Picked this up on a whim yesterday, and it's actually pretty fun.



Vehicle modes look alright. Very sparse on paint, as has become sadly expected from RID.









Robots modes are pretty doofy. Strongarm looks better, but on mine, her head is super loose, won't even stay up unless the little chest flap is closed. Prime can assume a T-pose for some reason, and also has trouble standing up due to his heels being the combined mode fists. Also, Strongarm splits fopr the combined mode, meaning you can separate her legs a bit more.









Alright, enough of that, the combination is the whole point of this, and it works really well. The components come together with a satisfying click, and the upper body has a simple but effective automorph. The legs have to be manually transformed, but again, it's satisfying and simple.






KURASSHU GATTAI! PURAIMUSUTORONGU!!!



Combined mode looks great, at least from the front and kinda from the side. Articulation is limited to the elbows, but the one shoulder on mine sticks, which *kinda* gives it outward motion?






So this thing is basically a miniature Brave combiner, and I'm super curious if the show is gonna lean into that. I really hope so. The only thing I'd really want from the toy that isn't there is more paint. Otherwise, the central gimmick works and is fun enough to make it worth it.

 

I got this too, and yeah, they are fun for what they are, which is basically one step up (or side step) from the one-steps. I do appreciate that each team member has its own robot mode, even if it is barely anything more than flipping the head/face out.

(heh, forgot to put Strongarm's head away before combining, and now she's staring out from the buttockal area.)

 

Nice figures wont get them, got more important stuff to get right now, anyways I am curious if PrimeStrong were to show up in the cartoon how would they sound, would be it one voice taking over for the combiner, or would it be a new voice or as I hope they would do what Digimon Adventure 02 did with both speaking at once,

 

Look fun, not quite as ingenious as the duocons but better realised robot modes. Remind me of brave toys for some reason.

 

Purchased Beeside and Primestrong together, so hopefully no-one minds a joint review:

Packaging Photos:

Standard Robots In Disguise packaging with the 2017 "Combiner Force" subline logo, the toys are packaged in vehicle mode and the front of the packaging shows an illustration of the combined form of the figures. The back of the package is info heavy regarding the RID mobile app, along with pictures of the toys in combined mode and the actual combined name - Beeside and/or Primestrong.

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Vehicle Modes:

The vehicle modes are quite basic, in essence they remain faithful to previous versions of the characters in this line, however Optimus Prime struggles to resemble a truck in my opinion. Vehicle sizes are similar to the Battle Pack vehicles from 2016, around the same size as Legion Class vehicles but much more simple.

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Robot Modes:

Robot modes are also very simple with next to no articulation, and again similar in size to a Legion Class figure (maybe slightly bigger) but much more basic. Transformation for all involves flipping down a chest panel to flip the robot head, pulling the arms outwards and separating the legs, certainly nothing difficult.

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Combined Modes:

These are called Crash Combiner because to combine them you literally crash the front of one vehicle into the back of another, which initiates a spring loaded transformation. Feet and shoulders then need to be folded up or down and there you have it, once again quite simple, but it is advertised as a one-step transformation so it is what it is. The heads of the combined form are different from the individual robot heads, but the combiners aren't any more articulated.

Strongarm and Sidewipe both form combiner legs, while Optimus Prime and Bumblebee both form the upper bodies, which makes the combined duos interchangeable, forming "Beestrong" and "Primeside" (I guess). The two sets of legs and two sets of torso can also technically combine, but thats just silly (or awesome I suppose, depending on your perspective).

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Overall:

An interesting new gimmick for Robots In Disguise, but the figures are nothing to get excited about - a Legion Class figure would be better than one of these value wise, so I guess you are just paying for the gimmick itself really. If you're not into the RID line, probably avoid, but I'm a completist so have welcomed Beeside and Primestrong to my collection.

 

Good point about the value. I paid for mine with a gift card, so I didn't really "feel" the price, but all the same, I do think it's a little much. If you go to the right retailer, you can find a warrior class figure for 15, which is invariably better value. I'd definitely recommend people wait for a sale or some other form of discount.

 

Prelude: This set consists of two individual robots, Optimus Prime and Strongarm, who can combine into a larger robot called Primestrong.

Optimus Prime: Here we have an Optimus Prime figure that… yeah, kind of looks like Optimus Prime. It’s red and blue, it has Prime’s characteristic noggin’, and that’s pretty much it. The figure is basically a brick and can’t really do much more than stand there. So anyone who thinks the term “brickbot” only describes G1 figures, think again. Optimus transforms… or rather, lies down on his stomach, which kind of somewhat makes him look like a red truck. And we’re done here.

Strongarm: I could pretty much copy & paste the above paragraph for the Strongarm figure. She has got the look, more or less, but that’s pretty much it. She, too, lies down on her stomach to somewhat look like a car (though she does a better job than that red something Optimus Prime pretends is a truck). Let’s skip to the interesting part of this set because the two single figures certainly aren’t it.

Primestrong: The concept of the Crash Combiners is that you have two cars that crash into each other, which causes them to combine into a larger robot. In this case Optimus Prime forms the upper body and Strongarm the lower. The Crash Combiners are interchangeable, btw, so Optimus can use other legs and Strongarm other upper bodies.

Primestrong’s look is somewhat reminiscent of Armada Supermode Optimus Prime, which isn’t a bad thing. What is a bad thing, though, is that the combined figure is barely any better articulated than the two individual figures that form it. Primestrong can bend his elbows and that’s pretty much it. Add to the fact that he is barely as tall as the Warrior-Class figures from the same toy line, and there is very little to be found here that might interest someone who is older than five or so (interestingly enough according to the package this toy is ages 6 and up. Really?).

Remarks: I haven’t followed the Robots in Disguise cartoon much lately, but I know that both toyline and the third season have gotten the subtitle “Combiner Force”, so I assume a lot of combining will be going on. There was a trailer showing the Stunticons combining into Menasor, as well as Team Bumblebee combining into Ultrabee. I don’t know whether we will actually see Optimus Prime and Strongarm combine.

The Crash Combiners are a fun set for young Transformers fans, but I don’t think any older collectors will find much use for them. The individual figures can’t really do much and even the combined form struggles to do more than combine and stand there. Even compared to the G1 Scramble City combiners the figures are rather limited. So bottom line: buy this set if you are in the single-digit age range or have young kids that could use an introduction into the world of the Transformers. Otherwise your money is better spent elsewhere. For what it is trying to be, a toy for small kids, the Primestrong set is okay.

Rating: C

Source: Transformers-Universe.com