, and some logo that looks like stars or the moon, or both. Either way, it's something space-related.

 

Comettor Robot Mode

Comettor's transformation is rather simple. It isn't difficult at all and kids should have no problem transforming him. It might be helpful to remember that the head is on a ball joint, and can tilt upwards, this gives it enough clearance for the torso to fold over. Otherwise the head will get caught/stuck.

Articulation is great, even now, 3 years after the release of the original Landmine mold. Thigh swivels, great range of motion for the knees, ball joints arms and wrists, hand joints, et al. Poseability is what made Landmine fun and the same rings true with Comettor. Colors look good. My only complaint, is that the gun is loose in the hands. I wish the hands or gun were retooled with a peg to further secure the grip.

 

Optimus Prime Truck Mode

Optimus Prime is a repaint of the TakaraTomy version of Battle Blades Prime. He has the battle hook swords and unmasked head sculpt. This was previewed in the instruction sheet of the US Battle Blades Prime release from Hunt For The Decepticons. Since then I've been looking forward to its release, as I wanted an Optimus figure to recreate his scene from Revenge Of The Fallen, where he fought in the woods. I didn't want to buy the leader Battle Hooks Prime. Plus, unlike that figure, Battle Blades Prime comes with not 1 gun, but 2.

This figure is molded in substantially darker colors than the 1st releases(from Hunt For The Decepticons and Autobot Alliance). First, we'll look at the truck mode.

Truck mode looks good, except for the stars and moon details. The deco seems childish. Furthermore, I don't think any kid would ever imagine Optimus Prime decked out with painted stars and the moon in the movies. Suspension of belief is destroyed looking at those details.

Fortunately, those are just cosmetic details and not spread out all over the figure. Aside from those details, the truck mode looks better than the Hunt For The Decepticons Battle Blades Prime's truck mode. There's more to it. In lieu of a gradiant yellow on the nose of the cab, we get white instead. To me, this looks better. It gives the truck a "frosted" look rather than a "flamed" look.

 

Optimus Prime Robot Mode

Transformation to robot mode is a lot simpler/less frustrating than ROTF Leader Optimus Prime. Shouldn't be too challenging for kids and collectors alike. I was surprised at how much easier it was, and how this figure actually has better range of motion than the leader figure.

How so? If you unlatch the wheels on the side of the thighs, the thigh swivels have unlimited range of motion. On the leader figure, the thigh swivels were limited in range. The ankles have good range of motion as well. Arm articulation is good, better than the Hunt For The Decepticons version. How?

The blades on the HFTD version, when retracted, limited elbow articulation a lot. With this DOTM version, the hooks have enough space to not get in the way(retract downwards, not upwards). I have images below with the comparison post showing the differences between this and the HFTD version.

My complaints are few. The head can get stuck due to the matrix(colored orange this time), during transformation. Also the right windshield/chest-piece does not sit as flush as the left. I wish the eyes were not painted over, and prefer light piping with bright blue plastic.

 

Poses(continued) and Comparisons

Here we take a look at the figure compared to its HFTD predecessor. As you can see, the darker plastic, and metallic paint apps make this version pop out more visually. Also shown are comparisons with the DOTM voyager. I figured fans would want to see how the 2 currently available DOTM voyager Primes stack up.

If you had to pick one over the other, I would suggest the Battle Blades repaint. More on that in a bit..

 

Conclusion

The months have flown by. I remember the day we realized this set was actually legit. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that we would be getting a cool repaint of Battle Blades Prime, with unmasked head sculpt and hook swords. The darker colors and metallic accents add a lot to this figure visually. It makes the HFTD version look plain. I could do without the stars and moon details. They shouldn't be too hard to remove. I'm sure one of our many talented Radicons can figure out a way.

I always liked Landmine and while I usually avoid repaints, I buy ones I like from time to time. So I don't mind Comettor and his colors are quite cool. Fitting for a lunar vehicle and for the movie...even if he doesn't show up at all. Who cares. Looking good is reason enough. Besides, sometimes the figures of offscreen characters turn out better than figures of onscreen ones.

I hope this review has been helpful. In conclusion, I recommend this set. See, when Walmart clearanced Battle Blades Prime and HFTD voyagers last year, they were $16+. Deluxes range from $10+ with voyagers alone going from $19 and up, depending on where you go. Yet this set features a voyager and a deluxe for only $17.77. This is a steal and I was convinced it was a typo...then I saw the tags on shelf, purchased it, and am a very satisfied fan/customer. This is one of the very best Walmart exclusives I've seen in a while.

 

Great photos! I'm tempted to get this mainly for Comettor; I still love that mold. It's really hard to argue with the price, too.

 

He is so mine. It's unfucking believable how MINE that is going to be.

 

Thanks for the review & pics ! The new colours on Prime look amazing ; especially, the metallic blue and the darker gunmetal plastic.

 

Awesome. Hooks instead of blades. Love it. I will get this as soon as possible.

 

It's My Little Pony Prime! Wow!

Pass.

 

Sparkle Pony Prime looks OK to me. I can deal with some silly paint if it means loosing the gold plastic and getting some decent elbow movement

Are Landmine's dodgy ankles supporting any better than they did previously on this repaint ; Comettor ?

 

Pepsi Convoy detects a challenge

 

How's Pepsi Convoy a ridiculous repaint?

Thanks for the review! I was waiting for one before making a final decision. I'm gonna pass due to the Rainbrow Brite/My Little Pony sparkles on Prime, but Comettor looks pretty damn sweet.

 

Pepsiman Vs. The Moonman lol

When I said that the HFTD Voyager Prime mold needed more paint, this is definitely not what I had in mind. Pass.

 

I seen the set. I almost bought it. But the stars and moon killed it. The colors ARE better, The Landmine repaint aint bad at all...But the stars n moon KILL it for me..

 

This is how repaints should be all the time. I'm getting this thing for Comettor, a mold I already have, instead of for the BB Prime mold that I don't have. That's how awesome Comettor is.

Edit: Vehicon status achieved.

 

thinking about getting this to swap parts with the original bb prime. i saw it the other day but forgot how much it was....

 

$17.77. You're basically getting Battle Blades Prime a couple dollars off voyager MSRP for hftd and Comettor for free. Plus, aside from the moon and stars, he looks better than the TakaraTomy autobot alliance version.