So does ShowZ ever answer emails? or better to message on the forum?

 

I usually message them via their fb page and they reply within 24hrs.

 

The tab (circled in yellow) that goes into the back of the frame will not go in all the way, the peg is too long, but you see it is not meant to. It hold fine on both sides, and as you can see the trailer hitch side fits fit into the grove (circled in blue) This will allow you to have the torso locked and then tab the grill stomach piece into place and nothing will come undone. Would also like to add incase people didn't know, this figure despite what people say and show on YouTube, does not infact have an ab crunch. People that display the ab articulation do not have it transformed correctly and do not have the grill tabbed in. This is not so much of a mistake, but rarher people are showing him off right out of the box, and he is not transformed correctly.

 

yea i was kinda worried if it should actually go all the way in. the blue circle for me needs to lean forward a bit in order to actually tab into the grill abs, even then I feel like it would create pressure in the grill tab above the matrix compartment

 

More pictures in robot mode!

 

And some more in truck mode!




and lastly some retakes of PJ-PLAYTOYS' poses for SHOWZ:

 

Okay so after showing all that and spending around 3 weeks with him, I guess now's a great time to share my review and experience with Black Apple Optimus Prime:

Articulation/Poseability/Playability: B/B+
Due to the complexity, weight, and size of the figure I actually understand the reason why it isn't as well articulated as it can be. Please take note that although the looks/accuracy of it is topnotch (I'll get more into this later), it usually means articulation can take a hit. There is, however, enough articulation to give him dynamic and interesting poses like the ones I showed above, but it can be better. The head for example, as stated by someone in this thread, could've been improved by adding a ball joint (this feature not being included in the first place is such a wasted opportunity tbh). The leg also can't bend beyond 90° because of the new piece for the sake of accuracy but then again it doesn't really bother me that much. The addition of a new ab crunch (if it really is new) and fully articulated fingers are very welcome though and I found myself using them a lot in the pictures I took. It'd also be cool and really helpful if there are butterfly joints as well if a design can allow the figure to have it. The ratchets and joints are strong enough to hold poses, but at the same time, they're not too hard to change around so he's still pretty playable. I guess my only gripe is that since the materials used in the figure are quite hard and high quality, it kinda hurts your fingers if you play/interact with him too much. For the truck mode, I'd say he's really nice, but the tank under the door is quite hard to tab on both sides and the rear wheels don't roll for me. The rear wheels do touch the ground, but they barely even turn so yeah it has a truck mode that doesn't roll so that's minus points for me, but the amazing robot mode makes up for it. I base my criticisms and standard on this based on what I've seen from DX9 La Hire and he's still quite far from it.

Accuracy: B+/A
I've looked at the CGI model and compared it with this figure far too many times to the point that I can probably tell most if not all the inaccuracies this figure has compared to the CGI. It basically took all the details of the CGI model into account in one way or another. Nothing is missing, and if you think it's missing, look closer and you'll realize that they made some compromise/improvisation to include that part in both truck mode and robot mode. It's not perfect though as shown by the grade I gave it because the head is a little small (and has some small inaccuracies), the gap is quite large, the back is still quite huge and not proportional to the body, etc. I can go on and on about what's wrong with it, but there's a lot more right than wrong in this figure and tbh most of these are just nitpicks because on-hand it actually looks so amazing that it looks more like a statue rather than a transforming figure. Adding all the customizations and swapping heads can help remedy the figure's shortcomings, but in the end, it's still the most definitive version of Optimus Prime ever. Hell, it's probably the most accurate and best representation of ANY figure in the Bayverse so far that doesn't do parts farming or use faux parts. In terms of G1 and the Bumblebee movie, I think this still has more presence because of the complexity and interest in the figure on top of the bold colors that mix so well in the character design. It captures the character of Optimus Prime (I never watched G1) so well that just by having this figure, one can explain everything that he is just by the figure itself, his gimmicks, and his weapons that can all be stored in alt mode (they can't all be stored in robot mode but that's fine because how did Optimus even store or bring out these weapons from the movie anyway? like the gun just comes out of nowhere lol). But in this regard, I think BAOP is the standard in terms of accuracy and use of actual parts for both modes and has raised the bar to what a figure can achieve in terms of both robot mode and alt mode.

Transformation: B+/A
Okay not gonna lie, the transformation is actually very smart. Everything fits nicely and goes where it's supposed to go to make a very nice alt mode and robot mode. However, it can be very hard to tab and reach the point where everything tabs together properly. I mean it's still fun, but don't like how it explodes (and can be quite painful to transform) when you transform it. But then again, the limitations set by the movie design is a huge thing to consider when making this figure and I still say that this is a feat in engineering. Moving on, after opening it for the first time, things start to loosen up (in a good way), tab better (I had to file and fix some parts for mine for it to actually tab together) and it also gets a lot easier to transform back and forth. Be careful and note that if things usually don't want to tab or something is pushing it back, it probably means that it's not supposed to tab there or there's another step you have to take before you tab it there (I'm looking at you back wheel arches). I already broke one small piece of my figure (because I missed one step) and accidentally cut myself while filing it because the whole tab doesn't enter this hole so always be careful with him. I base my criticisms on this on mostly the G1 Masterpiece figures that look and sound very satisfying to transform.

Overall Quality: B+/A
It's an amazing figure. The materials used are nice, the paint is stellar with flakes on them, and the size/heft of the figure is also pretty solid. Having him on your hand reassures you that what you have is something of high quality. Right now, I personally feel like it's the best Transformers figure to display in both modes. He's the best version of Optimus Prime, but it doesn't mean he's perfect. There are still many things he can improve on (like proportion and articulation) but as of right now I really think he's the best figure out there to display. I say he's the best to display and not the best in everything because his transformation isn't that satisfying or the most fun, but again still great. Things just don't have that satisfying snap and you still have to exert a lot of effort for certain parts. He doesn't look as fun and satisfying to transform as let's say MP-39 Sunstreaker or MPM-9 Jazz (disclaimer: I never had any of these guys, but based on the videos I watched, they look pretty satisfying and fun to transform) but hey, at least he's still capable of transforming into two really amazing modes.

Anyway, it probably sounds like I don't like him, but I actually really do. I really think he very well satisfies 2/3 parts of what makes a transformer a transformer which is the Alt Mode and the Robot Mode. This is because he is a little lacking in the puzzle/transformation aspect of it in terms of how satisfying or fun it is for me (purely subjective though, and the fact that he can transform into two very amazing modes is enough for a lot of praise already). Sure he can transform, but he can be stubborn in doing so. Again, he's amazing, but he can still be a lot better. So yeah, there is always room for improvement, but even then as of now I feel like this is at the top and my favorite figure out of everything I've seen so far.

P.S.
I've only ever had Human Alliance Bumblebee (who strangely just disappeared), Deluxe Sideswipe, and some other plane guy I don't have anymore and was gifted to me (he's not Starscream so I really don't know who he is lol), and finally this Black Apple Optimus Prime. Therefore I don't really have much real life experience with other figures so I mostly based them on what I've seen online and what others say about them. This means that things might not be as reliable as it can be because I'm not as experienced as most reviewers out there and my collection right now is basically just uhh...
Deluxe Sideswipe and BAOP lol

But hey I tried my best to give a review or at least a general overview of what to expect from this guy so I hope it helps! Especially for those guys who are still waiting on their figures and are wondering how he'd be like

Oh and packaging is really nice, very clean, and well-protected too (he comes with: A nice red box, a well-made artwork of the figure that can be posted on your wall if you want, a nicely colored but not so helpful manual, an extra mask that simplifies the face change gimmick, 2 Energon blades, and two transforming guns that turn into his fuel tanks in truck mode).

 

Man, a lot of youtube reviews are super lazy these days. Don't even bother figuring out the transformation or just reviewing things right out of the box. It completely defeats the purpose! Don't call it a "review" if you haven't even figured out how to use the product.

 

See my issue with it is not because i want reviewers to put in more effort, but it is that I want them to actually put in any effort at all. Like i love ben's channels, he has awesome stuff up there and his kolectibles channel is great, but when he says prime as an ab crunch, homie you didnt actually play with this figure for 5 minutes before you turned the camera on. When mpm prime came out, I was DYING to see Actar's video review on it because he took days to mess around with it, try fixes, and make a very complex and informative video. And guess what? His video was amazing, and with the figure's faults, i still bought it because he told me exactly what I would be getting in to. I feel that is the point to these reviews. I know I don't do videos aside from the mod video I made to show you guys, but my sole intention was to make you guys aware of how I did the mod, so you could try it as well as show off how good my copy looks to me and many others so you could see if it was worth to try it yourself.

 

Thanks for the review! Super informative!

I've seen a few mentions of pieces of the wheel arches breaking. Pictures have been posted as well, but I'm not seeing what they are referring to. Could you post a picture clearly indicating the broken piece?

 

Do you happen to have the link for his video?

 

Thanks!!

It's actually very small and I don't actually notice it, but it's there
It's just that it's usually covered by shadows and since it's a dark blue piece that broke, it blends in quite well anyway



You can also notice some scratches on the blue paint underneath for the legs under the wheel arches if you look closely

That's because I didn't know about the additional step for the way you properly fold that part yet, so I ended up scratching and stressing some parts

Also extra, this is for the steps when you fold in it in the leg
dont force close it (I thought the joints were still hard because its new, but I think I damaged it. Not sure if it was there when I got it though)

Here you'll see how it's supposed to look like and what it's not supposed to look like:

 

Also if you mean Actar I think it's this one:

I also liked that video and found it very informative

 

Great shots! Thank you. That is very helpful. I'll definitely be referring to these when I attempt my first transformation  

Perfect! Thanks!

 

Some nice natural lighting pics I was able to take on this sunny sunday afternoon

 

"Sam fate rarely calls upon us at a moment of our choosing."

 

Got mine yesterday from a local seller for the price of 50USD!!!!! (Transformers are just cheap over here in Malaysia due to extreme competition).

Figure is very well made and solid. Great weathering-ish paintjob that compliments the BA OP perfectly. It has a decent heft to it although I didn’t see any diecast parts. .

I think he scales perfectly with BA though scale purist will argue that Megatron here is still slightly too short if we follow the chart strictly. BMB one which is supposedly 2cm taller might fit the bill better if you are really that OCD about it but to me it looks really stupid when Megatron towers over OP too much.

The WJ version here provides a good compromise. Taller than BA OP but not way too much that it starts to look silly.

 

Could someone who has the figure take a direct side view photo of him just standing up straight? And if there's any way to mistransform or fold his arm out of the way, that would be good. Im curious what his overall torso looks like from the side. Something like this, but seeing the head and its placement is kinda important

 

I think you got the wrong thread there fellow Malaysian..yeah, it has BA OP in it, but the story is not about BA OP, the USD50 is for the KO MPM-08 aka Honey Badger right? Good comparison pic there anyway, I got both but they are still in their boxes. Cheers!

 

Not wrong thread. The point of my post is to let owners of BA OP that the WJ MPM08 OSKO is a good fit should they want a Megatron to go with their prime.

This is not the honey badger version that is too small to scale with the BA. Honey badger is a straight KO of the ori except with better paintjob.