There's not much to say about Optimus Prime that hasn't already been said. He's THE good guy of the franchise. Leader of the Autobots. Defender of sentient life. Taker of faces. The one who stands while all others fall, unless he falls too but then comes back to lifeto light the Darkest Hourtm. So of course, for the franchise's 35th anniversary, who else would get a set dedicated to showing how far he's come over three and a half decades? PACKAGING The set came to me like a Russian Matroyshka doll. It was in a shipping box from the place I ordered it from. Inside that was the plain brown mailer box that exclusives usually come in. Inside THAT was another brown box that is what the set itself comes in. And INSIDE THAT was the two separately packaged figures. An economically packaged set, this was not. The figures themselves are packaged in a throwback G1 style, similar to how Ectotron was packaged earlier in 2019. While this is the natural state for Convoy, it's rather surreal to see the modern form of Optimus Prime, here represented by the Studio Series 38 figure from the Bumblebee movie, in a G1 setting. Hell, just getting a figure packaged in vehicle mode these days is a little surreal. One thing I wish they'd done that little bit extra for is the G1 image on the back of both boxes. I wish the modern Prime one had been recreated with the movie forms, or close approximations at least, of the characters depicted. THE FIGURES Now, being perfectly upfront here, I have never owned a G1 Optimus Prime before now. I was born in 1989, so the franchise was already 5 years old by the time I came along, and growing up I only had a smattering of G2 figures to play with. One day, I'll find you up in the attic, shiny chrome Seaspray... The effect of this is, G1 Prime is basically a brand new figure to me, and I can appretiate it on a level that I didn't expect. I'd always assumed he was a clunky, immobile brick of a toy, and I couldn't have been more wrong. He has so much personality and presence for a 35 year old figure that it's actually rather charming. His diecast parts are nice and hefty, his paint is immaculate, and he even comes with a sticker sheet! No crookedly applied stickers from a Vietnamese factory here! Now I'LL be the one to apply them crookedly! And rubber tires! And LONG SMOKESTACKS! SO GOOD! Accessory wise, he comes with his hands and two blasters that have been availiable before. I've also never owned SS-38 before either. The movie designs of the Bay Transformers never grabbed me. The only figure I have from those movies is RotF Leader Optimus, the figure that got me back into the hobby a decade ago. Since then, the only Studio Series figure I've purchased was Thundercracker, and that's only because he's my boy. But when Travis Knight came along with Bumblebee, and the new G1 inspired designs were shown, I fell in love with Prime, and I'm happy to finally get my hands on a copy of this mold. Functionally, he's the same figure as SS-38, but with more accurate paint apps, including Autobot insignias on his shoulders, blue panels on his hands, and more silver plastic for his hip panels and the hinged panels on his pectorals. For accessories, he just comes with his Ion Blaster. THE VERDICT Having never owned either of the figures in this set, I found it to be a wonderful way to get my hands on both. If you have both of them already, you're not missing out on much that would make them worth purchasing, unless you're a completionist. Despite being over three decades apart, the similarities between the two figures are obvious to see. Prime seems to be a great example of 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it' that has helped him endure all this time. All you need is a red and blue truck that has The Touch.
So glad they come in separate boxes, so that I can sell off the G1 figure in perfect condition should I ever get these. Not that the G1 figure is a bad figure, just that a more accurate redeco of BB Prime is very tempting.
