It really is weird how context is everything with that Optimus. When we first saw images at Botcon, and it was touted as merely a "new Generations Voyager Optimus" I thought it looked like the worst thing ever. Then when we found out it wasn't intended as some definitive new Classics Optimus, but simply an Optimus to go with the Combiner Wars theme (and a remold of Motormaster to boot, with Motormaster clearly being the primary mold) he suddenly became a lot more forgivable. Now I actually like the look of him quite a lot (minus maybe those grille-biceps), and am looking forward to him.

 

It's not clear to me...  

 

Oh, I just mean that the mold seems like it was intended to be Motormaster first, and Prime second. I'm sure they were designed together as a pair, but between the transformation style, combining aspect and truck mode look, I just get the feeling that Motormaster was the primary intention behind the mold. I could absolutely be wrong, though!  

 

So what, you think Hasbro decided "What we'll do is, we'll make a combiner torso Optimus Prime and then for shits and giggles we'll turn it into Motormaster and make a bunch of original-mold Stunticons to go with him"? Please. The idea of doing Stunticons was obviously the starting point for this.

 

That Optimus looks amazing. The minute I see it, it's mine.
the legends class figures look good. I'll be skipping Thundercracker since he's out of scale.

 

What's obvious to one person isn't obvious to another - obviousness isn't objective. I'm sorry, but that doesn't seem like a convincing reason to me. Prime's combined mode looks like an Armada homage, and it's very convincing to me that it was possible that it was designed first. Plus, the truck looks to me more like a standard Optimus thing that has been happening. Extended cab, junk in the back where a trailer hitch supposed to be, no trailer, etc. MM was never created with no trailer in mind except for all the times he was a repaint/redeco or remold/retool. Plus, the most obvious aspect to me, he's being released first. And frankly, I don't find the combining aspect all that important to use as a determining factor, especially when there are examples of Optimus doing it.

Is my reasoning all that bad?

 

Motormaster was made first. Why would we have an Optimus if he doesn't even have a combiner team? Optimus obviously is a remold of MM. Look closely at both pictures and you will see Optimus was thrown in to be a leader of the Autobots and Hasbro wanted to save $$ and knew MM and Optimus look almost the same so they remolded MM to OP.

 

Prime does look better now than when he was first shown, but I wish they were releasing Motormaster first. Most of the stuff shown looks pretty good, I wonder if Bombshell may coming sooner than expected, maybe he Powerglide, Windcharger, and Thundercracker will all be released at the same time.

+-MWG-+

 

Look at the pic with Windcharger (the repaint of Tailgate) next to Dragstrip - for the deluxe class, it seems they're roughly on par with what we've been getting lately.

 

Not really. It's basically the same thing they did with wheeljack/tracks mold. Hasbro made the mold for Jackie but released Tracks first

 

Let's see - one of these characters is a constant in nearly every TF line ever, is the star of multiple movies, the face of a multi-million dollar franchise.

The other hasn't had a mold of his own since 1986 - and was a radically different transformation (cab feet!) to boot.

To say this mold wasn't designed from Day 1 to be used as Optimus suggests willful ignorance.

 

Can anyone link me to the pic with Prime's torso mode?

 

Powerglide and Bombshell are the stars here.  

 

Myself, I imagine the idea was to do Motormaster from the start, BUT they decided as early as the design phase to work in the Optimus retool. Thus the similarities.

It's not a hard logic leap after all given the whole Stunticon Masquerade/King of the road thing.

 

Motormaster was dictated by the intent to make a Stunticon team. As long as Menasor has been on the list for 2015 Menasor was never not happening. It is completely reasonable to believe that in that meeting in the very next breath it was said, "we'll make an Optimus from Motormaster's tooling too, because we haven't had a larger classic-style Optimus Prime in a few years." And from there every bit of design work for the toy was to build it to be able to be both characters. From the time the toy was being designed, from the point where someone was putting pencil to paper or plotting shapes on a computer, the toy was meant to be Motormaster. AND Optimus Prime.

 

All I know is it works as Motormaster, and it doesn't work as Optimus.

 

Prime, Powerglide and Skydive looks pretty rad.

 

How does it not work? How can anyone look at it and not think "Optimus Prime"?

That can't be said for the full version RID Prime or Armada Prime.

If nothing else, CW Prime reminds me of Powermaster Prime with the big fake windows and stacks on his back.

 

There has never been a "combiner optimus" that wasn't
A) Combine with trailer
B) Combine with 1-2 other characters, who will be armor or accessories (A/E/C)

The closest to a "combiner Optimus" was Energon Prime, who was essentially the first PCC. He combined with four non-transforming drones.

This line is "Combiner Wars." It's a homage line focusing on one of the most popular aspects of G1 and between rumors and confirmed listing - will hit 5 of the original 9 (Comp listing for Devastator and Defensor, Pictures of Menasor and Superion, speculation on Bruticus).

This mold is a truck designed to be a scramble-city style combiner (ie - five members, the limb-bots being able to be used in any configuration as leg or arm). It was created for this combiner line. 100-1 odds that the mold was made for Menasor and that Prime was someone's idea for how to get more out of the design through remolds/redecos.

As far as "no Motormaster without a trailer" - you have to be joking. The Classics/Generations/Etc.... lines change a ton of stuff from the G1 designs while still capturing the feel of the character. This is why they're referred to as 'updated' versions of whatever character. Only the MP line will do slavishly G1. In 30 years, there has only been one time that a mold was made to be Motormaster - and that was G1. How can you say that Motormaster is "always" depicted with the trailer? Every Motormaster since 1985 has been a repaint of another truck figure (usually Prime). Who is to say an 'updated' Motormaster doesn't drop the trailer like an 'updated' Soundwave drops being a cassette player or almost every Prime since 2005 not having a trailer/command center.

 

You say, how can anyone look at the figure and not see Prime. I say, how can you look at this figure and not see Motormaster?

This figure is an appropriate looking Motormaster. The same figure makes for a very poor Optimus.

(I'll be skipping that Prime )