Hrm. I was actually looking for a review or post about this toy so I could compare what was going wrong with mine with other peoples... not a good start for a review. This is my first review I think? So you know. Go easy. To start this off, I like self transforming cars. I really do. I remember a line from Hot wheels that came out years ago called Shogun racers which featured cars that could change with friction motors at the touch of a button. The biggest vehicle from that line was the Shogun Racer ATV which was all kinds of awesome. I've got a review here of this toy, feel free to read it to see what I believe to be a benchmark for transforming cars. So, I went to Argos a UK catalog store and viewed this item, thinking it was going to be total pile of arse. But, in the packaging it actually looked quite swish, and really, the try me aspect of it sold me then and there. It had a few problems transforming, but I thought that because the package was loosely wrapped in a plastic bag that might have something to do with it. At £29.99 its a bit steep for an impulse buy, but like I said earlier, I like self transforming cars. Out of the packaging it looks good, slightly larger than a Voyager class movie figure, and smaller than a Leader. I'd have taken comparison pics, but that would involve me getting down one of my Movie Primes and actually transforming it to truck mode. And seeing as My ROTF Prime is combined with Jetfire... well lets just say I don't have half an hour to spare. On the top of the cab are two buttons, the Autobot symbol and a small button behind it. flip him over and at the bottom is a switch which goes from off/try me/on. On 'try me' both top buttons do the same thing, randomly play sounds and transform it. With the switch on 'on' the Symbol transforms it and the small button plays lights and sounds. The transformation sequence is very cool, the bonnet/hood splits and opens up, smokestacks drop, door like panels swing open revealing guns and detailing, rocket pods fold up and the wheels extend their footprint. While it changes it also plays the classic transformation sounds. Press the sound button and Prime (voiced by Peter Cullen) will, somewhat randomly, say phrases ('I am Optimus Prime!', 'Power up!', 'Autobots, transform and Roll out!' You get the idea) or play two different types of laser sounds, or engine sounds and tyre screeches. I say its random, because there doesn't appear to be a particular set pattern. Also, the speaker is in the back, disguised as the enlarged trailer hitch, and its LOUD. Too loud perhaps. There are three lights, one blue LED on the front, and two red LEDs which light up the smokestacks from within. Lights and sounds play in both modes, but the blue LED is obscured in truck mode. Which all sounds great. And really it is. When it works. Which leads me back to my first sentence, 'compare what was going wrong with mine with other peoples'. Basically sometimes, perhaps 25%-50% of the time the truck to battle mode transformation sequence goes wrong. Right at the end it kind of goes crazy and wigs out, clicking and having a fit. I 'think' the problem is the two panels that swing out like doors, transforming back to truck mode they sometimes misalign with each other, so the next time you transform it to battle mode, one door opens out before the other, which combined with the cogs being designed to give way when met with resistance causes the whole thing to go nuts. It seems easy to fix, just realign the door when changing it back, but really? Should I have to? Anyway, my shoulder now hurts from typing all this. Its taken half an hour, ample time to have taken down a Leader class Prime for comparison pics, which I didn't. Its also time enough for my first youtube upload to process! If this works, great. <object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/3yVA7HyDAJk?fs=1&hl=en_GB"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/3yVA7HyDAJk?fs=1&hl=en_GB" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object> It if doesn't, well, here's the link. YouTube - RPM Speed Stars Stealth Force Optimus Prime.MP4 Anyway enjoy the vid, you might even hear my wife right at the end laughing at me and calling me a geek. Edit. Awesome. I fail at youtube video embedding. I'm copying and pasting the embedding code right there, buts its not working. Can anyone let me know what I'm doing wrong. Oh and feedback too. That would be nice.
Youtube embedding is turned off for the forums. You're doing nothing wrong, it's just the way it is set up. Man that thing looks cool. I like the way it transforms all on its own, with the SFX. Might have to consider one of these Stealth Force guys, they're all pretty neat in terms of design and engineering.
Oh, I thought it self transformed AND was radio controlled. That's a bit shit. No way worth the asking price. Nice transformation though.
I guess it's better than activators because another push of button transforms itself back. I don't see a bot mode though on this Stealth Force thing but that's just me.
Oh I forgot to mention, it has two little blue missiles that can be shot independently from under the opened hood. I actually love this guy, its the whole satisfaction of just pressing the button and it transforming. Granted, its not a full transform to robot, but its still cool. Pricey but recommended! Edit. Well, the constant failure of my Stealth Prime drove me to distraction, so I exchanged it for another. I actually took a vid of the malfunctioning guy, but I have no idea where that video got to, I must have deleted it by accident. The new one transforms much better, and basically doesn't fail at all, none of that clicking crap. So yes, my first one was defective. Anyway the box of the new one has a nice picture on the back, but you can clearly see differences between the production and prototypes. -Smokestack LEDs are blue, not red. -Headlights are attached to the front grill, not the front fenders. -Fuel tanks have flip out bits. -Back end does something funky. -Cab opens up for missiles. I like the fact that its basically one touch transformation, but also kinda bummed its missing those great features.
LOLOL. I am the only one posting in my own thread, how sad. However, there is a point to this. I am now on my third 'RPMSSSFOP', the second one developed a fault where the front blue light had a loose connection, so when it was in battle mode it didn't light up, but when hidden in truck mode it did. So within a few weeks I've had to change it twice. The first one I had had the smoothest motion, but jammed all the time. The second one had an intermittant tick, and transformation was very reliable, but a bit jerky. It also developed the defective light. This third one's transformation is also reliable, smoother than the 2nd, but not as smooth as the first. It also has a tick, but its not intermittant (ie, it does it at the same point in the transformation sequence every time) but appears to be smoothing off the more its transformed. So I have to reiterate my original line, 'It's great... when it works.' My third. ROTFL.
Waiting to receive mine, hopefully it'll be alright. Can't you manually open the roof to expose the missiles? On my SF Soundwave, not sure if it's supposed to be like that, but that roof panel has to be opened manually (but retracts on its own).
Righty, these sounds activate the lights in different ways. When Prime speaks, only the red smokestack lights turn on. One laser noise only turns on the red smokestack lights, one only turns on the blue front light and the third laser noise does both lights. Transforming him activates all lights in an alternating sequence. When its on ‘Try me’ the buttons do the same thing, the first press transforms him, the second and third play random noises. The next press transforms him again, thus restarting the sequence. In this mode Prime will automatically revert back to truck mode after playing a noise and then left unattended for a little while, but weirdly won’t if the last button press transformed him. When the power switch is set to ‘on’ The noises do go around in this sequence. ‘I am Optimus Prime!’ 3 short laser sounds. ‘Autobots transform and Roll out!’ then tyre screech. 2 big laser sounds then 3 short laser sounds. ‘Lets burn rubber!’ then tyre screech. Engine noise, then tyre screech. 2 big laser sounds. ‘By the power of Greyskull, I have the power!’ 2 medium laser sounds. ‘Power up!’ 2 big laser sounds, 3 short laser sounds. 4 short staggered laser sounds. ‘Turn here.’, then tyre screech. Big laser Sound. ‘Move out!’, Engine noise, then tyre screech, then 2 medium laser sounds. These are pretty standard Prime noises, made nice because they’re voiced by Peter Cullen, and the laser/vehicle noises are pretty generic, and probably the same as the ones the other lights ands sounds RPM toys play. (Ok one of those noises isn’t real. Just checking if you’re paying attention). And Biscuits, I think the point of this toy is to make me grin like a madman when I press the button and it transforms by itself. It also has this awesome undocumented feature which makes me go back to Argos and exchange it for another RPMSSSFOP every 2 weeks or so…
EVERYTIME, I take my son to a tore and they have this, He has to play with it. Im waiting for a sale, cuz its a bit pricey for something my 3 yr old might break.. I love it too
