It looks like PotP Optimus didn't get a ton of third party upgrade love. Far less than most Prime Wars Leaders anyway. And some or most of PotP Optimus' upgrades should work on Star Convoy. I went a bit nuts with TF Safari's discounted Selects Star Convoy. I always wanted an official Star Convoy but had doubts about the PotP Optimus mold enough to pass on it. So I got an array of companion pieces coming in. The first is obvious and official: WST Hot Rod. Star Convoy had a MM Hot Rod. This guy should get one too. Second: until I saw TF Safari's deal, I was put off my PotP Optimus' stickers already and even more put off by Star Convoy having stickers that have to be self-applied. If I'm going to self-apply, I want something better. So I picked up a set of Ocean Decals PotP decals for around $12. I've been impressed with their decals. They're practically tampos and if sealed with a brushed on clear coat, they essentially are. But Ocean's decals have a bonus feature: glow in the dark trailer stripes. Parts of the set won't fit or make sense but that gets me trailer stripes that shouldn't peel or add unsightly sticker bulk. I of course snagged one of Shockwave's Labs upgrade kits for the leg fillers. Eager to sed how they work out. Finally, since Deep Space Alliance is no longer with us, I picked up some bootlegs of his PotP ankle stablizers in black being well aware of PotP Optimus' floppy ankles which I have heard are worse on Star Convoy. I thought for sure he'd have a hand upgrade kit useable from somewhere like literally every other modern leader class I can think of except Astrotrain. Even the ones who didn't explicitly like Black Shadow/Sky Shadow have hands shared with Overlord and Dai Atlas who DO have hand upgrade kits you could put on Black Shadow/Sky Shadow. Not owning Leader PotP OP, I'm guessing his hands can't be removed? If he has compatible pegs with Rodimus, I'm getting one of those kits for articulated Rodimus Prime hands. Yes, I spend $35 upgrading a so-so mold IMHO but TF Safari was selling it for $40 less than typical eBay prices right now and sprucing up a figure is both something I enjoy and a way to pass time during the Covid crisis. And Super Megatron is drop dead sexy (and made from a mold I like with virtually all of that mold's flaws tooled out) and needs a worthy adversary on the shelf.
....And now you’ve got me thinking of ordering this thing, haha. It’s a sweet price, like you said. I have PotP Optimus, and I'm not really sure about the hands...I don’t think there’s an easy way to remove them, if removable at all. (but I haven’t looked into it either). I hope your ankle stabilizers do work, because if this figure is wobblier than the first OP, you’ll need them. Looking forward to seeing how it works out for you!
Digging around, it looks like the hands are molded on and painted. I wish that rather than going slightly darker, they'd gone lighter with the hands, legs, and trailer. REALLY, IMHO, the tragedy here is that they didn't make him out of TR Ginrai (ideal case IMHO) or TR Optimus -- who actually had a pre-molded pretool of Star Convoy's head as a headmaster option in his original design. I feel like Voyager TR Prime would be an easier basis for a modest retool. The head already existed as a prototype. Doing a no-stickers version would be a win. The vehicle mode was CLOSER and giving him tank treads would have sealed the deal. He also had a fake chest so giving him angled windows and a star crest would have been totally doable. Just have the turrets partsform like the original. Basically, I wish instead of shoehorning this into PotP Optimus, they'd have either done an extensive retool of Ginrai or a fairly light (less than Super Megatron) retool of Voyager TR Optimus with a few extra 5mm posts and partsforming turrets and treads. Since this is what we got and I want a companion for Super Megs, I'm going to put a little work into him. Might be a week before we see the results b/c I'm not touching him until all the parts are in and I want to avoid transforming him too much because the chest star scares me.
I’m with you on the chest star...seems very easy to break from the reviews I’ve seen. I’m really holding out for Ocular Max’s Star Convoy, but I think all the waiting has left me with an itchy trigger finger. I need to check out the TR Optimus designs...had no idea that was the case!
His crotch coloration, shin colors, and gold chest piece were all Star Convoy nods as well. And the shoulder pieces flip down. And his molded headlights next to his grill were based on Star Convoy and the window shapes too. It was an homage that ALMOST made it but got overwhelmed by the G2 homages. A bit more paint, the unused head, an alternate chest... If they wanted to make it complete, ditch the jetmode and redo the trailer.
Having recently ordered Star Convoy on sale as well, googling for POTP leader Optimus ankle fillers lead me here. How did they go on your copy, if they've arrived yet? And could you share a link to where you got them?
It you don't mind 3d printed pieces, Funbie Studios has done treads and nosecab pieces that double as forearm missile launchers:
I paid maybe $14-15 for one? I used to be big into WST (paid for a summer of pocket money back in the day importing cases and selling individuals) but I was disappointed a bit. Nostalgia blinders will do that. WST feel more like model kits than feature CHUG releases.
